Mammal

Also known as the ‘Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros’, the Indian Rhinoceros (or Rhinoceros unicornis) is a large grazing ungulate native to the river basins of Northern India, Nepal and Bhutan. The species can be distinguished by its short, thick horn and brown-grey bumpy skin, which is often likened to plate armour. Male rhinos are bigger than females – the former averaging 2100kg and 3.7m long, compared to the latter’s average of 1600kg and 3.2m. As well as their difference in size, males look different thanks to their large neck folds.

Native to both Central and Southeast Asia, the Indian or Asian elephant (or Elephas maximus indicus) is a species distinguishable by a distinctive trunk, small ears, and grey skin with pink mottling around the face. They are smaller than their African counterparts, with males reaching an average height of 2.75m and weighing 4000kg, compared to the female average of 2.40m and 2400kg. They are large herbivores and live in a variety of different environments, including forests, grasslands and mountains, wherein they feed on tree leaves, bark and grasses.

The Himalayan brown bear (or Ursus arctos isabellinus) is a subspecies of brown bear that lives in the mountains of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India, West China, Nepal, Kazakhstan and Tibet. They are very rare and extremely endangered – the size of the population left in the wild are unknown, but they are threatened by numerous factors including habitat fragmentation through human development, as well as poaching for their fur and other body parts.

Native to northern USA and Canada, the grizzly bear is in fact a subspecies of brown bear (or Ursus arctos horribilis) and is often called the North American brown bear to prevent confusion. A Grizzly can be identified by its thick, brown fur, a large shoulder hump, a straight snout and rounded ears. They have strong front legs with long claws used for digging and hunting.

The giant panda (or Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a species of bear native to the mountains of Central China. They have black and white fur in a distinctive pattern, with black legs, ears and circles around their eyes. Pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo and, as a result, are extremely dependent on rich bamboo forests to survive. This is a low energy food, so pandas must eat a lot of it to live and spend most of their waking hours foraging and eating. Their low energy intake also means they produce very tiny and vulnerable cubs.

The gemsbok (or Oryx gazella) is a species of antelope that lives in the Kalahari and Namib deserts of Southern Africa. They are characterised by several visual features: long, slim and spiral horns; a black face with white markings over the eyes and muzzle; a grey-brown coat with black markings on the upper legs and back; as well as white ‘socks’. On average, Gemsbok stand between 1.1 and 1.3m tall at the shoulder, measure 1.9 to 2.4m long and have an average horn length of 85cm. The males are also slightly larger and significantly heavier than the females.

The Formosan black bear (or Ursus thibetanus formosanus) is a subspecies of the Asiatic black bear that’s endemic to Taiwan. They have a stocky build with black fur, rounded ears and a long straight snout; plus their most characteristic and distinct visual feature, which is a V-shaped white patch on their chest. The Formosan black bears are sexually dimorphic; in this case the males are much larger than females. The former weigh and measure an average of 135kg and 1.7m, and the latter average 70kg and 1.35m.

The common warthog (or Phacochoerus africanus) lives throughout Sub-Saharan Africa in a wide variety of environments. Although not currently endangered, the species is vulnerable to drought and hunting, as they’re often viewed by humans as pests. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, they can spread disease to livestock. Secondly, they can destroy crops on farmland when rooting with their tusks. This has resulted in some pockets of the population being wiped out.

The common hippopotamus (or Hippopotamus amphibius) is a large mammal native to the rivers of Sub-Saharan Africa. They are large, water dwelling animals with long protruding teeth, nostrils on the top of their snout, small ears and thick grey-brown skin. Males are 4 to 5m long and weigh between 1500 and 2000kg, whereas females measure between 3.3 and 4.2m, and weigh 1000 to 1500kg.

The Chinese pangolin (or Manis pentadactyla) is a critically endangered insectivorous species native to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Taiwan and Southern China. They are small, secretive and slow-moving animals, their most distinguishing feature being their layered armour-like keratinous scales. Chinese pangolins are between 40 and 58cm long with a tail measuring 25 to 38cm. They spend their days sleeping in their burrows, and their nights foraging for ants, termites and other insects.