Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are all considered great apes. Of the three, chimpanzees are the most closely related to humans. Chimpanzees and humans share 98 percent of the same genetic makeup.

In addition, the two groups share many social and psychological traits. Researchers have documented chimpanzees making and using tools, expressing complex emotions, forming bonds and friendships, and communicating using sign language.

An average chimpanzee stands 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and weighs about 150 pounds (68 kilograms). Since its arms are longer than its legs, a chimpanzee walks on the ground using the soles of its feet and the knuckles of its hands.

Short-tailed Chinchilla

Short-tailed Chinchilla
Short-tailed Chinchilla

The short-tailed chinchilla is a nocturnal (active at night) rodent with soft fur, large ears, and a bushy tail. It is one of two species of chinchilla—the other is the long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla langiera).

An average chinchilla has a head and body length between 9 and 15 inches (23 and 38 centimeters) and a tail length between 3 and 6 inches (7.5 and 15 centimeters).

Female chinchillas weigh up to 28 ounces (794 grams), while the smaller males weigh up to 18 ounces (510 grams). A chinchilla’s silky fur is mostly gray in color. The animal’s hind legs are much larger than its front legs, making it an agile jumper.

Malabar Large Spotted Civet

Malabar Large Spotted Civet
Malabar Large Spotted Civet

The Malabar large spotted civet is nearly identical to, or is in fact the same species as, the large spotted civet (Viverra megaspila). Adults of this species usually weigh about 18 to 20 pounds (8 to 9 kilograms).

Their long gray coats are mottled with large black spots. They have long tails banded in black and a black crest of long fur down their backs. Although most civets look like cats, the Malabar large spotted civet more closely resembles a dog with its long legs and dog-like head.

Malabar civets stay hidden in the thickets during the day and forage for food at night. They have never been seen in trees, and probably obtain their food on the ground. They are thought to eat eggs, small mammals, and some vegetation.

Musk Deer

Musk Deer
Musk Deer

Musk deer are so-named because the males of the species have a gland, called the pod, that develops in the skin of their abdomen. This gland produces a waxy substance called musk, which may be used by males to attract females.

An average musk deer has a head and body length of 28 to 39 inches (71 to 99 centimeters), stands 20 to 24 inches (51 to 91 centimeters) at its shoulder, and weighs between 15 and 40 pounds (7 and 18 kilograms). The musk deer’s hair is long and coarse. It varies in color from dark to golden brown, depending on the species.

The hind legs of a musk deer are almost one-third larger than its front legs. This helps to make the animal a quick and agile jumper. Unlike most other deer, musk deer have no antlers.

Swamp Deer

Swamp Deer
Swamp Deer

The swamp deer is a large member of the deer family. The animal has an average head and body length of 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters), measures about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in height at its shoulder, and weighs between 375 and 620 pounds (170 and 280 kilograms).

In winter, the swamp deer’s coat is brown on the top part of its body and paler on its underside. In summer, the entire coat lightens in color. Male swamp deer are often darker overall than females. Swamp deer feed on grasses and aquatic plants, and their main predators are tigers and leopards.

In central India, swamp deer are known as barasingha, which means six-pointer. However, their 36- to 40-inch (91- to 102-centimeter) antlers can have 10 or more points. Antlers are solid, bony outgrowths of a deer’s skull. The stem of an antler is called the beam, while the branches are called the tines. Most male deer grow and shed antlers annually.

African Wild Dog

African Wild Dog
African Wild Dog

The African wild dog, also called the African painted wolf, has a streaked, multicolored coat. The tan, black, and white pattern varies between individual dogs, but each animal’s head is usually dark. An African wild dog has large rounded ears, which it uses to signal other dogs and to control body temperature by radiating (giving off) heat. Its 12- to 16-inch (30- to 41-centimeter) tail ends in a plume that is white-tipped.

The dog’s legs are long and thin. An average African wild dog has a head and body length of 30 to 44 inches (76 to 112 centimeters) and a shoulder height of 24 to 31 inches (61 to 79 centimeters). It weighs between 37 and 79 pounds (17 and 36 kilograms).

African wild dogs have a tightly knit social structure. They form packs of 2 to 45 members that hunt cooperatively. Prey includes impalas, antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, and warthogs.

