LIONS
Are family animals. They live in groups as small as 3 or as big as 40 called prides. Each pride generally will have no more than two adult males. While the females usually live with the pride for life, the males often stay for only two to four years. After that they go off on their own or are evicted by other males who take over the pride.
SPERM WHALES
They have the largest brain of any creature known to have lived on Earth. They are known to dive as deep as 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) in search of squid to eat. These giant mammals must hold their breath for up to 90 minutes on such dives.
GIRAFFES
They are the world’s tallest mammals, thanks to their towering legs and long necks. A giraffe’s legs alone are about 6 feet (1.8 meters) in height. They can run as fast as 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour over short distances and cruise comfortably at 10 miles (16 kilometers) an hour over longer distances.
POLAR BEARS
They live in one of the planet’s coldest environments and depend on a thick coat of insulated fur, which covers a warming layer of fat. Fur even grows on the bottom of their paws, which protects against cold surfaces and provides a good grip on ice. But under their fur they have black skin to soak in the sun’s warming rays.
EMPERORS PENGUINS
They are the largest of all penguins an average bird stands some 45 inches tall. These flightless animals live on the Antarctic ice. Male emperors keep the newly laid eggs warm by balancing them on their feet and covering them with feathered skin known as a brood pouch for two-month until the females return with food.
CHIMPANZEES
They will spend the seven to ten years at their mothers’ sides learning how to groom, make nests in trees, find food, and use tools. Although they normally walk on all fours, they can stand and walk upright. By swinging from branch to branch they move quite efficiently in the trees, where they do most of their eating and sleeping.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT
Their trunk is about seven feet (two meters) long! It’s actually an elongated nose and upper lip. When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk at a time. Elephants are social creatures. They sometimes hug by wrapping their trunks together in displays of greeting and affection.
HIPPOPOTAMUS
Groups of hippos are led by one large male. The other members are females, their young, and a few young adult males. Hippos are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for about five minutes. Grazing on land at night to avoid the heat of the sun, a hippo may eat up to 150 pounds (68 kilograms) of grass a night.
ZEBRAS
They have their own unique pattern of distinctive stripes, just as humans have their own unique pattern of fingerprints. A zebra’s teeth keep growing for its entire life, because constant grazing and chewing wears them down. Sometimes they gather in huge herds of thousands as they migrate to better feeding grounds.
