The Brevard Zoo, Melbourne Florida



Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) - Australia The Emu stands over six feet. They are fast runners reaching 25 miles an hour and are good swimmers. The female lays 6 to 9 dark green eggs on the ground in a hollow. The male instead of the female incubates the eggs for 60 days.

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros biconis) - The color can be anywhere from black to gray. They have two horns. Their range is South Africa and the Sudan. The head has a short forehead, two horns the front one being longer, about 50 inches . The mouth ends in a sharply pointed upper lip that is very flexible. Males are usually solitary whereas the females usually have their off springs. They like to wallow in the mud and water. The Rhino drinks daily so is always near water. They have highly developed senses of smell and hearing.

River Otters (Lutra canadensis) - Alaska, Canada, United States, parts of Mexico and Central America. The River Otter seems to be a fun loving, playful animal. They chase each other down muddy slides on river banks, play follow the leader, swimming underwater, Most otters are about 55 inches long with an incredible tapering tail that reaches 18 to 20 inches long, thick at the base thinning down to the tip. Their ears a small. The forefeet are small and the hind feet are webbed and helps them to torpedo through the water with great speed. A River Otter is born on land and then coaxed into the water by its mother at three months old. The River Otter will travel over land to other ponds or rivers when food is scarce. The otter's whiskers are an important part of their fishing for food. The nerves at the end of the whiskers are extremely sensitive to touch.

Dingo (Canis dingo) live in Australia in family groups.

White-Collared Kingfisher or Blue Kingfisher (Todirhamphus chloris) - East Africa to West India, Southeast Asia and New Guinea, North and East Australia and islands in Southwestern Pacific. This Kingfisher has a black eye stripe, a white neck band, white over the bill and a patch of white on the back of the head. The chest is white and the rest is a lovely blue.	Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) - Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia. This Macaw is one of the largest. They are easy to spot because of their brilliant colors as they fly from the feeding areas to the roosting sites. When feeding they are quiet, but when flying they are noisy and will screech when alarmed.

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) - North American, Southern Canada, South America. The coat is reddish-brown with a white underside. The tail is white and shortish. When they sense danger, they put up a "white flag" (the tail, of course) and bound out of the way of danger. The males are the only ones that have antlers, the points pointing upwards.

Masai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) have jagged patches. The word "Giraffe" derives from Arabic meaning "fast walker". (They live in Africa) They have three horns. They eat from the tops of Acacia, a very thorny tree, but with the extremely long tongue (about 16 inches long) of the giraffe he does great. Some places acacias flower in the dry season when they need them most. As they nose among the treetops for leaves, they collect pollen on their heads and horn tufts and transport it from one tree to another.

This Masai Giraffe baby will be one years old on March 15, 2007.


Stanley Crane or Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradisea) - South Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho. The top of the head is white, slate gray for neck and body with dark slate plumage. The eyes are dark brown and the bill has pink and some yellow. The crane has a unique windpipe that produces a raspy loud cry that can be heard for miles. The Stanley Crane is the national bird of South Africa. They perform elaborate dances, leaping into the air in a graceful pose. They lay two eggs in the grass or on a patch of ground which are brownish-yellow with patches of darker brown and olive. Both the male and female take turns sitting on the eggs.

Southern Ground Hornbill (Burorvus leadbeateri) - The Ground Hornbill has bare neck wattles which inflate to make booming sounds to communicate with their family groups.

Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) - North Australia, New Guinea. The Cassowary has long, black, hair like quills which protect it from the forest undergrowth. This flightless bird has very small wings. The wattles that hang from the neck are red and blue. There is a hornlike casque that helps them break through the vegetation in the rain forests. They have a sharp claw on the outer toe used in fighting.

Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - South America, Guatemala to Northern Argentina. This wonderfully shaggy, bristly animal has a nose that is elongated and cylindrical. The front feet are extremely strong for breaking apart termite mounds and tree trunks, searching for termites and ants. Their long, thin tongue measures around 24 inches, narrow and covered with a sticky coating. The tongue can maneuver into small spaces such as ant nests and termite holes.
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