Looking to learn more about animals that inhabit our planet Earth? You came to the right place.
Below you will find a compilation of descriptions and illustrations of animals that live in the Southern parts of the world (mostly). Look out for fun facts!
OSTRICH – the largest bird on Earth. Although the bird has wings it cannot fly, instead it uses its long strong legs to run at great speeds. Fun fact! Although popularized by media ostriches do not in fact hide their head in the sand when scared as that would not protect that from predators, instead they choose to flee on their strong legs or use their big beaks to fight back.
EAGLE – a large predatory bird known for its massive wing span and perfect eye-sight. Identifying features include giant hooked bills that are usually yellow-ish and white heads on darker bodies.
HYENA – a medium sized predatory mammal. Although a carnivore, hyenas are not known as hunters but rather scavengers and prefer to feast of what larger predators had already captured. Hyenas are recognized by their signature laughter cry.
CROCODILE – a semi aquatic predatory reptile. It is known for its long jaws filled with sharp teeth, horn-like rigger skin and the ability to camouflage in the water.
LION – a large predatory feline. They live in groups with several females and one male present. Males are separated from their female counterparts by the existence of a large bushy mane around the cat’s head.
TIGER – a big predatory feline known for it’s black stripes and orange-brown fur. Fun fact! The famous 1994 movie ‘Lion King’ which portrays the life of another feline predator actually used Tiger roars because the sounds that Lions make are not as loud and aggressive.
ELEPHANT – the largest land mammal to roam the Earth. It has grey rigger skin, massive tusks, big flappy ears and a long strong trunk used to stray themselves with water. Fun fact! In contrast to popular belief, elephants do not use their trunk to drink water, instead to suck the water up the trunk and then sprays it in their mouth.
GIRAFFE – a large southern mammal known for its long neck. A giraffe has a yellow fur with brown spots. It uses its long neck to reach the taller trees and younger leaves that are full of fiber. Fun fact! Despite the length of its neck, the giraffe still only has 7 neck joints just like other mammals, including humans.
ZEBRA – a member of the horse family. It is recognized by its black and white stripes. Zebras have erect manes which allows their skin not to become to moist from overheating.
HIPPOPOTAMUS – a very large semi-aquatic mammal. Hippopotamuses have think skin and a large layer of fat around their body, their mouths also open very widely to reveal a set of big tusks. Despite their large mass and big bodies, hippopotamuses are extremely fast swimmers.
CHEETAH – a slender predatory cat. It is recognized by its spotted fur. Cheetahs are known to be the fastest animals on land.
RHINOCEROS – a large heavy herbivore mammal. It has thick rigger skinned and is recognized by its signature horn or two at the front of its nose. Not so fun fact: All kinds of rhinoceros have been endangered due to extensive hunting. They are hunted for their horns which are said to have healing powers.
ANTEATER – a medium sized mammal which feeds of ants and termites. It has a long snout through which they are able to capture the insects that they eat. Some types of anteaters also have extremely long and flexible tongues used for insect hunting.
LLAMA – a camel family mammal kept for its soft wool and meat. Usually found in the Andes or other mountains in South America. Llamas are very prone to spitting and thus it is advised to keep your distance if you do not wish to experience a cold saliva shower.
ALPACA – a smaller member of the llama family. Alpacas have shorter pointier ears than llamas and a much flatter face. Their wool is considered softer than llamas and they are not as prone to spitting as their larger relatives.
SLOTH – a medium-sized tropical animal, which lives in trees and uses its claws to crawl from a branch to a branch. Sloths can be two-toed or three-toed depending on the number of nails in their claws. Sloths are much faster in water than they are in trees but they can only swim small distances. Not so fun fact: sloths come down from the trees to defecate only once a week, however that is when they are most vulnerable and exposed to predators thus it is the most dangerous moment of the animal’s week.
KANGAROO – a large herbivorous marsupial found mainly in Australia and New Guinea. It is known for its strong tail, which can be used to lean and stand, as well as powerful back legs used for hopping. Kangaroos are very muscular and can fight in a similar fashion to boxing.
KIWI – a tiny flightless bird found in New Zealand. A kiwi is one of the tiniest birds on the planet, although it has wings it cannot fly but it uses its long slim beak to hunt for insects. Fun fact! Kiwi is a national bird of the nation of New Zealand!
KOALA – a small marsupial mainly found in Australia. It has grey fur and bear-like features like rounded ears and strong (although small) claws. Fun fact! Koalas almost exclusively eat eucalyptus leaves an do not even drink water as they get all the hydration they need from the plant.
QUAKKA – a small wallaby from Western Australia. Quakkas have small rounded bodies and heads, as well as short tails. They are able to climb trees but do not necessarily do it often. Fun fact! Quakkas are considered the happiest animals on Earth because they do not have any natural predators and therefore they are not scared of humans or other animals. Their signature expressions are considered to be smile-like by people.
PARROT – a semi-domesticated vividly coloured bird from the tropics. Parrots can be recognized thanks to their colours, small hooked beaks and raucous voices that are able to mimic the sounds that they hear, it can be sounds of other animals or even words that people speak.
PELICAN – a large water bird. Pelicans have long yellow-ish beaks and expandable throats hanging from the beak. They use these expandable throats as bags to fish and store prey. Pelicans are mostly white and grey.
PEACOCK – a large colourful bird, which has long tail feathers marked by various patterns that create images when extended. Fun fact! Peacocks use their tails to impress females (peafowls) who usually do not as impressive of colouring.
TOUCAN – a tropical bird with massive colourful beak. Toucans eat fruits and are usually found in America. Fun fact! Toucan is the logo of sciencebird!
Put your knowledge to the test! Take our Southern Hemisphere Animal quiz by clicking here.
Want to learn more about animals? Check out our Northern Hemisphere Animals part 1 and Northern Hemisphere Animals part 2.