Southern Cassowary

True Wild Life | Southern Cassowary | The Southern Cassowary is a large bird that lives in New Guinea and Australia. They are flightless, but equipped with a strong kick. Their numbers continue to decline because of disappearing tropical rainforests and hunting. The Southern Cassowary also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary.

Box Turtle

True Wild Life | Box Turtle | The box turtle or box tortoise is a genus of turtle native to North America. Box turtles are land dwelling creatures with high, domed shells, hence the "box" moniker.  Box turtles are found all over the world, and are generally found living in mossy areas of the forest, or other damp habitats.  They are very territorial, and sometimes spend their entire lives near their place of birth.

Great Spotted Kiwi

True Wild Life | Great Spotted Kiwi | The Great Spotted Kiwi, is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand.  It is the largest of the kiwi.  There are about 22,000 Great Spotted Kiwis in total, almost all in the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northwest coast, and the Southern Alps. A minority live on islands.

Yellow-margined Box Turtle

True Wild Life | Yellow-margined Box Turtle | The Chinese box turtle is a species of Asian box turtle with several names. Its common names include Chinese box turtle, 食蛇龜 Snake-eating turtle, Yellow-margined box turtle, and Golden-headed turtle. Taxonomically, it has been called Cistoclemmys flavomarginata, Cuora flavomarginata, and Cyclemys flavomarginata. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System uses Cuora flavomarginata.

Painted Batagur

True Wild Life | Painted Batagur | The Painted Batagur is the largest turtle living in fresh water. They are in danger of extinction because people take them as pets or to eat, and because of the deteriorating environments in and around the rivers they live in. Painted Batagurs live on the Malaysian peninsula, Sumatra Island, and Kalimantan Island.

Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle

True Wild Life | Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle | The Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle or Ryukyu leaf turtle, Geoemyda japonica, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). It is endemic to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. In 1975 the species was designated a National Natural Monument of Japan. It grows to approximately 5–6 inches long. In captivity it feeds on worms, snails, insects, and fruit. Due to its rarity and very attractive appearance, this species is highly coveted by turtle collectors worldwide.

Burmese Starred Tortoise

 

True Wild Life | Burmese Starred Tortoise | The Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) is becoming extinct in its native Myanmar (Burma). Burmese Starred tortoises look like another land turtle called Indian Starred tortoise. But if you look closely, you will see the Burmese Starred Tortoise's shell is thinner and flatter than the Indian Starred tortoise.

Giant Armadillo

True Wild Life | Giant Armadillo | The giant armadillo is the largest of all armadillos and found in South America, east of the Andes, from northwestern Venezuela to northeastern Argentina. Adults grow as long as 35 inches and can weigh over 70 lb. The necks and backs of armadillos are covered with flexible carapaces (shells) consisting of 14 to 17 moveable bands of horn and bone. Their heads are also covered with a similar oval shield. The head, tail and lower edges of the giant armadillo are nearly white, and the rest of the body is dark brown. Underneath the carapace, its naked body appears wrinkly and pinkish in color. It has powerful claws with a very large central claw similar to the claw of the giant anteater. Giant armadillos are very fast on the ground and can sometimes balance themselves on their hind legs and tails, with their forefeet off the ground.

Babirusa

True Wild Life | Babirusa | The Babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) is a very special member of the pig family. Up until now the relationship between the Babirusa and the other pig species hasn't been resolved completely. There are pieces of research, which suggest the conclusion, that it is closely related to Hippopotamuses, close relatives of pigs themselves. The babirusa is a very strange looking member of the pig family. They are only distantly related to other pigs, and have been given their own subfamily, the Babirousinae. There are three subspecies of the Babirusa corresponding to the areas where they are found; the Sulawesi, Togian, and Moluccan babirusa. These subspecies have different hair covering, hair color, and tusk and body sizes. Fossil studies seem to show that the babirusa may be more closely related to hippopotamuses than pigs.

Sloth Bear

True Wild Life | Sloth Bear |  The Sloth Bear also known as the Labiated Bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral Brown Bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution. The population isolated in Sri Lanka is considered as a subspecies. Its favourite food is primarily termites and other insects which it snorts and sucks out of termite hills on the ground with a vacuum-cleaner sounding roar that can be heard several hundred yards away.

Zebra Shark

True Wild Life | Zebra Shark | The zebra shark is a medium-sized species of shark, that is found in the warmer coastal waters and around tropical coral reefs. Zebra sharks are most commonly found in the Indian and South Pacific oceans. Zebra sharks can grow to nearly 3 meters in length and can get to be 30 years old in the wild. Zebra sharks that are kept in captivity generally do not exceed 15 years of age. Zebra sharks can be identified by the yellow spots that are present on the back of the zebra shark.