Chinese River Dolphin

Chinese River Dolphin
Chinese River Dolphin

The Chinese river dolphin, also known as baiji, is one of the most rare and endangered cetaceans (pronounced si–TAY–shuns; the order of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises). It has an average overall length of 6.75 to 8.25 feet (2 to 2.5 meters) and weighs between 220 and 500 pounds (100 and 230 kilograms). Its body color is blue-gray on top and almost white underneath.

Chinese river dolphins have very poor eyesight, which is an evolutionary result of the muddy conditions of the water in which they live. Since the dolphins could not use their vision, they lost it over the course of time.

The species adapted to this loss by developing the ability to use echolocation (sonar). In this process, the dolphin emits a sound wave that bounces off objects and is echoed or reflected back to the dolphin. Like bats, Chinese river dolphins use echolocation to navigate and to find prey.

Dugong

Dugong
Dugong

Dugongs are very large sea mammals, sometimes called “sea cows.” They have been familiar to humans for centuries, particularly because, for some reason, these ungainly creatures gave rise to the mermaid myths of the past.

Adult dugongs, both male and female, range in size from 8 to 13 feet (2.4 to 4 meters). They weigh between 500 and 1,100 pounds (230 to 500 kilograms) and have a big roll of fat around their bodies. Dugongs are gray or rusty brown in color; their young, called calves, are born a creamy beige and then darken as they grow.

Although dugongs breathe air into their lungs like land mammals, they live in the ocean and never come onto land. They are able to stay underwater for up to about six minutes at a time, but their dives usually last only one to three minutes before they come up for air.

African Elephant

African Elephant

The African elephant is the world’s largest living land mammal. An average adult male stands 10 feet (3 meters) tall at its shoulder and weighs between 11,000 and 13,000 pounds (5,000 and 5,900 kilograms). Females are a little shorter in height and weigh about 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilograms).

The animal’s thick and loose skin is dark, muddy gray in color. Its large ears, up to 42 inches (107 centimeters) in diameter, hold many prominent veins. To cool its blood during the heat of the day, the African elephant flaps its ears vigorously.

Its long, white tusks are actually elongated incisor teeth. It has only four other teeth, all molars, that it uses to grind down food. These teeth are replaced up to six times as they wear away periodically during an average elephant’s seventy-year life span.

Asian Elephant


Description and biology

The Asian elephant, also known as the Indian elephant, is smaller than its relative, the African elephant. An average male Asian elephant weighs up to 11,500 pounds (5,220 kilograms) and stands 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) tall at its shoulder.

Females of the species are slightly shorter in height and weigh up to 6,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms). The elephant has an arched back and a flat forehead. Its ears are smaller and its trunk shorter and smoother than those of the African elephant.

The Asian elephant’s trunk, which is an extension of its nose and upper lip, has one finger like tip at the end that is used to grasp food and other items. Elephants also use their trunks for drinking, bathing, smelling, breathing, feeling, greeting, and communicating. All of the animals can create a variety of sounds with their trunks, from rumbling noises to the well–known trumpeting sound.

Black Footed Ferret

Black Footed Ferret
Black Footed Ferret

Description and biology

The black–footed ferret is a member of the weasel family (other members include weasels, martens, fishers, otters, minks, wolverines, and skunks). Similar in size to a mink, the back–footed ferret has a long, slender body covered in short, pale yellow fur.

On its throat and belly, the fur is nearly white. The animal has a brownish head, a brownish–black mask across its eyes, black feet and legs, and a black tip on its tail.

An average black–footed ferret has a body length of 18 to 22 inches (46 to 59 centimeters) and a tail length of 4.5 to 5.5 inches (11.5 to 14 centimeters). It weighs 18 to 36 ounces (510 to 1,021 grams).

Island Gray Fox

Island Gray Fox
Island Gray Fox

Description and biology

While the island gray fox is mostly gray, its belly and throat are white, and the sides of its neck and the underside of its tail are rust. Black markings often accent its face and limbs.

An average island gray fox has a head and body length of 20 inches (50 centimeters) and stands roughly 5 inches (13 centimeters) tall at its shoulder. Its tail can extend in length from 4.5 to 11.5 inches (11.4 to 29.2 centimeters). It weighs between 3 and 6 pounds (1.3 and 2.7 kilograms).

The island gray fox hunts for food primarily in the early morning and late evening. Insects and fruits constitute the main portion of its diet, with small mammals, birds, reptiles, and eggs making up the remainder.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle
Dama Gazelle

Description and biology

The dama gazelle, a graceful antelope found in the Sahara Desert region of Africa, has long legs, a long neck, and ringed horns curved back in the shape of a lyre (musical instrument). Its neck and a portion of its back are reddish brown in color, while the rest of its body is white (including one spot on the inside of its neck).

An average dama gazelle has a head and body length of 40 to 67 inches (102 to 170 centimeters) and measures 35 to 42 inches (89 and 107 centimeters) high at its shoulder. Its tail, white with a black tip, extends 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 centimeters). The animal weighs between 90 and 185 pounds (41 and 84 kilograms).

Like most species of gazelle, the dama gazelle has keen senses of hearing and smell. It grazes on shrubs and trees such as acacia and desert date. This gazelle travels alone or in small groups in search of food. A female dama gazelle gives birth usually to one infant after a gestation (pregnancy) period of 160 to 220 days.

Hoolock Gibbon

Hoolock Gibbon
Hoolock Gibbon

Description and biology

Gibbons are apes, related to gorillas and chimpanzees, but they are known as “lesser apes” because of their small size. There are 13 or more kinds of gibbons. Hoolock gibbons are the second–largest kind, generally growing to about 13 pounds (6 kilograms).

Adults are about 24 to 35 inches (60 to 90 centimeters) long and have no tail. Male hoolocks have black fur with white eyebrows, while females have beige or red–brown fur with dark brown eyebrows and cheek areas.

Gibbons are amazing acrobats when it comes to brachiating, or swinging by their arms among the treetops. Hoolocks’ bodies are built for this movement. They have very long arms and long, hook–shaped hands.


They swing by their arms from one branch to another, with their hand forming a hook on the limb. They are capable of leaping long distances through the air from branch to branch or running atop the leaves in the treetops. Their diet is made up mainly of fruit and leaves, along with some insects and flowers.

Figs are a favorite food. Hoolocks are diurnal, meaning they roam the forests during the day and sleep at night. A family of hoolocks generally sleeps sitting up in one or two favored treetops. When they need to come down from the trees, hoolocks walk on two feet in an upright position.

Most gibbons live in family units consisting of two parents with several immature offspring. They are monogamous (when the male and female become partners, they remain together for life).

Gibbons generally give birth to one offspring at a time. Baby hoolock gibbons are born with no hair and depend upon their mothers for warmth. The offspring usually stay with their parents until they are six to nine years old and have reached sexual maturity.

Each gibbon family group lives within its own specific territory, usually about 30 to 50 acres (12 to 20 hectares) in area, which they defend from the intrusion of other gibbons. The life span of a gibbon in the wild is not known, but is probably about 30 to 40 years.

Hoolocks, like other gibbons, are very musical mammals, with a distinctive form of vocal communication displayed in half–hour–long morning songs performed by the family each day.

The male and female partners sing a kind of duet together, and then other members of the family may join in to sing solos. These morning songs communicate to other gibbons that the hoolock family’s area is claimed and will be defended, and may also serve as mating calls from the younger family members.

The folklore of the indigenous (native) people of Southeast Asia includes many stories about this magical music of the rain forests. Unfortunately, these morning songs also inform hunters of the location of the gibbon families.

The only known enemy to hoolock gibbons is the human being.

Habitat and current distribution

Gibbons have lived in the forests of Southeast Asia for millions of years. The hoolock is found in tropical (a climate warm enough year–round to sustain plant life) and subtropical evergreen forests, and in mountain forests produced by seasonal monsoons (heavy rainfalls accompanying high winds).

Curently hoolocks live in Myanmar (formerly Burma), Bangladesh, the northeastern part of India, and the southwestern part of China. There are two subspecies of hoolock gibbons, the eastern and western. They are divided by the Chindwin River in Myanmar. Hoolocks range from the Brahmaputra River (in Bangladesh, India, and China) on the west to the Salween River (in China and Myanmar) on the east.

History and conservation measures

The habitat in which hoolock gibbons live is shrinking rapidly. The tropical and subtropical forests are being cut down and burned in order to make way for tea plantations and other crops, for logging and taking out other fuel, and also for human settlement.

As their habitat is fragmented by the clearing of forests, hoolock gibbons become more vulnerable to humans, since they must come down from the treetops to cross from one food source to the next.

