Where are they found?

In Europe, they live east of the Stanovoi Range in Russia and in an extremely fragmented population in France, Spain, Italy, and Greece. Other small remnant populations can be found in India, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Brown Bears inhabit dense forests, tundra and lower alpine mountain regions.

What are they?

A mammal.

What do they look like?

The European Brown Bear is a cousin of the Grizzly and Kodiak Bear. Brown Bears weigh between 300 and 860 pounds and can be up to 9'6" in total body length. They are usually dark brown in colour but can vary from a light brown colour to almost black. European Brown Bears have thick dense fur which can be up to 10cm in length.

How long do they live?

Bears should live to be 30 - 40 years old.

What do they eat?

Brown Bears are omnivorous, eating a mixed diet of grasses, fruits, bulbs and roots, insects, fish and small animals. In a few areas they are known to be predators of larger animals such as deer. They will also scavenge carrion when available, including whale, walrus and seals that have washed up on shore.

Breeding

Female Bears reach sexual maturity at around four and a half years of age. Mating will occur between May and July, with a pair coming together for one or two weeks and mating several times. Cubs are born between January and March. A female can have up to four cubs which will stay with her for up to two and a half years.

Are they rare?

Brown Bears are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Brown Bears in some areas live in isolated pockets of land. These places are subject to humans taking over the land, which means habitat loss for the Bears. Illegal hunting continues to be a threat. Landowners see the bears as threats to their livestock and poachers are interested in their hides, teeth, claws and internal organs for the Asian medicinal market.

Did you know?

Brown bears are solitary animals except for females with cubs.

Brown bears can be seen in close proximity in areas of extremely abundant food sources such as dump sites, berry patches and salmon spawning areas.

Where are they found?

Originally their full range extended from Northern Mexico to Alaska, normally found roaming open grasslands and plains. Populations are now found in parks and reserves in America and Canada.

What are they?

A mammal.

What do they look like?

The Bison has a massive head and forequarters covered with long, dark brown woolly hair. It has a short neck, and high humped shoulders, with tufted tail. Long hairs of its chin form an impressive beard. The hips and hindquarters are much smaller, forming a slope from hump to tail. Some stand six feet at the shoulder and weigh as much as a tonne. They have short, sharp horns and their shaggy winter coat falls off in patches in the spring. It is dark brown in winter and lighter in summer.

How long do they live?

The American Bison's life span is 18-22 years.

What do they eat?

They are grazers; primarily feeding on grasses in meadows and grasslands. Bison excavate snow at feeding sites by sweeping it away using side to side motions of their muzzle.

Breeding

The Bison mate in August and September. The gestation period (pregnancy) is around 285 days. They give birth to a single reddish coloured calf in May or June. The females will always calve alone and rejoin the herd when the calf can stand up. The new-born develops the characteristic hump at two months; it is nursed for one year and matures at three years.

Are they rare?

Bison have few natural predators because of their great size and herd lifestyle. Bears and wolves will take calves, but do not usually tackle fully grown adults. Their main threat was humans and they were hunted almost to extinction in the 18th Century; mainly for their skins. Their number was reduced to 750 in 1890; but they were then protected. Some small wild populations live in parks and reserves now; however bison have been domesticated for meat production.

Did you Know?

Bison have a highly developed sense of smell and good hearing. They communicate through grunts and snorts.

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Where are they found?

They are found in steep grassland, mainly valleys and canyons and in the Gobi desert. They are also found in Mongolia and China. There are domestic herds throughout Asia. They live in groups of 3 - 30. Bachelor herds and solitary older males do occur.

What are they?

The Camel is a mammal.

What do they look like?

There are various varieties of camel. The Bactrian camel has a length of 10 feet and a height of 7 feet. It weighs 300 to 690 kg (661-1521 lb.) This Camel has a light to dark brown coat, which is short in summer. It has a thin mane on its chin, shoulder, hind legs and, of course, humps. The winter coat is longer and thicker.

How long do they live?

40 to 50 years.

What do they eat?

The Camel will eat almost any vegetation it can find. They are herbivorous and prefer grasses, leaves and shrubs. They will eat thorns, dry vegetation and salt bush, which other animals tend to avoid.

Breeding

The males are ready to reproduce at 5 years and the females at 3 to 4 years. Gestation is 13 to 15 months and the mothers can expect a single birth.

Are they rare?

They are endangered. Their numbers are reduced due to competition of domestic herds for water. Wild herds in Mongolia are now protected in parks. Hunting them is banned in China and Mongolia.

Did you Know?

The Bactrian Camel has long eyelashes and ears lined with hair to prevent the wind from blowing in sand. Their nostrils can be closed to keep out blowing sand too. They have thick fur and under wool which provides warmth during the cold desert nights and some insulation against daytime heat. Fat stored in their humps helps these animals survive long periods without food.

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Where are they found?

They are found in Central and Southern Africa. Although they are usually found in rainforest regions; chimpanzees can be found living in forested savannah areas and in mountainous forests.

What are they?

They are a mammal; a great ape closely related to gibbons, orangutans, gorillas and us.

What do they look like?

Chimps can measure from about 1 - 1.7 m. Males would weigh between 40-65kg with females being slightly smaller at 25-50kg. They have an arm-spread 50% greater than their height! Chimpanzees have no tail and the skin on its face is pink in infancy, darkening to black in adulthood. Baldness is frequent in adults, typically a triangle on the forehead of a male, more extensive in females. Their hair colour is black. The infants have a white tail tuft and older males may develop a grey back patch.

How long do they live?

The maximum life span in the wild is 60 years.

What do they eat?

Chimpanzees are omnivores; they feed on a wide variety of foodstuffs (over 80 different varieties) with the largest proportion consisting of fruit and young leaves. They also eat honey, bark and resin, seeds and nuts. Animal prey makes up as much as 5% of the diet, with insects, such as ants and termites, providing the largest amounts. On rare occasions small game animals such as monkeys, pigs, and antelope are hunted. Feeding is essentially an individual activity, but after a co-operative hunt they may share out morsels.

Breeding

Females raised in captivity begin mating at eight to nine years and give birth for the first time at 10-11 years old; whilst wild females mature three to four years later than their counterparts in captivity. Females stop breeding normally around the age of 40. Chimps can breed at any time of the year, and after a gestation of 230 days (8 months) she will give birth to a single offspring. Males seldom leave the community into which they were born, whereas most females migrate to a new community during their adolescent period.

Are they rare?

There are thought to be less than 150,000 chimps left in the wild. Chimp populations have been reduced and fragmented by human encroachment into their habitats and through forest destruction. In addition; hunting by people for food, known as “bush-meat” and commercial exportation for the animal trade also has reduced their numbers.

Did you know?

They are one of the few mammals that manufacture and use tools to help them eat. They often feed by poking a twig or vine into a termite nest hole. When the twig has become covered with insects, they pull it out and nibble them off.

They construct nests out of branches and leaves, in which they rest and sleep in; both during the day and at night time. This makes them the largest tree nesting species in the world. Each chimp, except infants who nest with their mothers, constructs a nest of vegetation 9-12 m high in a tree!

Conservation Status: Endangered

Where are they found?

The deer were originally found in North and Central China, however they are nearly all only found in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. Their preferred habitat is swampy marshland, and they are actually very good swimmers.

What are they?

They are mammals.

What do they look like?

The deer are a tawny red colour in summer with a red underbelly and white ring around each eye. In the winter their coats go iron grey. It has wide hooves which stop them from sinking in their marshy habitat; and antlers that are branched and nearly 90cm long.

How long do they live?

Pere David’s deer can live up to 18 years

What do they eat?

They are herbivores, and will eat grass, shoots, leaves, and aquatic plants.

Breeding

The mating season is June to August. Mature females gather in groups called harems, and males fight each other for possession of a harem. Gestation is 270-300 days, after which a female gives birth to 1 or 2 fawns. The fawns are yellowish brown with lighter spots, and can walk almost immediately after birth. The young are weaned at 10-11 months.

Are they rare?

They have been extinct in the wild for 800 years. The species decline was mainly due to hunting and also severe flooding during the Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the Century. The species was discovered by Pere David a French missionary and zoologist who noticed the breed in an Imperial Park in China. This remaining population of the deer was owned by the Chinese Emperor. He agreed to send a number of these animals to Europe in the 1800’s which provided a stock which flourished in captivity. After World War II; the breeding stock from Europe was distributed to zoos around the world. A program in the 1980’s saw the re-release of these deer back to the wild in their native China, where the population have successfully bred since then.

Did you know?

The Chinese called them ssu-pu-hsiang, which means “the four unlikes”. They thought that the deer had a stag’s antlers, a camel’s neck, a cow’s hooves, and a donkey’s tail.

Conservation Status: Extinct in the Wild

Where are they found?

They are found in the forests, grasslands, marshes, scrub, and semi-desert areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

What are they?

Elephants are the largest land mammal on earth. There are 2 species of African elephant, the Savannah elephant and the Forest elephant, the Savannah elephant is the largest.

What do they look like?

They have very large ears, a very long trunk and large tusks. They are 3-4m tall at the shoulder and 6 to 7.25m long. The males, known as bulls, weigh 3200-6400 kg. The females, known as cows, are smaller than the males. The trunk is nothing more than an elongation of their nose and upper lip. It is used for breathing and smelling, but also as a tool, much like an arm or hand.

How long do they live?

An African Elephant can live for up to 70 years.

What do they eat?

The African Elephant is a herbivore. It eats all types of vegetation such as grasses, leaves, fruits and bark. The trunk enables them to perform some delicate operations, like picking grasses.

Breeding

The female elephants are pregnant (gestate) for 22 to 24 months. They start breeding at 10 to 11 years for the cows and 10 to 20 years for the bulls.

Are they rare?

Wild elephants were poached for their meat, but it was mainly the ivory trade that was the major cause of the elephants decline; this has been reduced due to the Ivory Trade Ban in 1989 but exploitation is still a problem. Habitat loss and fragmentation, along with human-animal conflict due to an ever increasing human population is today the greatest threat to these animals.

While the overall population of elephants in Africa is declining; there is the opposite problem in particular countries, too many elephants. Future elephant conservation is will be a complex issue, having to deal with over-population in some areas and under-population in others.

Did you know?

These elephants live in a highly organised social structure referred to as a matriarchal herd. The herd is controlled by the matriarch, who is typically the oldest and largest female. Males beyond the age of maturity are with the herd only during mating.

African elephants make a wide variety of vocal, low frequency, sounds that we humans cannot hear. Wandering individual elephants can keep in contact over distances of many miles. They also make noises we can hear, like grunts, whistles, and trumpeting.

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Where are they found?

They are found in the African savannah, scrub, and open acacia woodlands south of the Sahara.

What are they?

They are mammals.

What do they look like?

As the world’s tallest mammal, adults measure from 4.25 - 5.5m. The adult males can weigh up to 1,300 kg, adult females weigh less. They have a spotted blotchy brown and cream coat, which is unique to each animal. Giraffe walk with the limbs on one side of the body lifted at the same time; this allows a longer stride, which saves steps and energy.

How long do they live?

Giraffes live 20 to 25 years.

What do they eat?

Giraffe are herbivores. They are selective browsers, as they prefer the new growth foliage of acacia and mimosa brush 2 to 5m high; but they also feed on over 100 plant species. Their food stuff is determined by the seasons. They use their long, blue, prehensile tongue to strip the leaves off the branches.

Breeding

Male giraffe matures at about 3.5 years but usually won't breed until they reach 8 years old. The females mature at 4 - 5 years old; after a gestation of 450 - 465 days they give birth to a single calf. The mother giraffe gives birth while standing, so the newborn's first experience of the world is a 2m drop.

Are they rare?

Giraffe are currently at risk due to habitat loss and poaching, however populations are surviving well in and around National Parks and protected areas.

Did you know?

Would you believe the giraffe has the longest tail of any land mammal? They can be 2.5 m long, including the tuft on the end.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Where are they found?

They are native to Botswana, Zambia and southeast Zaire, but populations are restricted to the Kafue Flats. The Kafue Flats is a flood plain and wetland area along the Kafue River. These animals have adapted to this marshy environment, and are excellent swimmers and waders.

What are they?

They are a mammal, part of the antelope family.

What do they look like?

Antelopes are related to other ungulates such as camels, deer, and domestic cattle, sheep, cows and goats. The Kafue lechwe is a semi-aquatic antelope which is red-brown in colour with white undersides; they have distinctive black markings on their face and front legs. The males weigh 60-130 kg, with a shoulder height of 90-110 cm. Males have long thin horns going backwards and upwards; females are hornless. Colour changes can be observed in both sexes, depending on the seasons and males tend to be much darker in colour. Both sexes possess uniquely adapted elongated hooves for the wetlands in which they live. They often graze shoulder deep on the flood plains, in very large herds of several hundred. When frightened, they completely submerge leaving only their nostrils showing.

How long do they live?

The Antelope life span is 15 years in captivity. However this varies greatly, depending on the species.

What do they eat?

Lechwe feed on grasses and a few other water-dependent swamp plants.

Breeding

Breeding season is from October to January, during which large mixed-sex herds of thousands gather. Lechwe mothers give birth to a single calf after a gestation period of 7-8 months.

Are they rare?

This antelope was placed under threat in 1978, by the Kafue gorge hydroelectric scheme. The scheme deprived the animal of flood plains and swamps where it spends much of its time grazing on aquatic plants. Their numbers were thought to have halved by 2001, however there have been reintroduction schemes, bringing the Kafue lechwe back to areas where it used to live.

Did you know?

The Antelope group comprises about 150 species, of which most are peculiar to Africa and a smaller proportion native to Asia.

Hard, hollow horns grow around two bony cores on the male antelope's head. They grow throughout the antelope's life. They do not fall off like a male deer's antlers do.

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Where are they found?

Lemurs are native to the Island of Madagascar. The Ring-Tailed lemur is found in the dry forests and bush of South and South-Western Madagascar.

What are they?

They are mammals. They are Prosimians, which is a type of primitive monkey.

What do they look like?

The head and body length is 12.5 to 70 cm. The Lemur's tail length is 5 to 15.5 cm. They weigh 5 to 3 kg. They have a cat like nose and whiskers; with soft fur, their colouration varies from reddish brown to grey and also black. The Ring-Tailed lemur is one of the most terrestrial of the lemur species, spending around a third of its time of the ground. They are diurnal, which means they are active during the day time.

How long do they live?

They live for 16 to 27 years.

What do they eat?

They are omnivores; feeding on vegetation, flowers and fruit, also insects and small birds and lizards.

Breeding

Lemurs are able to breed from 14 to 15 months old. Gestation is 4.5 months. Females normally have one offspring, but twins can be common.

Are they rare?

Habitat loss and hunting are the main causes of concern to this species; there has been a reduction of 20-25% over the past 24 years. They are today found in a number of protected areas such as National Parks.

Did you Know?

They are very social animals living in groups of up to 25 animals of mixed sex. Normally the females are dominant in lemur societies. The dominant female will lead her troop through their territory in search of food. Lemurs fill an important ecological role on the island of Madagascar. These primates often feed on an assortment of seasonal fruits and as they travel throughout their environment, they disperse undigested seeds in their poo.

Lemurs rely on their sense of smell as a way of communicating with other animals. They have special scent glands on their wrists and bottoms that leave scent trails on branches to mark their territories.

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Where are they found?

They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa in grasslands and semi-arid plains.

What are they?

They are a mammal, belonging to the cat family.

What do they look like?

Male lions measure 1.7 to 1.9 m and 1.1 m at the shoulder; weighing in at 175-190 kg. Females are slightly smaller, weighing 120-150 kg. Lion cubs are born with a spotty coat which helps camouflage them, the spots fade to the adult colour as the cubs grow. Only the male has a thick mane of hair round his face and neck; manes vary in colour and size from male to male. They are used to protect the lions’ neck during fights, as well as making them look bigger and more dominant for attracting females.

How long do they live?

Lions live up to 25 years in captivity; 15 years average in the wild.

What do they eat?

A hungry lion pride feeds on many animals that pass through or share its home range. They will eat zebra, wildebeast, antelopes, gazelles, warthogs and occasionally cape buffalo and young giraffe. It is the female lions in a pride that normally hunt; only one out of four hunts are successful, lions can often be found scavenging from other animal’s kills. Dominant males always eat first, lionesses next, and cubs scramble for scraps and leftovers.

Lions cannot chew but use their sharp teeth to cut chunks of flesh, which they swallow whole. A lion’s tongue is rough like sandpaper, it is covered in tiny spikes called papillae; they use their rough tongue to scrape off any remaining meat from the bones. Their rough tongue is also useful when grooming.

Breeding

Males start to breed at 5 years, females at 4 years. The females gestate for 100 to 120 days. There are usually 2 to 4 cubs born.

Are they rare?

Lions are mainly threatened by humans; due to habitat destruction, fear of attack and poaching. They are now mostly found in protected wildlife reserves in Africa.

Did You Know?

An adult lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away and warns off intruders or reunites scattered pride members.

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Where are they found?

In dry open country in South Western Angola, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

What are they?

A mammal. A type of mongoose.

What do they look like?

Meerkats weigh on average 720-730 gm and measure 25-30 cm. It is of slender build; with long thin front legs which have 4 toes with long claws, used for digging. Meerkats have a thin pointed tail and pointed face with small crescent-shaped ears. They have long, soft coats; which are grey or tan in colour with darker stripes across their backs; these stripes are unique to each individual. They have black eye patches around their eyes which help reduce glare from the sun, acting like a pair of sunglasses.

How long do they live?

The Meerkat has a life span in captivity up to 15 years.

What do they eat?

Meerkats are omnivores. They concentrate on beetle larvae, pupae and larvae of moths and butterflies, flies, termites, crickets, spiders, scorpions, and other invertebrates. Occasionally they eat lizards, small snakes, birds, eggs, and mice. In waterless areas they may obtain water by digging up roots and tubers.

Breeding

Meerkats can start breeding at 1 year old. Nearly all young are born during the warmer, rainier part of the year. Females usually have one litter per year, averaging 2-6 pups. Gestation is 11 weeks and young are weaned at 6-9 weeks. Non breeding helpers, of both sexes, baby-sit young while the mother forages to sustain an adequate milk supply. All clan adults will protect and share food with the young and will teach them to hunt and forage.

Are they rare?

There are no major threats to this species in the wild.

Did you Know?

Meerkat burrows can range from a simple burrow with a few holes to a labyrinth 30 meters across with 90 entrances!

Meerkats keep each other within sound and sight distance when foraging. Whilst foraging, at least one member is standing on hind legs or perched in a bush or tree and scanning the skies and land for predators, this lookout is called the Sentry. They rotate this duty which can continue for over an hour at a time.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Where are they found?

What are they?

They are large flightless birds.

What do they look like?

Adults usually weigh between 70-150 kg and stand up to 2.7 m tall. An adult male ostrich stands between 1.8-2.7 m, while adult females will range between 1.5-1.8 m tall. Ostrich chicks grow about 10 inches per month for the first year and weigh about 45 kg at 12 months of age. Males have contrasting bright white and black plumage, while the female's plumage is grey. Their lead-blue skin colour usually becomes scarlet over the beak, on the forehead, and around the eyes during the mating season. During hot weather, ostrich lift and fan their wings, while during cold weather they cover their bald thighs with their wings to keep warm.

