First Animal Encyclopedia

First Animal
Encyclopedia

REVISED EDITION Contents
Editor Ishani Nandi
Art editor Shipra Jain Introduction
Senior editor Shatarupa Chaudhuri
DTP designer Bimlesh Tiwary 4-5 The animal kingdom
Managing editors Laura Gilbert,
Alka Thakur Hazarika Mammals
Managing art editors Diane Peyton Jones,
Romi Chakraborty 6-7 Mammals
CTS manager Balwant Singh 8-9 The world of mammals
Publisher Sarah Larter 10-11 Lemurs and monkeys
Senior producer, pre-production Ben Marcus 12-13 The apes
Producer Nicole Landau 14-15 The cat family
Jacket editor Laura Gilbert 16-17 Big cats
Jacket designer Diane Peyton Jones 18-19 The dog family
Publishing director Sophie Mitchell 20-21 Bears
Art director Stuart Jackman 22-23 Small and cunning
Consultant John Woodward 24-25 The burrowers
26-27 Insect-eating mammals
ORIGINAL EDITION 28-29 Rodents
Author Penelope Arlon 30-31 Flying mammals
Senior Art Editor Tory Gordon-Harris 32-33 Marsupials
Consultant Kim Dennis-Bryan PhD. FZS 34-35 The mighty elephant
Design Assistance Amy McSimpson 36-37 Hoofed mammals
Publishing Manager Sue Leonard 38-39 The cattle family
Managing Art Editor Clare Shedden 40-41 The horse family
Jacket Designer Poppy Jenkins 42-43 Hoofed giants
Picture Researcher Sarah Pownall 44-45 Water mammals
Production Controller Shivani Pandey 46-47 Ocean giants
DTP Designer Almudena Díaz
Birds Birds
First published in Great Britain in 2004 The world of birds
This edition first published in Great Britain in 2015 by 48-49 Courtship
50-51 Nesting
Dorling Kindersley Limited 52-53 Hatching out
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL 54-55 Songbirds
56-57 Life in the air
Copyright © 2004, © 2015 58-59 Freshwater birds
Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 60-61 Sea birds
A Penguin Random House Company 62-63 In the chill
64-65 Birds of prey
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 66-67 Night flyers
001–274454–Sept/2015 68-69
70-71
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior

written permission of the copyright owner.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-24118-872-9

Printed and bound in Hong Kong

A WORLD OF IDEAS:
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW

2

This book will ask you questions at the bottom of each page...

72-73 Exotic flyers 134-135 Sea crustaceans
74-75 Game birds 136-137 Sea molluscs
76-77 Globetrotters 138-139 Brainless wonders
78-79 Flightless birds 140-141 The world of microlife

Reptiles and amphibians Fish

80-81 Reptiles and amphibians 142-143 Fish
82-83 The world of reptiles 144-145 The world of fish
84-85 Under a shell 146-147 Finding food
86-87 Introducing lizards 148-149 Staying alive
88-89 Hunting and defence 150-151 Making more fish
90-91 Slithering snakes 152-153 Sharks and rays
92-93 Attack and defence
94-95 Crocodiles and alligators Reference section
96-97 The world of amphibians
98-99 Frogs and toads 154-155 Amazing animal facts
100-101 Hunting and hiding 156-157 True or false?
102-103 Salamanders and newts 158-159 Quiz
160-161 Who am I?
162-163 Where in the world?
164-165 Glossary
166-167 Index
168 Picture credits and

acknowledgements

Creepy-crawlies About this book
The pages of this book have special features that
104-105 Creepy-crawlies will show you how to get your hands on as much
106-107 The world of insects information as possible! Look out for these:
108-109 Egg to adult
110-111 On the move Fish Fish The Picture Detective
112-113 Eating habits quiz will get you searching
114-115 Defence Fish Picture detective through each section
116-117 Pests and plagues for the answers.
118-119 Butterflies and moths Fish truly dominate the waters of the Zebrafish Take a look through
120-121 Beetles and bugs world. They come in many shapes and Turn and learn buttons tell
122-123 Bees and wasps the fish section and you which pages to turn to
124-125 Ants and termites sizes, from huge whale sharks to in order to find more
126-127 Flies strange seahorses and fish so see if you can spot information on each subject.
128-129 Other creepy-crawlies tiny you can barely see them.
130-131 Spiders and scorpions the owners of these Every page is colour-coded
132-133 Strange land creatures Yellow tang to show you which
Copperband colourful skins. section it is in.
butterfly fish
Yellow weird or what?
wrasse
These buttons
Long-nosed gar give extra weird
and wonderful
Cuban hogfish
animal facts.
Zebra pipefish Royal John Ram cichlid
gramma Dory 3

Golden-eyed dwarf Goldfish
cichlids
Seahorse
Emperor
angelfish Thornback ray
Sticklebacks

Three-striped Bony fish Turn
dwarf cichlids Most fish are bony, which and learn
means they have a hard
Clown skeleton inside them. Sharks Seahorse:
triggerfish are not bony fish, but have a p. 151
skeleton made of cartilage – Sharks:

a material that is softer pp. 152-153
than bone.

Boxfish

142 How many different species of fish can be found on Earth? There are about 32,800 species of fish in seas, rivers, and lakes. 143

Creepy-crawlies Beetles Beetles and bugs
Beetles are the most
Beetles and bugs heavily armoured of all  Glow in the dark
insects. They have biting Glowworms are not worms, they
These amazing creatures can and chewing mouthparts. are beetles. They have a special
be found all over the world, from organ in their bodies that lights
mountain tops to scorching deserts. up in the dark. They flash their
bodies at night to communicate
with each other.

Glowworms can sometimes Glowworms are
be seen at night glowing and found all over
flashing in their thousands. the world.

