Mammal

The Arctic fox is a small species of canid that lives in the Arctic regions and Alpine tundra of Canada, the USA, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. In the winter, most Arctic foxes have a thick, white coat that insulates them from extreme temperatures. In summer, their coat is brown or dark grey, pale on the underside and is much thinner. A small percentage of the population stays brown in both winter and summer, known as blue morphs. The Arctic fox has broad rounded ears, small amber eyes and a small black nose.

The Southern white rhinoceros is a large species of ungulate native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia). They are large, broad animals with thick, grey skin. The Southern white rhinoceros has two horns, with the front horn being much longer than the secondary horn. The head of the rhinoceros is almost rectangular in shape with a square snout. They have protuberant ears on the top of their head and a hump at the base of the neck formed of the musculature that supports the head.

The meerkat is a species of social mongoose that is found in complex underground burrows in the savannahs and semi-deserts of Southern Africa. It lives in family packs and is considered to be ‘eusocial’, meaning it is highly socially organised and pack members have strongly defined roles within their group. Meerkats have a flat, pointed head and a sandy-coloured face with black eyes and ears. They have a mottled pattern of grey and yellow fur on their back and a pointed, black tipped tail. Meerkats move on all fours but assume a distinctive stance on their hind legs when alert.

The fennec fox is a small species of canid that lives in the Sahara desert. The fur of the back, head and tail is sandy coloured, and the fur of the legs, belly and face are white. The fennec fox’s most distinctive feature is its extremely large pointed ears. The fennec fox is very small, measuring 18 to 22cm tall at the shoulder with a head-body length of 34 to 40cm. Their tail is up to 25cm long and their ears measure 9 to 10cm in length. They weigh between 0.8 and 1.9kg. Males are slightly larger than females.

The sun bear is a small species of bear that lives in the tropical rainforests of South-East Asia. It has dark brown to black fur with a yellow-tan face and muzzle with a distinctive orange-coloured crescent marking across its upper chest. The sun bear has a broad head, long oblong snout and small rounded ears. Males and females look the same, but males are 10% to 20% larger than females. They measure between 120 and 150cm in length and weigh between 27 and 65kg.

The proboscis monkey is a species of primate that lives in the rainforests, mangroves and swamp forests of the Isle of Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei). The monkeys have dark orange fur on their backs and the top of their heads, paler orange fur on their chests, stomachs and upper arms and grey fur on their lower bodies, legs and forearms. Males have a distinctive elongated nose that hangs down over their lip. Females do not have this pronounced feature, although their noses are still quite prominent for primates.

The Malayan tapir is a mammal native to the rainforests of South East Asia. The Malayan tapir’s head, shoulders, front legs and back legs are black, and their mid-body and back end is white. It is a heavy-set animal and has a distinctive prehensile proboscis nose. Malayan tapirs measure between 1.8 and 2.5m in length and weigh between 250 and 540kg. Females tend to be slightly larger than males and 10% to 20% heavier.

The Ussuri dhole lives in the forests, grasslands and tundra of India, Nepal, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, and is the largest of all subspecies of dhole. The Ussuri dhole has a red coat, white underbelly and narrow muzzle. They have summer and winter coats, with the winter coat being thicker and a brighter red. The dhole has a head-body length of 88-113cm, a tail length of 41-50cm and a shoulder height of 45-55cm. Both sexes are similar in size, but males are significantly heavier than females, with males weighing between 15 and 20kg and females weighing between 10 and 13kg.

The clouded leopard is a medium-sized arboreal cat that lives in the forests and grasslands of South East Asia. It has yellow to grey fur that is covered in large black reticulated rings. Their head, legs and tail are covered in black spots and stripes. Clouded leopards are between 69 and 108cm long, with a tail length of 61 to 91cm. Males are larger than females. Clouded leopards weigh between 11 and 23kg.

The binturong, also known as the bearcat, is a species of mammal that lives in the forests of South and South-East Asia. It has a long, stocky body with comparatively short broad legs. They have wiry black hair with a brown face and white-tipped rounded ears. Females are approximately 20% larger than the males. The binturong has a head-body length of 71-91cm, and a tail length of 56-91cm. The males weigh between 9-20kg and the females weigh between 11-32kg.