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Largest land predators in the world. Ranges: Russia to Alaska, Canada to Greenland & onto Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Population: 20,000 to 25,000; 60% in Canada.

Weight: 300-600kg (male), 150-300kg (female)
Height: 2.4-3 m
Gestation Period: 8 months
Life Span: 25-30 years in the wild
(43, living oldest captive in N.America)
Habitat: Sea ice, island, northern coastline

Status: Potentially threatened; hunting still permitted.
Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) Toronto Zoo (Canada), July 2007
Grizzly Bear
National Zoo (USA), 1986
Polar Bear
Toronto Zoo, July 2007
Current range: From Alaska & Western Canada to northwestern United States. Population: 30,000 in Alaska, 22,000 in Canada; less than 1,000 in the lower states of United States.

Weight: 180-680 kg; male 1.8 times heavier than the female
Height: 2.44 m
Gestation Period: 8 months
Life Span: 30 years
Habitat: Grassland; wooded areas around rivers and streams

Status: Protected; hunting permitted in Alaska and Canada; delisted from protection in the Yellowstone Park.
Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) Toronto Zoo, July 2007

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National Zoo, 1977 Hong Kong Botanical Zoo, 1988
Colour: tawny yellow to reddish brown & black. The black variety known as Black Panther. Just smaller than the lion. The strongest bite in the cat family. Large head and stock forelimbs to tell from a leopard. Distrubuted in central and south America.

Weight: 70-120 kg (male); 10-20% smaller (female)
Gestation Period: 93-105 days
Life Span: 12-16 years (23 in captivity)
Habitat: Dense rain forest; tropical, subtropical & dry deciduous forests.

Status: Near threatened
Jaguar (Pathera onca) Hong Kong Botanical Zoo, 1988

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Originated from the central plains of North America 40 million years ago; dispersed to South America 3 million years ago. Now extinct in North America after the last ice age.

Gestation Period: 350 days
Life Span: 15-25 years

Status: Not protected. Used as pack animals, pets, and farm animals.
Llama (Lama glama) Toronto Zoo, July 2007
The 2-humped camel differing from the one-humped dromedary. Distributed from the central Asia to Mongolia and northern China.

Shoulder Height: 1.8-2.4 m
Gestation Period: 12-14 months
Life Span: 50 years
Habitat: Deserts, Gobi steppe

Status: Endangered in the wild; common in domestic herds.
Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) Toronto Zoo, July 2007
Also called Przewalski's Horse; the last living primitive breed; discovered by Colonel Przeswalski in Mongolia in 1879. Features: Upright mane, little forelock, long black tail, thin dorsal stripe at the back, black lower legs -sometimes with zebra markings. Re-introduced to Mongolia by a Dutch foundation in 1982. Now found in zoos and reserves in Poland and other countries.

Shoulder Height: 1.1-1.4 m
Habitat: Originally - steppes; later - stony, sandy soil with shrubs

Status: Extinct in the wild; population: about 700.
Asian Wild Horse (Equus przewalskii) Toronto Zoo, July 2007

The displays shown here are for general reference only and not responsible for the accuracy of the information or data herein.

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