San Diego Zoo, California




Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) - North and East Africa, Arabis and Middle East. Reserved fat is stored in the camel's hump. When food and water are scarce, they can survive without food and water for maybe six months.

Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) - China. The Panda has a false thumb that helps them grip bamboo, stems and leaves. Bamboo is the main diet and is the most restricted diet of all mammals.

Queensland Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus adustus) - Australia The Koala will curl up in a fork of low branches of a tree most of the day without a nest. They mostly eat at night on eucalyptus leaves. The Koala is marsupial, having a pouch. The baby leaves the pouch after 6 months and then clings to the back of the mother until they are a year old.

Caribbean Flamingos - (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) - South America. The Flamingos bright pink color comes from pigments found in the food they eat in the wild, including tiny shrimp. They have the ability to stand on one leg and tuck the other leg under their body.

Masai Giraffe - (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelstirchi - Africa. The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world. They can grow as tall as 18 feet. They live in herds and eat from the tops of acacia trees, mimosa and wlld apricot. There are different sub-species, three being the Masai, the Reticulated and the Rothchild, identified by the spot patterns. This picture is of a young Masai Giraffe. .

Buergers' Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellow buergersi) - Australia, Western Sepik Province and Papua New Guinea.

Yellow-footed Rock Kangaroo ( Petrogate xanthopus) - Australia.

Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi) - Africa: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and North Kenya. This Zebra is the largest of the species. They have narrower stripes extending down the legs to the hooves, each Zebra having their own unique pattern. The belly and base of the tail are white. The ears are large and furry. There is a narrow white patch on the back.

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) - Africa. The African Elephant is the largest land mammal. (Also called the Bush or Savanna Elephant). The large ears help to reduce body heat and brush away insects. There is a hump in back of the head, The Asian Elephant's back doesn't have a hump. The trunk has two fingerlike areas on the tip. The trunk can twist and coil, so it is very functional for the Elephant. They are never far from a watering hole, since they drink water daily.

Mountain Lion - Also called Puma, cougar, and panther (Felis concolor) - Western and Southern United States and Central and South America. This cat does not roar, but will growl and hiss. The muscular hindlegs are longer than the forelegs and is powerful. They are agile and can leap from the ground to 14 feet.

Black Jaguar (Panthea onca) - Southern United States and South America. The Melanistic (Black) coloration is a result of heredity. They still have the rosettes, but not as visible. According to the San Diego Zoo, there is no such thing as a Panther. It probably came from the Latin word Panthea. Their bright yellow eyes stand out especially because of their black fur.

Miniature Mediterranian Donkey (Equus asinus asinus) - Sicily and Sardinia

Secretary Bird (Arabic - saqr-et-tair meaning "hunter bird") - Africa

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) - Sub-Saharan Africa. They spend most of their time in water during the day. The nostrils, eyes and ears can stay above the water while the rest of the body is submerged. When the sun goes down, the hippo will come out of the water and feed on grasses.

Sichuan Takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana) - Central China and Himalayas. .The Takin hide in the fog-bound forests of China's central Mountains.

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) - India, Indochinese peninsula, Sumatra and Ski Lanka. The ears on the asian elephant are much smaller than the African Elephant. There are four nails on the hind feet. l


Harlequin Duck Pair (Histrionicus histrionicus) - Northwestern United States, Greenland, Iceland and Western Russia. The call is a squeaking sound that has earned the Harlequin Duck the nickname "sea mouse",

California Condor

Bontebok (Damaliscus dorcas dorcas) - South Africa, South Cape Province. The color is a purplish dark brown with a wide white blaze on the forehead. The horns have rings on them. The newborn can walk within six to ten minutes. It's Africa's rarest antelope.

Pronghorn (Antilopcapra americana) - West and Central United States, Southern Canada and Western Mexico. They are so fast they can vanish in a few seconds. They are reddish-brown with white patches on the neck, side, rump and white strip-like markings on the face. The horns of the male are larger than the females and have a prong that sticks out This prong is how they got their name "Pronghorn". They shed their horns and regrow them annually like deer antlers about a month after the rut. They can survive on little water, only getting the moister from the plants and leaves. Their legs are long and slender. Their length is 3 to 5 feet.

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) - The Artic in North America, Greenland, Norway and Russia.