Humans hunt hoolocks for food and to sell as pets, and gibbon bones and meat are valued in some traditional Asian medicines. Among some groups in Myanmar, for example, it is believed that eating the dried hands and legs of hoolocks will promote fertility (the ability to have children) in women.

In 1977, biologists (scientists who study living organisms) estimated the hoolock gibbon population at more than 500,000 animals. Ten years later, it was down to 170,000.

By 2000, the hoolock gibbon population had been severely reduced. In India (where there were about 80,000 hoolocks in the early 1970s), there were only about 5,000 animals in 2000; there were less than 200 hoolocks in China, and 200 in Bangladesh. There is no current data about hoolock gibbons in Myanmar.

Preserving the remaining rain forest habitat and eliminating hunting of hoolock gibbons are key factors in the effort to save the species from extinction in the wild. Since the 1990s, some sanctuaries and reserves have been created within hoolock gibbon habitats.

China and India have laws protecting gibbons, but the enforcement is not strict and poachers (illegal hunters) continue to profit from killing hoolocks in the wild.

Gorilla

Gorilla
Gorilla

Description and biology

The gorilla is considered the most intelligent land animal other than humans. It is the largest of the living primates, an order of mammals that includes lemurs, monkeys, chimpanzees, orangutans, and human beings. When standing on its hind legs, an average male gorilla measures 5 to 5.75 feet (1.5 to 1.75 meters) high.

It can weigh between 300 and 500 pounds (136 and 227 kilograms). Females are smaller, measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in height and weighing between 200 and 250 pounds (91 and 114 kilograms). The color of a gorilla’s coat varies from brown–gray to black.

In males, the hair on the back begins to turn silver after 10 years of age. Males also have a large bone on top of their skull (called the sagittal crest) that supports their massive jaw muscles and gives them their distinctive high forehead. Both sexes have small ears, broad nostrils, and a black, hairless face.

Pygmy Hippopotamus

Pygmy Hippopotamus
Pygmy Hippopotamus

Description and biology

The pygmy hippopotamus is smaller and more piglike in appearance than its larger relative, the common hippopotamus. Its skin color is generally black, with a greenish tinge on the top of its back. Its belly is cream or yellow–gray.

Its eyes are on the side of its round head instead of on top as in the common hippo. An average pygmy hippo has a head and body length of 5 to 5.5 feet (1.5 to 1.7 meters) and a shoulder height of 30 to 39 inches (76 to 99 centimeters).

Its tail extends 6 inches (15 centimeters). It weighs between 355 and 600 pounds (161 and 272 kilograms). By contrast, an average common hippo weighs between 2,425 and 5,720 pounds (1,100 and 2,597 kilograms).

The pygmy hippo is a solitary animal, spending much of its time on the shore near swamps and rivers. It goes in the water only occasionally. Like the common hippo, the pygmy hippo has glands beneath its skin that secrete a pink, sweat–like substance.

This biological fact has inspired the myth that hippos “sweat blood.” This pink substance helps to regulate the hippo’s skin temperature. Because its skin is sensitive to the sun, the pygmy hippo seeks shelter during the day in thickets and other forested areas.

It feeds at night on leaves, shoots, grasses, roots, and fruits. Male and female pygmy hippos usually mate in the water at any time during the year. After a gestation (pregnancy) period of 188 days, a female pygmy hippo gives birth to one calf. She then nurses that calf for eight months.

Habitat and current distribution

Pygmy hippos inhabit lowland forests. They are found in the tropical region of western Africa, primarily in the country of Liberia. Wildlife biologists (people who study living organisms) estimated that the pygmy hippo population in Liberia in the early 1980s was several thousand. No estimates have been made since then, but the population has almost certainly decreased.

History and conservation measures

Deforestation and hunting are the major threats to pygmy hippopotami. Africans hunt the animal and its larger relative for their meat and hides, which are used to make whips and shields. Very few conservation efforts exist for the pygmy hippopotamus. Between 350 and 400 pygmy hippos are held in captivity throughout the world.

Pygmy Hog

Pygmy Hog
Pygmy Hog

Description and biology

The pygmy hog is the smallest of all pig species. An average adult pygmy hog is 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) long, stands 10 inches (25 centimeters) tall at its shoulder, and weighs 19 pounds (8.6 kilograms).

