Did you know? There are only 3 Northern white rhinos left in the world. They live in a private sanctuary in Kenya. One of them is a male and two are female. Neither female is capable of natural reproduction. There are two subspecies of the White Rhino; the Northern white rhino which is and extinct […]

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o o Interesting Facts The Andean Titi Monkey belongs to the genus Callicebus. There are 30 species of titis that belong to this genus. The Andean Titi is locally known as “mono tocon” or in the native Awajun language as the “sugkamat”. Their tails are longer than their bodies. Name Scientific Name: Callicebus oenanthe Common Name: San Martin […]

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Interesting Facts A calf born in the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio was the first Sumatran Rhinoceros born in captivity in over 100 years. There are fewer than 250 Sumatran Rhinoceros in the wild, they are so endangered that they are one of the rarest large mammals in the world. There are five types of rhinoceros: […]

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Interesting Facts The two species of orangutan, Sumatran Orangutan (pongo abelii) and Borneo Orangutan (pongo pygmaeus), genetically diverged about 1.5 million years ago. Orangutans have 32 teeth, the same amount as humans. It is believed that humans and apes had a common ancestor 15 million years ago. They share 97% of their DNA with humans. Orangutans are […]

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  Interesting Facts about Gorillas Gorillas develop twice as fast as humans. Gorillas share 95% of our human genome. A group of gorillas is called troop. The Western Lowland Gorilla is the subspecies that is often found in zoos. American zoologist George B. Schaller was the first scientist to study and observe gorillas. He published […]

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Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Animalia Chordata Mammalia Perissodactyla Rhinocerotidae Diceros D. bicornis   o o Conservation The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Black Rhino as Critically Endangered. The species is listed on CITES Appendix I. International trade in Black Rhinos and their products is prohibited. Fun Facts about Rhinos […]

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  Interesting Facts about Gorillas Gorillas are our closest relatives. They share 98% of our genome. American zoologist George B. Schaller was the first scientist to study and observed gorillas. He published his findings in his book “The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior” Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order Primates Suborder: Haplorhini Family: […]

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Taxonomy   Kingdom: Animalia Phyllum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Sirenia Family: Trichechidae Genus: Trichechus Species: Trichechus inunguis o o Name Common name: Amazonian manatee, South American manatee, Amazon sea cow. Scientific name: Trichechus inunguis. Physical Features The Amazonian manatee is the smallest of the three living species of the Trichechus genus, the West Indian manatee […]

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Taxonomy Kingdom: Animal Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Hippopotamidae Genus: Choeropsis Species: Choeropsis liberiensis o o 0 Population The IUCN estimates a population of less than 3,000 individuals with a projected decline of 20% over the next 20 years. Name Scientific name: Hexaprotodon liberiensis or Choeropsis liberiensis. Choeropsis from the Greek “having the […]

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Population According to the IUCN as of 2004 there were 600 wild Bactrian camels in China and 350 in Mongolia. Population trend is decreasing. Name Scientific name: Camelus ferus. Camelus from the Latin camelus and the Greek Kamelos for “camel”. Ferus from the Greek word ferus meaning “savage” or “wild”. Common name: Mongolian wild camel, wild […]

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Name Scientific name: Equus grevyi. The word equus is from the Latin word for “horse”.  This species was named Grevyi after Jules Grèvy, president of the Third Republic of France in the late 18th century who was given one of these zebras as a gift in 1882. Common name: Grevy’s zebra, Imperial zebra. The word […]

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Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Hippopotamidae Genus: Hippopotamus Species: Hippopotamus amphibious 0 0 Name Common name: Common hippopotamus, river hippopotamus, Nile Hippopotamus, large hippo. Scientific name: Hippopotamus amphibious. Hippos from the Greek word “horse”, potamos from the Greek “river or rushing water”. Physical Features The common or river hippopotamus is […]

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Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Animalia Chordata Reptilia Testudines Testudinidae Chelonoidis Chelonoidis nigra 0 0 Name Common name: Galapagos tortoise, giant Galapagos tortoise. The word tortoise is usually used for terrestrial turtles in the family Testudinidae. Scientific name: Chelonoidis nigra Physical Features Galapagos tortoises are the only surviving lineage of giant turtles […]

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o o Conservation Status The Asian elephant is listed under Appendix I of CITES. The Asian elephant is listed as “endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its population has declined by more than 50% over the last 45 years. The subspecies Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is listed as “critically endangered”. It […]

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Name Common name: African  Scientific name: Loxodonta africana Physical Features African elephants are the largest and heaviest on earth. They have larger ears than the and they are shaped like the continent of Africa. Each ear can measure 4 ft or 1.2 m across. Their large ears are used to control their body temperature. They […]

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Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genera Animalia Chordata Mammal Proboscidea Elephantidae Loxodonta Elephas 0 0  Distribution and Habitat There are two subspecies of elephants:  and Asian elephant (Eliphas maximus). are distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa and found in 37 countries. Asian elephants are found throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia. Elephants need a vast habitat […]

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Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Genus: Ailuropoda Species: o o Name Common name: Giant panda, panda bear, panda. Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca Distribution and Habitat Historically the giant panda occupied most of southern and eastern China. Today its distribution has been reduced by 92% from its original range. Currently […]

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  Taxonomy Kingdon: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Caviidae Genus: Hydrochoerus Species: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris Name Common Name: Capybara Scientific Name: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris o o Distribution and Habitat Capybaras are distributed throughout the basins of the Orinoco, Amazon, San Francisco and La Plata Rivers. Water and temperature are the main factors in its distribution. […]

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Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Animalia Chordata Reptilia Squamata Iguanidae Iguana Iguana Iguana 0   0  Name Scientific name: Iguana iguana Common name: Green iguana, common iguana. Habitat and Distribution The green iguana is a species of lizard native to the tropical rainforests of South America and Central America. Its native range […]

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 Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Animalia Chordata Mammalia Artiodactyla Camelidae Vicugna Vicugna pacos   0 Name: Scientific Name: Vicugna pacos Common Name: Alpaca Habitat and Distribution The alpaca is a camelid indigenous to the Andes Mountains of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile. Other camelids closely related to the alpaca are llama, guanaco […]

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0 Taxonomy Family: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Family: Cheloniidae Genus: Chelonia Species: Chelonia mydas 0 Name Scientific name: Chelonia mydas Common name: Green turtle, green sea turtle, black sea turtle.  Habitat and Distribution Its habitat extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas. They stay along the coast and islands between 30 degrees north and […]

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0 Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Giraffidae Genus: Giraffa Species: Giraffa camelopardalis  Name Common name: Giraffe. The name giraffe comes from the Arabic “zarafa” which means fast walker. Scientific name: Giraffa camelopardalis 0 Distribution and Habitat Their habitat extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south and […]

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  0 Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Diprotodontia Suborder: Vombatiformes Family: Phascolarctidae Genus: Phascolarctos Species: Phascolarctos cinereus 0    Physical Features According to the Department of the Environment of the Australian government there is only one species of Koala with different physical features. Their fur ranges from silver gray to […]

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