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Guests look into a large, curved exhibit housing huge, long arapaima fish.

Amazon Rising

Travel through the Amazon River Basin, where animals abound and biodiversity blooms! As heavy rains fall and the dry season shifts to wet, rivers swell and humidity rises as the rainforest comes alive. Ancient arapaima, elusive electric eels and a massive anaconda live here, perfectly adapted for life in a seasonally changing aquatic environment.

Explore en Español!

Amazon Rising is a bilingual exhibit, with signage fully translated into Spanish.

Lee en Español

  • A Cuvier's dwarf caiman's head shown in partial profile, highlighting the dramatic eye ridges and the flat top of its snout.

    Touch

    Feel the bumpy shell of a red-footed tortoise and the scaly tail of a caiman through richly detailed and scientifically accurate tactile models.

  • A hawk-headed parrot's showy red and blue feathers are visible behind its head.

    Hear

    Listen to hawk-headed parrots chirp from the canopy above, rain drops plop on lush leaves and insects buzz in the symphony of the Amazon.

  • A heat-sensing interactive displays people in the exhibit space outlined in vivid yellow, red and blue.

    See

    Experience how a green anaconda sees the world through a thermal imaging feature.

The Biodiverse World of the Amazon River Basin

Buzzing and alive, dense and diverse, life in the Amazon River Basin is unlike anywhere else on the planet. Animals and plants have evolved to thrive in this complex environment as the rainforest transforms twice a year between rainy and dry seasons. Journey through the largest tropical basin in the world and experience for yourself the sharp senses and unique behaviors of the animals that live here.

  • Tambaqui are a very large fish with a strong jaw capable of breaking nuts that fall from the trees lining the rivers they live in.
  • A caiman lizard with its long tail wrapped around its body.
  • A Brazilian Teal Duck stands in grasses.
  • An electric eel's blunt head peers out from underneath aquatic plants.
  • An emerald tree boa gathers its body around a branch as it peers at something below.

Come eye-to-eye with arapaima (air-uh-PYE-muh) — giant freshwater fish that can grow up to 10 feet long — during feeding time. Listen to the eels’ electric charges as they explore their environment. Smell fruit dropped from the forest canopy that tambaqui (tahm-bah-KEE) — an omnivorous fish — might make their next meal, among many immersive experiences, participatory programs and interactive displays that will deepen your connection to this awe-inspiring environment.

A green parrot peers interestedly at something below its perch.

Opportunities abound to learn more about the challenges these species face in the wild — like impacts of the exotic pet trade and ecotourism — and how we can make better choices to protect and conserve Amazonian animals and their habitats.

Tiger Ray

Tambaqui

Amazon Milk Frog

Brazilian teal

Caiman Lizard

Red-bellied Piranha

Hawk-headed Parrot