The African Goliath beetle is Bugs
the biggest beetle in the world. Members of the bug family
look quite like beetles, but
they have a feeding tube
that pierces and sucks
up their food. They
cannot bite and chew.

The diving Bugs Clicking cicadas
beetle uses its They are small, but Cicadas, a type of bug, are
legs as paddles. some can be quite the noisiest of insects. They
aggressive! can be heard upto 1.5 km
Beetles (1 mile) away. They make
Beetles are often Shield bug: it is their noise by vibrating
bright and colourful. known as the “stink bug” drum-like pads on the
because it can let out
Scarab: this beautiful a foul smell. side of their tummies.
golden scarab is found
Diving beetles in South America. Coreid bug: this bug weTihreddeoatrhwwathchat ?
Most beetles live on waves the flaps on its beetle eats through wood.
land, but the diving beetle Chafer beetle: these legs to scare predators. When it wants to attract Some cicada
catches its food – tadpoles lovely beetles vary another beetle’s attention, species can live
and even small fish – in the hugely in size and colour. Aphid: this little it bangs its head against the for upto 17 years!
water. In order to breathe creature is a pest. It wood. Sometimes people
it tucks a bubble of air Weevil: this bright blue attacks garden plants.
under its wings before weevil is found in Papua hear the tapping in
every dive. New Guinea. Assassin bug: it kills their houses.
other insects and sucks
How do most bugs taste their food? Frog beetle: frog beetles their insides out.
have colourful bodies with
a metallic, shiny look.

120 Most bugs taste their food through their feet. 121

... check here for the answers.

The animal kingdom fly, although all of them have wings.

The animal kingdom

The animal kingdom is divided into vertebrates
and invertebrates. Mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians, and fish are vertebrates.
Insects are a type of invertebrate.

Animals

All animals, including people, have
one thing in common – they eat
other living things, either plants,
or animals, or both. Almost all,
except a few sea creatures,
can move around.

The beetle has muscles
attached to its skeleton
just like you do. Its
skeleton is on the
outside, however, while
yours is on the inside.

Beetle
skeleton

Not all birds can

What is an What is a
invertebrate?
vertebrate? Bird
The word invertebrate simply skeleton
means not having a backbone. Most of the large
The “creepy-crawly” section
of this book deals with the animals in the world
animals called invertebrates.
Some of them have skeletons are vertebrates. This
on the outside of their bodies,
means that they have a
while some don’t have
any bones at all. backbone, and most are

made up of bones put

together to make a skeleton.

Mammals, birds, reptiles,

amphibians, and fish are all vertebrates.

4

Do all animals have brains?

Creepy-crawlies Stag beetle The animal kingdom

Creepy-crawlies, or invertebrates, Some people think that there are
make up over 95 per cent of all millions of creepy-crawlies we
animals. But most of them are do not even know
so small you don’t notice them. about yet.

Ants are insects, Most vertebrates can move around.
a kind of invertebrate.
The lion is
Vertebrates one of the
All vertebrates came most ferocious
from the same ancestor meat-eaters of
millions of years ago, the mammal
but have changed, or
evolved, into these four group.
main groups.

Mammals: most live
on land and none can
breathe underwater.

Birds: all birds have
wings and most of
them can fly.

Fish: all fish
live in the
sea or in
fresh water.

Reptiles and
amphibians: these
animals live on

land or in water.

Lions keep their
sharp claws inside
their toes to protect

them, until they
need to attack.

No, a few invertebrates have no brains. 5

Mammals Rodriguez
flying fox
Mammals

You may wonder if animals such as
dogs, bats, elephants, and mice have
anything in common. They do – they are
all mammals and have more in common

than you may think.

European Orang-utan Mongolian
rabbit gerbil
Eastern
Boxer dog chipmunk Siamese cat

Red fox

Maned wolf Sea lion
Field mice

Which mammal lives the longest?

Long-eared Mammals
bats
Picture detective
Two-toed sloth Take a look through
the Mammals section
and see if you can
spot who these hairy
skins belong to.

Junior mammals Pipistrelle bat

Mammal babies look like Baby
little versions of their parents. red-necked
They are all looked after by wallaby
their mothers or both parents
until they can feed and Turn
look after themselves. and learn

Baby tiger The cat family:
pp. 14-17
Bats:
pp. 30-31

The Arctic bowhead whale can live to well over 100 years old. 7

Mammals

The world of mammals

Mammals include animals such as the
whale, the kangaroo, and you and me!
We all have fur, we are warm-blooded,
and we feed new babies our milk.

Gorilla Mammal babies
skeleton
Most mammal females give
birth to live babies, rather than
laying eggs. The baby grows
inside the mother’s body
until it is born.

The skeleton Feeding babies

Mammals may All female mammals produce
look very different, milk from their bodies that
but stripped back they feed to their babies;
to the bone, we all this feeding is called
have the basic bony suckling. The milk
skeleton. Scientists helps babies
call us vertebrates – to grow.
animals with
a backbone.

Turn Gorillas are
and learn members of the
primate family.
Bears:
pp. 20-21
Elephants:
pp. 34-35

Baby gorilla Within the
mammal group,
there are many
different families.

8

How many mammal families are there?

Hairy beasts The world of mammals

All mammals have Polar bears can live in chilly
hairy bodies, though Arctic regions because they are
some are much hairier warm-blooded and have thick fur.

than others. Warm blood
This hair,
or fur, keeps Mammals are warm-blooded,
them warm. which means they can warm
up and cool down their bodies
Elephant to keep their temperature level.
trunk An elephant in the hot jungle
has the same temperature
as a polar bear
in the snow.

This Polar bears have
elephant thick fur all over
may not
look hairy their bodies.
but it does
have hair
on its body.

