Guyana

Guyana is a country in the north-east of South America. Before European settlement, the land was inhabited by indigenous people. Guyana is most likely their name for the land, which meaning "land of many waters". Today's Guyana reflects its colonial past and reactions to British and Dutch colonialism. It is also the only English-speaking country in South America. There are five natural areas in the country: the Atlantic coast, a narrow and fertile marshy plain where most of the population lives; the inland white sand belt, which contains most of Guyana's mineral wealth; the thick rainforest in the country's south; the more arid savannah areas in the southwest; and the interior savannah, which consists mainly of mountains rising gradually to the border with Brazil. Guyana has some of the world's highest biodiversity. The country is a habitat for more than 900 species of birds, 225 species of mammals, 880 species of reptiles and more than 6,500 different species of plants. The country's most famous wild animals are the Arapaima, the Giant Anteater, the Giant Otter and Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. Large mammals such as jaguars, tapirs, bush dogs and Saki Monkeys are common in the country. The tropical climate, unique geology and ecosystems of Guyana sustain vast, species-rich rainforests and natural habitats with high endemism. There are around 8,000 plant species in Guyana, about half of which are found nowhere else. British Guiana's natural history was chronicled by two early explorers, Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton, and later by two naturalists, Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell.