Aardvark

In African folklore, the Aardvark is admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to soldier ants. The Aardvarkis nocturnal and is a solitary creature that feeds almost entirely on ants and termites. Aardvarks aregreat diggers. An Aardvark can dig 2 feet in 15 seconds, but otherwise moves fairly slowly. Aardvarks can take up an astonishing number of insects with its long, sticky tongue—as many as 50,000 in one night have been recorded.

 

African Porcupine

The largest rodents in Africa, the African crested porcupines are covered in long quills up to 24 inches long which are erected when they are alarmed to make them appear large and formidable to predators. The quills are actually modified hairs and are shed regularly. Specially adapted quills at the end of the tail are hollow in the center and create a hiss-like rattle when vibrated together. If these warnings do not deter a predator, they will charge backwards attempting to drive the thicker shorter quills of the rump into the enemy.

Axis Deer

The chital or cheetal, also known as chital deer, spotted deer, or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. They are found in small numbers in Pakistan as well. It is the most common deer species in Indian forests. Its coat is reddish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underparts are white. Its antlers, which it sheds annually, are usually three-pronged and curve in a lyre shape and may extend to 2.5 ft. It stands about 3 ft. tall at the shoulder and masses about 187 lbs. Its lifespan is around 20–30 years.

Blackbuck Antelope



Blackbuck is a species of antelope found mainly in India, and also in some parts of southern Nepal, and Pakistan, though it has also been introduced in Texas and Argentina. It is one of the fastest of all terrestrial animals reaching to speeds of up to 80 km/hr and is one of the few antelopes where males and females have distinctive coloration, as the male bucks are a distinctive black and white and have long twisted horns, while females are fawn colored with no horns.

Bongo Antelope

Bongos have two heavy and slightly spiralled horns that slope over their back and like in many other antelope species, both the male and female bongos have horns. Bongos were one of the last antelope species discovered by European Zoologist, because they hide deep within the jungle. They are also know as the "ghost" of the jungle because they are very reclusive. Bongos are the most prized of all the antelope species in zoological facilities through out the US.

East African Crowned Crane

Why are they called crown cranes.... because of the golden crown on their head. The East African Crowned Crane, has a breeding display involving dancing, bowing, and jumping. It has a booming call which involves inflation of the red gular sac. It also makes a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species. Crowned cranes are prized in their native Africa for bringing good luck. The Masai warriors use their feathers to decorate their traditional spears and shield.

Giraffe

The Giraffe is the tallest living land mammal in existance today. Giraffes are related to cattle and deer, but are in a different family. Giraffes have a 21" long tongue, that is also purple! Giraffes use thier tongues to pull leaves off the top of trees, where other animals can not get too. Giraffes are only found in Africa. A Giraffe's neck can measure to be 7 feet in length. Giraffees usually travel in groups but the groups are loosly collected. A Group is defined as a collection of individuals across a 1 kilometer area and are heading in the same direction.

Kookaburra



The laughing kookaburra is a monogamous species. The dominant male and female are, in most cases, bonded for life, mating for at least seven consecutive breeding seasons, and extra-pair copulations are rare. A new argument being proposed suggests that the offspring helpers may play a role in preventing their parents from engaging in extra-pair matings. The model that was suggested states that when the viability of the extra-pair offspring is less than two times that of the mating-pair offspring, helpers would guard their mother from engaging in extra-pair copulations, whereas she would be encouraged to mate with these extra males if this equation were reversed.

Muntjac Deer

The Muntjac Deer is a muntjac species found widely in southeastern China and in Taiwan. It feeds on herbs, blossoms, succulent shoots, grasses and nuts, and was also reported to eat trees. This muntjac grows to 37 inches in length, and weighs between 22-40 pounds when fully grown. The male has short antlers, usually four inches or less, and uses them to push enemies off balance so he can wound them with his upper two inch canine teeth. The Taiwanse subspecies, commonly known as the Formosan Reeves' Muntjac, is relatively dark compared to the other subspecies. The Reeves’ Muntjac is also called the barking deer, known for its distinctive bark.

Nilgai Antelope



The Nilgai is the largest Indian Antelope. The bulls are 52 to 56 inches high and may weigh up to 600 lbs. Only the males have horns, which average 8 inches in length. The males are blue-gray and the females and young are tawny. Nilgai browse or graze on grasses and trees. They can go for long periods without drinking.
The Females and their young live in herds of 4 - 10 and always use the same places for resting and drinking within their home range. The adult bulls are usually
solitary or live in small groups. They usually mate in March or April, and 1 to 2 young are born 9 months later.

Parakeet



Parakeets belong to the parrot family and the word "Parakeet" means long tail. They are small to medium sized parrots with long, tapered tail feathers rather than the larger parrots with stockier bodies and squarish tails. These colorful, graceful birds are full of energy! Being flock birds, parakeets are very social with each other and with people. They love attention and make wonderful pets. The parakeet genera are found in many of the various parrot sub-families and overall there are about 120 species with many sub-species. They come from many diverse habitats throughout Asia, Australia, and tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa.

Red Kangaroo

The Red Kangaroo is largest mammal native to Australia. The Red Kangaroo's legs work much like a rubber band. The males can leap over 30 ft in one leap. Baby red kangaroos, known as “Joeys” are only as big as a bumble bee when first born and can stay in the pouch for up to 1 year under the right conditions. Female Red Kangaroos are the ones who provide for the new born Joeys. Only females have a pouch to carry Joeys.

Ring-tailed Lemur



The Ring-tailed Lemur is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of four lemur families. It is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar. It is omnivorous and the most terrestrial of lemurs. The animal is diurnal, being active exclusively in daylight hours. The Ring-tailed Lemur is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. It is also female dominant, a trait common among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together forming a lemur ball. The Ring-tailed Lemur will also sunbathe, sitting upright facing its underside, with its thinner white fur towards the sun. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of smell and marks its territory with scent glands. The males perform a unique scent marking behavior called spur marking and will participate in stink fights by impregnating their tail with their scent and wafting it at opponents.