Guyana is home to some of the biggest, noisiest and weirdest animals in South America. Here are a few of the really special ones.

Jaguar
Despite being the biggest cat in the Americas the jaguar is incredibly difficult to see and film. The jaguar is a top predator with an exceptionally powerful bite, used to pierce the skull of its prey.

Cat Specialist Group: jaguar factfile
ARKive: fact file, images & videos

Goliath bird-eating spider
This tarantula is the largest spider on the planet, reaching the diameter of a dinner plate (30cm). It's a fearsome predator that despite the name rarely eats birds preferring frogs, snakes and lizards or even whole mice.
Smithsonian National Zoo: factsheet
Wikipedia entry

Harpy eagle
The largest eagle in the Americas can be up to a metre in height (3.5ft) with a wingspan of 2.5m(8ft). The harpy eagle is one of the world's most powerful birds of prey, catching monkeys and sloths in the jungle.
Iwokrama International: description & facts
Global Raptors: research and factfile

Black caiman
The black caiman is not only the largest member of the alligator family it is also the largest predator in South America reaching lengths of up to 6.5m (22ft) and weighing 1,000kg.

Iwokrama International: description & facts
ARKive: factfile & images

Leaf cutter ants
Although not predators these ants still have amazing appetites harvesting more plant material than any other animal in South America. They climb tall trees to cut pieces of leaf 20 times their own body weight, to carry back to the nest.
Bristol zoo: leaf cutter ant factfile
Wikipedia: information and pictures

Giant river otter
This otter reaches nearly 2m (6ft) in length. Only seen in South America this top aquatic predator is also known as 'wolf of the river'.



Otternet: species information
ARKive: factfile, images & videos

Giant anteater
This strange looking animal is the largest anteater in the world. Its long nose contains an incredibly sticky tongue (between 50 and 60cm in length) helping it to catch and eat up to 30,000 ants a day.

Smithsonian National Zoo: factsheet
ARKive: factfile, images & videos

Anaconda
The anaconda is the world's heaviest snake weighing up to 250kg with reports of individuals reaching 9m (30ft). Squeezing their prey to death before swallowing them whole, they have been known to attack jaguars and humans.
Wikipedia: factfile
Animal diversity web: factfile

Back to top