Adopt An Animal

The lion is the tallest (to the shoulder) of the felines, and like other cats, lions have excellent senses. The body of a lion is marked by powerful legs, a strong jaw, and canine teeth over 3 inches long! The colors of a lion vary from yellowish to an ochre brown, with their undersides generally being lighter in color. Male lions feature their famous mane, which makes them the only cats to exhibit a distinction between the males and females.

The spurred tortoise is sand-colored with an oval carapace or shell. Its name comes from the overlapping scales on the front of its forelimbs and the 2-3 cone-shaped spurs on each thigh. They are the third largest tortoise in the world and the largest tortoise on the African mainland.

Alpaca are a domestic species that originated in South America around 6000 years ago. They produce a fine fleece and were originally raised for meat and wool. This is a species that is well adapted to a mountain lifestyle, and can handle cold temperatures with ease. While there are now thousands of alpaca in the United States, over 3 million still call the Andean highlands home.

The Amur tiger is the largest of all wild cats. Its orange coloring is paler than other tigers and stripes are brown rather than black and are widely spaced compared to other tigers.

The Arctic fox hunts in small bands (no more than three) and they do not hibernate. In order to store food for the winter, they bury leftovers or hide them under stones.

Coloring is black to dark gray bodies with speckled bands of white across the back and tail. They are a rather stocky lizard with beaded scales. Males are typically larger than females. Males have a thicker, more muscular body and may develop jowls if they have excellent nutrition. Juveniles are green and black when before they mature.

Female Binturongs are usually bigger than males - about 20 % heavier! 

The black rhinoceros is best known for its two horns protruding from the skull, which are made of keratin. They have thick skin which protects them from the sharp grasses and thorns found in the African savanna. The upper lip of a black rhino is actually prehensile, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs while feeding. With poor eyesight, this animal relies more on smell and hearing, thanks to a wide range of rotation on the ears to help detect sounds. These stocky creatures aren't actually black as the name may indicate. Their gray skin is color dependant on local soil conditions and wallowing behavior.

Blanding’s turtle’s highly domed carapace (top shell) ranges from dark brown to black with yellow spots on their shells. They have yellow scales on their legs and tails. Their toes are webbed since they are semi-aquatic. Males and females share similar appearances except the male’s plastron is more concave than the females. A key characteristic for this species of turtle is its bright yellow throat and neck.

This beautiful blue lizard is only found in rainforests on the Indonesian island of Batanta. Discovered in 2001, they may have the smallest distribution of any know tree monitor, as Batanta is only 450 sq. km. Blue-spotted tree monitors are arboreal and diurnal, with a prehensile tail they use to move through their environment.

The lynx has a thick, grayish-brown coat, long legs and large, snowshoe like feet. Its feet have fur on the bottom to provides traction when walking over snow and ice. These adaptations allow the lynx to live and hunt in cold and snowy environments. Though similar in appearance to a bobcat, the lynx has longer legs, long black ear tufts and a black-tipped tail that the bobcat lacks.

Cape porcupines are covered with flat, bristly hairs, with specialized quills and spines covering their back and sides. The difference between spines (up to 19 inches long) and the quills (11 inches) is their length and thickness. When erected the raised spines/quills can make the porcupine look enormous and threatening. The spines/quills come off if touched by a predator or shaken off, they do not shoot out and they grow back quickly.

Large, flat bodied lizard found in the arid regions of the southwestern parts of the US and Mexico, particularly the Mohave and Sonoran deserts. Coloration ranges from brown to black, with a tan speckled mid-body. Well adapted to desert temperatures, they will be active up to 102° F.

Cotton-top tamarins tiny packages of power with keen eyesight, hearing, and smell for hunting and detecting danger. They're named for their crest of long white hair that flows from forehead to the nape of their neck that flows over their shoulders.

Bongos are shy animals and are easily frightened. Adult males usually live alone, while mothers and their young may form small groups. Bongos are mostly nocturnal, but are sometimes active during the day, too.

Elk are dark brown in the winter and lighten to tan in the summer. They have a distinctive buff-colored rump. Head, neck, belly, and legs are darker in color. Only males have antlers, which are grown and shed yearly. 

The emu is the second largest flightless bird and is found throughout mainland Australia. Unlike many bird parents, who work together to raise young, only the male emu will stay and incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. Emu eggs are a dark green color. Outside of breeding and raising young, emu are generally solitary animals though they may migrate as a group to food sources. In Australia, their biggest predators are the dingo and the wedge-tailed eagle. Emu may be farmed for their meat, eggs and oil. Like many flightless birds, the emu relies on running speed and its strong legs and big feet to protect itself. Emu kicks can be extremely powerful and dangerous for predators.

Eagle owls look very much like their great horned cousins, but are much larger birds. They have prominent ear tufts that are usually not raised upright.

