Zoo Animal Dictionary

Hannover's animals from A - Z

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Animal	origin	size	weight	breeding time	Age
Asian Elephant	Asia	300 cm tall	5000 kg	660 days (22 months)	60 - 80 years	readclose
	The elephant can use its trunk nearly like a hand. It gropes and grips very skillfully with it for leaves and twigs, and it is able to smell and drink with it!					Details
Giraffe	Africa	600 cm tall	1930 kg	465 days	25 years	readclose
	Their jaw muscles are designed for constant chewing, and the face muscles are weak – so a giraffe always looks rather down in the mouth.					Details
Black rhinoceros	Africa	375 cm long	2000 kg	450 days	40 years	readclose
	The animal has got a pointed upper lip, which it can use as a spearing tool to pick leaves and twigs from thorny bushes without injuring itself.					Details
Zebra	Africa	240 cm long	315 kg	375 days	28 years	readclose
	The zebras of the steppe like to live in family herds of up to 20 members, consisting of a stallion and several females with their foals.					Details
Llama	South America	125 cm tall	155 kg	368 days	20 years	readclose
	A really powerful troop from South America: Llama, alpaca, vicuna, and guanaco.					Details
Sea lion	South America	250 cm long	200 kg	365 days	28 years	readclose
	Over millions of years, the sea lion, like other seals, has adapted more and more to life in the sea.					Details
Exmoor pony	Europe	130 cm tall	250 kg	336 days	25 years	readclose
	The Exmoor pony is probably descended from ponies brought to England during the Bronze Age by Celtic migrants. Ever since the 11th century, Exmoor ponies have lived semi-wild on Exmoor.					Details
Gorilla	Africa	185 cm tall	275 kg	289 days	60 years	readclose
	Gorillas live in fixed groups. A silver-back male leads the group consisting of some adult females and several young animals.					Details
Wood bison (buffalo)	North America	up to 3.80 m head to tail	up to 850 kg	285-300 days		readclose
	This massive bison from the forests of northwest Canada can grow to 3.80 long and weigh 850 kilos, with a vast chest and very large head and long beard.					Details
Eland antelope	Africa	160 cm tall	940 kg	280 days	25 years	readclose
	The largest of the antelopes, Eland bulls grow as tall as 1.8 m and as long as 3.4 m from head to tail. Eland antelopes prefer to live in herds to protect themselves from predators.					Details
Old German black and white lowland cattle	Europe	140 cm tall	500 kg	280 days	35 years	readclose
	The Old German black and white lowland cattle on Meyer`s farm are true rarities. There are only about 60 of these breeding worldwide anymore.					Details
Kangaroo	Australia	140 cm tall	70 kg	270 days	20 years	readclose
	12.80 metres in the long jump: that is the measured record of a red kangaroo! It is also able to jump very high: 3.10 metres!					Details
Sloth	South America	85 cm long	8 kg	270 days	40 years	readclose
	Because sloths hang upside down much of the time, many things are back-to-front. Even organs like stomach, liver and spleen have shifted to their back or sideways.					Details
Chimpanzee	Africa	170 cm tall	70 kg	261 days	60 years	readclose
	The chimpanzee uses its feet as grasping tools. That is practical because Mother Nature has equipped them with a big toe.					Details
Orang-utan	Asia	97 cm tall	90 kg	260 days	50 years	readclose
	Unique, unmistakable, and far-reaching is the shout of the male orang-utan. This shout is characterized by a long row of loud roars.					Details
Addax or Mendesantelope	Africa	115 cm tall	135 kg	255 days	20 years	readclose
	Addax or Mendes antelopes are inhabitants of the desert. They have long, curved horns.					Details
Hippopotamus	Africa	165 cm tall	3200 kg	244 days	50 years	readclose
	Hippos like to wallow in the mud during the day and sometimes doze in the cooling water for hours.					Details
Lesser kudu	Africa	112 cm tall	105 kg	240 days	15 years	readclose
	These elegant antelopes have brown fur with long white stripes. The males have long, corkscrew horns.					Details
White cheeked gibbon	Asia	64 cm tall	7 kg	235 days	30 years	readclose
	Gibbons are Southeast-Asian animals and the smallest and lightest apes.					Details
Caribou	Asia, Europe	up to 2.20 m long and 1.40 m high	up to 275 kg	228 days		readclose
	Caribou are a wild North American type of reindeer living in Canada and Alaska.					Details