There are more than 400+ different kinds of mammals, 1,500+ kinds of birds, 350+ kinds of reptiles, more than 400 kinds of amphibians and 2,000 types of freshwater fish living in the Amazon. And, yes, 2.5 million insect species call the Brazilian rainforest their home.

The jaguar is certainly the largest and most powerful predator. However, incidents where jaguars attack humans are very rare. Animals we need to be more “worried about” are snakes, scorpions, spiders, stingrays, caimans and piranhas. Although, when it comes to accidents, snakes and scorpions lead the list by quite a bit. Most incidents happen during work in fields and gardens. Snakes are not aggressive but if we step on them or near them or if we accidentally grab something near them, they will defend themselves.

The trails we use will have been checked but of course wildlife moves. So, it is always important that athletes in the Rainforest Ultra do have an eye on the ground. That also goes for walking around the camp at night. Because at night is when the jungle really comes alive.

Stingrays can be an issue at beaches and lagoons. Participants should ask crew about dangers in rivers if you intend to go swimming.

Mosquitoes and other biting and stinging insects can bother you when resting in the jungle but also at checkpoints and in camp. A good insect repellent and a mosquito net for the hammock will go a long way to avoid problems.

At some point you will get bitten by ants. That’s never pleasant but not dangerous. There is just one ant that you do need to worry about, which is the “Bullet Ant”. When it gets you, it is extremely painful and could even lead to a stay in hospital.

Our survival course before the race will educate the athletes on the most important aspects of dangerous animals.

The Amazon is home to 80,000 plant species! If you are a bit careful, none of them will get you in trouble. The main risk is to get hurt by plants that have stings and leaves that can cut you.

It could also happen that stumps of small trees or plants with a sharp edge stick out of the round. These could athletes who step or fall onto these could sustain serious injuries.

Needless to say that one should never eat any plants, fruits or nuts unsless 100% sure that these are edible.

There will be places where the river waters along the shore are so high that it may be necessary to swim across. That could be a swim as short as 5 metres or as long as maybe a couple hundred metres. It’s hard to say because it all depends on how hot the dry season will be and how high the water level was to begin with. Anybody who can’t swim or does not feel safe swimming, will get a ride across in a canoe. There will be a time penalty for this that won’t be deducted from the time the athletes have to finish the day’s stage. However, it will affect rankings, i.e. if athlete A and B have the same arrival time at the finish but athlete B got guided across water in a canoe, athlete B will be ranked behind athlete A by whatever time penalty was given. The exact modality for the time penalty is not confirmed, yet. Likely it will be based on the slowest swim time plus X minutes.

If there is a creek or a lagoon that is flat enough to be able to wade across and does not have any current, all athletes need to make their way across on foot.