Gorilla

1. Gorilla Most Gorillas are usually herbivores and eat up to 40 lbs. of food a day! A male Gorilla can grow up to 6 ft. tall and weigh up to 480 lbs.! A female Gorilla can grow up to 5 ft. and weigh up to 215 lbs.! While they are capable of walking upright, gorillas predominantly walk on four limbs. A gorilla will typically spend a third of the day eating, a third of the day foraging for food and playing, with the rest of the time spent resting and sleeping. Gorillas live in small family groups known as troops. Gorillas are preyed upon by leopards and crocodiles. Gorillas live in the grasslands; more specifically the savannas in Africa. Fun fact! Though Gorillas have no discernible language, it is estimated that gorillas have at least 22 distinct sounds, which they use for communication. Another fun fact! Gorillas are the largest living primates!

2. The fruit bat The fruit bat surprisingly not a vampire! So you can guess that these bad boys are herbivores! The Fruit Bat is often confused for other species of bats. They look very common but it is their variations in size that get them mistaken. In some areas the Fruit Bat is about 16 inches long. Yet when you compare it to other areas where they are only 2 inches long you can see why people don’t think they are the same species. They also vary in weight – as much as 2 pounds or as little as 2 ounces. As you now know, fruit bats can live all over! But typically live in the tropical rain forest biome so they have more access to food and water. In the air the Fruit bats most problematic predators are eagles and hawk s but in the trees they may have problems with squirrels and snakes. The Fruit bat’s tongue is actually so long that it sits rolled up in under their ribcage!

3. All about Meerkats! Meerkats are located by the Atlantic Ocean, a lot of these mammals living in South Africa In the Savanna Grasslands biome. Their diets consist of fruits, lizards, insects, & birds, meerkats are omnivores as you may notice. A neat fact about meerkats is that if one spots either of their predators (Eagles and Hawks.) then they will send out a shrieking call and all will take cover! Meerkat groups utilize several different burrows and move from one to another. Each burrow is an extensive tunnel-and-room system that remains cool even under the broiling African sun. Squirrel-sized meerkats are mongooses famed for their upright posture. They often stand on their rear legs and gaze alertly over the southern African plains where they live. A fun fact is mothers can even nurse their young while standing! Size:Headand body, 9.75 to 11.75 in (25 to 30 cm); tail, 7.5 to 9.5 in (19 to 24 cm) Weight:Lessthan 2.2 lbs (1 kg) (credit to National Geographic! http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/meerkat/ )

4. Jaguars Fun fact! Jaguars are the largest of South America's big cats! This big kitty is a fierce mammal and also a carnivore so watch out! Due to them living in a remote region like the tropical rain forest biome of Central America, Jaguars sometimes climb trees to prepare an ambush, killing their prey with one powerful bite. The Jaguars natural predator is actually man. Many people hunt jaguars for their charmingly exotic fur. Some farmers kill they because they hunt their livestock also. ( http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/jaguar/)

5. Plains (Burchell's) zebras! These Horse-like herbivores live in the Temperate grasslands biome! These zebras stick together by looking for their main predators hyenas and lions! Scientists are not sure why these African animals’ coats look like this but many theorize that it is for camouflage! A fun fact about zebras is Each animal's stripes are as unique as fingerprints—no two are exactly alike—although each of the three species has its own general pattern! ( http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/zebra/ )

6. Tarantula! This creepy crawler is –scarily, A carnivore! Tarantulas typically live in the tropical rain forests biome. Tarantulas have few natural enemies, but parasitic pepsis wasps are a formidable exception. Such a wasp will paralyze a tarantula with its sting and lay its eggs on the spider's body. When the eggs hatch, wasp larvae gorge themselves on the still living tarantula. Fun fact - A tarantula’s venom actually isn’t enough to harm a person! ( http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/tarantula/ )

7. Bald Eagle This feisty feathered friend is a carnivore who lives in all around Canada and the U.S in the Coniferous Forests biome and surprisingly actually does not have ANY predators! This bird is at the top of the food chain. (You would be too though if you were 34 to 43 in with a wingspan of 6 to 8 ft.) These powerful birds of prey use their talons to fish, but they get many of their meals by scavenging carrion or stealing the kills of other animals. Fun fact! The largest bald eagle nest on record was 9.5 ft (3 m) wide and 20 ft (6 m) high. It weighed more than two tons!

8. Falcons are carnivores found in the Northern hemisphere located in the temperate regions; so you may guess that these bad boy birds are living in the Temperate Deciduous Forests biome. Falcons hunt all kinds of small animals like mice, frogs, fish and falcons will even catch small birds in the air. Falcons predators consist of wolves, humans, eagles, & owls. Falcons have tapered wings that allow the falcon to change direction extremely quickly especially when compared to other birds. Falcons have been recorded diving at speeds of up to 200mph, meaning they are the fastest creatures on the planet! Peregrine Falcon Fun fact! The peregrine falcon is the most common bird of prey in the world and is found on every continent besides Antarctica!

9. African lions African Lions are definitely a well known- and liked wild animal. Well, not very well liked by the carnivore prides prey, antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands. African lions are mostly preyed upon by poachers. As you may tell in the name, African lions’ biome is the Savannas in Africa. A fun fact about African Lions! Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young! http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-lion/

10. (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chimpanzee/) Chimpanzee! This primate’s diet consists of an omnivore appetite. Chimps are generally fruit and plant eaters, but they also consume insects, eggs, and meat, including carrion. They have a tremendously varied diet that includes hundreds of known foods. Chimpanzees are actually endangered by us humans so it is important that we conserve their habitat. Chimpanzees can actually live in two different biomes. (Tropical Rain Forests & Temperate Grasslands.) A fun fact about Chimpanzees! Chimpanzees are one of the few animal species that employ tools. They shape and use sticks to retrieve insects from their nests or dig grubs out of logs. They also use stones to smash open tasty nuts and employ leaves as sponges to soak up drinking water. Chimpanzees can even be taught to use some basic human sign language!

11. African elephant African Elephants are herbivores consuming up to 300 lbs. of plants a day! They can be found in the Temperate grasslands and Savannas biomes in Africa. Their main predator is humans. Since the Ivory in their tusks is so valuable lots of people kill the animals for it. African Elephants pregnancies actually last longer than any other animals, 22 months! A fun fact about African Elephants- African elephants are the largest of Earth's land mammals! http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant/?source=A-to-Z

12. Adelie Penguins Adelie Penguins belong to the Artic/Polar Tundra and have a diet consisting of shrimp-like krill, but also eat fish and squid. This carnivore bird’s main predators are whales, artic foxes, and artic wolves. A fun fact about Adelie penguins! Once on land, Adélies build nests and line them with small stones!

13. Golden poison dart frog These pint sized poisonous killers are carnivores with a hunger for flies, crickets, ants, termites, and beetles. The only natural predator of the golden poison dart frog is Leimadophisepinephelus, a snake that has developed a resistance to the frog's poison. This frog belongs to the Tropical rain forests biome. (Fun fact.) Watch out! One of these two-inch amphibians venom is enough to kill ten grown men!