Taiga

The markhor (or Capra falconeri) is a large goat from Central Asia, which is also sometimes called the screw-horned goat. They are stocky creatures with sturdy, barrel-shaped bodies. Their cloven hooves allow them to climb steep mountains and cliffs. They are covered in thick fur, which is grey-brown for males and a lighter, richer brown in females. A primitive black stripe follows the spine, and legs and face have dark markings. Males have a long, shaggy beard along the entire length of the neck. Both sexes carry thick, curled horns, which are significantly longer in males.

The spectacled bear (or Tremarctos ornatus) is a medium-sized bear native to the Andes regions of South America. It has thick, black fur with white markings on face and chest. The face is relatively flat compared to other bears, showing its close relationship with the extinct short-faced bears. Like other bears, the spectacled bear is highly sexually dimorphic, with the female being much smaller than the male. Male spectacled bears stand 76cm to 91cm tall at the shoulder and weigh 100kg to 200kg, while females are 60cm to 73cm tall and weigh only 35kg to 82kg.

Przewalski’s horse (or Equus ferus przewalskii) is a species of wild horse living in the steppes of Mongolia, also known as the takhi, Mongolian wild horse and the Dzungarian horse. Przewalski’s horse is smaller and has a stockier build than most other equid species. It measures 2.1m to 2.6m in length and stands between 1.2m and 1.5m high at the shoulders. Mature individuals weigh between 250kg and 360kg. Males may be slightly larger than females, though there is no obvious sexual dimorphism in this species.

The Siberian tiger (or Panthera tigris altaica) – also known as the Amur tiger – is the largest of the cat species. It is characterised by orange-yellow fur with thin, black stripes and a paler undercoat on its belly. Its head is also very large, with strong jaws containing large canines.

The Japanese macaque (or Macaca fuscata) is a species of monkey endemic to the islands of Japan. It lives in a variety of environments, including the sub-arctic forests of Japan’s northern regions, and is therefore also known as the snow monkey. It has a thick beige fur coat, white belly and pink face, with males measuring an average of 57cm long and weighing 11kg. Females are slightly smaller, averaging 52cm long and weighing 8kg.

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.