Getting around
Mammals have
developed different
ways of moving about.

Cats: some Polar bear
mammals, such as
the cat, have long The odd one out
legs to run with.
It is usually true that
Bats: these are animals give birth to
the only mammals live babies, but there are
that can fly – they a few species, including
have wings. this duck-billed platypus,
that lay eggs. Platypus
Dolphins: sea eggs are soft and the
mammals have size of marbles.
flippers and strong
tails to swim with. 9

Moles: a mole has
feet like spades,
which are useful
for burrowing.

There are 153 different mammal families in the world.

Mammals

Lemurs and Monkey business
monkeys Most people think
monkeys all look
similar, but some
are quite different.

Monkeys and lemurs, White-faced saki: the
along with the apes, male is black and the
make up the mammal female brown.
group known as primates.
Tamarin: the golden lion
tamarin has gold fur and
a long mane.

Howler monkey Woolly monkey: it lives
in South America and
Record-breaker has thick fur.

Talking to each other is important to primates, which live Proboscis monkey: this
together in large groups. The howler monkey, the loudest male monkey has a very
land animal on Earth, screams to neighbouring long, prominent nose.
groups, and can be heard several miles away.
Monkeys
Ring-tailed
lemur Monkeys have grasping
hands so they can climb
trees. Many have recognizable
features, such as this tamarin’s
white moustache.

The emperor tamarin has
a long, white moustache.

Lemurs weirdJapoarneswe hat?

Lemurs are only found on the island macaques, a type of
of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. monkey, live in the mountains
They have thin bodies and often
move by jumping along on their of northern Japan. To keep
warm in the winter, they
back legs. Sitting upright with
its hands on its knees, this take baths in the hot
ring-tailed lemur is sunbathing. volcanic springs.

10

Which are longer, a monkey’s arms or legs?

Lemurs and monkeys

Treetops Spider monkeys
have no
All monkeys are thumbs.
excellent climbers – some
have long tails that they Woolly
use as another limb. The spider
spider monkey’s tail is bald monkey
at the end for extra grip.

Mandrill

Ground monkey Monkeys
have hands like
The mandrill is one of the  ours that can
few monkeys that climbs grasp branches.
trees only to sleep at night.
During the day, it walks Bushbaby
around on all fours. When
a male feels threatened,
it yawns widely revealing
its fearsome teeth.

Bushbaby

The bushbaby is a
small primate that
sleeps during the
day and ventures
out to hunt at
night. It has
huge eyes
that help it
to see in
the dark.

A monkey’s arms are longer than its legs. 11

Mammals The apes

Family life Many people confuse monkeys
and apes. Apes are large,
Gorillas live in groups intelligent creatures that have no
of up to 40 animals, which visible tails and can stand more
consist of one male and upright than monkeys.You and
many females and babies. I are members of the ape family.
The males are twice the
size of the females and The mighty gorilla
as they mature, they
grow a strip of silvery Gorillas are the largest
fur across their backs. and most powerful
of the apes, but they
are rarely aggressive.
They live in forests
in central Africa.

Gorilla

12

What is the dominant male gorilla in its group called?

The apes

King of the swingers

Gibbons are the most agile
of all the apes. Their wrists
and shoulders are very
flexible, which means
they are able to swing
from branch to branch
quickly. They live in pairs.

Treetop apes

These orange orang-utans
live in the rainforests of
Borneo and Sumatra
up in the trees. They
rarely go down to the
jungle floor, preferring
to eat and sleep in

the treetops.

The clever chimp This chimp
is breaking nut
Chimpanzees are very shells using a
intelligent indeed. They piece of stone
communicate with facial as a tool.
expressions and are one

of the only animals
to use tools.

Grooming strengthens
friendships within
the group.

Grooming

Chimps live in
communities of up to 120 apes.
Grooming is very important in ape
societies. They can often be seen picking
dirt and ticks out of each other’s fur.

13
The dominant male is known as a “silverback”.

Mammals The cat family

Lynx

All cats around the Cat carnivores
world spend their Cats only eat meat, and
time doing the same those living in the wild
sorts of activities: have to catch it. Some
hunting, eating, are fussier than others.
and sleeping.
Caracal: these cats can
This lynx is about Living alone leap high into the air to
twice the size of catch birds.
a pet cat. Cats like to live
on their own; only Bobcat: this cat lives
a few live in groups. in the woodlands of
Usually, the cats North America and
that live together eats rabbits.
are mothers and
their babies. Jaguarundi: this
small, stocky cat eats
anything it can catch.

Fishing cat: this cat
catches fish by grabbing
them with its claws.

Pumas are the long
jumpers of the cat
world. They can
make massive leaps
of 12 m (40 ft).

Climbers Puma

Some cats live in forests,
and many can climb
trees. They have very
good balance and
sharp claws that
hook onto branches.

14

Why do cats lick their fur?

The cat family

The loudest roar

Most big cats roar; when
this lion gets angry, his roar
can be heard 8 km (5 miles)
away! All other cats miaow,
purr, and growl.

Lion A fine coat

A cat’s fur keeps it warm and
camouflaged. Cats spend a lot
of time licking their fur with
their rough tongues to clean it.

There are more than Domestic cat
300 million pet cats in
Cat features the world. They are closely
related to wild cats.
All cats look similar, but
their coats, shapes, and Stalk and pounce
sizes are suited to where
they live. This serval has Unlike dogs, cats
a long neck and big ears cannot run fast for
to enable it to see and long distances, so
hear well in long grass. most rely on their

ability to stalk
and pounce. When
stalking, they keep
their bodies low, move
slowly, and then pounce.

Serval Ocelot

Turn The ocelot
and learn is now
a protected
Dogs that live species as many
in the wild: were killed for
pp. 18-19 their fur.