A family favorite! At Farmyard EdVentures, you’ll find adorable goats, donkeys, pigs and alpacas. Take a break from your walk around the zoo and enjoy these fun farmyard animals!*

Anteaters walk on their “fists” so they can keep their claws sharp for digging into termite mounds. Claws are also used in defense – they have been known to fight off large predators like jaguar.

The Gila monster’s body is squat and heavy with a large head. The scales have a granular surface, providing excellent camouflage with texture and color among the desert sand and pebbles.

King Vulture

This large, rear-fanged snake is found on Madagascar and its surrounding islands. Though venomous, its venom will not significantly affect a human and is meant to subdue prey.

Magellanic penguins are medium-sized in regard to other penguins, with the males being larger than the females. Adults have black backs and white stomachs, like the classic tuxedo pattern. There are two black bands between the head and the breast, with the lower band being in an inverted horseshoe shape. Chicks and juveniles are grey-blue on their backs, with a more faded grey-blue color on their chest.

They are unlike other rattlesnakes, which normally feed on warm-blooded prey. They are reclusive and dangerous only because they frequent woodpiles and barns in search of food.

Eagles travel by soaring and gliding on thermals, which are columns of rising air, which allows them to cover great distances without flapping their wings.

Like other members of the weasel family (Mustelidae), river otters have long streamlined bodies with short legs. They have very dense, usually brown fur, with a long tail and webbed feet for swimming.

Tree shrews are small but mighty with a strong sense of smell, acute hearing and sharp eyesight. They are wary, curious and generally aggressive.

Okapi are large, solitary forest dwellers. Originally thought to be related to horses and zebra, the okapi is a relative of the giraffe. Their fur is a dark reddish brown and has a velvety appearance. Their legs are striped at the top and progress to a more solid white near their hooves. Male okapi have skin-covered horns called ossicones.

While their giraffe relatives enjoy life on the savanna, the okapi spends its days in dense, humid forests at altitudes over 1600 feet above sea level. This habitat makes it difficult for scientists to study their behaviors and much of what we know about okapi we have learned in managed care.

Pallas’ cats are best adapted to cold arid environments. They live at high elevations and make their dens in rocky caves, crevices or in burrows dug by other animals.

The Patagonian cavy, also called the Patagonian mara or Patagonian hare, is a large rodent species that can be found in central and southern Argentina.

Peafowl are colorful members of the pheasant family, and look distinctly different from one another. The male has a brilliant blue head and neck, with a small crown of bare shafted feathers on top of his head. Their elongated and trademark trains can be straightened behind the bird in an elaborate fan of blue-green “eyes”. The female is a mottled brown with buff under parts; and although the neck is metallic green, it is less splendid than the males. She also lacks the male’s long train but does have a crown. Peafowl have strong legs and feet and a thick bill that curves downward.

The Puerto Rican crested toad has textured, pebbled skin with striking marbled golden eyes and a distinctive long, upturned snout. Males are olive green and gold while females are more of a dull brown in color. The skin on females is rougher than that on the males, and they have a high crest above the eye while the crest on males is less defined.

Ravens are considered among the smartest in all bird species. In scientific studies, they have been able to solve complex problems.

Red kangaroos are marsupials, meaning a mammal that carries offspring in a pouch.

The red panda has a soft and dense coat with a thick under-fur. Their face is light with dark markings, and rusty red stripes beneath each eye, similar to the markings of a raccoon. They have large, upright ears with a white spot on the inside. Red pandas have a long, bushy, reddish-brown tail with pale reddish rings which they use to cover their face and keep their noses warm in the cold.

The ring-tailed lemur’s most distinctive feature is its long and bushy tail, which usually has 13 rings. They have small but long hind limbs and grasping hands and feet.

Snow leopards are generally smaller than other big cats, but still exhibit a wide range of sizes. They are covered in long thick fur which has a base color that varies from smoky grey to a light yellow tan, with white under parts.

The largest member of the hornbill family, southern ground hornbills have black plumage with white flight feathers.

Spider monkeys have slender bodies with long, thin limbs and are usually all black, but occasionally there are flesh-colored rings around the eyes and white chin whiskers.

The spotted turtle is a very small species. An adult carapace is smooth and a mix of brown and black with yellow spots. Some will lack the spots or they will fade with age. The difference between a male and female is noticeable. The male turtle's carapace will be elongated and compressed with a concave plastron. The tail of the male is longer and thicker. A female will have a higher, more rounded carapace with a flat plastron.

Timber rattlesnakes are characterized by their distinct color pattern, typically having a gray, yellow, or brown ground color with dark brown or black crossbands. They have a rattle at the end of their tail which they use as a warning signal to potential predators.

The western grey kangaroo typically has light grey-brown to dark chocolate-brown fur and large ears fringed with white hairs. 

Tufted deer live in dense forests at high altitudes near water in southern and central China.