Temperate

The giant burrowing cockroach (or Macropanesthia rhinoceros) is a large insect native to the scrublands and dry forests of Northern Australia. They measure approximately 8cm long, weigh 30g, and are dark reddish-brown in colour. They are so named for their habit of digging burrows in the sandy earth, often delving up to 1m into the ground. They are a popular pet because of the ease of care and their positive response to being handled.

The Eastern brown snake (or Pseudonaja textilis) is a venomous species of reptile that lives in Australia and New Guinea. It prefers to live in dry areas so can be found in the grassland, scrubland and sparse forests. The snakes are pale to dark brown in colour, often with a paler underside, and they may have slightly darker brown mottling on their scales as camouflage.

The common death adder (or Acanthophis antarcticus) is a venomous snake that lives in the grasslands, forests and bushlands of Eastern and Southern Australia. It has a flat, triangular head, a squat body and a rapidly tapering tail, as well as a banded patternation of light brown, dark brown and grey in order for it to be well disguised in leaf litter and other debris. On average, the common death adder is between 70 and 100cm long.

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 Giant Galapagos tortoise (or Chelonoidas nigra) is a species of reptile endemic to the Galapagos Islands and does not appear anywhere else in the world. They come in two types – saddleback shelled and dome shelled – and both variants have a dull grey-brown shell and scaly, grey coloured skin. Saddleback shell tortoises have long necks and live in dry lowland areas, while dome shell tortoises have short necks and live in humid highland areas.

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 bongo (or Tragelaphus erycerus) is a secretive, forest-dwelling antelope that lives in the woodlands of Central Africa. They have a tan-to-red coloured coat, white vertical stripes on their torso and pale inner legs, large ears, and a yellow chevron under their eyes. Their main distinguishing features are their large, spiraling, vertical horns. While males and females are a similar size – between 1.1 and 1.3m tall at the shoulder, and 2.15 and 3.15m long – the males are much heavier, averaging 310kg compared to a female’s 190kg.

The Bengal tiger (or Panthera tigris tigris) is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Western China. It can live in all kinds of environments, including grassland, forests and mangroves, and will hunt large prey such as cloven-hoofed animals like goats, deer and cows (collectively known as ungulates). The Bengal tiger can be identified by its bright orange coat and brown or black stripes, along with a large head, muscular limbs and large teeth.

The American plains bison (or Bison bison bison) is a large ungulate native to the USA and Canada. Bison are characterised by their large head, shoulder hump and forequarters, all of which are covered in a shaggy coat. Their hind-quarters are comparatively less muscled with a thinner coat. Both sexes have horns are similar in size, but males are much heavier due to having more muscle.

Endemic to the Seychelle Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago east of the African coast, the Aldabra giant tortoise (or Aldabrachelys gigantea) is a reptilian species capable of growing to extremely large sizes. Males average between 200 and 250 kg, while the smaller females still average between 121 and 159kg. Their shells are a dull, grey-brown colour made up of peaked keratinous plates and their skin is scaly and grey.