Cats lick their fur to clean themselves and to keep cool. 15

Mammals Black leopard

Big cats Leopards come in different
colours, but most are yellow
The five largest, most ferocious meat- with black spots. Black
eaters of the cat family are known as panthers were once thought to
the “big cats”. They are the lion, tiger, be a different type of cat, but
jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. are actually black leopards.

King of the cats

Lions, found on the grassy
plains of Africa, are the
only cats that live in
groups, or prides.

All mother cats
carry their cubs
in their mouths.

Pride of Sleepyheads
lions
Cats are among the sleepiest animals
in the world: they spend more than

19 hours a day asleep. Prides of lions
can often be seen napping under trees.
They are perfectly safe to sleep in the

open as they are in little
danger of being killed
by another animal.

16

Why do cats have whiskers?

Big cats

Water cat

The jaguar has large spots and loves
swimming, which is quite unusual
among cats. During the day it
catches fish by flipping them out
of the water with its paws. At
night it hunts for animals
in the jungle.

Tiger

Spotted leopard

Leopards love to climb trees. High up in
the branches is a good spot to watch what
is going on below. Often they will even
drag their kill up trees to
prevent it being stolen.

Leopard

The giant tiger

Tigers are the largest and most powerful
of all the cats – they are 10 times stronger

than a man! They live all over Asia, from
the rainforest to the woodlands of Siberia.

Female lions do not have Turn Tigers hunt
manes like the males. and learn mainly in
the dark.
The fastest land
mammal on Earth – 17

the cheetah:
pp. 154-155

Their whiskers help them to feel their way in the dark.

Mammals

The dog family

When you think Training the wolf
of dogs, you For thousands of years,
probably think people have trained
of pets, but dogs to do certain jobs.

many members Guide dogs: many
of the dog family dogs are used to guide
live in the wild. blind people.

Wolves Sheep dogs: people
have been using dogs
Wolves live in packs of about to round up sheep
20, which are led by a male and for centuries.
female. They are meat-eaters and all work
together to hunt and kill. They can grow up Police dogs: these guard
to 1 m (3 ft) tall and have very sharp teeth, dogs use their noses to
which are useful for tearing up meat. sniff out criminals.

At night, whole
packs howl
together to warn
other wolves that
they are there.

European Wolves sometimes
grey wolf spray their urine to
mark out their territory.

Wolf language

Facial expressions and body language are
used by wolves within a pack to communicate
with each other. When they want to keep other

wolf packs away, they howl rather than bark.

18

What is the tail of a fox called?

The dog family

Urban foxes weiDrodgs or what?

A fox is a small dog. It have been
tends to hunt at night and
lives alone or in small family man’s best friend for over
groups. The red fox has
become a common sight 12,000 years! All pet dogs are
in towns and cities, where
it raids dustbins for food. descendants of the grey wolf

and still share many

characteristics, such as

African When the dogs a very good sense of
hunting have killed, the smell and hearing.
dog whole pack
shares the food. These dogs are often
Red fox known as “painted

wolves” because of
their beautiful

colouring.

Raccoon dog Wild dogs

This hairy dog is called the African hunting
raccoon dog, although it dogs live in packs
is not related to the
raccoon. It is one of up to 30. They
of the only have long legs and
dogs that a lean body. They
climbs trees. hunt together as a
pack and can kill
prey larger than
themselves. They

hunt at least
once a day.

Grey wolves live all over
the world, including in North
America, northern Asia, Europe,
Africa, and the Middle East.

A fox’s tail is called a brush. 19

Mammals Bears of the world
There are only eight
Bears types of bear in the world,
including the polar bear
Members of the bear family are big, and the brown bear.
furry mammals with large heads, thick
legs, and short tails. They have five Brown bear: this big
claws on each foot. bear lives in Europe,
Asia, and North America.
Bear necessities
Polar bear: the biggest
Bears have a good sense of and most deadly bear.
smell, but weak eyesight and It lives in the Arctic.
hearing. This is reflected in
their large nose and Spectacled bear: it got
very small ears this name because it looks
and eyes. as if it is wearing glasses.

Brown bear

A long doze

Many bears are dormant in the winter,
which means they doze or sleep non-
stop during this time. They
eat and eat during the
summer and autumn
months, building
up fat they can
use in the winter.

The brown bear can stand up
to 3.5 m (11 ft) – that’s twice
the height of an adult human!

Which bear makes nests in trees?

Bears

American black bear: Climbing bears
this bear sleeps up to six
months during winter. Bears normally walk
slowly, but if they feel
Sloth bear: its claws the need they can gallop
grow up to 8 cm (3 in)
long, and help it tear at very high speeds.
open ant nests. It may seem unlikely
because of their size, but
Giant panda: this most bears are also able
black-and-white bear to climb trees. This giant
mostly lives by itself. panda is climbing a

Sun bear: it uses its tree to find a safe
25-cm- (10-in-) long place to rest.
tongue to suck honey
out of trees. The giant panda eats
mostly bamboo shoots.
Asiatic black bear:
this very rare bear is It will sometimes eat
a protected species. small animal grubs if

it can find them.

Water bears

Polar bears live in the Arctic. They have thick
fur to keep them warm in the chilly weather.
They are excellent swimmers and can hold
their breath for up to two minutes underwater.

Mother love

The mother bear looks after her cubs
fiercely during their first year,
teaching them how to survive.
She sometimes stands on her
back legs to increase her

height and frighten
enemies away.

The sun bear. 21

Mammals

Small and cunning

There are many small, meat-eating
mammals that hunt or scavenge for
their food. Many are known for their
clever hunting methods.

The weasel family The American mink has
a dark brown coat
Members of the weasel family all year round.
have long bodies and short legs.
They have a fierce reputation for Stoat
hunting – they are able to kill
animals larger than themselves. Stoats

Weasels hunt by Stoats and minks are
themselves, killing small animals related to
animals by biting weasels. In summer, stoats
are brown with a white
their necks.
tummy, and in winter,
some turn white so that

they are camouflaged
in the snow.

Weasel

Turn
and learn

The badger,
a relative of
the weasel:

p. 25

22

Why are many of the weasel family becoming rare?

Raccoons Small and cunning

Raccoons are Raccoons are often seen in towns
small animals with rifling through dustbins. They
fox-like faces and have even been known to
bandit-style masks. open door latches.
They are inquisitive
creatures who make Mongoose family

clever hunters. Mongooses are so cunning
that they can kill some of
Smelly skunks the world’s most venomous
animals, such
Skunks are found in the as snakes.
Americas and feed on small
animals and fruit. When Meerkats
threatened, they lift their
tails and let out a foul stink, This mongoose has clamped
which you can smell from a its teeth around a snake’s
kilometre (half a mile) away! neck to kill it.

Weasel relatives Meerkats
These mammals belong
to the weasel family. Meerkats are a type
of mongoose that
Wolverine: this animal
has a larger, stockier live in groups. They
body than a weasel. hunt during the

Polecat: polecats day, while a sentry
are sometimes kept scans the area from
as pets. They are
called ferrets. the highest point,
sitting upright,
American mink: looking out for
it hunts on land enemies.

and in water.

Because many are killed for their fur. 23

Mammals

The burrowers

Many mammals are diggers,
building their homes beneath
the ground. Some use their
burrows only to sleep in, while
others live underground.

Rabbits

Most rabbits dig burrows, called warrens,

underground to protect themselves from

enemies, to shelter from cold, and

to provide a safe place for their

babies. European rabbits live Rabbit
in large groups. warrens are
often a maze
of tunnels.

Boxing hares Hares do not
actually live
Hares are relatives of rabbits underground,
that have longer ears. They they live in hollows
can sometimes be seen boxing they make with their
during the spring breeding bodies in the earth.
season. They stand
on their back legs,
hitting out with
the front ones.

24

What are rabbit babies called?

The burrowers

The aardvark

This animal has a body
like a pig, ears like a rabbit,

and it licks up ants like
an anteater, but it is not
related to any of these
animals! It is a very good
burrower, digging long
tunnels with its claws.

Badgers have quite large, Armadillo
stocky bodies, and small
Armadillos look as if they could take on
heads with long noses an army with their bony armoured backs.
to root out food. They dig burrows to find food and make
dens. Most rest in their burrows during
Badgers the day and hunt by night.

Badgers Badgers have poor
have short eyesight but a good
legs that sense of smell.
are good for
scurrying down tunnels.
Their burrows, known
as setts, are passed down
through generations of
badgers. They tend
to hunt at night.

Moles

You will know when
European moles are
about because they
leave molehills behind
on the ground. Moles
spend most of their lives

underground eating
worms and insects.

The star-nosed mole uses its paws as European mole
paddles to “swim” through the earth.

Rabbit babies are called kittens. 25

Mammals

Insect-eating mammals
Scaly anteater
Many mammals spend their lives
Sometimes called a scaly
eating insects and other small anteater, this pangolin is not
actually related to anteaters.
creepy-crawlies. Most of them It uses its long claws to dig into
anthills and termite mounds.
only hunt at night.

Giant anteater Pangolins shut
their nostrils while
The giant anteater is a large mammal eating ants to stop
that likes to eat ants and termites. It them from rushing
has a large nose and a tongue that
is as long as your arm, perfect for up their noses.
sticking into termite mounds.

Silky anteater

The silky anteater has a
shorter nose and paler
fur than its cousins.
It spends much of
its time digging
out tree ants
and licking
them up.

The giant
anteater can eat
more than 30,000
ants in one day!

Turn
and learn

Ants and termites:
pp. 124-125
Earthworms:
p. 33

26

How big is the smallest shrew?

The head and paws Insect-eating mammals
appear as the hedgehog
sniffs its surroundings Small and prickly
and looks out for danger.
Hedgehogs use their long noses to snuffle
When curled up, in the earth for insects and worms. They are
the hedgehog looks covered in sharp spines that are made of a
like a spiny ball. kind of hair. If this creature feels threatened,

Shrews it rolls its body into a prickly
ball. Not many animals
Shrews are small, active would attempt to eat
mammals that have to a spiny hedgehog!

eat plenty of insects and The hedgehog flips itself
worms every few hours to over and goes on its way.
keep their energy up. They
The spiny echidna
can eat more than their
weight in food every day. The insect-eating echidna
is also covered in spines.
Shrew senses It is one of the most unusual
animals because, with the
A shrew uses its duck-billed platypus, it is
very good senses one of the only mammals
of smell and that lay eggs.
hearing to find
food, such as Echidna
small insects
and earthworms.

Pygmy shrew

The pygmy white-toothed shrew is half the size of your finger. 27

Mammals A rat’s tail helps
it to balance and
Rodents turn in the water.

Rodents are the mammal group that
includes mice and rats. Rodents
are found all over the world from
deserts to the Arctic.

The brown rat

The rat is considered a pest. It lives
almost everywhere in the world
and can exist in huge numbers
if enough food is available.

Brown rat Dinner time

Rats eat everything we eat and
more, which is why they can
survive worldwide. The brown
rat is a very good swimmer
and can catch small
fish underwater.

Rats and mice have
a very good sense
of smell and “talk”
to each other using
their body smells.

weTihredblaockr what ? Rodent teeth

rat was All rodents have four
big front teeth, like
responsible for killing half this marmot’s. They
are very sharp.
the population of London

in 1665. It brought fleas

to England that carried a

deadly disease called the

bubonic plague.

