Great Blue Marble Amazing Animal Images and Animal Facts - Images and Facts on Elephants, Giraffes, Forest Animals, and Birds.

Africa & Asia	Elephants	Wolves	Eagles

The two species of elephant, African and Asian, are the largest land animals in the world. An Asian bull may achieve a height of 10 feet at the shoulder and may weigh up to 6 tons.	An African bull can weigh up to 7 tons. African elephants have large ears and two fingers at the end of their trunk. Asian elephants have much smaller ears and one finger at the end of their trunk.	Wolves are the descendants of a generalized, carnivore ancestor called Creodont which lived about 100 million years ago. This ancestry applies to all modern carnivores such as cats, dogs and bears.	Eagles have powerful eye sight allowing them to see three to four times farther away than a human. From a perch position in a high tree, eagles can see prey up to one mile away.

Elephants eat up to 250kg of food a day - that's a lot of food, which means they need large areas to live in.	The elephant's trunk is a combination of the upper lip and nose. It is prehensile and can grasp onto many things such as another elephant's tail.	Wolves weigh about 100 lbs. and measure around 5.5 feet from nose to tail tip which makes them the largest member of the dog family.	Bald eagles are not really bald. The feathers on their head are white giving an appearance of baldness. Bald eagles were once known as the White Eagle.

Sometimes when herds of elephants are confined to small National Parks, they can do a lot of damage to the habitat.	Elephant trunks are sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass and strong enough to pick up a heavy log.	Wolves are an extremely social animal. They exist as a social unit called a pack.	The bald eagle got its name from the Old English word "balde", meaning white.

In the biggest National Parks the grass, trees and bushes recover when the elephants move to a different area.	A new born baby elephant weighs in at about 120 kilograms, more than most fully grown human beings.	Pack sizes vary, averaging seven or less, depending on variables including the current numbers of the wolf population, the abundance of food, and wolf pack social factors.	Eagles are typically eight to thirteen pounds. The body is up to two feet in length. The eagles skeleton only weighs about 1/2 pound - about 5% to 6% of its overall weight.


Elephants are strictly vegetarians. Elephants eat leaves, grass, twigs and small branches.	During birth, other female elephants gather around the mother to watch and protect the baby. Calves suckle for two years then eat solid food.	Various facial muscles, eyes, ears and the nose are extremely important when wolves are expressing their feelings.	Bones in an eagle are lightweight and hollow. The beak, talons and feathers are made of a material called keratin.
Giraffes	Primates	Fox & Coyote	Birds

A baby giraffe is about 6' tall when it is born. During the first month of its life it is hidden by its mother for imprinting, safety from predators like the lion, and mutual recognition by the mother and baby when they return to the rest of the herd.	Fourteen primate species are apes. Apes are all Old World primates. The four largest species--gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and banabos, are called great apes. Smaller gibbons and siamangs are classified as lesser apes.	Regarded as the embodiment of cunning, the red fox is extremely cautious and, like other canids, capable of learning from experience. The fox is difficult to observe, as it is shy, nervous, and primarily nocturnal.	Owls are nocturnal birds of prey. Owls have flattened faces and forward facing eyes, hooked bills and powerful claws. The soft fluffy plumage of an owl allows them to fly noiselessly.


When giraffes get older, they join a group of calves with one cow staying behind to baby-sit while the others feed. A calf will remain in this nursery herd for about one year.	Chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos live in central and west Africa. Gibbons and orangutans are found in SE Asia. T	The best runner among the canids, the coyote cruises normally at 40�50 km/h, getting up to 65 km/h for short distances, and can make 14-foot leaps.	The falcon has a very strong compact body with powerful, long, pointed wings, and a sharp, hooked beak. Peregrine falcons have been called nature's finest flying machine.
		Deer, Elk, & Moose

Giraffes are the tallest of all land mammals. Adult males can grow up to 17' tall. Their tall legs enable them to see danger form a long distance. Giraffes can quickly escape danger by running up to 35mph.	All primates are agile climbers that grasp with their hands and feet. They have flat nails, not claws, and have eyes on the front of their heads and binacular vision for depth perception.	Bounding and graceful the deer is the epitome of wilderness beauty. Deer are found in most parts of the world where there are woodland meadows to browse.	Peregrine falcons are nature's fastest fliers: Peregrines have been clocked diving, or stooping, at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour!

With their long legs and neck, giraffes can reach up to the leaves that are out of reach for all other browsing animals.	Monkeys are the largest and most varied group of primates with 158 species. They live in trees and have hands and feet that grasp branches.	Three kinds of deer live in North	The heron is the bird of marshes and waterways. The largest herons are the great blue and the great white, standing 4 feet tall.

The 18" muscular tongue of a giraffe easily plucks leaves from the trees. They also have prehensile lips that aid in browsing.	Like apes, monkeys are divided into two main groups: the monkeys of the East known as Old World monkeys; and those in the West, called New World monkeys.	Deer breed in the fall, and fawns are born in the spring, staying with their mothers all summer. Most male deer have antlers that are shed and renewed annually.	The parrot is a seed cracking, tropical bird. Their are 350 species of parrots including the macaws, cockatoos, lories, parakeets, and true parrots. Some parrots learn to "talk".
Zebras	Raccoons & Squirrels

Zebras are shaped like a horse and possess great speed and good eyesight. No two zebra have the same pattern or stripes.	Raccoons are nocturnal animals and are easily identified by the dark mask over its eyes and ringed tail. Raccoons are found only in North America.	After a period of feeding, deer usually bed down in thick brush, regurgitate food, and chew their "cud." Deer are social and often move in herds dominated by an older female.	As each goose flaps its wings it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a V-formation, the whole flock adds 72% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Zebras are water dependent and will travel many miles when not available. When necessary, zebras will even dig for water. On average, zebras drink about 14 liters of water per day.	Raccoons are often seen turning over rocks or digging under logs in search of food. Raccoons, when hunting, rely on their sense of touch more than eyesight.	For most of the year elk cows, calves and yearlings live in loose herds or groups; and elk bulls in bachelor groups or alone.	Songbirds make up the largest, most complex and evolved group among all birds. Most songbirds are migratory, migrating to warmer climates in the fall and winter.

Other herbivores use their tongues to feed the grass into their mouths, but the zebra use their front teeth. Thus, zebras graze right down to the soil level.	Squirrel's belong to the order "Rodentia". There are over 365 species of squirrels in seven families. They include the tree squirrel, ground squirrel, and flying squirrel.	The moose is a large ruminant mammal with large flattened antlers. The moose is the largest member of the deer family, and is found in the woodlands of North America, mostly in Canada.	A bird song and a bird call are quite different. Calls are usually short and used to signal things such as danger or hunger. Bird songs are long, complicated and repetitive. They can often continue for hours at a time.
	The male tree squirrel takes twice as long, as the female, to groom itself. Squirrels are the cleanest animal in the rodent family.