Rio de Janeiro, "the marvelous city”, is well known for its glamorous life, the extraordinary carnival, beaches and beach beauties. But few people know that the wildlife of the city is equally flamboyant. Tijuca National Park is the wild heart of Rio de Janeiro. This mystic rainforest lies on steep hills in the middle of the city, surrounded by a sea of stone. As part of the Atlantic rainforest it is a hot spot of biodiversity. Here the rare Blue Manakin dancer bird performs its spectacular dance, army ants swarm out for a hunt and large groups of coatis enjoy their life as the main predator - the jaguar - got extinct decades ago. But animals not only show up in the forest. Due to Rio’s unique neighborhood of rainforest and city, encounters in-between people and wild animals are common. Capuchin monkeys often enter houses and create a mess and sometimes caimans end up in peoples´ swimming pools.