28

What is the biggest rodent in the world?

Rodent groups Rodents
Over 40 per cent of the
world’s mammals are Towns of rodents
rodents. They come in
many shapes and sizes. Some rodents live on their own, but
a lot of them, such as these prairie
Hamster: this creature
comes from Western Asia dogs, live in large underground
and is a very popular pet. communities called towns. Each

Squirrel: it is an town comprises a number of
excellent tree climber and burrows connected by
uses its tail for balance. long tunnels.

Vole: water voles live by Harvest mouse
rivers and lakes and make
burrows in the banks. A long, long sleep

Naked mole rat: it The dormouse can be found in the woods and
lives underground and fields of Europe and is an excellent climber
burrows with flat feet.
and jumper. It hibernates, or sleeps, for seven
Porcupine: this animal months during the winter without waking up.
has sharp quills that it
raises when threatened. 29

Mice

Mice have pointed noses

and long whiskers, which help

them find their way around dark

corners. This house mouse eats

many different types of food

and can produce 36,000 Harvest mice
droppings in a year. use their tails
like hands, to
grip onto stalks.

House mouse

The capybara – it’s as big as a pig!

Mammals

Flying mammals

Some mammals have “wings”,

so they can glide through the Greater mouse-
air, but bats are the only eared bats

Flying mammals that can actually During the day, bats
squirrel fly by flapping their wings. roost in dark caves,
trees, or under a roof
The glider of a building. They
sleep upside-down.

The flying squirrel has loose Bats
pieces of skin on either side

of its body. When it jumps, Bats’ wings are actually long arms with skin

it opens them out like an stretching between each finger. Their thumbs

umbrella and can glide for stick out like small claws to grip branches.

100 m (330 ft), steering with

its tail and legs. Claw-like thumb

Bats squeak to
find one another
in the dark.

Vampire bat

The saliva of Bat features
vampire bats A bat’s head shape
numbs the skin reflects the way it feeds.
of its victims so
they can’t feel the Fruit bat: has a
blood-sucking bite. long snout, and a long
tongue to sip nectar
The real vampire and eat fruit.

The vampire bat’s favourite meal Long-eared bat:
is fresh blood, even yours! It feeds this bat has large ears
by digging its sharp teeth into the that can hear insects’
flesh, then laps up the blood. wings flapping.

Long-nosed bat: these
bats have long noses to
help them smell flowers.

30

What is the smallest bat in the world?

Flying mammals

Bat babies Fruit bat

Some bats bring up
their babies together
in a huge nursery, often filled with
thousands of bats. Amazingly
the mother can always find
her baby when she
returns with food.

Bat diet

Most bats eat
insects. Others, like
this fruit bat, use their
long tongues to eat
fruit and sip nectar

from flowers.

Catching insects

Bats are very good at catching
insects in mid-air – in the dark!
They find them by making
clicking noises and listening
for the echoes bouncing
off insects.

Turn This Geoffroy’s
and learn long-nosed bat
drinks nectar.
Gliding frogs:
pp. 100-101
Bloodsuckers:
pp. 116-117

The Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is the smallest – it is the size of a bumble bee. 31

Mammals

Marsupials More marsupials
Apart from a few that
A marsupial is a mammal with live in South America,
a pocket, called a almost all marsupials
pouch, for carrying come from Australasia.
its babies in. They vary a lot in looks.

Koala Dorian’s tree
kangaroo: this small
Koalas look like little bears. kangaroo can climb trees.
They live in Australia and
are the only animal that eats Numbat: this marsupial
eucalyptus leaves. They are so feeds almost entirely on
hard to digest that koalas spend ant-like termites.
19 hours of the day sleeping
to let their tummies settle. Rabbit-eared bandicoot:
These large-eared burrowers
are most active at night.

Little devil

The Tasmanian devil is not much
bigger than a small dog but it is very
aggressive. It is the biggest meat-eating
marsupial and has such powerful
jaws that it can eat the entire
animal – bones and all!

’s front legs are...
A kangaroo

Bouncing marsupials Turn
and learn
Kangaroos cannot walk.
Instead they have enormous A mammal
back legs that they use to jump that lays eggs:
everywhere. They can move p. 9 and p. 27

very fast just by leaping.

32

Which are bigger, wallabies or kangaroos?

Supermum! Marsupials

Opossums live in the The joey
Americas. Unusually belonging to
for marsupials, the this mother
mother has no pouch.
Instead, her babies cling is definitely
to her. Sometimes one big enough
mother can have up to to climb

20 babies at one time! out of
its pouch.
Opossums
are very good 33
tree climbers.

In the pouch

Most marsupials have pouches. When
the babies are born, they are as small
as beans and wriggle straight into the
pouch. They do most of their growing
there, instead of in their mother’s tummy.

Little joey.

Kangaroo and wallaby babies
are commonly known as joeys.
They spend several months in the
mother’s pouch, and even when
they are big enough to walk, they
sometimes jump back in for safety.

... not used when it hops

Their huge
tails help to
balance them
when they hop.

Kangaroos look like wallabies, but they are bigger.

Mammals

The mighty elephant

Elephants are the largest land animals African African elephants flap
on Earth – the biggest one ever found elephants their enormous ears
weighed as much as 150 men! There to keep themselves
are two main types of elephant, cool in the hot sun.
the African and the Asian.

Living in herds Elephants’ tusks
are very big
African elephants live upper teeth.
in groups called herds.
However, only females and
youngsters live together,
males live on their own.
A family usually contains
about 8-10 elephants.

Playtime!

Baby elephants love to play,
which is an important part of
growing up in a herd. They chase one another,
throw sticks, and climb all over each other.

