Tag mammal

Turkmenian Fox

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The Turkmenian Fox (Vulpes vulpes flavescens) is a vulpine mammal. It is a sub-species of the Red Fox.

The Turkmenian Fox has greyish fur with reddish-yellow tints. Its winter fur is dense, long, soft, and silky. It sides are lighter than its back and its chin, lower lips, throat and front of the chest are white. The tip of its fluffy tail is white. It has a long body, long narrow head, and short legs. Its front paws have five toes and its back paws have four toes. Each toe has a strong claw. It has orange-brown, oval-shaped pupils with excellent vision.

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North American River Otter

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The North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) is a freshwater, semi-aquatic mammal in the Lutrinae sub-family of the Mustelidae family of weasels. It is a mustelid. It is also known as the Northern River Otter or the Common Otter.

The North American River Otter has a long, slender body, which is streamlined for swimming. Its fur is short, thick and water-repellent. It has short legs with webbed feet for swimming, but it can also walk on land. It varies in colour from light-brown to black, with a greyish chest, neck, and throat. It has a short nose, flat head, round ears, and a nose pad (like a dog). It has long whiskers, called vibrissae. It has a long, tapered tail.

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Steppe Wolf

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The Steppe Wolf (Canis lupus campestris) is a subspecies of the Grey Wolf. It is a canid or canine mammal. It is also known as the Caspian Sea Wolf. 

The Steppe Wolf is dog-like with thick light-grey fur, and a rusty-red-grey or brownish back with a mixture of black hair. It has a triangular-shaped face with a wide forehead and medium-sized ears and brown eyes. Its tail does not have much fur. 

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Agile Gibbon

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The Agile Gibbon (Hylobates agilis) is an arboreal primate mammal in the Gibbon family. It is also known as the Black-Handed Gibbon. It is not a monkey because it does not have a tail.

The Agile Gibbon ranges in colour from red-brown to black. It has a white brow. The male has white or light-grey cheeks. It has very long arms, which enable it to swing from branch to branch very quickly. 

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Gemsbok

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The Gemsbok (Oryx gazelle) is a large ungulate (hoofed) mammal. It is an antelope. It is also called the Oryx Gazelle, Gemsbuck, or South African Oryx. 

The Gemsbok has light-brownish-grey fur with lighter patches towards it rear. It has a black stripe from its chin to the lower edge of its neck, and to its shoulder and legs. Its tail is long and black. It has a muscular neck and shoulders. Its legs have white ‘socks’ with a black patch on the front of its front legs. Both the male and the female have long, straight horns. The female has longer, thinner horns than the male. 

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Scimitar Oryx

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The Scimitar Oryx (Oryx dammah) is a large ungulate (hoofed) mammal. It is an antelope and a bovid. It is also known as the Sahara Oryx or the Scimitar-Horned Oryx. 

The Scimitar Oryx has white fur with a red-brown chest and black markings on its forehead and down its nose. Both the male and the female have large, thin, straight, hollow horns that curve backwards. The female has thinner horns than the male. Its tail has a tuft of hair at the end. Its large, spreading hooves are adapted to living in the desert. 

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Jaguar

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The Jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large, near-threatened wild cat. It is a felid. 

The Jaguar looks like the Leopard, but it is larger and more muscular. It has tawny-brown fur covered with rosette-shaped markings with one or several dots. It has spots on its head and neck. Its tail also has spots, and ends with bands. Forest Jaguars are usually darker than those in open areas. It has short, powerful legs. It has a large head with strong jaws.  

The Black Panther or Black Jaguar is actually a melanistic Jaguar, mainly found in South America. 

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What is the difference between the Chacoan Peccary and the Southern White-Lipped Peccary?

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What is the difference between the Chacoan Peccary (Catagonus wagneri) and the Southern White-Lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari albirostris)?

The Chacoan Peccary and the Southern White-Lipped Peccary are both pig-like ungulate (hoofed) mammals with short legs, and small, narrow feet. 

