What is the Amazon Rainforest?

0:46 Welcome to Sciences Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira! And I'm Finn! Before we start, a massive shout out to Junior. She is five years old, lives all the way in Calgary, Canada, and asked us to explore the rainforests of South America. This one is for you, Junior. Great pick. If you haven't already, tap follow wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode.

1:12 So, Mira, we're going to the rainforest today. We sure are. But Finn, did you know there is a bird hiding in the rainforest canopy with claws the exact same size as a grizzly bear's? Wait, a bird with bear claws? That sounds terrifying. Yep, up to five inches long and strong enough to crush bone. I don't know if I want to go to the rainforest anymore.

1:38 Oh, you do. Because we're also going to find giant plants strong enough to use as a boat and discover how one scientist realised there might be 30 million bug species on Earth. Okay, so where exactly is this rainforest? We are talking about the Amazon rainforest in South America. It is absolutely massive.

2:00 It stretches across nine different countries. Nine countries? How big is that? It covers about 1.4 billion acres. That is like squishing one billion football fields together. I couldn't even run across one without getting tired. Exactly. And running right through the middle of all those trees is the Amazon River.

2:26 It is the most voluminous river on Earth. Voluminous? That means it holds a lot of water, right? A ridiculous amount. Every single second, the Amazon River dumps enough water into the ocean to fill 83 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Every second, one, 83 pools, two, another 83 pools. You got it! It pushes out roughly 18 billion cubic metres of water a day during the high water season.

2:59 So it's basically a giant water highway running through a billion football fields. Yes, and because it's so wet and warm, it is packed with life. But for a long time, scientists had a huge problem studying it. Let me guess, they kept getting lost. Well, maybe, but the real problem was that the trees are incredibly tall, reaching up to 200 feet in the air.

3:24 That's like a 20-story building. Right! Those tallest trees formed the emergent layer above the canopy. Scientists knew animals lived down on the ground, but they had almost no idea what was hiding all the way up there in the leaves. So how did they figure out what was up there? Did they build giant ladders?

3:43 They tried climbing with ropes, but it was way too slow. Then, in 1982, an entomologist, a bug scientist, named Terry Irwin, had a crazy idea. I love crazy science ideas. What did he do? He travelled to a rainforest in Panama, found 19 massive trees called Luehe Simani, and hauled a weird machine underneath them.

4:08 What kind of machine? A fogging machine. During his experiment, he aimed it straight up and blasted a warm cloud of bug spray into the canopy. He bug bombed the rainforest. He sure did. Then he and his team laid out giant white collecting sheets on the ground and waited. What were they waiting for? Did it rain bugs?

4:31 Literally. The spray safely knocked down and killed the insects, so they dropped out of the sky for scientists to count. Plop, plop, plop. Ugh gross, but also awesome. How many bugs fell? From just those 19 trees, Terry Irwin counted 1,200 different species of beetles. Wait, not 1,200 beetles, 1,200 kinds of beetles.

4:58 Yes, and get this. Based on how many beetles were just in those trees, he made an incredible calculation about the whole planet. An incredible calculation? What did he figure out? Before this, scientists thought there were maybe 1 million insect species on Earth. After studying those 19 trees, they realised there might be closer to 30 million.

5:21 Okay, the canopy is officially crawling with bugs. But what about the river? Down in the slow-moving waters of the Amazon basin, there's a plant called the Victoria Amazonica. It's a giant water lily. Like the ones frogs sit on. Much, much bigger. The leaf of this lily can grow up to 10 feet across. Ten feet?

5:44 That's bigger than my bed! And they are incredibly strong. In a 2025 science competition called the Water Lily Weighoff, a botanical garden proved that a related species, the Victoria Cruziana, could hold 183 pounds before sinking. Are you serious? I weigh like 50 pounds. I could totally ride that lily pad.

6:08 You could. It has a thick network of ribs underneath that trap pockets of air to keep it floating, plus sharp spikes to keep fish from biting it. So the river has spiky plant boats. What about the bird with the bear claws? Ah, the harpy eagle. It is one of the largest and most powerful eagles on the planet.

6:29 How big are we talking? The females can weigh up to 20 pounds, with legs as thick as a grown adult's wrist. And the claws? Their talons are five inches long. That is the exact same size as a grizzly bear's claws. But a grizzly bear weighs hundreds of pounds. Why does a bird need claws that big? Because it hunts in the canopy.

6:52 It flies silently through the trees and uses those massive talons to snatch monkeys and sloths right off the branches. It picks up sloths. Okay, I am definitely bringing a helmet to the Amazon. You'll be safe then. But the Amazon isn't just full of cool animals. It actually keeps our whole planet healthy.

7:13 How? By making lots of oxygen. Actually, it's about water and carbon. There are an estimated 400 billion trees in the Amazon. 400 billion? Yes, and they pump so much moisture into the air that they create flying rivers. Massive clouds of water vapour that travel across South America and drop rain. The trees make their own rain.

7:40 That is a superpower. It really is. Plus, the Amazon stores about 150 billion tonnes of carbon in its soil and wood. This acts like a giant air purifier fighting climate change. Wow! The Amazon is like the Earth's superhero. Exactly! Now, how about some rapid-fire fun facts? Hit me! Did you know the Amazon River has pink dolphins?

8:07 They are called Botodolphins, and the older they get, the pinker they turn.

8:12unknown Haha!

8:13 A pink dolphin? That sounds like a cartoon. It's totally real! And remember those sloths the Harpy Eagle hunts? They move so slowly that actual green algae and special moths live inside their fur. Ooh! So they are basically walking furry gardens? That is so weird. Alright Finn, quiz time! Let's see how much you remember.

8:38 Okay, I'm ready. Bring it on. First question. How many Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water does the Amazon River dump into the ocean every second? Next one. What kind of machine did scientist Terry Irwin use to study bugs in the canopy? Question three. How many different species of beetles did Terry count from those 19 trees?

9:12 Here's number four. How much weight did the giant Victoria Cruziana water lily hold in the 2025 weigh-off? Last question. What animal has 5 inch talons the size of a grizzly bear's claws. Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is the Amazon River dumps enough water to fill 83 Olympic swimming pools every single second.

9:48 For question two, Terry Irwin used a fogging machine, basically bug bombing the trees. The answer is He counted 1,200 different species of beetles. The giant water lily held an amazing 183 pounds. And the final answer is the harpy eagle has those giant bear-sized talons. 30 million insect species on Earth.

10:20 That still blows my mind. Right? And to think all those undiscovered creatures were just hiding hundreds of feet up in the canopy. Science is amazing. Definitely. But I am still keeping my eye out for those harpy eagles. Probably a good idea. Hey, if you listeners would love to float down the Amazon on a giant spiky lily pad, scroll down and leave us a five-star review right now.

10:47 Just tap those five stars. And don't forget to follow this show wherever you are listening so new episodes turn up on their own. Oh, and we have sister shows too. History and philosophy's not boring, and maths is not boring. Go give those a listen and a follow as well. Want your name on the show like Junior?

11:06 Send us an email at hello at kidopoly.com. See you next time on Science is Not Boring. Bye!