Its short tail measures only 1 inch (2.5 centimeters). Its hide is covered with coarse dark brown or black bristles. Because of its small, bullet–like shape, the animal is extremely agile.

Male pygmy hogs are larger than their female counterparts and have exposed tusks. The normally solitary males interact with the females only during mating season. A female pygmy hog gives birth to a litter of two to six infants, usually in late April or May, after a gestation (pregnancy) period of about 100 days. Both males and females build and use their nests throughout the year.

Przewalski’s Horse

Przewalski’s Horse
Przewalski’s Horse

Description and biology

Przewalski’s horse is the last truly wild horse. Slightly smaller than most domestic horses, it has a compact body with a thick neck and large head. The color of its upper body is dun (a dull grayish brown), while its belly and muzzle are much lighter.

The horse has a dark stripe along its backbone and a dark, plumed tail. The dark hair on its head and along its neck (the mane) is short and stands erect. Unlike the domestic horse, Przewalski’s horse sheds its mane and the short hairs at the base of its tail annually.

An average Przewalski’s horse may reach 8 feet (2.4 meters) in length and stand 4 to 4.5 feet (1.2 to 1.4 meters) high at its shoulders. It may vary in weight between 440 and 750 pounds (200 and 340 kilograms). The horse feeds primarily on grass and other low vegetation.


Groups of Przewalski’s horses are headed by a dominant stallion (male), which is responsible for breeding with most of the group’s females. The females usually give birth to a single foal (infant) between April and June, after a gestation (pregnancy) period of 330 to 340 days. The foals may nurse for up to two years.

Habitat and current distribution

Przewalski’s horses prefer open grassland, steppe (vast, semiarid grass–covered plain), and semidesert areas. The last possible sighting of Przewalski’s horse in the wild was in 1968.

Chinese biologists (people who study living organisms) believe there may be a small population of horses inhabiting northeastern Xingiang (an autonomous region in northwestern China). It is more likely that this group is extinct.

Over 1,000 Przewalski’s horses are currently held in captivity in zoos and reserves around the world.

History and conservation measures

Przewalski’s horse was discovered in 1878 by Russian geographer and explorer Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839–1888). Scientists believe the horse once ranged from western Mongolia to northern Xingiang and western Kazakhstan.

By 1900, hunting and competition with domestic horses for food and water greatly reduced the Przewalski’s horse population. By the 1950s, the remaining animals were seen in a small area between southwestern Mongolia and northwestern China called the Takhin–Shara–Nuru (mountain of the yellow horses). The Przewalski’s horse was last seen in the wild in 1968.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) listed the species as extinct in the wild in 1996. However, the Przewalski’s horse has become a great success story in the ongoing efforts to preserve species through reintroduction to the wild.

In 1992, 16 horses bred in captivity and chosen for their genetic (inherited) traits were slowly and carefully reintroduced to the wilderness at Hustai National Park in Mongolia. By 2000, 84 horses had been reintroduced and 114 foals had been born in the wild.

In the early 2000s, a population of around 142 Przewalski’s horses roamed freely in the park, and the animals appeared to be doing better each year they spend in the wild. They are being very carefully watched and protected as they adapt to the original habitat of the species.

Brown Hyena

Brown Hyena
Brown Hyena

Description and biology

The brown hyena, also known as the strand wolf, has a long, brown, shaggy coat with lighter underparts. Its face and legs are gray to black. An average brown hyena measures 43 to 53 inches (109 to 135 centimeters) long and stands 25 to 35 inches (64 to 89 centimeters) high at its shoulder. It weighs between 82 and 104 pounds (37 and 47 kilograms). Males are larger than females.

The brown hyena feeds primarily on the remains of prey killed by other predators. With its strong teeth and jaws, the animal can crush and eat bone. It also feeds on insects, eggs, fruits, and an occasional small animal or bird that it kills. Although it has acute vision and hearing, the brown hyena locates its prey by scent. Lions and spotted hyenas are the animal’s main predators.

Brown hyenas sleep during the day and hunt at dusk or during the night. While on its nightly hunting expedition, a brown hyena will normally cover about 19 square miles (49 square kilometers). Some have been known to travel over 31 square miles (80 square kilometers).


Although often solitary in their habits, brown hyenas will form clans of up to 10 members. Male and female brown hyenas mate at any time during the year. After a gestation (pregnancy) period of 90 to 100 days, a female will give birth to 1 to 5 cubs.

