The orangutan is an exclusively Asian ape. They are currently only found in the Borneo and Sumatra rainforests.
The reddish-brown orangutan spends most of its time in trees and primarily eats fruit but other things like vegetation, bark, honey, insects and bird eggs are consumed.
Orangutans are highly intelligent and one featured as Clint Eastwood’s sidekick “Clyde” in the movie Every Which Way But Loose.
The nilgai is the largest Asian Antelope. It’s found primarily in India although can also be found in southern Nepal and eastern Pakistan and is often spotted in scrub forest or farmland.
Mother and calves
Moose are the largest members of the deer family. These large herbivores eat shoots from trees, grass, nuts and aquatic plants.
Quite often during the winter, moose are drawn to the roads to like the salt that has been used to melt ice.
On a trip home from up north one summer, we decided to drive through Algonquin Park and are so glad we did. At one spot, the shoulder of the road was lined with cars so we knew there was an animal of some kind (moose, deer, bear) in the woods by the roadside. Parking the car, we ventured closer and there it was – a solitary young bull moose.
As people pushed toward it from behind, my husband and I moved in the direction is was going and I was rewarded with some fantastic pictures of the large animal. We watched it for a long time before it took any interest in us and slowly ambled off further into the woods.
The leopard is one of the five “big cats”. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. It looks like the jaguar but is smaller and has been mistaken by times for the cheetah.
In the film, Bringing Up Baby, “Baby” was a pet leopard.
The koala is often referred to as a “koala bear” which is inaccurate. These marsupials are herbivores and native to Australia – primarily along the east coast.
Their diet consists almost completely of eucalyptus leaves, which also provides them with water.
Koalas sleep about 20 hours a day, leaving them 4 hours to forage for food and other physical activities.
The jackal is a small carnivorous member of the Canis family. It’s native to Africa and South-Central Eurasia. They are well suited for running. When jackals hunt, they either hunt alone or in pairs.
The indri is one of the largest members of the lemur family and native to Madagascar. It’s also called babakoto.
This animal is monogamous and will only seek out a new mate after the death of its mate.
The hippotamus is a large mammal native to Africa. These herbivores spend their days in water or mud (even reproduction and childbirth occur here) and come out at dusk to graze. Although they luxuriate in the “bath” – water or mud – in groups, on land they are solitary creatures.
Gerbils are small rodents that usually grow to between 6 and 12 inches long (including their tail).
They were first introduced to the pet industry in 1964 but you can’t buy, import or keep a gerbil as a pet in California.
The fox is a member of the canine family and is found on every continent but Antarctica. They are omnivores and are slightly smaller than an average dog.
Recently, there have been reports in the news of foxes entering houses during the night in parts of London, England and attacking babies and toddlers.
