Animals

Port Lympne Reserve is responsible for the painted dog EEP which manages the European captive population for this species.

There are now only 100,000 Western lowland gorillas, 90% less than 10 years ago, due to poaching for “bush meat”.

The eastern black rhinoceros is also known as the East African black rhinoceros.

Wolves are an enigmatic and charismatic species surrounded in myth and for centuries they have been the subject of persecution.

Spectacled bears get their name from the light coloured markings around their eyes sometimes forming the shape of spectacles.

Even though they have a long neck, approximately 2 meters, they have the same number of neck vertebrae as humans.

The darkness of the male Common Eland's hair supposedly indicates how aggressive they are.

Young lechwe are called lambs, with adult males are called rams and females ewes.

Approximately 300 Przewalski's horses have now been reintroduced to Mongolia.

A unique feature that tapir possess is its fleshy prehensile nose that it uses to grab leaves and even use as a snorkel while swimming.

Lowland tapirs are classed as ‘vulnerable’ in the wild, with their threats being deforestation, habitat fragmentation, hunting for their meat and competition with livestock.

European bison are browsers eating fresh shoots, leaves, herbs, ferns and shrubs.

There are less than 3,500 Mishmi takin remaining in the wild, mostly in Tibet.

Gibbons are adapted for over-hand swinging, called brachiation, and can easily cover a distance of 10 meters from branch to branch.

At birth all infants are a bright apricot colour to ensure they are the centre of the group’s attention.

Howler monkeys “howl” in the morning and evening to establish their territory; this can be heard approximately 5km away.

Fossa diet is known to include most animals in the forests it inhabits, including smaller lemur species, rodents and reptiles.

Blue Wildebeest have one of the world’s great migrations following the rains for up to 1,000 miles per year.

Chapman Zebra are one of the few mammals that can see in colour but cannot see the colour orange.

All tiger populations are endangered, some critically. There are probably fewer than 4000 wild tigers left on the planet.

Pere David’s Deer are named after Pere David – a French missionary and zoologist who discovered the last of the breed in the Imperial Park in Beijing in the 1800s.

IUCN STATUS: Critically endangered. These are the largest living camels and they can weigh up to 1000kg! They are able to adapt to wide range of environments and are capable of eating virtually anything.

The cheetah is built for speed due to its slender body, powerful legs, deep chest and flexible spine, and they can reach speeds of up to 70 mph but only in short bursts.

Capybara are the largest rodent in the world. They are great swimmers and can remain underwater for up to 5 minutes.

Vicuna are a South American camelid which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. They are related to Llamas and it is widely believed that Vicuna are the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas.

Red River Hogs are found in forest regions of Central and Western Africa, they have a great sense of smell, using a circular motion with their snouts while sniffing around for food.

Barasingha have a lovely red coat in the summertime, but as the mating season approaches, the male coat turns a darker shade of brown.

Sambar are found in tropical forests across South East Asia, they are a relative of the UK’s native red deer.

Found in regions of Myanmar, Pakistan and Northern Thailand, they are called hog deer as they have a habit of running head down through the undergrowth like a wild boar.

The name blackbuck comes from the adult male having a dense black coloured coat, the females coat is a light tan colour.

Found in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka the axis deer is the most common deer found in Indian Forests.

Their name comes from their colouring, as their backs are a lovely reddish brown – otherwise known as roan.

These buffalo spend a lot of time submerged in water (Wallows). They can live in herds of up to 30 individuals and females have 1 calf a year.

Red pandas can live up to 15 years and can have 1-4 cubs every 1-2 years.

Squirrel monkeys live in large, female-dominated groups of up to 500. Their small size and light weight allows them to easily forage in the canopy, exploring even the most slender branches to search for fruit, leaves and insects. In the wild, squirrel monkeys are commonly preyed upon by eagles and snakes.

Found from north-eastern India and Bangladesh through to south-east Asia, binturong are one of only two carnivores with a prehensile tail.

Pallas cats are incredibly secretive and change their coat colour seasonally to allow them to blend into rocky habitat.

This is one of the smallest cat species in the world. Found in India and Sri Lanka, they prefer a dry deciduous forest, scrub, grassland and rocky areas.

Mostly observed hunting in pairs for large rodents, such as agouti they have also been known to hunt as a pack to take down larger prey.

Coatis spend most of their time foraging in trees and use their tails to help balance themselves. They are omnivores that eat a variety of fruit and invertebrates.

Clouded leopards are capable of hanging from their rear feet, upside down from branches and are very agile climbers, most at home in the canopy where they hunt for primates, birds, slow lorises, ground squirrels, pangolins, porcupines and hog deer.

One of the smallest bamboo lemurs, they have a dense, woolly coat that varies from grey to olive-grey on the upperparts with chestnut-brown tinges on the head and shoulders.

Forest Buffalo are bright red in colour, but this darkens with age, especially in the males, they have much shorter horns than the Savannah Buffalo growing no more than 40cm long on both the male and females.

This is the largest of the bamboo lemurs, recognised by its prominent pale grey or white ear tufts.

The largest of the Lemuridae family, belted ruffed lemurs are found in eastern Madagascar in lowland and mid-altitude rainforests.

Black and white colobus have a glossy black fur which is contrasted by their u-shaped cape-like mantle, bushy white tuft at the tip of the tail and short white hair surrounding their face.

Considered the most intelligent of the New World monkeys, black capped capuchin are native to central and south America where they live in a range of habitats, including mangroves and rainforests.

One of the most distinctive looking African primates, De Brazza have an orange-red crescent shaped patch on their brow, they also have a white muzzle which extends into a long, white beard.

One of the most endangered African primates, drill are found only from the Cross river in Nigeria to the Sanaga river in Cameroon in lowland, coastal and riverine tropical rainforest.

Guinea baboons form large groups of up to 200 individuals and are very social animals.

Mainly found in coniferous forests or thick woodland, they were almost hunted to extinction although have recently been reintroduced into European countries, such as Switzerland, France and Germany.

Found throughout coastal and highland eastern Australia, Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands, red necked wallabies live off grasses, roots, tree leaves and weeds. They are distinguished by their black nose and paws with a reddish tinge across their shoulders.

Only found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in tropical rainforests, golden bellied mangabey are easily distinguishable by their orange fur colouring on their front

Also known as the spectacled leaf monkey, dusky langurs are found in southern Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.

The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat that can leap over 2 metres above the ground to land on prey with its forefeet.

Cape Porcupines (Hystrix africaeaustralis) - are the world's largest porcupines. They are nocturnal, monogamous and generally mild-mannered. Fun fact: Cape porcupines have approximately 30,000 quills on their backs, that are made of keratin, the same thing fingernails are made of.

Wild lions once roamed across much of Africa, Asia and Europe. Today, they are only found in sub-saharan Africa and a tiny pocket of India.

Native to South America, Maned wolves are suffering from a reduction in their numbers due to habitat loss, making then Near Threatened in the wild and almost extinct entirely in Uruguay. Maned wolves are not actually wolves, nor foxes. In fact they are a unique and only remaining genus called Chrysocyon, meaning golden dog. These golden dogs have long legs and a rich red coat and, once mature, have a resplendent darker mane. Maned wolves are mostly solitary and rarely form packs.

Pongo abelii CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (IUCN) Sumatran orangutans are endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra where they were once widespread. Sadly, populations of these striking red apes are declining, mainly due to forest clearance for palm oil plantations, which destroy their habitat and cause populations to become fragmented. Orangutans travel several miles a day in search of food and make a new nest every night to sleep in, high in the treetops.