X-Ray Tetra

True Wild Life | X-Ray Tetra | The X-Ray Tetra is a small species of schooling Fish that is naturally found in the Amazon River's coastal waters in South America. The X-Ray Tetra is also known as the Golden Pristella Tetra and the Water Goldfinch due to the faint golden colouration of their translucent skin. They were first described by Ulrey in 1894 and have since become one of the most popular freshwater Fish kept in artificial aquariums today. Although the X-Ray Tetra is the only known species in it's genus, it is closely related to other small and colourful South American Fish, including the nearly 100 other Tetra species.

Woolly Monkey

True Wild Life | Woolly Monkey | The woolly monkey is a medium to large sized primate, that inhabits the tropical forests of north-west South America. The woolly monkey is most well known for it's round-shaped head and dense fur that covers the body of the woolly monkey. Woolly monkeys are found throughout Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and parts of Venezuela where they live an arboreal lifestyle. Woolly monkeys have long and very strong prehensile tails which allows them to balance and grip onto branches without having to give up the use of their hands.

Woodpecker

True Wild Life | Woodpecker | There are around 200 species of woodpecker inhabiting the forests and woodlands worldwide. Woodpeckers are found on every continent with the exception of the polar regions, Australia and Madagascar. The smallest species of woodpecker is the Bar-breasted Piculet that only grows to 8cm in height. The Gray Slaty woodpecker from south east Asia is the largest living woodpecker in the world with some of these woodpecker individuals growing to nearly 60 cm tall.

White Faced Capuchin

True Wild Life | White Face Capuchin | The white faced capuchin, also known as the white headed capuchin and the white throated capuchin, is a medium sized species of monkey that is native to the jungles of Central America and the northern regions of South America. The white faced capuchin is one of the most well known monkeys, particularly in North America, and the white faced capuchin is thought to be one of the most intelligent monkeys in the world with the white faced capuchin being best known as a companion for organ grinders and are also used to assist people that are paraplegic.

Western Lowland Gorilla

True Wild Life | Western Lowland Gorilla | The western lowland gorilla is one of two subspecies of western gorilla (the other being the incredibly rare cross river gorilla) found in the jungles on the African continent. The western lowland gorilla is the most numerous species of western gorilla but is still considered to be critically endangered in the wild. The western lowland gorilla is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and forests of western and central Africa, along with lowland swamps and secondary forests. The western lowland gorilla is found throughout Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and is also the most likely gorilla to be seen in the world's zoos.

Western Gorilla

True Wild Life | Western Gorilla | The western gorilla is one of two gorilla sub-groups found on the African continent (the other being the eastern gorilla). The western gorilla is the most numerous species gorilla and also the larger out of the two. The western gorilla is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and forests of western and central Africa, along with lowland swamps and secondary forests. All western gorillas are now considered to be critically endangered as much of their natural habitat has now been deforested or taken over by humans.

Water Dragon

True Wild Life | Water Dragon | The water dragon is a large species of lizard native to the forests and jungles of Asia and Australia. Water dragons are arboreal animals meaning that they spend most of their time in the trees, often close to a large body of water. There are two different species of water dragon, which are the Australian water dragon and the Asian water dragon. The Australian water dragon is the smaller of the two water dragon species and is found on the east coast of Australia. Australian water dragons have powerful legs and sharp claws which help them to climb trees more effectively.

Warthog

True Wild Life | Warthog | The warthog is a large species of pig that is found in the desert and shrub-lands of Africa. There are considered to be two species of warthog which are the common warthog and the desert warthog. The common warthog tends to be found in the more northern regions of Africa and the desert warthog is found in the south of Africa, and is sometimes also referred to as the Cape warthog. The warthog is named after the two sets of tusks that are found on the face of the warthog. Warthogs use their tusks both for fighting off unwanted predators and other competing male warthogs, and the warthogs also use these tusks for digging in the dirt for grubs and insects.

Turkey

True Wild Life | Turkey | The turkey is a large bird that is closely related to other game birds such as pheasants, chickens and quails. The turkey has become famous across the western world as being a special meal on large family occasions including Christmas and Thanksgiving. Despite their large size, turkeys are surprisingly adept fliers and can be seen flying beneath the forest canopy looking for somewhere to perch. Although turkeys do nest in the trees, they are most commonly found in open forests, woodlands and grasslands.