St Louis Zoo, Saint Louis, Missouri



After playing in the water, the Spectacled Bear (tremarctos ornatus) came out dripping wet to dry off. They come from South America in the Andes Mountains and are native to South America. This is a short-faced bear with Black to beige fur with marking across the face resembling glasses or spectacles. They have the ability to climb even the tallest trees of the Andes. This ability has probably helped them to survive so long. Their diet consists of cactus, palm nuts, orchid bulbs, fallen fruit and unopened palm leaves..

Black and White Colobus Monkey (Colobus guereza) live in Central Africa and have a long white tail.	Prairie Dogs live in underground burrows with tunnels that help channel rainwater to prevent runoff and erosion. There are several entrances for protection.

Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi) - They are the largest zebras and live in East Africa. The pattern stripes are unique on all zebras. The newborn zebra can stand within minutes of birth. They must be ready to run with the herd for protection.

Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) - Galapagos Islands. Like other temperate penguins, they have a bare patch of skin around their eyes and at the base of the bill. This is one of the smallest species of penguins weighing only about 5 pounds and measuring about 20 inches. These are the only penguins that live north of the equator.

Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) - They come from Mongolia and Northwestern China. This camel can go up to 10 months without water.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog and baby (Cynomys ludovicianus) - Central and Western United States. The sounds they make are like a dog barking. They live in burrows called "Townships". The pups have fun playing near the burrows. The tunnels in these burrows can be 16 to 33 feet long. A sentry is posted at certain spots to watch for predators. The diet consists mainly of grasses, seeds and roots.

Nile Soft Shell (Trionyx triunguis) - Africa: Egypt to Senegal. This large, soft shell turtle lives near slow moving fresh water, one such river being the Nile River. They are highly aquatic and have a light, flexible shell. The nests are dug in banks along the river or on sandy beaches.

Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis australis) - The male is dark grey with spiraled hors while the female is brown and smaller in size. Both have white stripes.

Soemmerring's Gazelle (Gazella soemmerringii) are from Northern Africa. Their high is 2 to 3 feet measured at the shoulder. They weight about 80 to 90 lbs. The diet consists of acacia and bush leaves, grasses and herbs.

Saddlebill Stork (Ephippiorynchus senegalensis) Africa This stork is one of the largest kinds of stork. The upturned beak helps the bird catch fish, frogs and insects while wading in shallow freshwater marshes.	This Reticulated Giraffe and the Ostrich seem to share their area well. The Giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. The chestnut-colored patches of the Reticulated Giraffe are sharp-edged. .The neck has seven vertebrae as all mammals, but each bone is larger.

Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) - Originally from Africa, Asia, and Southeastern Europe, they are now in Florida. This is probably a young Pelican because of the brown still on it's head. The sifting they do with their bill pouch is amazing. The pouch puffs out, fillings with water, fish and other acquadic being. The water drains out as they lift their heads, leaving the fish and edible items for the Pelican to feast on.

Asian Elephant ( Elephas maximus) - Asia, India, Sri Lanka and Sumatra. The Asian Elephant has smaller ears than the African Elephant.

Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) - Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Angola and South Africa. These Wattled Crane are dependent on the wetlands, sense they eat the roots of aquatic plants as well as snails, frogs, other vegetation and insects. They build their nests in the wetlands near the food supply. They are identified by the two white wattles on each side of their necks. The neck is white, with slate gray patches with light gray feathers on the back, makes this six foot crane very interesting. The under section is black. From the bill up to under the eyes is red. This area has white wattle bumps on the red.

Atlantic Puffin ( Fratercula arctica) - North America - Members of the auk family. Their beak is red, blue and yellow during the breeding season. In winter the beak's colors dull. Amazingly enough, they can carry twenty small fish at once in the beak. Unlike the penguin, they can fly. During molting season when they loose all their flight feather is the only time they are "grounded" until their new feathers grow in.

Malayan Sun Bear ( Helarctos malayanus) - Malayan mountains, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Borneo (in lowland forests) The curved claws help this bear to climb trees. That tongue you see and the curved claws helps the Sun Bear to dig out termites from termite mounds and other insects.

Sun Bears really do like the sun, as you can see. They build nests of sticks in trees. These nests also help them to reach the fruits and leaves they want.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax violaceus) - Gulf and Atlantic Coast, Mississippi and Florida. This Heron is a medium sized, stocky bird with a black face and thick bill, a white cheek stripe. There is a stripe of yellowish-white crown on the head. They have a slate-blue to gray body with shaggy feathers on the wings and back. Their diet consists of crab, crayfish, crustaceans, fish, eels, mussels and frogs. The Heron will stand and wait for the prey to swim by or wade in the shallow water and stalk the prey.

Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus) - Central and South America. Bush Dogs make their den in a hollow tree trunk, burrows or logs created by other animals. Bush Dogs like to swim. They are semi-aquatic, having webbed toes, which make them well-adapted for the water. The legs and snout are short in proportion to the body length. The fur is a reddish-brown color with a bushy short tail. They are usually found in small packs and are active in the day (diurnal). .

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) - North circumpolar. Ice Floes are where these Walrus will be seen. They have a three inch layer of fat to insulate them. The tusks can be as long as 35 inches. Thee ears are not visible The Walrus live in large groups and spend their days on the ice sleeping.

Roseate Spoonbill ( Ajaia ajaja) - Southern United States to Central Argentina. The Spoonbill has bare green skin on its head, a wide flat bill tip, a dark pink wing patch, and the light pink body. They have pink legs and feet. Adult birds have striking ruby red eyes. The immature birds have dark brown eyes and some pink. The Spoonbills feed by swinging their bills from side to side through the water until finding food.

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) - East Africa and South Africa. Males are solitary and travel regular paths over its range. They eat leaves, acacia bark, shoots and other vegetation.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) - Alaska, western Canada, western USA. The Bufflehead is a small duck with a puffy head Females are browner with white with a white oval behind the eye. These are probably females in the first winter. The full male has a large white slice of white on the back of the head with black on the back and white below. They have a small bill and whistles. A large white wing patch shows when they are in flight.