 |
Top 5 Record Holders
1. Largest Rodent -
Capybara
2. Tallest Mammal - giraffe
3.
Smallest Canid - Fennec Fox
4.
Largest Predatory
Bird - Andean Condor
5. Fastest Land Mammal -
Cheetah
Animal Profiles
Capybara
 Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Family: Rodentia
STATUS: Common
FEATURES
Capybaras are excellent swimmers, having
partially-webbed toes and eyes, ears and nostrils that
show above the water when swimming.
They escape
predators (anaconda, jaguar, puma, ocelot, eagle and
caiman) by diving into water and hiding in floating
vegetation.
They live in family groups and are
active at dawn and dusk. Weight: 35 - 66 kg, shoulder
height 50 - 60 cm.
DIET
Aquatic plants, grasses, tree bark, grains, melons, and
occasionally crops.
BREEDING
Usually has 4 babies in a litter, but can be 2 - 8.
Pregnancy lasts 15 - 18 weeks.
DISTRIBUTION
Dense Amazon rain forest -
around lakes, streams and marshes.
South America -
North and East.
DID YOU KNOW..?
A capybara looks like a giant guinea pig.
It is the
largest rodent in the world.
Giraffe
 Family: Bovidae
Scientific
name: Giraffa camelopardalis
STATUS: Common
FEATURES
The world's tallest
living animal.
Females weigh about 800kg, males 1
200kg, a newborn calf 100kg.
Height to top of head:
Male 5m, female 4,5m.
DIET
Exclusively browsers - leaves of trees and shrubs,
creepers, vines, flowers, seed pods and fruits.
BREEDING
1 calf is born after 15
months gestation. A cow may have her next baby 20 months
later.
DISTRIBUTION
Savanna
to thick bushveld, mostly with Acacia trees.
Africa,
south of the Sahara - East, West, southern - Namibia,
Botswana, Zimbabwe, eastern South Africa, Mozambique.
DID YOU KNOW..?
Giraffes
cope with Acacia thorns by having a tough palate and
lots of viscous saliva to help swallow
Fennec Fox
Vulpes zerda or Fennecus
zerda
 Family: Canidae
STATUS:
Vulnerable
CITES: Appendix II
FEATURES
This is the smallest
fox in the world,
yet it has the largest ears. Its
name comes from an Arabic word for "fox".
The ears
radiate heat to keep the foxes cool and to hear the
movement of prey.
Several Fennecs may live together
in
large dens extending up to 10 meters.
They are
nocturnal (hunt at night).
Weight up to 1.5 kg,
height 20 cm, the tail is about 25 cm long and ears 15
cm long.
DIET
Omnivorous -
rodents, insects (eg. locusts), lizards, birds and bird
eggs.
BREEDING
2 - 5 young
in a litter. They rely
on their mother's milk for
about
a month.
DISTRIBUTION
North and West Africa - the Sahara desert, parts
of Arabia, Israel, Kuwait, Oman.
DID YOU
KNOW..?
The fennec gets most of its water
from food, and sometimes eats berries and leaves for
extra water.
 Andean Condor
Vultur Gryphus
Family: Cathartidae
STATUS: Endangered
FEATURES
The largest bird of prey in the world,
adult males
weigh: 9 - 11 kg. Height 1.2m. Wingspan up to 3.5m.
Longevity about 50 years.
Females have bright
red eyes, males have a fleshy head crest.
DIET
Carrion (carcasses), newborn
animals,
bird eggs.
BREEDING
Nest on steep cliff ledges. 1egg is laid every
second year, and incubated for 54 - 58 days. Both
parents care for the young, which leaves them in its
second year.
DISTRIBUTION
South America - along the Andes mountain range.
DID YOU KNOW..?
The Condor has
no voice box and is mostly silent, but will hiss and
cluck in courtship.
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Family: Felidae
STATUS:
Vulnerable (IUCN), Endangered (CITES).
Asiatic
sub-species Critically Endangered
FEATURES
The semi-retractile claws provide
traction during running.
In Hindi, cheetah means
"spotted one.
The tawny to pale buff coat is marked
with black spots. The cheetah has a small head with
large, high-set eyes and a black 'tear-drop' line from
each inner eye down to the mouth. These lines may reduce
glare from the sun.
DIET
Small antelope, game birds, rabbits and the young of
warthogs and large antelope.
BREEDING
Gestation lasts 90 to 95 days.
Usually
3 to 5 young born.
DISTRIBUTION
Savanna or grassland.
Currently sub-Saharan
Africa
and Northern Iran.
DID YOU
KNOW..?
The cheetah is the fastest
terrestrial mammal, with a top speed of 96 - 112 km per
hour for short distances (Guinness Book of Animal Facts
& Feats), 104.4 kph proven (Guinness Book of Records
2005).
|
 
 |
|
