Borneo Elephant

True Wild Life | Borneo Elephant | The Borneo elephant is a sub-species of Asian elephant which includes the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Borneo elephant is also known as the pygmy elephant as it is the smallest of the elephant sub-species. As its name suggests, the Borneo elephant is found exclusively on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah and parts of Indonesian Kalimantan. Much of the Borneo elephants natural habitat has been destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations and there are now thought to be less than 1,000 Borneo elephant individuals left in Sabah.

Bornean Orang Utan

 

True Wild Life | Bornean Orang Utan | The Bornean orang-utan is a species of orang-utan native to the island of Borneo. The Bornean orang-utan is one of only two species of ape that are found in Asia, the other being the slightly smaller and closely related, Sumatran orang-utan. The Bornean orang-utan is found inhabiting tropical and sub-tropical rainforest in the lowlands of Borneo and can also be found grazing at elevations of up to 1500 m. The Bornean orang-utan makes full use of it's surroundings dwelling both on the ground and at different heights in the trees.

Booby

True Wild Life | Booby | The booby is a large species of sea-bird closely related to the gannet. Boobies spend their lives at sea hunting fish and are found on the east coast of Central and South America, and across the tropical islands of the South Pacific as far west as the Galapagos islands. The booby is the most commonly found sea-bird on the Galapagos islands. There are six different species of booby found nesting on the tropical and subtropical islands and continental coasts across the south eastern Pacific Ocean, although fossil evidence suggests that there were numerous species of booby that are now extinct and are believed to inhabited regions as far east as Europe. The different species of booby are all very similar in size and appearance but each species of booby appears to have it's own uniquely distinguishable features. The different species of booby are the blue-footed booby, the red-footed booby, the brown booby, the Peruvian booby, the masked booby and the Nazca booby.

Bonobo

True Wild Life | Bonobo | The bonobo is a large species of primate that is only found in the Democratic Republic Of The Congo in central Africa. The bonobo is also known as the pygmy chimpanzee and the dwarf chimpanzee as the bonobo is thought to be very closely related to the chimpanzee and the two species share very similar characteristics. The bonobo is thought to have evolved from the ancestors of the common chimpanzee millions of years ago when the Congo River was formed. Today, the bonobo lives south of the Congo river and chimpanzees live north of the river meaning that they have evolved as two separate species.

Bongo

True Wild Life | Bongo | The bongo is a reddish-orange hoofed animal with white stripes running vertically along the body of the bongo. The bongo is the one largest species of Antelope and the bongo is generally found grazing in herds in the African forests. The bongo is one of the only animal species in the world of which both the male and female bongo individuals have horns. The horns of the bongo tend to be fairly long and in most cases, slightly spiraled or wavy in appearance. The bongo uses these horns both for defense purposes and in the case of the males, it is believed that the bongo individuals with the largest horns are the dominant male of the bongo herd.

Blue Whale

True Wild Life | Blue Whale | Blue Whales are the largest recorded mammal on earth some reaching nearly 120ft. The blue whale is found in pretty much all oceans but the whales tend to prefer the warmer waters. The blue whale has been nearly hunted to extinction by man when eastern Asian whaling came into fashion a few of hundred years ago. There are less than 12,000 blue whales left worldwide. Blue whales feed mainly on krill but also small fish and squid, that swim inside their enormous mouths. The blue whale has thousands of extremely fine teeth that allow water to filter out of the whales mouth, without the whales catch escaping.

Black Widow Spider

True Wild :ife | Black Widow Spider | There are three main species of black widow spider, all of which have very similar characteristics and inhabit areas in Northern America and parts of Mexico. Until very recently all three species of black widow spider were classified as one but recent research shows that as the species inhabit different areas, the three species of black widow spider have adapted to their environment in different ways.

Black Rhinoceros

True Wild Life | Black Rhinoceros | The black rhinoceros (also known as the hook-lipped rhinoceros) is a large species of rhinoceros native to Africa. Despite it's name, the black rhinoceros is actually fairly light in colour with most black rhinoceros individuals having either white or grey skin. Historically, the black rhinoceros had a vast range across central and eastern Africa in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the black rhinoceros is still found in these countries today, their numbers are very few and far between.

