THE GIANT PANDA

The Giant Panda is the most endangered of the 8 species of bears. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is universally admired for its appealing markings and seemingly gentle demeanour. A member of the bear family, the giant panda is a robust animal with heavy shoulders and a distinctive black and white coat. 

Most of the body and belly of the giant panda are white, contrasting sharply with the black ears, black limbs and shoulders, and black patches over the eyes. The male giant panda is slightly larger and heavier than the female.

Penguins!

Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have evolved into flippers.

Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. They spend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans. Although all penguin species are native to the southern hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin live so far south. Several species are found in the temperate zone, and one species, the Galápagos Penguin, lives near the equator.

Emperor Penguins

The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri): on average adults are about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall and weigh 35 kg (75 lb) or more. The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known as the Fairy Penguin, which stands around 40 cm tall (16 in) and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb).

Fairy Penguins

 Among extant penguins, larger penguins inhabit colder regions, while smaller penguins are generally found in temperate or even tropical climates (see also Bergmann's Rule). Some prehistoric species attained enormous sizes, becoming as tall or as heavy as an adult human.

Rockhopper Penguins

These were not restricted to Antarctic regions; on the contrary, subantarctic regions harbored high diversity, and at least one giant penguin occurred in a region not quite 2,000 km south of the equator, in a climate decidedly warmer than today.

Kairuku Penguin

Dan Ksepka examines a specimen of Kairuku in a display case at the University of Otago's Geology Museum.  Photo by R. Ewan Fordyce.

“It’s almost like someone took an emperor penguin and stretched it out,” says Daniel Ksepka, an avian paleontologist at North Carolina State University who helped to reassemble the fossils. The new species (from the genus Kairuku) is sleeker and more slender than other penguins.

It has lengthy flippers for its size and a long and narrow beak. And at four feet two inches tall, the svelte Kairuku was nearly 12 inches taller than the tallest living penguin today, the emperor penguin.

The World's Biggest and Most Dangerous Cat: The Tiger

 

Today, there are only seven species of big cats that survived from what was—about 25 million years ago—a remarkably diverse group of large felid carnivores. These seven living species are classified into three groups that include the Panthera, Felis, and Acinonyx. Each species is quite unique and can be distinguished from the others by their different body size, behaviors, and appearance.

1.Tiger - Panthera tigris is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb). It is the third largest land carnivore (behind only the Polar bear and the Brown bear).

While Tiger's won’t attack people unless provoked or hungry, clashes are common enough. Recently the issue has become even more common as human encroachment and deforestation means the shrinking habitat of the tiger frequently extends into populated areas. They are immensely strong and deadly predators. Treat them with the respect they deserve.

Its most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts. It has exceptionally stout teeth, and the canines are the longest among living felids with a crown height of as much as 74.5 mm (2.93 in) or even 90 mm (3.5 in).

They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. This, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans.

Read More on the Tiger
Top 5 Most Dangerous Animals in Asia

African Elephants !!!!

African Elephants 

Elephants the largest land animals on land. They can grow to be between 10 and 13 feet tall at the shoulder, and usually weigh between 8,000 and 24,000 pounds, depending on the species. Female elephants tend to be slightly smaller than male elephants.

Perhaps one of the world’s most emotive and iconic animals, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest living terrestrial mammal, with the largest recorded individual reaching a massive four metres at the shoulder and weighing an impressive ten tonnes (2). The African elephant’s brain is bigger than that of any other animal and its skull is exceptionally large, having evolved to support the trunk and the heavy teeth and jaws. Arkive.Org

The herbivorous creatures also lead long lives, generally living to between 50 and 70 years, although some captive elephants may live into their eighties.

The skull of the African elephant is huge, making up 25% of its body weight. African elephants grow throughout their lives, but the rate slows after sexual maturity. The upper lip and nose of the African elephant are extended to form the trunk. African elephants use sounds well below the range of human hearing to communicate over long distances.

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