Jaguar — The jaguar is a New World mammal of the Felidae family and one of four “big cats” in the Panthera genus, along with the tiger, lion, and leopard of the Old World. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and on average the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere. The …

Fossa — The Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) (pronounced “FOO-sa” or Fah-suh) is a mammal endemic to Madagascar. A member of family Eupleridae, it is closely related to the mongoose. It is the largest mammalian carnivore on the island. (The largest carnivore on Madagascar is the Nile crocodile.) Fossa males are 75–80 centimetres (29–31 in) long, plus a tail which is 70–90 …

Cheetah — The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a member of the cat family (Felidae) that is unique for making up in speed and stealth what it lacks in climbing abilities. As such, it is placed in its own genus, Acinonyx. It is the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds between 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph) and …

Baboon — The five baboon species are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger. In modern scientific use, only members of the genus Papio are called baboons, but previously the closely related Gelada (genus Theropithecus) and two species of Mandrill and Drill (genus Mandrillus) were grouped in the same …

Aardvark — The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) (“Digging foot”), sometimes called “ant bear” is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for “earth pig” (aarde earth, varken pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig. However, the aardvark is not closely related to the pig, being placed in its own order. Nor is …

Fuchsia — Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants, mostly shrubs, which were identified by Charles Plumier in the late 17th century, and named by Plumier in 1703 after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566). The English vernacular name Fuchsia is the same as the scientific name. There are about 100–110 species of Fuchsia. The great majority are native to …

Dieffenbachia — Dieffenbachia is a genus of tropical plants in the Family Araceae noted for their patterned leaves. Members of this genus are popular as houseplants because of their tolerance to shade. The Dieffenbachia is often referred to as the “King of Plants”. The cells of the Dieffenbachia plant contain needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals called raphides. If a leaf is …

Bougainvillea — Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral in the French Navy who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. They are …

Penguin — Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. …

Ostrich — The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member(s) of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies. Ostriches share the order Struthioniformes with the kiwis, …