Black Bear

True Wild Life | Black Bear | Black Bears are the most common bear found in North America. The black bear's terrain ranges everywhere from Alaska to Canada to Mexico, and there have been occasional sighting of the black bear further into South America. Black bears generally grow to about 180cm tall and weigh around 300 lbs. Extremely large wild male black bears have been seen to grow over 250cm tall! Black bears have been known to run at speeds of 30mph for short periods of time and are good swimmers. The black bear's large claws make them good diggers, and make find hunting for grubs in the dirt a piece of cake!

Bison

True Wild Life | Bison | The bison is also known as the American bison and the American buffalo, although the bison is only thought to be very distantly related to the buffalo and the water buffalo found in Africa and Asia respectively. The bison is one of the largest types of cow in the world with adult bison commonly growing to 2 meters tall or more. The bison typically have long shaggy hair if they inhabit colder regions and the bison in the warmer climates have shorter hair.

Birds Of Paradise

True Wild Life | Birds Of Paradise | The birds of paradise are a group of birds that are found in the tropical rainforests of south east Asia, mainly in the jungles of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and parts of eastern Australia. Birds of paradise are best known for the beautiful array of feathers which are existent on the male birds of paradise, which the male bird of paradise uses to attract the attention of the surrounding female birds of paradise. As with many species of bird, the female birds of paradise are dull looking in comparison to their male counterparts and are generally smaller and have light brown feathers, and have a similar appearance to the nightingale.

Bird

True Wild Life | Bird | There are numerous species of bird found in a wide variety of habitats all around the world. Birds are one of the most thriving groups of animals on the planet as they generally have their habitat (the skies) to themselves. Birds can be easily distinguished from other animals due to their sharp, pointed beaks, thin legs, wings and feathers covering their bodies. Although all bird species have wings, some are actually flightless animals that only use their wings for balance and not for flying. Where other birds, such as penguins, use their wings for swimming.

Beetle

 

True Wild Life | Beetle | The beetle is a small sized invertebrate that is known to be incredibly versatile and is found in numerous different shapes and sizes. Beetles are found in nearly every different habitat on Earth and are only absent from the freezing polar regions. The beetle has the largest number of sub-species out of all the insects, with 40% of all recognised insects being classed as beetles. There are more than 350,000 different species of noted beetle, however, scientists estimate the real number is between 4 million and 8 million beetle species.

Beaver

True Wild Life | Beaver | Beavers are most well known for their distinctive home-building that can be seen in rivers and streams. The beavers dam is built from twigs, sticks, leaves and mud and are surprisingly strong. Here the beavers can catch their fish and swim in the water. Beavers are nocturnal animals existing in the forests of Europe and North America (the Canadian beaver is the most common beaver). Beavers use their large, flat shaped tails, to help with dam building and it also allows the beavers to swim at speeds of up to 30 knots per hour.

Bearded Dragon

True Wild Life | Bearded Dragon | The bearded dragon (also known as the dragon) is found naturally in Australia, but bearded dragons are kept as exotic pets in many places all around the world. Bearded dragons can grow up to 24 inches long but that is including their long tail, making the bearded dragon fairly small in body size for a lizard.

Bear

True Wild Life | Bear | Bears are large dog like mammals found all around the world. There are eight different species of bear that are found in a wide range of habitats in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, mainly the Americas, Europe and Asia. Most bears are nocturnal, solitary animals only really congregating during the bears mating season. The mother bear will then raise her cubs until they too, are old enough to live on their own. Bears generally have an excellent sense of smell and are also fantastic at climbing trees, swimming and are able to run at speeds of up to 35 mph for short periods of time.

Bat

True Wild Life | Bat | Bats are found all around the world and there are hundreds of different species of bat, living in caves and forests, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. The bumblebee bat found in the jungles of Thailand, is the smallest mammal in the world and weighs less than a penny! Bats hunt at night using their exceptional sight to pick out their prey, generally insects, frogs and small rodents. The size of bat varies with the species, but some bats can have a wingspan of over 2 meters, like the Indonesian giant flying fox! Smaller bat species can be as little as only 2 cm.

Basking Shark

True Wild Life | Basking Shark | The basking shark is the second largest species of shark (and fish) in the world behind the enormous whale shark. Basking sharks are also commonly known as the sunfish, the elephant shark and the big mouth shark. The basking shark is found inhabiting temperate coastal waters around the world, with the exception of the Indian Ocean. The basking shark is one of only three plankton-feeding shark species and is the largest fish in British waters.

