Least Concern

The African crested porcupine (or Hystrix cristata) is a large species of rodent found in the semi-deserts, savannahs, and montane areas of Central and Northern Africa, as well as Italy. Its coarse, bristled fur is dark brown to black in colour, with its most distinctive feature being the black and white quills that grow from the middle of its neck, across its back and sides, and down its tail. These quills are raised upright when the porcupine feels threatened, and are very sharp. The African crested porcupine has a blunt, rounded snout, small eyes, and round ears.

The brown-throated sloth (or Bradypus variegatus) is an arboreal mammal living in the rainforests of Central and South America. It is pale grey to brown in colour, has long gangly limbs, longer arms than legs, and a short, vestigial tail. The sloth has three long claws on both of its hands and feet, although the front claws are significantly longer. The brown-throated sloth has a round head with inconspicuous ears and dark brown markings going laterally from the eyes to the side of the head.

Native to the rivers, lakes and marshes of Western and Central Africa, the red river hog (or Potamochoerus porcus) is a small member of the pig family. It has striking red fur across its body, with a black face, legs, tail and ears. The ears are adorned with long black and white tufts. Down their backs, red river hogs have a wispy, white line of hair. Their facial features and ears are surrounded by coarse white fur. They are sexually dimorphic, with males being generally larger and heavier than females, and having a wider skull with bony protrusions and long whiskers along the face.

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.

The Old World swallowtail (or Papilio machaon) is a butterfly living in the temperate regions, woodlands and even tundras of Europe, Asia and North America. It has pale yellow wings with grey-black patterning on the forewings, and blue-black accents as well as red eyespots on the hindwings. The hindwings also have an extended ‘tail’, for which they are named swallowtail. There is no sexual dimorphism in size and appearance in the Old World swallowtail, and its average wingspan is 6.5cm to 8.6cm. The caterpillar is plump and pale green with black and orange markings on each body segment.

The European peacock (or Aglais io) is a species of butterfly living throughout the temperate grasslands and woodlands of Europe and Asia. It has four red wings with brown edges and distinctive eye spots. These eye spots may be made up of yellow, blue, red or purple scales and have black surrounding marks. The undersides of the wings are brown to black. Males and females looks alike, although females may be up to 10% larger than males. European peacocks reach a wingspan of 5cm to 6.4cm.

The cloudless sulphur (or Phoebis sennae) is a butterfly found in temperate open areas – grasslands, parks, gardens, watercourses and seashores – of North, Central and South America. It has yellow wings with brown and/or black spots and borders. Females tend to be less vibrant than males and have yellow spots along the dark wing borders. The cloudless sulphur has a wingspan of 5.5cm to 7.8cm. Caterpillars of the cloudless sulphur are bright yellow or green with a yellow stripe and blue spots along each side.

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 emu (or Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the world’s second largest species of flightless bird, only dwarfed by the common ostrich. It lives in the savannahs and woodlands of Australia. The emu has a long, bald neck which may have a blue tint, shaggy brown feathers that begin partway down the neck, and long grey legs with large three-toed feet. Emus have a grey beak, orange eyes and tufty feathers on the top of their head. Males and females look alike, although female emus are generally larger and heavier than males.

The caracal (or Caracal caracal) is a small wildcat living in the savannahs, marshes, semi-deserts and wood and scrublands of Africa and the Middle East. Its coat is tan-red with a paler underside and the body is stocky with large feet and a comparatively short tail. It has large pointed ears with long, black tufts protruding from the tips, as well as dark facial markings above the eyes and sides of their lips. Caracal males are slightly larger than females, but sexes otherwise look alike.