221 Amazing Wild Animals Encyclopedia

Common name : Pichiciego Scientific name : Chlamyphorus truncatus Family : Dasypodidae Native to : Argentina Interesting fact : They do not survive for more than 8 days in captivity. Conservation status : Threatened It ranges between 90-115 mm in length, excluding its tail, weighs less than a pound and has a 5-10 year’s life […]

Common name : Tamarin bicolore Scientific name : Saguinus bicolour Family : Callitrichidae Native to : A restricted area in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest of South America Interesting fact : Only the alpha female of the group breeds. Conservation status : Endangered It has a white chest and back, brown, tan or red hind legs

Common name : Mawmag Scientific name : Carlito syrichta Family : Tarsiidae Native to : Philippines Interesting fact : Named after the ankle bone ‘tarsus’. Conservation status : Near Threatened The Philippine tarsier measures about 85-160 mm in height and weighs between 80-160 gm. It has thin, rough fur which is coloured grey to dark

Common name : Phayre’s leaf monkey Scientific name : Trachypithecus phayrei Family : Cercopithecidae Native to : Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam Interesting fact : Used as guard against other monkeys. Conservation status : Endangered Phayre’s leaf monkeys are dark grey-blue in colour with some brown on the back and have mostly

Common name : Wadi, Hussar monkey Scientific name : Erythrocebus patas Family : Cercopithecidae Native to : Africa region Interesting fact : It is a ground-dweller, not an arboreal. Conservation status : Least Concern The monkey has a long and slimly built body covered in fur, which is white in colour on the underside and

Common name : Patagonian mara, Patagonian Cavy, Patagonian Hare or Dillaby Scientific name : Dolichotis patagonum Family : Caviidae Native to : Argentina Interesting fact : Its skin is used to make rugs and bedspreads. Conservation status : Near Threatened This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal, has an agouti-coloured fur with a light-coloured underside, buff-coloured, thin

Common name : Scaly anteaters Scientific name : Manis Family : Manidae Native to : Asia and sub-Saharan Africa Conservation status : Least Threatened They are covered in tough, overlapping scales. These burrowing mammals eat ants and termites using extra-ordinarily long, sticky tongues, and are able to roll themselves up quickly into tight balls when

Common name : Panda bear, Giant panda Scientific name : Ailuropoda melanoleuca Family : Ursidae Native to : China Interesting fact : 99% of its diet is bamboo. Conservation status : Endangered It has black fur on ears, eye patches, a muzzle, legs, and shoulders with the rest of the coat being white. It stands

Scientific name : Lutrinae Family : Mustelidae Native to : Coasts of the pacific ocean in North America and Asia Interesting fact : Otters aren’t found in Antarctica and Australia. Conservation status : Threatened This is an aquatic member of the weasel family. Otters have long, slim bodies and relatively short limbs with webbed paws.

Common name : Gazelle Scientific name : Oryx gazella Family : Bovidae Native to : Africa Interesting fact : They can smell rain from almost 80 km away. Conservation status : Endangered It is a large antelope with long, spear-like horns. It is a true desert animal, with a thick, horse-like neck; a short mane,

Scientific name : Microtus arvalis orcadensis Family : Cricetidae Native to : Northern coast of Scotland Interesting fact : A vole tunnel is a circle of eaten grass. Conservation status : Endangered It has a stocky body with a blunt, rounded snout, short pale fur, small ears, a tail shorter than its body length and

Common name : Asian ape Scientific name : Pongo Family : Hominidae Native to : Indonesia and Malaysia Interesting fact : Its name in Malay means ‘forest person’. Conservation status : Critically Endangered They have a coat of reddish-brown, and black hairless face. They spend most of their time on trees, and have a diet

Common name : Common opossum, American marsupials, Virginia opossum Scientific name : Didelphimorphia Family : Didelphidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : They are immune against the poison of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and pit vipers. There are more than 60 different species of an opossum. They have white and grey fur. They measure 76

Common name : Forest giraffe, Zebra giraffe Scientific name : Okapia johnstoni Family : Giraffidae Native to : Ituri rainforest, Central Africa Interesting fact : It was once referred to as the ‘African Unicorn’. Conservation status : Endangered Okapis have reddish dark backs, with striking horizontal white stripes on the front and back legs that

Common name : Inayala Scientific name : Nyala angasii or Tragelaphus angasii Family : Bovidae Native to : Southern Africa Interesting fact : Only males have spiral and yellow-tipped horns. Conservation status : Least Concern The coat is rusty brown in females and juveniles, and dark brown or slate grey, often tinged with blue, in