Barracuda

True Wild Life | Barracuda | The barracuda is a large species of fish found in the warmer, coastal regions of the world's oceans. There are more than 20 different species of barracuda that range in size from less than 50cm to nearly 2 meters in length. The barracuda is widely spread across the oceans but is more commonly found in the more tropical regions where there is an abundance of food. Although barracudas can be found in the deep ocean, they tend to prefer coastal habitats along continental shelves and close to coral reefs.

Barnacle

True Wild Life | Barnacle | The barnacle is a hardy animal that is found in or very closely to sea water. Although it is frequently confused for a mollusc because of its hard outer shell, it is actually a crustacean, closely related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are most often seen as roughly circular sessile invertebrates (which means that they cannot move on their own), and are permanently attached to the substrate they live on. In their juvenile form they are free-floating, but eventually they attach themselves to any nearby rock, shell, or other object and stay there for the rest of their lives. Their shells are composed of calcite.

Barb

True Wild Life | Barb | Barb are a small sized group of fish that are naturally found in the freshwater rivers and lakes across the southern hemisphere. There are over 2,000 known species of barb in the world inhabiting the frehswater regions of Asia, Africa and South America. The barb fish is often referred to as a freshwater shark, due to the fact that barb are one of the few species of freshwater fish to have rows of teeth in their mouths. Despite their small size, barbs are known to be ferocious hunters and are dominant predators in the world of small fish in their natural environment. Barb do only prey upon the fish that are smaller than them, but also on medium sized fish that can sometimes be double the size of the barb.

Bandicoot

True Wild Life | Bandicoot | The bandicoot is a small-sized marsupial found across Australia. There are eleven known species of bandicoot found in the Australian wilderness, and despite it's rat-like appearance, the bandicoot is thought to be more closely related to a rabbit. The bandicoot is natively found on the Australian mainland and it\'s surrounding islands. Due to their small size, bandicoots can be an easy target for hungry predators and are therefore found in more overgrown habitats including forests, swamps and thickets where there are plenty of places to hide.

Badger

True Wild Life | Badger | Badgers are found living in the forests of Europe and western Asia, scavenging for roots and berries as well as worms and insects. Amazingly badgers can run up to 30km an hour for short periods of time and have been known to successfully fight off bigger mammals such as wolves, coyotes and bears. There have been occasional reports over the years of badgers being particularly aggressive towards dogs and even humans. The badger is capable of producing a painful bite, and some badgers are also known to carry a type of rabies.The most commonly known badgers are the white and black striped badgers in western Europe.

Banded Palm Civet

True Wild Life | Banded Palm Civet | The banded palm civet is a rare species of civet found in the tropical forests across south-east Asia. Banded palm civets were named for their tan and black striped coats which give the banded palm civet more camouflage in the surrounding jungle. The banded palm civet is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and rainforests throughout much of south-east Asia including Burma and Thailand, and throughout most of Malaysia and Indonesia. Unfortunately, banded palm civets have been drastically affected by increasing deforestation (and therefore habitat loss) in their native regions.

Asian Palm Civet

True Wild Life | Asian Palm Civet | The Asian palm civet is a smaller species of civet found throughout the jungles of Asia, and easily recognisable by its dark, coarse hair and large eyes. The Asian palm civet is also known as the common palm civet and the Toddy Cat is areas where the Asian palm civet is natively found. The Asian palm civet is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and rainforests throughout much of Asia. The main populations of the Asian palm civet however are found in southern India, Sri Lanka, South-east Asia and southern China. Unfortunately, Asian palm civets have been drastically affected by increasing deforestation (and therefore habitat loss) in their native regions.

Baboon

True Wild Life | Baboon | Baboons are medium sized primates found in Africa, and are best known for their bright behinds! The two most common species of baboon in east Africa are the olive baboon and the yellow baboon. The baboon is generally found in more forested areas but is also commonly known to wander the African plains. Baboons grow from 0.5 to 1.2m depending on the species, but weigh only around 30kg. The olive baboon tends to grow to a slightly larger size than the yellow baboon. Baboons are also mainly ground dwelling monkeys meaning that they have a more varied habitat than most other primates.

Aye Aye

True Wild Life | Aye Aye | The aye aye is a subspecies of lemur found on the south eastern African island of Madagascar. The aye aye are the biggest nocturnal primates in the world with some aye aye weighing more than 3kg! The aye aye is also one of the few solitary species of primate and therefore hunts alone for grubs and insects.