34

How big is an elephant’s toenail?

An amazing nose The mighty elephant

Elephants have enormous Elephants make loud,
noses, called trunks. trumpeting calls
to each other.
But they are no ordinary
noses, they do many more
jobs than simply smelling.
Elephants use their trunks

to eat, drink, wash, and
even pick up vibrations

from the ground.

Asian
elephant

Elephants use their trunks to A handy nose
grab leaves high up in the
trees that other animals An elephant can grip
cannot reach. things with the end of its
nose, like people do with
their hands. It uses its
trunk to grasp plants
and eat them, to greet
other elephants, and to
show aggression to others.

bigAgferircaeanresltehpahnanAtssiahnaveelemphuacnhts. Bathtime!

An elephant’s skin is very sensitive

and needs a lot of bathing to rinse

away creepy-crawlies and keep it

cool. It often sucks up water in its

trunk and sprays it over its body.

35
An elephant’s toenail is as big as your hand!

Mammals Different hoofs
A hoofed foot has
Hoofed mammals a hard case, like a
big toenail, around
A hoof is a certain type of foot with each toe for strength.
Hoofed feet are good
a hard covering. Hoofed mammals for fast running.

are found all over the world. Horse: a horse has only
one toe surrounded by
Wild pigs a hoof. It runs on tiptoe.

Pigs are hoofed Rhinoceros: these
mammals that eat large-hoofed mammals
almost anything. have three toes.
Wild pigs are
speedy runners Camel: the camel
and protective has two toes that
of their little, are widely spaced
stripy babies. for walking on sand.

The tapir Quick, duck!

Tapirs have very Tapirs spend much of
long noses and their time in the water.
look like pigs, When threatened, they
but they belong sink under water leaving
their noses poking above
to a different the surface like a snorkel
hoofed family.
so they can breathe.

On bended knee

The warthog is a
long-legged, African
pig. When it feeds, it
kneels on its wrists.

The nose and upper
lip form a trunk.

Malaysian tapir

36

What is a moose?

Hoofed mammals

Deer of the north

Reindeer live in cold areas in the
northern parts of the world. Twice a year
they “migrate” – take a long journey –
for thousands of miles to avoid bad
weather and to breed.

Deer giants

The elk lives in swampy forests of
North America and Europe. It is the
largest deer in the world. Its antlers can
grow to 2 m (7 ft) across – bigger than

an umbrella – with up to
20 spikes on them.

Deer lose Deer
their antlers
and grow Deer are woodland
new ones animals that live together
every year. in small groups, called
herds. They have antlers,
which are made of bone.

Branching
out

Only male deer
have antlers (apart
from female reindeer,
who have them as well).
Deer antlers are always
branched, unlike the
pointed horns of cattle.

It is the largest member of the deer family. 37

Mammals

The cattle family

The cattle family are hoofed mammals. Grazers and browsers

They are herbivores, which means they The cattle family all eat
plants. Some are grazers,
eat plants. They have four stomachs who eat low grass. Others,
such as this generuk, are
to digest the plants they eat. browsers: they eat from
trees and shrubs.
Early walkers

Many members
of the cattle family
are killed for food by
other animals. Babies,
like this wildebeest
calf, are able to run
within hours of their
birth so they can try
to stay out of danger.

The herd

Most members live in
large herds for safety.
These bison move around
together according to the
seasons and the food available.

38

Do members of the cattle family lose their horns yearly like deer?

The horn collection Wild sheep The cattle family
Unlike deer, members of
the cattle family do not Like farmed sheep, Spring in its step
have branched horns. wild sheep are
good at living The springbok gets
Antelope: male in rocky its name from its high
antelopes have regions. spring-like bounces
long, pointed horns. that show predators –
Barbary sheep animals that want to
eat them – how fit it is.
Bighorn sheep: the
horns of the male sheep
curve almost in a circle.

Blackbuck: these
impressive horns are
long and wiggly.

Muskox: their horns Taming the beast
curve right down, then
up at the tips. Wild cows, sheep,
and goats were tamed
Ibex: this mountain goat thousands of years ago
has huge, thick horns
that curve over its back. to provide meat, milk,
wool, and leather. Modern
Sitatunga: male farm cows are only distant
sitatungas have
long spiral horns. relations of wild cattle.

Jersey cow

No, cattle keep their horns for life. 39

Mammals

The horse family

Thousands of years ago, horses were wild
animals. Later, humans tamed them and
wild horses almost disappeared. Wild

horses of today include zebras and asses.

Stallion The hoof

All horses and their relatives have one toe
surrounded by a hoof. They run on tiptoe,
which means they can run very fast. All horses
have long tails and manes.

Male horses are
called stallions
and females are
called mares.

The hard Mustangs
hoof protects
The wild horses in the USA are
the toe. actually tame horses that escaped into
the wild hundreds of years ago. They
live in herds of one male

and lots of females.

40

How does a horse scratch its back?

Mood swings The horse family
Horses communicate
with each other by Wild ass
moving their heads,
tails, and ears. Asses are smaller than horses and have much longer
ears. Asses that live with humans are called donkeys.
The African wild ass, which is quite rare, lives
in the rocky deserts of North Africa.

Teeth showing: horses
bare their teeth if
they are unhappy or if
they are sniffing the air.

Ears back: when
a horse is angry, it
puts its ears back flat
against its head.

Ears forward: when Fighting it out
a horse is paying
attention, it has its Male zebras fight
ears facing forwards. for females by
rearing up or
Stripy horses kicking with their
back feet. One male
Zebras are stripy horses. No one knows will take control of
why they are stripy but we do know that, about six females.
like our fingerprints, each zebra’s stripes
are unique. They live in Africa in large
herds and graze on grass.