The Chacoan Peccary and the Southern White-Lipped Peccary have a tough, leathery, pig-like snout (nose).  

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Chacoan Peccary

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The Chacoan Peccary (Catagonus wagneri) is an ungulate (hoofed) mammal.

The Chacoan Peccary has a rounded body with a large head, long snout (nose) and short legs – similar to a wild pig. Its nose looks like a pig’s nose. It has grey or brown bristly fur. It has longer, darker hair along its spine, and white fur on its shoulders. It has white hairs around its mouth. It has a third hind (back) toe.

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Siberian Ibex

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The Siberian Ibex (Capra sibirica) is a large, wild ungulate (hoofed) goat. 

The Siberian Ibex is a goat with dark-brown, light-tan or reddish fur. Its underbelly has lighter fur. It sheds its fur in spring. It has a short neck and straight back. The male has a longer beard than the female. The male and the female have horns, but the female has smaller, grey-brown horns and the male has black horns. The horns have circular rings.

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Finnish Forest Reindeer

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The Finnish Forest Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus) is a large ungulate (hoofed) mammal in the deer family. It is a sub-species of the Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). It is also known as the European Forest Reindeer. It is an artiodactyl because it has cloven (split) hooves.

The Finnish Forest Reindeer has dark-brown to light-brown fur. Its coat has two layers of fur – a thick woolly undercoat and a longer-haired overcoat. It has long legs with wide, crescent-shaped, cloven hooves for walking across deep snow. It has white hair around its short tail. 

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European Bison

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The European Bison (Bison bonasus) is an artiodactyl ungulate (split, cloven hoofed) mammal in the bovine (cattle) family. It is a bisonid. It is also known as the Wisent and the European Wood Bison. 

The European Bison has a stocky body with a massive head. It is broad and muscular. It has a shaggy dark-brown coat of fur. Both the male and female have horns that point forward, with a blunted, rounded tip. 

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Southern White-Lipped Peccary

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The Southern White-Lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari albirostris) is an ungulate (hoofed) mammal.

The Southern White-Lipped Peccary has a rounded body with a large head, long snout (nose) and short legs – similar to a wild pig. Its nose looks like a pig’s nose. It has black or brown bristly fur. It has longer hairs along its spine, which make a crest of hair that stands up when it is startled. It has white markings below its nose, cheeks, and under its eyes.

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Kafue Lechwe

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The Kafue Lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) is an ungulate (hoofed) mammal in the antelope family of waterbucks. It is a sub-species of the Southern Lechwe.

The Kafue Lechwe has golden-brown fur with a white underbelly. The male is darker than the female. The male has long, spiral horns, similar in shape to a lyre musical instrument. The female does not have horns. Its hind (back) legs are longer than other antelope legs. It is adapted to long-distance running. It has large ears with black markings. 

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Buru Babirusa

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The Buru Babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) is a wild pig in the swine family. It is also known as the Hairy Babirusa, the Golden Babirusa, the Deer-Pig, and the Moluccan Babirusa. 

The Buru Babirusa looks like a pig with golden-brown hair. The male has prominent upward, in-curving canine tusks. The tusks curve over its face and towards its forehead. Both the male and female have lower canines, which grow upwards, but the female has smaller canine teeth than the male.

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CREATURE FEATURE: Wolverine

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The Wolverine (Gulo gulo) is a carnivorous mammal in the Mustelidae family It is a mustelid. Gulomeans ‘glutton’ in Latin. It is also known as the Glutton, Carajou, Skunk Bear, or Quickhatch. It is not a wolf and it is not a skunk and it is not a bear. It is closely related to the Weasel.

The Wolverine looks like a small bear. It is stocky and muscular, with thick, oily blackish-grey fur that is naturally frost resistant (hydrophobic). Its face has a light-silver mask. It has small eyes, and short, rounded ears.  It has short legs and wide paws that act like snow-shoes. It has sharp claws. Its tail is bushy. 

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