Plants and animals crowd the treetops. Some plants don’t need soil for their roots and many animals never touch the forest floor. The canopy provides all the sunlight, water, food and shelter they need.
This three-toed sloth lives high up in the trees.
Sloths are one of the slowest-moving creatures on Earth. They hang on to trees with hooked claws and spend most of their time asleep. Small plants called algae grow in their fur, turning it a greenish colour. This helps to camouflage sloths from their predators.
This bushbaby has large eyes to help it see in the dark.
Bushbabies are nocturnal. They spend the day sleeping in their nest and come out at night to feed on insects, fruit and seeds. Their saucer-like eyes trap light, allowing them to see well enough to leap from tree to tree at night. Their long, bushy tails help them to balance.
Many plants grow on tree branches.
Plants known as epiphytes fasten their roots to tree branches without harming the tree. Some epiphytes have dangling roots that absorb water from the air. Other plants have leaves that form a bucket to catch water when it rains. Frogs and insects live in the pools of water they collect.