«« Album Zoo Animals (Americas) »»
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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.
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Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) |
Toronto Zoo (Canada), July 2007 |
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Grizzly Bear National Zoo (USA), 1986 |
Polar Bear Toronto Zoo, July 2007 |
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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.
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Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) |
Toronto Zoo, July 2007 |
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National Zoo, 1977 |
Hong Kong Botanical Zoo, 1988 |
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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.
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Llama (Lama glama) |
Toronto Zoo, July 2007 |
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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.
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Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) |
Toronto Zoo, July 2007 |
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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.
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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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