In a communal den (dwelling place shared by all members in a clan), cubs may suckle from females other than their mother. All members of the clan help to feed the cubs by carrying food to the den.

Habitat and current distribution

In southern Africa, brown hyenas inhabit arid (dry) areas such as rocky deserts with thick brush, open grassland and scrub (land covered with stunted trees and shrubs), and semideserts. They sleep in dense vegetation, under sheltering rocks, or in burrows dug by other animals.

History and conservation measures

Scientists do not know the exact number of existing brown hyenas, but they believe the animals’ range and population has been greatly reduced. Of the six African countries where brown hyenas can be found, only Botswana and Zimbabwe host sizable populations.

Many humans dislike brown hyenas because of their foul stench and their cry (which sounds like maniacal laughter). Brown hyenas are often killed by humans for these reasons and because the animals are seen as a threat to livestock. Since brown hyenas feed on carrion (decaying flesh of dead animals), this last view is utterly false.

Brown hyenas are given protection in several conservation areas in the Kalahari, an arid plateau region stretching about 100,000 square miles (259,000 square kilometers) in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. The animals are also protected along the coastal regions of the southern Namib Desert in western Namibia.

Jaguar

Jaguar
Jaguar

Description and biology

The jaguar is the largest living member of the cat family in North and South America and the third largest in the world. Its coat ranges from yellow–brown to auburn and is covered with black spots and rosettes, or rings, encircling spots.

An average adult jaguar has a head and body length of 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) and a tail length of 18 to 30 inches (46 to 76 centimeters). It stands about 2.5 feet (0.7 meter) high at its shoulder and weighs between 100 and 250 pounds (45 and 115 kilograms). Of the big cats, only the jaguar and the snow leopard do not seem to roar.

Jaguars are good swimmers, runners, and tree climbers. Their diet includes fish, frogs, turtles, small alligators, iguanas, peccaries (mammals related to the pig), monkeys, birds, deer, dogs, and cattle. Jaguars are solitary mammals and are quick to defend their chosen hunting territory.


For male jaguars, this territory ranges between 8 and 80 square miles (20 and 207 square kilometers); for females, it ranges between 4 and 27 square miles (10 and 70 square kilometers).

Male and female jaguars come together only to mate. In tropical areas, mating takes place at any time during the year. In areas with cooler climates, jaguars mate in the spring.

After a gestation (pregnancy) period of 90 to 110 days, a female jaguar gives birth to a litter of one to four cubs. She raises the cubs on her own, and they may stay with her for up to two years.

Habitat and current distribution

Jaguars are found in parts of Mexico, Central America, South America as far south as northern Argentina, and the southwestern United States. Because the animals are secretive and rare, biologists (people who study living organisms) have not been able to determine the exact number remaining in the wild, but in 1998 it was estimated that the jaguar population in the world was less than 50,000 breeding adults. The largest remaining population of jaguars is believed to live in the Amazonian rain forest.

Jaguars live in a variety of habitats, including tropical and subtropical forests, open woodlands, mangroves, swamps, scrub thickets, and savannas.

History and conservation measures

The jaguar once inhabited areas as far north as the southern United States. It is now extinct over much of its former range. The primary reason for the animal’s decline was ruthless hunting, both for sport and for the jaguar’s prized coat. In the early to mid–1960s, spotted cat skins were in great demand. International treaties have all but eliminated the commercial trade of cat pelts.

Jaguars now face the threat of habitat destruction. The clearing of forests to build ranches and farms has rapidly eliminated the animals’ original habitat. Forced to live next to farmland, jaguars are often killed by farmers because they prey on domestic animals.

Small populations of jaguars are protected in large national parks in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. Smaller reserves and private ranches in these areas provide protection to isolated pairs or families. The jaguar has been bred successfully in zoos.

Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo

Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo
Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo

Description and biology

Matschie’s tree kangaroo, also known as Huon tree kangaroo, is a marsupial (marsupial young are born undeveloped and are initially carried in a pouch on the outside of their mothers’ body) in the Macropodidae family, which consists of more than fifty kinds of kangaroos. It is one of ten kinds of tree kangaroos, all living in Australia and nearby islands.

