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Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) - South and Southeast Asia. The
Asian Elephant is smaller than the African Elephant.
They have smaller ears It's long trunk forms his upper lip and
nose and has a single process at the tip of the trunk. The
young elephants learn by imitating the actions of its mother and the other
members of the herd. These particular tusks seem
very long. The females don't have tusks. The Asian Elephant is
among the most intelligent animals in the world. They help
to maintain a healthy forest. They spread seeds of forest plants and
make openings in the dense underbrush that allow other
animals to move through the forest. |
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American Alligator (Alligator alligator Mississippiensis) - Southeast
United States. After submerging its body under water but
the top of its head, they silently glide through the water after their
prey. During the breeding season, however, the male can be
heard bellowing roars several feet away. They can reach 220 feet
in length. When ready to lay eggs, the alligator prepares a
mound and makes a cavity in the mound with her hind feet.
Then she lays about 30 or 40 large large eggs. |
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Rhinoserous (Rhinocerous unicornis) - Dense forest and on the Savanna in
India and Nepal where the grass is tall. The
Indian Rhino has a single horn. The hide is covered with bumps and
there are folds resembling armor. Their feet are all
three-toed. They are both nocturnal (night) and diurnal (day),
eating when it suits them. It feeds on grass, shoots and
plants, using the prehensile upper lip to eat the tender
pieces. |
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Takin (Budorcas taxicolor) - Himalayas and Mountains of Western
China. The Takin has a bulky body covered with a long,
dense coat. Both the male and female have strong, outward horns that
curve in a little. These Takin were enjoying this
enrichment addition the zoo provided for them. |
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African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) - Sub-Saharan Africa. These
wild dogs are also know as Cape hunting dogs or
painted wolves. The patches on their coat swirl in yellow, white,
black and gray. The blotches on each wild dog is
individual. They are a very social mammal and are found in large
groups. Their ears are large and round and have a tufted tail. The forehead has a black line in the center. The feet have only four
toes. |
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Markhor (Capra falconeri) - Afganistan and Western
Himalayas. This is the largest of the Caprinae, or wild
goat. They are
very nimble and can climb and jump over rocky areas easily. The
horns are spectacular long spirals and can reach 5 feet.
The female horns are only about 10 inches. The coat is a
reddish-gray. Females have long fringes of hair. The male
has a
long black beard on the chin and long hair on the throat, chest and
shanks. The coat is short in the summer and longer in the
In the winter months, they will descends down to lower altitudes to
avoid the extreme cold. |
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Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) - Columbia, Ecuador and the Peruvian
Andes. The Tapir's body is streamlined in the
front and rounded in back (tapered). This gives them the ability to
run through dense vegetation. Tapirs, along with
horses and rhinos, belong to the biological group called "perissodactyls,
which means, odd-toed hoofed animals. |
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Grevys Zebra (Equus grevyi) - South Ethiopia, Somalia, S. Sudan, and N
Kenya. This Zebra has a black and white mane
that stands up straight. Each Zebra has a different pattern of
stripes down to the hooves. The belly and base of the tail are
white. The Grevy's Zebra has characteristic large, furry ears and
a tuft of hair on the end of the tail. Grevy's form small
herds to graze. Often Burchell's Zebras join in, distinguished by
the stripes that continue around the belly |
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Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) - East and South
Sub-Saharan Africa. The Hippo is amphibius - agile on land
and in water. They are nocturnal by nature. The body is
brownish-gray with pink areas on the face. The eyes, nostrils
and
ears can all remain on the surface when the rest of the hippo is
submerged. They have a massive body with a large head and
short legs. They weigh about 2600 lbs. After being submerged
most of the day, they emerges at sundown to feed on grass
near the riverbanks. They are good swimmers, but like walking on
the river bottoms. They have large, blunt toes on each
foot. Males have large r canines and incisor teeth set in massive
jaws. In large groups they are very vocal. |
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Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) - Africa. Gerenuk are known
as Giraffe-Gazelle. They have very slender, long necks and long
legs. The general color is two-toned chestnut with light fawn
sides and a white underside. The head and muzzle are narrow,
which makes it easier to probe into acacia and other thorny
vegetations. It uses its pointed tongue to pluck the smallest
leaves. |
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| It often stands on its hind legs for long periods of time to reach
high branches for food. Only the males have large
horns. The horns are thick shafts rising in a bold arc, then curling forward in a
hook. The tail is short and has a black tuft on it. It is
well adapted to arid areas and rarely needs to drink water. It extracts
water from the vegetation it eats. They run with the head forward and level with the body. |
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Nubian Ibex (Capra ibex nubians) - Rocky deserts from Syria to the
Sudan. Nubian Ibex are a type of wild goat. They are
able to climb among rocky cliff high in the mountains. They have
great hoove's for leaping. The bottom of the Ibex's hoof,
which are split, forms a cup with springy elastic tissue at the
center. This gives the ibex the traction it needs to leap and jump
from steep cliffs. |
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| Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) - Lowland of
Andes Mountains in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile and Central Peru.
It prefers lakes with either saline or alkaline salts. They feed
on shrimp-like animals, insects, and tiny plants including diatoms
and algae. The bill is bent at an angle to allow the Flamingo to
feed in a standing position with the head down. They scoop up and
capture the food, which is filtered out through comb-like rows of fine
plates in the bill. Flamingos are among the most social birds,
living in colonies numbering in the hundreds. Wing flapping
displays begins just before the breeding season, evidently to ensure
that all birds in the group are ready at the same time. |
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| Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) - Africa. The Gorilla is
the largest of the primates. The Eastern lowland Gorilla has a
dark, shaggy coat and long arms. Adult Gorillas do not have
hair on the face, chest and the palm of their hands. The
eyebrows go straight across the face. The Western lowland Gorillas live
about 600 miles away from the Eastern lowland Gorillas. Both live
in dense forests where they can find plenty of plants to eat. At
the end of every day they build a nest for the nights sleep. It
can be built on the ground or in a tree. The silverback is the
strongest Gorilla in the "troop". Gorillas usually treat each
other with kindness. |
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Black-Necked Swan ( Cygnus melancoryphus) - Southern South Ameirca.
Swans are well adapted for swimming, with legs
that are set far back on the body to act as rudders. This gives
the bird an awkward gait on land and is seldom seen out of
water. After swan chicks (called cygnets) hatch, the parent birds
often carry the young on their backs for a few weeks. Then
the parents easily can hunt for food. |
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| Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) - South and West Canada,
West and Central United States and North Mexico. This is a female
bighorn relaxing on a high rock. The male horns curl almost
into a circle and can weight 20 or 30 lbs. There is brittle guard
hairs and gray crimped fleece underneath. There is a white marking
on the hindquarters. |
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