Classroom lesson 路 Madidi National Park馃嚙馃嚧 Bolivia

Madidi National Park

One of the most wildlife-packed rainforests on Earth

Dense green rainforest canopy in Madidi National Park with a winding river below

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Madidi National Park in northern Bolivia is one of the most biodiverse places on the entire planet. It covers a huge area of Amazon rainforest and contains more species of birds, mammals and plants than almost anywhere else on Earth. Scientists keep discovering new species there every year.

Tell me more

Madidi is so full of life it can feel overwhelming. Scientists have recorded more than 1,000 bird species inside the park - that is more kinds of birds than in the whole of the United States and Canada combined. Jaguars, giant river otters, tapirs, spider monkeys and pink river dolphins all live here.

The park stretches from the snowy Andes Mountains all the way down to the warm Amazon lowlands. This means it has many different habitats inside one place: cloud forest, dry valleys, tropical rainforest, and rivers. Each habitat has its own unique set of animals and plants.

Indigenous communities, including the Tacana people, have lived inside Madidi for thousands of years. Their knowledge of the forest - which plants heal, which animals to look out for, how to read the weather - is extraordinary. Today, some of these communities welcome visitors and share their understanding of the rainforest.

The rivers in Madidi are home to some of the strangest freshwater fish in the world, including piranhas (which mostly eat plants and smaller fish, not people!), electric eels, and enormous catfish. The Amazon is full of surprises - many creatures are still being discovered and named for the first time.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why do you think a place with many different habitats (mountains, valleys, rainforest) has more kinds of animals than a place with just one?
  2. 02What would it feel like to discover an animal nobody has ever named before?
  3. 03The Tacana people know the forest deeply. Why is it important to listen to communities who have lived somewhere for thousands of years?
Try this

Classroom activity

Create a 'habitat map' of Madidi. Draw three strips on a big sheet of paper - snowy mountains at the top, cloud forest in the middle, and tropical rainforest at the bottom. Research and draw at least two animals that live in each zone. Add arrows to show which animals move between zones.