How long do they live?

Ostriches normally live for 40 years in captivity.

What do they eat?

Ostriches are omnivorous, but chiefly a daytime browser on fruits, seeds and succulents. They also eat insects, small reptiles and rodents. They usually congregate in groups with gnus, antelope, zebra, and other grazing animals and help each other. The zebra stir up insects and rodents for the ostrich to eat, and the ostrich can warn the zebra of any approaching danger.

Breeding

Females mature about 6 months earlier than the males. An ostrich nest is a shallow depression in the ground that is scraped mostly by the male. One male may have several females, all of which lay eggs in the same nest. The incubation is shared by both sexes. After 40-42 days, the young are hatched. They are fully grown in 18 months, and mature enough to breed themselves at 3 to 4 years.

Are they rare?

These birds are abundant in the wild; also captive bred populations have been established in various areas of the world. Ostrich meat and feathers are sold widely, which means they are in no danger of extinction.

Did you know?

Although, ostriches are flightless, though their wings are surprisingly strong.

Ostriches can maintain speeds between 30-50 miles per hour for 30 minutes. It is the only bird to have only 2 toes on each foot.

The Ostrich does not eat metal objects or bury its head in the sand, as myth would have it, but it does frequently rest with the neck outstretched on the ground.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Where are they found?

They are generally found from the north west of India to the south east of China but can be also found in the Malay Peninsula and southern India. They live near rivers, creeks, estuaries and coastal waters.

What are they?

They are aquatic mammals.

What do they look like?

Asian Short-Clawed Otters is the smallest of all 13 otter species. Adults measure 65–95 cm from the tips of their noses to the ends of their tails, the tail is 25-35 cm long. They weigh 1–5 kg. The Otters are brown, but paler underneath, and sometimes have white markings on the face, throat, and chest. The adults have claws that are only tiny spikes. These do not project beyond the ends of their pads.

How long do they live?

The life span is about 21 years in captivity, less in the wild.

What do they eat?

Otters are carnivorous. Their diet consists mainly of crabs, other crustaceans, molluscs and frogs. Fish are a relatively unimportant part of their diet. They have sensitive and dextrous forepaws which help locate prey in mud or under stones, they also use their whiskers to help them locate prey.

Breeding

Asian short-clawed otters may produce 2 litters annually. The gestation is 60-64 days, and litters contain 1-6 young, but usually only 1 or 2 survive.

Are they rare?

Threats to these otters include pollution, habitat destruction, tangling in fish nets, and being trapped for their fur, which have all taken their toll on species numbers.

Did you know?

They have relatively large, broad cheek teeth, apparently for purposes of crushing the shells of crabs and molluscs.

They live in loose family groups of up to 12 individuals and have a vocabulary of up to 12 calls.

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Where are they found?

Humboldt Penguins are found, in the wild, off the shores of Peru and Chile in South America. They do not migrate, and spend all year here in these temperate waters. They are actually named after the Humboldt Current which runs along the Pacific coast of South America.

What do they look like?

They have a big head, a short thick neck, and a torpedo-shaped body. They are well designed for swimming; they use their flippers to power themselves along and their web-shaped tail and webbed feet to steer them through the water. They are a medium sized penguin, measuring about 63cm tall, and weigh around 4kg. They are easily recognisable by the black band of feathers across their chest.

How long do they live?

20 – 25 years.

What do they eat?

Small shoaling fish such as sardines, anchovies and sprat, also squid and crustaceans.

Breeding

Humboldt Penguins are monogamous, which means that males and females pair up for the breeding season. In the wild these penguins nest in burrows or rocky crevices, and they make their nest from poo (guano). They begin breeding at 3 years, although many will not breed until 6 years. 2 eggs are normally laid, and the male and female will take it in turns to sit on the eggs. Their eggs normally hatch after 39 days of incubation. The pair stay together to raise and feed the chicks.

Are they rare?

