Zoos have always been a place of attraction and
entertainment for children as well as adults. There are many animals that live
in zoos but there are a few animals that are popular because of their
characteristics and features. Some of the animals are discussed below.
Tigers
Tigers are among the five species of big cars
reaching a total length of 3.38 m over curves and weigh up to 388.7 kg in the
wild. Tigers are mostly recognized because of their pattern of dark vertical stripes
on reddish-orange fur with a lighter underside. They are classified in the
class Panthera with leopards, lions, jaguar and snow leopards. Tigers are
predators, preying on ungulates such as bovid and deer. Tigers are territorial
and social animals that often require large contiguous area of habitat that can
support their prey needs.
Monkeys
Monkeys are primates of the Haplorrhini suborder and
simian infraorder. They are considered to be intelligent like apes and
gorillas. They are liked by children because of their acts. They jump around
trees and call their family member through sharp and squeaky sounds. They are
popular zoo animals and are also kept as pets.
Zebras
There are several species of zebras but the only
distinctive feature that unites all these species is the unique black and white
striped coats. Every zebra has a different stripe pattern that is unique and
does not match the other in any way. They are considered as social animals who
like living in small harems to large herds. Their closest relatives are donkeys
and horses. Like horses and donkeys, zebras have never been domesticated. Their
unique stripe pattern make them among animals that are familiar to people. They
live mostly in savannas, grasslands, woodlands, mountains, thorny scrublands, and
coastal hills.
Hippos
Hippos are large and mostly herbivorous mammal in
sub-Saharan Africa. The name comes from the ancient Greek for ‘river horse’. After
rhinoceros and elephants, hippos are the third largest type of land mammal and
the heaviest also. In spite of their resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial
even-toed ungulates, their closest relatives are porpoises and whales. Hippos are
mostly recognized by their barrel-shaped torsos, enormous teeth and mouth,
hairless body, great size and stubby legs. They weigh at an average weight of
1500 kg for males and 1300 kg for females.
Giraffes
Giraffes are African even-toed ungulate mammal. They
are the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. Their species
name refers to camel-like appearance and the patches of color on their fur. The
main distinguishing characteristics of giraffes are its long necks and legs,
horn-like ossicones and distinctive coat patterns. They usually live in grasslands,
savannas, and open woodlands. Their main source of food is acacia leaves. They are
mostly preyed on by lions. Their calves are also preyed on by spotted hyenas,
leopards and wild dogs.
Elephants
Elephants are large
mammals. There are two species of elephants that are mostly recognized, the
Asian Elephant and African Elephant. Elephants are scattered throughout South
Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. They have several distinctive
features out of which the most noticeable are their long trunks that are used
for breathing, grasping objects and lifting water. Their incisors grow into
strong, white tusks which serve as weapons and tools for moving objects and
even digging. Elephants also have large ear flaps that help to control their
body temperature. Their strong legs can carry great weight. Asian elephants
have smaller ears as compared to African elephants. Elephants are herbivorous
mammals and live in forests, savannahs, deserts and marshes. They like living
near water. Many other animals such as tigers, lions, wild dogs and hyenas tend
to keep their distance from elephants.
Lions
Lions are one of the five big cats. Wild lions exist
in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa whereas the other types of lions have
disappeared from Southwest Asia and North Africa in historic times. Lions live
for 10 to 14 years in forests but they live for more than 20 years in captivity.
Groups of female lions hunt together and mostly prey on large ungulates. The male
lions are highly distinctive because of their mane.
Deer
Deer are most famous zoo animals. Their species
include white-tailed deer, mule deer such as elk, black-tailed deer, moose, and
reindeer, red deer, roe deer, chital, pudu and fallow deer. Male deer of all
species except Chinese water deer and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers
every year. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain of tropical Asian and
Asian forests are regarded as true deer and form their own families: Tragulidae
and Moschidae, respectively.
Leopards
Leopards are also among the five big cats. They belong
to the members of Felidae family with a range in some parts of West Asia, sub-Saharan
Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Siberia. The species have
hunting behavior similar to their relatives like tigers, and lions. Their ability
to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometers per hour is one of the distinctive
features. They can also climb trees even when are carrying carcass with them. It
is their strength and their speed that help them survive in this environment. They
can hunt down and catch animals like deer and bovid easily just like lions and
tigers.
Orangutan
Orangutans are two exclusively Asian species of
extant great apes. They are mostly found in Malaysia and Indonesia but are
currently found in rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. They spend most of their time
in trees, jumping from one to the other. They have reddish brown hair instead
of black or brown like of chimpanzees and gorillas. They are considered as
intelligent primates. Male and female orangutans differ in appearance and size.
Dominant adult males have unique cheek pads and produce long calls to attract
their females and intimidate rivals whereas younger males do not possess these characteristics
and resemble adult females more. Orangutans mostly eat fruits; that is an important
component of their diet however, the apes eat bark, vegetation, insects, honey,
and even bird eggs.
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