The Matschie’s tree kangaroo is usually about 20 to 35 inches (51 to 90 centimeters) long in its head and body; its large tail is 16 to 37 inches (41 to 94 centimeters) long. Females are slightly larger than males, with females weighing about 17 pounds (8 kilograms) and males about 15 pounds (7 kilograms).

Their coats are usually reddish brown or dark brown, but their belly, face, part of their tail, and feet are yellow. Fur on their necks and backs grows in an opposite direction to the rest of their fur, allowing the kangaroo to shed rain when it gets into the right position.


Matschie’s tree kangaroos are arboreal (they live in trees) and nocturnal (they are active mainly at night and sleep during the day). Their bodies are similar to those of other kinds of kangaroos, except they are designed for getting around in trees. Unlike ground kangaroos, their hind limbs are the same length as their front limbs, and the front limbs are big and strong for tree climbing.

They have large feet with pads that keep them from slipping on wet branches, and a long heavy tail that helps them to balance their weight. They have long claws, and their feet can turn sideways in order to grasp branches.

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are capable of jumping long distances—up to 30 or 40 feet—but they generally climb up and down trees slowly and carefully. Their large eyes aid in judging distances when they leap from branch to branch. Their diet consists of leaves and fruit.

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are solitary animals. Each individual lives within its own home range, but a male’s home range may overlap several females’ home ranges. They mate throughout the year. The female gives birth to one offspring after a 35– to 45–day gestation (pregnancy) period.

The “joey,” or newborn infant, unformed and only about an inch long, nurses in the pouch for about 350 days as it develops and then stays with its mother until it is about a year and a half old. The life span of a Matschie’s tree kangaroo is thought to be about 14 years.

Habitat and current distribution

Matschie’s tree kangaroos live in mountainous tropical rain forest areas in the Huon Peninsula in eastern Papua New Guinea and in the island of Umboi and the western tip of New Britain Island, both off Papua New Guinea.

It is estimated that there are about 1,400 animals in the wild. Because Matschie’s tree kangaroos live in inaccessible places, scientific study of the species is difficult and not very advanced.

History and conservation measures

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are hunted by the people of Papua New Guinea for their meat and fur. Hunters in the past used dingos (Australian wild dogs) to locate tree kangaroos by their scent and then to pull them out of the trees.

When guns were introduced in Papua New Guinea, hunters became much more efficient, and the population of Matschie’s tree kangaroos began to decline. At the same time, the species is threatened by the destruction of its habitat in the Huon Peninsula due to logging, mineral and oil exploration, and farming.

Because the Matschie’s tree kangaroo only lives in this one unique area, its chances of survival are very slim unless this habitat is preserved. Papua New Guinea’s traditional communities control the use and management of the nation’s natural resources.

In 1996, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) formed to promote the management and protection of tree kangaroos and their habitat while at the same time working to meet the needs of the local people.

Since conservation (protection of the natural world) depends on educating the traditional landowners about the value of biodiversity (the variety of forms of life on Earth) and the need to use sustainable development practices (methods of farming or building communities that do not deplete or damage the natural resources of an area), the program has focused on education.

It has been very successful. By the end of December 2001, 50,000 acres (20,250 hectares) of land had been pledged by local land owners to establish a wildlife management area, and the TKCP expects to increase this area to 150,000 acres (60,725 hectares) in the near future.

Koala

Koala
Koala

Description and biology

Although the koala is often called a “koala bear” and is noted for its teddy bear looks, it is not a member of the bear family. Rather, it is a marsupial—an animal related to wombats, opossums, and kangaroos. (Marsupials differ from other mammals in that the females carry their undeveloped young in pouches on their abdomen.)

Koalas are small and round, with little eyes and a big black nose. They have no tail. Adults range from about 24 to 35 inches (61 to 90 centimeters) in length and weigh about 10 to 30 pounds (4.5 to 13.5 kilograms). Males are much larger than females.

Koalas have soft, thick gray fur with brown tinges and a white undercoat, with white patches on the chest, neck, and ears. The fur acts as a rain repellant and provides warmth. Koalas living in southern Australia, where winters are colder, have longer fur.


Koalas are arboreal (they live in trees) and nocturnal (active during the night). They have a keen sense of balance and are very muscular, with strong, well–developed limbs for climbing in trees.

Their padded hands and feet are also well adapted to the arboreal life. Their front paws have five fingers with very long claws. Two of the fingers are opposable (capable of being pushed against the other fingers).

