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From the banks of the Amazon to the mountains of Madagascar, spooky stories about wildlife abound, and in celebration of Halloween, here are several tantalizing tales of the otherworldly side of the feathered, scaled, and furred.

The Indri Lemur: Sun Worshipper

You are wandering through the forests of Madagascar, the songbirds are silent, and you feel alone below the towering trees. Suddenly, there is a ghostly flash as something darts through the canopy, followed by a haunting song with long wailing notes that sounds eerily similar to calls made by humpback whales. You have just experienced the otherworldly presence of the Indri Lemur, an elusive primate and one of Madagascar’s rarest and largest lemur species.

According to Malagasy tradition, lemurs contain the souls of their human ancestors, and many origin myths feature the Indri. In one myth, two brothers live in a forest at the beginning of time until one decides to cultivate the land. The sibling he leaves behind becomes the Indri Lemur, who sings in mourning for his lost brother.

With its vocalizations and upright stature, the Indri is human-like in many ways, perhaps none more distinctive than its “sun worship.” At sunrise, the Indri will sit still and face eastward with legs crossed, hands lowered, palms extended, and eyes half-closed. Although locals attribute this to an inordinate fondness for the sun, biologists are at a loss to explain the habit.

Threatened by habitat loss and hunting, Indri Lemurs are listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. Rainforest Trust protects the Indri and its mysteries with the Mangabe reserve in Madagascar’s coastal rainforest.

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The Amazon River Dolphin: Mystical Charmer

A handsome stranger has come to a fiesta hosted by villagers in the Amazon. Throughout the night, he sings with an enchanting voice and, despite the heat, never once removes his cap.

One of the girls dances with him, only to find that his suit is wet. Immediately, she is reminded of the encantado, a shape-shifting river dolphin, who, according to local belief, abducts girls and spirits them off to encante, a paradise under the Amazon River.

Suspicious, she removes his hat when he is distracted, only to find a blowhole on top of his head! The foiled encantado summons a storm and vanishes into the river, never to be seen again.

Young women, however, are not the only ones with cause to fear the encantado. Fishermen also keep their distance, believing that the strange creature possesses the power to drive them mad. Even more, there is a general fear that approaching the river at dusk can be a dangerous activity as this is when the encantado is most alert.

Despite the fear they once inspired, encantados also have reason to avoid humans. Loss of prey due to overfishing, combined with gill-net drownings, are driving down River Dolphin populations throughout the Amazon Basin.
Despite their dwindling numbers, belief in the encantado is still common, and Rainforest Trust protects the Amazon River Dolphin in Colombia’s El Jaguar reserve, safeguarding their secrets for generations to come.

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Golden Poison Dart Frog: Lethal Weapon

Poison has been utilized by cultures worldwide for millennia, and no creature embodies this lethal substance as much as the IUCN Endangered Golden Poison Dart Frog. Possibly the most deadly animal in the world, it is endemic to rainforests along Colombia’s Pacific Coast. The frog’s skin is a vivid lemon yellow color (meant to warn potential predators) and is densely coated with an alkaloid toxin, whose poison inhibits victims’ nerves, causing heart failure. There is a long tradition of native peoples coating darts with the frog’s poison for hunting, and the poison on the darts can last as long as two years.

Despite its natural defenses, the frog is in a fragile state of existence, with a declining population and a small natural range that is threatened by development and gold mining. Rainforest Trust helped create the Rana Terribilis Nature Reserve to safeguard this species and protect one of nature’s deadliest creations into perpetuity.

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Andean Condor: Soul Shephard

With a wingspan of over ten feet, the IUCN Threatened Andean Condor flies ominously over the Andes and features prominently in Incan mythology. Associated with the sun deity due to its elevated position, it was believed to be the ruler of the upper world and represented power and health throughout many Native American cultures in South America. The Condor also served as an avian Grim Reaper, shepherding Incan souls to the Milky Way on its wings after death. As one of the world’s longest-lived birds, it is very much a sentinel of the Andes and can soar through the skies for over seventy years. In folktales, the Andean Condor is known to abduct would-be brides to its high-altitude nest. It is best to watch out for a stranger in a black poncho, as he may be a condor in disguise!

The national symbol of many Latin American countries, the Andean Condor is in decline, with a small population under threat from hunting and development. Rainforest Trust helped protect the Andean Condor by supporting the creation of the 6,100-acre Antisanilla Biological Reserve in the Ecuadorian Andes, which protects the majority of the country’s condor population.