Species: Panthera Leo
The African lion is the second largest cat (the tiger is the largest) and is the only cat with a mane.
Like most cats, African lions sleep 16-20 hours a day.
Species: Panthera Paradus Orientalis
Amur Leopards are the most critically endangered of all big cats. Native to Russia (specifically along the Amur River, hence their name) and Northern China, there are only about 40 Amur leopards left living in the wild. This is due to loss of habitat, loss of prey and poaching by humans.
Species: Haliaeetus Leucocephalus
The Bald Eagle is the only eagle confined to North America and there are not other large black birds in North America with white heads and tails.
Bald Eagles, like all birds, see in colour. An eagle's eye is almost as large as humans but they can see at least four times more defined. The eagle can identify a moving rabbit at a mile away.
Species: Ursus Americanus
Black bears are bulky, heavyset mammals. Although named "Black Bear" Their colours can vary from brown, dark brown, cinnamon, blue, black to even white. The eyesight of the black bear is relatively poor but their sense of smell and hearing are very well developed. The claws of the black bear are very strong. They are used in searching for food by digging and tearing out roots, logs and stumps, searching for ants etc.
Blue Gold Macaw
Species: Ara ararauna
Blue and Gold Macaws are one of the larger macaws. They live in flocks in the wild and are intensely social birds, mating for life. Notice how parrots feet are different than most other birds. They have four toes. Two point forward and two point backward. This gives the Macaw an excellent grasp of its perch or tree limb.
Species: Felis Rufus
The Bobcat, named for its short tail, looks very similar to the Canada Lynx. They can be distinguished from the Lynx by their shorter hind legs, shorter ear tufts and smaller feet. The Lynx has black all around the tip of its tail, whereas the Bobcats tail is black only on the top.
Species: Felis Concolour
Also known as a puma, panther or mountain lion, cougars are one of the only three cats native to Canada. (The Bobcat and Lynx are much smaller with shorter tails.) The Cougar is the second largest cat in the western hemisphere. (The Jaguar is the largest.) They vary considerably in size throughout their range but the males generally weigh 1Â½ times more than females.
Species: Martes Pennanti
These larger members of the weasel family are largely arboreal (tree climbers). The fisher has the same basic body shape as the weasel and marten (low-slung and long), but it is larger and stockier. Males are over 90 cm long including their tail and weigh from 1.8-3.6 kg. (Females weigh about half as much).
Species: CarCamelidae Giraffidae
The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. The male giraffe may grow up to 18 feet tall and weigh up to 2000 lbs. Females are slightly smaller. The long neck of the giraffe has the usual seven vertebrae as most mammals but each is greatly elongated. Along with the neck, there are other adaptations a giraffe possesses to help it survive in the wild. The giraffe's long tongue for instance, can extend up to 18 inches and is prehensile so it can wrap around leaves or shoots high in the trees.
Great Horned Owl
Species: Bubo Virginianus
The Great Horned owls are one of the most widespread species of owls. They occur all over the United States, most of Canada and Southward to Central and South America. The males and females are similar in appearance except the female is the larger of the two.
African Grey Parrot
Species: Psittacus erithacus
Spread throughout the continents of Africa, these parrots are usually part of a very large flock with numbers in the hundreds. These parrots can often be shy and anxious. African Grey Parrots have long been known as the best imitators among parrots.
Species: Canis Lupus
Wolves are very communal animals with a complex and organized social structure. They hunt in groups (called packs) and spend most of their lives in the presence of other wolves.
Species: Panthera Onca
The only difference between a spotted jaguar and a black jaguar is their colour. Melanistic means black when it comes to cats. Melanistic jaguars are common in certain parts of their range and are often confusingly labelled "Black Panthers", which is also applied to Black Leopards. In this melanistic form the cats are more difficult to separate, however the Jaguars large head and stocky forelimbs are often a good way to differentiate between the two cats.
Species: Macropus Rufus
The Red Kangaroo is one of the largest living marsupials. (Marsupial means the mother carries the baby in a pouch.) The red is the largest of all Australian Kangaroos. Males can be as tall as 2 meters and weigh as much as 90 kg. The females may be 3 times smaller.
Species: Cebus Capucinus
The name Capuchin comes from their manes which resemble that of a Capuchin Monk. These small monkeys spend most of their time in the mid-canopy of the Amazon Rain Forests of Central and South America. They usually only come to the ground to drink.
Species: Alces alces
Moose are the largest member of the deer family, whose North American members include elk, white tailed deer, mule deer and caribou. All of Canada's vast forests support moose and it is estimated that there are between 500,000 and 1 million moose in Canada.
Species: Cervus elaphus
Red deer are part of the Cervidae family which has been evolving since the early Miocene era about 20 million years ago. They are some of the most widely distributed deer in the world. They range from New Zealand, through Eurasia to Northern Europe.
Species: Buteo jamaicensis
Hawks are carnivores (meat eaters) and they belong to a category known as raptors. (Birds of Prey) Their beaks are hooked and strong. Their feet have 3 toes; two pointed forward and one pointing to the rear. (Unlike parrots) Their claws or talons are long curved and very sharp. Like all hawks, the Red Tailed hawks talons are its main weapon.
Species: Ring-tailed Lemur
You might recognize these guys as Zaboomafoo from the televisions Kratt's Kreatures. Actually Zaboo is a sifika, which bares similar characteristics closely resembling that of a ringtail lemur. Maybe it's their distinct colouration. Their undersides are white and their faces are white with dark triangular eye patches and black noses. Their common name comes from the 13 alternating black and white bands.
Species: Tigris Altaica
Siberian Tigers are the largest of all tiger's subspecies with males averaging up to 700 pounds and females averaging up to 500 pounds. An average Siberian is 12 - 13 feet from the nose to the tip of the tail and 3 feet high at the shoulders. Siberian Tigers are the only tigers to live in cold weather often below zero degrees Fahrenheit and they get their name from the region in which they live, the Amur-Ussuri region of Siberia. Some have been found in North-eastern China and North Korea.
Species: Uncia uncia
Also known as 'phantom' or 'ghost' cats. Snow leopards are shy, elusive cats from Central Asia. Their natural habitat is one of the most remote, harsh, inhospitable places on earth. Adaptations for high altitude life include an enlarged nasal cavity, shortened limbs (60cm at shoulder), well developed chest muscles (for climbing), long fur and a tail up to one metre long.
Species: Ateles paniscus
Spider monkeys are like the trapeze artists of the animal world. They enjoy spending much of their time swinging from limb to limb high above the jungle floor. They can use their tails, which are longer than their bodies to grip when two hands just aren't enough. This tail (called a prehensile tail) can also be used to pick things up and as you'll notice this species lacks a thumb.
Species: Panthera Onca
Apart from man, the jaguar has no rivals. No other predator can compete with this powerful cat. In comparison with the other cats of its size the jaguar has particularly powerful jaws and often kills its prey by piercing the skull with one swift bite.
Species: Amazona auropalliata
The Yellow-nape Amazon is one of the most talented talkers of the Amazon species. This very intelligent member of the Amazon family will usually start learning to talk as young as 4 months and their capacity to learn new words and phrases increases, as they get older.
Usually Grants' Zebras are vertically striped in the front, horizontally on the back legs and diagonally on the rump and hind flanks. These stripes allow them to become almost invisible in tall grass and hard to make out in the open because their outline becomes broken up by the stripes. If standing in a herd it is hard to pick out an individual Zebra.