ANIMAL TRADE DEPLETES RAIN FOREST.(MAIN)

Byline: ANTHONY FAIOLA Washington Post

BELEM, Brazil -- On the docks of this sweltering Amazon city, jars containing the purportedly medicinal -- but prohibited -- body parts and oils of endangered animals such as the manatee, Amazon turtle and pink river dolphin can be bought in plain sight. Whisper something about live animals, and hidden cages come out from behind the counters.

Edivaldo, a weather-beaten fruit salesman and part-time animal poacher, recently offered a foreign visitor an assortment of protected parrots and small jungle finches for the equivalent of a few dollars. Then he pulled out his ace: a baby black tamarin -- a tiny primate smaller than the palm of a man's hand, worth about $4,000 in the illegal pet trade. He was asking $35 -- with tips on how to smuggle it onto international flights at no extra cost. ``And I can get more if you need them,'' said Edivaldo, who wouldn't give his last name.

What Colombia is to …