Plains zebras

A horse likes to scratch its back by rolling around on the ground. 41

Mammals Family members
Some cousins of the
Hoofed giants hoofed giants are
much smaller in size.
The last members of the hoofed family
are by no means the least. They are Okapi: this animal
some of the biggest mammals in the is the only relative of
world. Meet the hoofed giants. the giraffe. It has a
much shorter neck.
Healthy appetite
Pygmy hippo: this small
Giraffes are never short hippo is a fifth the size
of food – they have of its cousin.
such long necks that
they can reach Alpaca: alpacas
high leaves and llamas are camel
on trees. cousins that live in
South America.

Giraffes

The giraffe is the world’s tallest
animal. It is taller than three
tall men standing on each
other’s heads!

42 How much can a camel drink at one time?

A two-humped Hoofed giants
camel is called
a bactrian. The huge rhinoceros

Ships of the desert The rhinoceros has skin that
is thicker than this book
Camels live in hot, dry places. Their humps act and huge horns that
are made of hair.
like huge food stores of fat that they can use
White rhino
up when there is nothing available to eat.

The hippopotamus Indian rhino There are very few
rhinos left because
This mammal giant has a huge, stocky body people kill them for
and stumpy legs. It spends a lot of time in their horns.
water and it is so heavy it can walk along the
bottom of a lake without floating up. A hippo 43

can hold its breath for five minutes.

Giraffes are so tall,
they have to spread
their front legs out

wide to be able to
bend low enough
to reach the water.

A camel can drink nine buckets of water without stopping.

Mammals

Water mammals

Not all mammals live on land – some live in
water. Unlike fish, however, water mammals
have to go to the surface to breathe.

Seals

Seals, which include sea lions and
walruses, have flippers instead of
arms and legs. These make them
very good at swimming but not
good at walking.

Turn Sea lions can Underwater lives
and learn walk more easily
than other seals Seals spend most of their
Giant mammals because their lives in water, but return
of the sea: flippers are to land to have babies.
pp. 46-47 able to move in They have a thick layer
several directions. of fat, called blubber,
which keeps them warm.

Seals are
often very
playful in
the water.

44

What noise do seals make?

Water mammals

Otters

Otters are mammals that have webbed
feet to help them swim. The river otter
lives along river banks and spends its
day swimming to catch food.

Sea cows Otters of the sea

Manatees are often The sea otter is the smallest sea mammal.
called sea cows because It has luxurious, thick fur that keeps it very
they are so big and they warm. It rarely comes to land, and even sleeps
“graze” on underwater in the water. When it nods off, it wraps itself
plants. They spend all up in kelp plants to stop it from drifting away!
their lives in water, and
even give birth there. Walruses use their noses,
like pigs, to root around
the sea floor for food,
such as crabs or
sea urchins.

Walruses

Walruses are huge sea mammals. They
have powerful, blubbery bodies and two large,
front teeth, called tusks, which can grow up to

1 m (3 ft) long. Their tusks help them cut
through ice sheets and keep enemies away.

In the pink

Walruses are normally greyish brown
in colour. But when they sunbathe, they
turn blush-pink because their blood rushes
to the surface of their skin to cool it down.

Seals bark like dogs!

Mammals

Ocean giants

Whales and dolphins look
like fish but they are actually
mammals. The whale family
includes some of the biggest
creatures on earth.

Toothed whales

There are two kinds of whales – toothed
whales and baleen whales. Toothed
whales eat fish and large animals, such
as seals. The killer whale can even leap
onto beaches to grab unfortunate seals.

The big blue

The blue whale is the largest
animal in the world – its heart
is the size of a small car. The
next largest creature, a bull
African elephant, could
sit on its tongue!

Turn Baleen whales
and learn
Some whales, such as this
Water mammals: humpback whale, have
pp. 44-45
Plankton: rows of filters called plates,
instead of teeth. These are
pp. 140-141 called baleen whales. They
gulp huge amounts of water,

then sieve it through the
plates to remove the food –
tiny animals called plankton.

46

What animal makes the loudest noise on Earth?

Underwater gossip Ocean giants

Whales live in groups, or pods, and many talk Whales
to each other using squeaks, whistles, rumbles, Most whales look quite
or clicks. Beluga whales “speak” so much that similar but a few have
they are sometimes called sea canaries. different features.

Leaping dolphins Narwhal: this whale
has an enormous
Dolphins are small whales. sword-like tusk, which
They are highly intelligent
and curious, and are often is actually a tooth.
seen leaping alongside
boats at sea. Porpoise: the porpoise
is a toothed whale that
looks similar to a dolphin.

Sperm whale: this whale
holds the record for the
deepest dive of any mammal.

Amazon river dolphin:
this dolphin is one of the
only freshwater whales.

Bottlenose dolphin

Dolphins have very strong tails that
help lift it high above the surface.

Dolphins leap out of the Underwater babies
water to avoid enemies –
leaping helps them to swim Whale and dolphin babies,
faster – or to herd fish by called calves, grow in their
making loud splashes. mother’s tummies, like other
mammals. The calf drinks
its mother’s milk until it
is old enough to eat solid
food. Spotted dolphins, like
this mother and calf, live
in groups of up to 15.

Spotted dolphin

The blue whale is the loudest animal – it makes a very deep rumble. 47

Birds Pigeon

Birds

Most birds can fly. This has meant that Scientists have
over the years, they have been able to live discovered that
in places that other animals could not modern birds
evolved from
get to. They live all over dinosaurs.
the world, even in
the chilly Arctic. Budgerigars

Toucan Owl

Finches Hummingbird

Parrot Doves Stork

Ostrich Penguin

Avocet Duck
Kiwi

48

Which bird has the most feathers?