They are threatened mainly by humans; their poo is collected from the coasts as it can be sold as valuable fertilizer and so they are losing their nesting sites. Climate change is a factor too; with the water temperatures rising which is affecting their food sources; over-fishing also poses a problem. Humboldt Penguins are classified as vulnerable.

Did you Know?

Low-flying aircraft can cause penguins to abandon their eggs and chicks.

Penguins do not drink, but swallow water as they eat their prey. All penguins have a special gland in their body which removes the salt from the seawater.

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Where are they found?

They are found in the open savannahs and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. A rare subspecies is found in the northern savannahs of central Africa.

What are they?

They are mammals.

What do they look like?

They are 1.7 to 1.9 m tall at the shoulder, 3 to 4 m long and weigh 1600-2260 kg. The females are smaller than males. They are large stocky animals, naturally grey in colour, with two facial horns and wide, squared lips.

How long do they live?

25 to 45 years.

What do they eat?

As herbivores, they eat grasses. Their wide squared off lip allows them to eat the short grasses that grow in the open savannahs.

Breeding

Females start to breed at 6-7 years old, and will have a calf every 3-4 years. Their gestation period is about 16 months.

Are they rare?

This species is threatened by continued poaching and the high illegal demand for rhino horn. Their horn is used mainly in Traditional Chinese Medicines.

Did you know?

A Rhino's horn is not a true horn that is attached to the skull. It grows from the skin and is made up of keratin fibres, the same material found in hair and nails.

Rhinos have very poor eyesight, but to make up for this they have a very good sense of hearing and sense of smell.

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Where are they found?

California sea lions inhabit rocky and sandy beaches of coastal islands and mainland shorelines, from British Columbia in the North to the California-Mexico border in the South.

What are they?

They are an aquatic mammal.

What do they look like?

Adult males measure on average 2.1 m in length and weigh 300 kg, adult females are smaller than males, measuring 1.8 m and weighing 100 kg. Sea Lions are adapted for movement on land as well as in the water. Their front flippers have a bone structure similar to that in our arms and hands. Swimming with these flippers propels the sea lion forward, while the hind flippers steer, a bit like a rudder on a boat. They use both sets of flippers to walk on land.

How long do they live?

Normally 10-15 years in the wild, 25-35 years in captivity.

What do they eat?

They are carnivores. Fish is not the only foodstuff of sea lions, they also eat squid, cuttlefish and octopus.

Breeding

During breeding season, July, males claim territories, which they guard and defend against other males. There can be as many as 16 females to 1 male in these territories. After a gestation of 11 months, females will give birth to one pup.

Are they rare?

In the past, sea lions were trapped for their hides and for animal feed, also a significant number have been killed as a result of getting tangled in discarded fishing gear. However, in the United States they are now fully protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972).

Did you know?

When the mother sea lion returns from catching fish, she emits a loud trumpeting noise to which her pup responds. This exchange continues until mother and pup find each other. She makes her final identification by smelling her own pup.

A sea lions loud roar helps explain why they are named after lions that live on land. Male sea lions of some species even grow a thick mane around their neck.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Where are they found?

The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger, is found in the mountainous, forested areas primarily in the Russian Far East, in the Amur region.

What are they?

A Mammal. The largest and heaviest living cat in the world.

What do they look like?

They measure about 3m and weigh around 360 kg, males are larger than females. They are possibly the most recognisable of the cats, with their reddish fur with defined brownish-black stripes. They have a white belly; their ears are black with white spots on the inside.

How long do they live?

The average life span is 10-15 years in the wild, although this is generally more in captivity at 20-25 years.

What do they eat?

As carnivores, tigers will eat whatever they can catch. Wild boar and deer makes up the vast majority of their diet. They are ambush hunters and normally hunt at night.

Breeding

As tigers are solitary, they only come together to breed. Their gestation period is about 3 and half months. They have 3-4 cubs, which are born blind. They follow the mother, and after about 8 weeks can hunt independently. The cubs disperse at 18 months and mature at 3-4 years.

Are they rare?

