Other Animals in our Safari Park
Tortoise
Tom will often join a tour to bring out some young animals for our visiters to see quite close.
A tortoise is a turtle that lives only on land. Tortoises have stumpy hind legs and feet that look like those of an elephant, quite different from the flippers of sea turtles and the webbed feet of most freshwater turtles. Most tortoises have a high, domed shell. They pull their head, feet, and tail into the shell for protection from predators. Tortoises feed primarily on plants. |
This big guy is an African Spur Tortoise
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Kangaroos
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Kangaroos are large marsupials that are found only in Australia. They are identified by their muscular tails, strong back legs, large feet, short fur and long, pointed ears. Like all marsupials, a sub-type of mammal, females have pouches that contain mammary glands, where their young live until they are old enough to emerge.
Kangaroos are in the Macropodidae family, which also includes tree-kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokkas and pademelons. When people think of kangaroos, the four species that typically come to mind are in the genus Macropus: the antilopine kangaroo, the red kangaroo, the western gray kangaroo and the eastern gray kangaroo. They are sometimes referred to as the "great kangaroos" because these species are much larger than other kangaroos. ** This information provided by livescience.com |
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Alligators
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The largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches long (5.3 meters). The largest alligator ever recorded measured 19 feet 2 inches (5.8 meters) and was found in Louisiana.
The growth rate of alligators varies with food availability and temperature. At the northern limits of its range, or when food is scarce, alligators grow slowly. In Louisiana, where food is abundant, young alligators can grow about one foot (30 centimeters) per year with the greatest growth in the first year. On land alligators can lumber along dragging their tails, or they can walk on their toes with heels of the hind feet and most of the tail well off the ground. Using this "high walk" alligators can run up to 30 miles per hour (38 kph) for short distances! |
Ring-Tailed Lemurs
Ring-tailed lemurs are unmistakable because of their long, vividly striped, black-and-white tail. They are familiar residents of many zoos.
Lemurs use their hands and feet to move nimbly through the trees, but cannot grip with their tails as some of their primate cousins do. Ring-tailed lemurs also spend a lot of time on the ground, which is unusual among lemur species. They forage for fruit, which makes up the greater part of their diet, but also eat leaves, flowers, tree bark, and sap. Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups known as troops. These groups may include 6 to 30 animals, but average about 17. Both sexes live in troops, but a dominant female presides over all. Ring-tailed lemurs are endangered, largely because the sparse, dry forests they love are quickly vanishing. |
Hyenas
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