Philadelphia Zoo, Pennsylvania



African Lion (Panthera leo krugeri) - Sub-Saharan Africa. The male lion's name is Merlin. The light colored Female's name is Vinkel.

The Lioness can be a tawny yellow, deep ochre brown to nearly white.

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo - New Guinea. These Tree Kangaroos have a heavy tail for balance, powerful arms for jumping from tree to tree and long claws for climbing.

Blue-eyed Lemur - This Lemur was thought to be a myth until 1983 when they were seen in Madagascar. They are very rare

Amur Toger (Panthera tigris altaica) - Eastern Russia. The stripes of the tiger help to camouflage them in the wild. Every tiger has is own pattern of stripes like our fingerprints. The tiger usually hunts at night. They are good swimmers.

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) - Arctic Ocean. In the wild Polar Bears migrate with the edge of the icepack; moving south in the winter as the ice advances, and north in the summer as it retreats. An adult bear will weigh around 1200 pounds.
Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) - Australia. You can tell the male from the female Kangaroo. The male is red and the female is grayer. The females are sometimes called "blue-flyers" because of the bluish-gray color.

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) - Australia in the arid plains, woodlands and desert. Emu are good swimmers, which I wouldn't have guessed. They can run 30 mph. The female lays between 7 - 10 dark-green eggs and the male sits on the eggs for around 60 days.

Scottish Highland Cattle (Bos taurus) - Scottish Highlands.

Aldabra Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) - Aldabra Islands off Eastern Africa. There are three islands that make up the Aldabra Islands. There are about 100,000 Aldabra Tortoise on these islands. The main characteristics that separate them from the Galapagos Tortoise are: Their head isn't much thicker than the neck, they do not have pink patches under the throad and they have a central nuchal scale behind the head on the shell.

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) - Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the largest living mammal. The large ears serve several functions besides catching sounds. Their tusks often reach 5 feet long. They can weigh as much as 35 pounds. The legs are like columns to hold up their massive weight. The trunk is flexible and powerful.

Coquerel Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) - Northern Madagascar. The trait that separates the Sifaka from other Lemur is the way they move through the trees, keeping an upright position as they leap through the trees. Their long legs allow the Sifaka to leap up to 30 feet. Even on the ground this Lemur will stand upright, which is unusual. They use their arms and hands to balance properly while upright.

Common or White-handed Gibbons (Hylobates lar) - Sumatra, Malaysia, southwestern Thailand and Cambodia. They have long, tapered hands with the backs of them being white like the feet. The color varies from black to light tawny. The face is black, surrounded with white hair. They are the most agile of all primates.

Plains Zebra (Equus burchelli) - Savannas and grasslands of Southern Africa.

Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardis) - Savannas of Southern Africa. Special valves in the neck veins of giraffes keep blood from rushing too quickly to the head. Without this system a giraffe would probably get dizzy every time they lowered their heads to get a drink. The Giraffe's tongue is about 12 inches long and has sticky saliva on it to help with rapidly eating termites and ants without getting bitten. The Giraffe lives in a group in the wild sometimes as many as 30 in the herd. The old bull Giraffe dominates the herd, but the female will lead when moving to new areas.

Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) - Savannas and Grasslands of Southern Africa. The Rhino has a square lip.


Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - Africa south of the Sahara, Arabia, Iran as far as Turkestan. The Cheetah is very streamline in appearance with very long legs. The head is rather small and has a black line marking on each side of their face. They hunt in the day, usually in the early morning and at sunset. The Cheetah can sprint as fast as 70 miles per hour and is the fastest land animal.

African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) - Africa Woodlands, Savannas and Grasslands. Every Wild Dog has a different coat pattern. The tail tip is almost always white.

Snow Leopard (Panthera uncin) - Central Asia. This Snow Leopard was born in 2005 so is now two years old. (2007) The fur is dense with a long, thick tail.

Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) - Before sunset, the orangutan start to build their nests for the night. They bend and twist tree branches to make the frame and then fill it in with sticks. When it rains the orangutan will put large leaves over their heads to keep dry.

Flamingo

Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) - Japan, China and Korea. Like most cranes, hooded crane will call in unison.