The back paws also have long claws and one opposable thumb. Koalas slowly climb up tree trunks and branches by gripping them, first with the front claws, then the back. Often, to go from tree to tree, a koala will descend to the ground, where it is most vulnerable to its predators and to injury.

Koalas are herbivorous, meaning they eat only plants. Their diet consists mainly of eucalyptus (gum tree) leaves. Some types of eucalyptus leaves are poisonous, so koalas are highly selective about which leaves they will eat.

They use their keen sense of smell to select their food. Their digestive systems are adapted to detoxify the poisons and to obtain energy from the eucalyptus leaves, which are low in nutrients. Koalas sleep an average of 18 to 20 hours per day.

They have a very low metabolic rate (method of breaking down nutrients to create energy) and by sleeping long hours and remaining fairly inactive, they are able to save energy. Koalas drink very little water, as the eucalyptus leaves provide them with fluids.

Koalas are territorial animals. Although they are solitary, they live in a complex social world that is evenly distributed throughout eucalypt forests. Each individual animal has its own home range, where it will live its whole life.

The home range must have the right kind of eucalyptus for the koala to eat and it must be located within a stable community of koalas. An individual koala’s territory will usually overlap several other koala territories, and some socializing occurs in the shared areas, though there is little interaction outside of mating season.

Koalas can communicate with each other over large distances by means of a deep bellow. Males bellow, sometimes in place of fighting, to communicate their social and physical position. Females bellow, though far less than males, either to signal aggression or as a part of a mating routine.

Koalas communicate fear, annoyance, and intimacy with other sounds. Also, the male uses scent–marking during mating season, rubbing his large sternal (near the breastbone) gland against tree trunks to communicate his space and dominance.

During mating season, males begin to bellow aggressively. They mate with several females during the season. The female koala gives birth to a single offspring after a gestation (pregnancy) period of 34 to 36 days.

The undeveloped baby, called a “joey,” weighs only a couple of ounces and is delivered directly into the mother’s pouch, where it will stay, constantly nursing, for six to seven months.

When koala young leave the pouch, they stay with their mother, riding on her back, until they are about one year old. For the next two to three years, they will remain in the mother’s home range. After that, they go off to find their own home ranges. Koalas in the wild can live from 13 to 18 years.

Habitat and current distribution

Koalas live in eucalyptus forests ranging from northern Queensland to southern Victoria and southeastern South Australia. However, by most estimates about 80 percent of the eucalyptus forests where koalas have historically lived have now been cleared, and the remaining koalas live in increasingly fragmented areas.

Because the koala is dependent on certain types of eucalyptus leaves for food, the loss of the eucalyptus forests means a decline in the koala population no matter how much they are otherwise protected. According to the Australian Koala Foundation, there are about 40,000–80,000 koalas left in the wild, although there is controversy about these numbers.

History and conservation measures

There were millions of koalas in Australia in 1788, when European settlement began. Although indigenous (native) Australians hunted koalas for food, the koala population remained stable until a market developed in Europe for the thick and soft koala fur.

During the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth approximately 3 million koalas were killed for their fur. In 1927, the Australian government banned hunting or intentionally killing a koala without special permission. By that time the population had been reduced from millions to thousands.

Since the 1930s, koalas have been protected from hunters, but their habitat has been swiftly destroyed. The land along the eastern shores of Australia, once teeming with eucalyptus forests, has been cleared for farming; towns and cities have grown up around the farms.

Today, with 80 percent of the eucalyptus forests gone, the remaining 20 percent of the forests in which the surviving koalas live are for the most part privately owned. Koalas have suffered heavily from the destruction of their habitat and from the fragmentation caused by roads, farms, and towns that restrict movement.

This makes it difficult or impossible for the individuals within a koala population to reach one another. Koalas are regularly killed and injured by dogs and by cars. Fires and weed infestations have further ruined the eucalyptus groves that are so important to their survival.

The stresses of living in these fragmented and dangerous conditions have led to large outbreaks of disease among koalas, including infections in their reproductive systems that cause infertility (inability to bear young).

Numerous recovery programs have been initiated in the early 2000s with the mission to stop further clearance of koala habitat areas, to restore and protect certain habitat areas that have been damaged or destroyed, to restrain dogs, to control traffic on roads in koala areas, and to educate area residents on the management of koalas. Research programs on disease, breeding, and genetics are also in place.