They are poached for their fur, their body parts are also used in Traditional Chinese Medicines. Commercial trade is prohibited by international law, however it still occurs illegally. Also logging in Russia is resulting in a huge loss of habitat for these animals.

Did you Know?

The Tiger's striped coat disrupts the outline of its body in dense wooded areas, which makes it an excellent hunter. It has loose belly skin, which allows the animal to remain uninjured if it is kicked by its prey in the stomach.

Tigers have a rough tongue which is designed to peel skin off their prey and rasp flesh from bone.

Conservation Status: Endangered

Where are they found?

The Red-necked Wallaby is a common marsupial found in south eastern Australian in the wild. They are found in eucalyptus forests and tall coastal heath.

What are they?

They are marsupials.

What do they look like?

They have large hind feet and powerful hind limbs, which give them their characteristic fast hopping movement. At maturity the Red-necked Wallaby has a head and body length of 90-100cm; tail length of 70cm and weighs between 13-24 kg. Males are notably larger than females. They have grey fur with a band of reddish fur around their shoulders and neck; which is how they got their name. They also have a white chest and belly.

How long do they live?

Wallabies generally live for 12 to 15 years in captivity.

What do they eat?

Wallabies in the wild prefer to feed from dusk to dawn and like to eat grasses and other herbaceous plants. In captivity they eat fruit, hay and pellets.

Breeding

Red-necked Wallabies can breed all year around, if conditions are good and there is plenty of food. They have a short gestation period of about 30 days; however the joey spends 8 months in its mother’s pouch.

Are they rare?

In their native Australia they have been hunted mercilessly since the arrival of Europeans late in the eighteenth century. As the European settlements spread, the habitat and landscape were dramatically altered. Forests were cleared, native grasslands converted to pastures, and water availability increased by farming.

The wallabies were now seen by farmers as pests and by the mid nineteenth century new laws were passed requiring farmers to destroy millions of the animals.

In the 1970’s concern for the conservation of the species sparked a new wave of legislation stopping the killing of the species. Now relatively secure millions are still killed each year illegally.

Did you know?

Wallabies possess a pouch. As soon as the young is born it makes its way from the birth canal to the pouch climbing up the thick fur. The baby makes the journey on its own using its well-developed front legs to aid its process. Once in the pouch it attaches its self to one of the teats and continues to grow until ready to leave.

Where are they found?

They are found in Southern Ethiopia to central Angola and eastern South Africa. They like Savannah, light woodland, open scrub and grassland.

What are they?

They are mammals, belonging to the horse family.

What do they look like?

The head and body length is 2.2-2.4 m and height at the shoulder is 1.2 m. They weigh 175-385 kg. They have distinctive leg striping down to the hooves and broad black stripes on a white background that sets them apart from other zebras. No two zebras have the same stripe pattern.

How long do they live?

Grants zebras can live up to 27 years.

What do they eat?

In the wild they eat any available grasses, especially grass stems and sheaths. Their teeth are very high crowned, an adaptation to chewing silica-rich grasses. Their large barrel-shaped body holds a very large amount of mostly non-nutritious grass and they are very dependent on water. They are generally more active during the day and feed for one or two hours in the evening. They can travel up to 10 miles per day after which they will rest with some members of the group keeping a watch for predators.

Breeding

Males are not sexually mature until 5 - 6 years of age, although they may breed in captivity from 3 years. Until old enough to establish their own breeding groups, young males remain with their families or leave to form bachelor herds of 2 - 10 individuals. However, they retain good relationships with their fathers. Females become fertile after 2.5 years. Young females have a characteristic stance when fertile which attracts nearby males.

Are they rare?

Grants Zebra's are commonly found throughout their range, both in and outside protected areas.

Did you Know?

Hyenas and lions are their main predators. Zebra are lions' favourite food and one can feed a whole pride. Zebra defend themselves using their hooves and teeth.

A single stallion will maintain a large herd of females. Both males and females will be "kicked out" of the herd around one to two years of age by the herd stallions. These young zebras then form new herds.

Conservation Status: Least Concern