Rainforest

The Asian water monitor (or Varanus salvator) is a large reptile native to the rainforests, swamps, and mangrove forests throughout much of the warmer areas of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is dark green to black in colouration, with pale brown and yellow reticulated markings across its whole body. These reticulations often appear as bands on the tail. The Asian water monitor displays sexual dimorphism, with males being larger.

Found in grasslands, rainforests and dried scrublands, the nine-banded armadillo (or Dasypus novemcinctus) is a species of armoured mammal native to North, Central, and South America. There are nine subspecies of nine-banded armadillo spread throughout its range, with a lot of variation in appearance between them. Generally, nine-banded armadillos are covered by a mottled pink-grey carapace made up of large plates across their shoulders and hips, and nine characteristic segmented plates over the torso, which merges into their long, plated tail.

The Egyptian fruit bat (or Rousettus aegyptiacus) is a megabat living in the rainforests, deciduous woodlands and scrublands of Sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. Their body is covered in fur that may be yellow, orange or brown in colour. They have large, grey-black wings with pinker colouration around the fingers. Egyptian fruit bats have a long snout ending in a blunt nose, large round eyes and big pointed ears. On average, they measure 15cm in length, with a wingspan of around 60cm. Their weight ranges between 80g and 170g.

The siamang (or Symphalangus syndactylus) is a species of gibbon living in the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian island of Sumatra. Their body is covered in all-black shaggy fur, which is thinner and grey on their faces. Siamangs have very long arms - their arm span approximately measuring twice their body length, short and sturdy legs and no tail. One of their most prominent features is the throat sac under their chin, which inflates during their distinctive vocalisations. Typically, siamangs are 75cm to 100cm tall and weigh between 10kg and 13kg.

The wild water buffalo (or Bubalus arnee), also known as the Asian water buffalo, is a very large species of bovine living in the marshes, swamps and flood plains of central east and southeast Asia. Its present range is extremely fragmented, with the majority of animals living in India, and other populations surviving in Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand and Cambodia. Wild water buffaloes have grey to black skin, with coarse dark hair covering the body sparsely, and an elongated head with small ears.

The capybara (or Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the world’s largest rodent and lives throughout savannahs, forests and wetlands of South America. Its large, barrel-like body is covered in coarse brown fur. Capybaras have partially webbed feet to accommodate their semiaquatic lifestyle, a short vestigial tail, and small ears on their oblong shaped head. They typically measure 50cm to 62cm in height and 106cm to 134cm in length. Although similar in size, female capybaras tend to be heavier than males, with an average weight of 61kg for females and 50kg for males.

The black-and-white ruffed lemur (or Varecia variegata) is a species of primate native to the eastern rainforests of Madagascar. As the name implies, its coat is made up of distinct black and white patches: the underside, head, paws and tail are black, while limbs, back and the distinctive ruff are white. Black-and-white ruffed lemurs are 50cm to 55cm long, with a tail of around 60cm length. Like in other lemurs, females are slightly larger than males.

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.