Henry Doorly Zoo: Animal Kingdom Pavilion

The Animal Kingdom Pavilion has many educational tidbits.

Mammals
Mammals are covered with hair, have mammary glands to suckle their young, and are warm-blooded. Mammals are very diverse in size, shape, form and function, ranging from Kitti’s hognosed bat weighing .05 ounces to whales that exceed 110 tons. There are approximately 5,000 species of mammals. Marsupials are mammals that give birth to tiny, undeveloped young that climb up the mother’s fur into a pouch or pouch-like area; there the young will nurse and develop further. Most mammals have seven cervical vertebrae or neck vertebrae. There are only a few mammals, such as the manatee, that have a different number of neck vertebrae. So a giraffe, a human, a mouse, a whale and just about any other mammal you can name, all have seven neck vertebrae.

Reptiles
Reptiles have scales instead of hair, have lungs, and are cold-blooded. They live in many different types of aquatic, arboreal, and terrestrial habitats. True Lizards have external ear openings, movable eyelids, and shed their skin in pieces. There are approximately 7,000 species of snakes, lizards and turtles. Snakes have no limbs, no external ear openings, or movable eyelids and shed their skin in one piece.

Amphibians
Amphibians have smooth, moist skin with many glands, do not have scales and are cold-blooded. Frogs have long legs, skin that is smooth and moist, and special pads on their toes that help them climb. Whereas Toads are more heavyset with shorter legs and usually have rougher drier skin. A typical amphibian spends at least a portion of its life in the water or in damp areas. A typical life cycle starts as a fertilized egg, larval stage, and finally an adult stage. There are more than 5,500 species of amphibians, which include newts, salamanders, frogs, toads, and caecilian.

Insects
Insects have nearly 1 million different species making them the largest group of invertebrates. An insects’ body is divided into three parts and has six legs, whereas a spiders’ body is divided into two parts and has eight legs. All Arthropods have a tough outer covering that protects their vital body parts called an exoskeleton.

The Lied Jungle
The Lied Jungle is the largest indoor tropical rainforest of its kind in the world covering 1.5 acres. The Lied Jungle is home to 300 animals representing 90 species.

Elephants
Elephants have skin that can be up to an inch thick. Elephants often spray themselves with water, or roll in the mud for protection from the sun and biting insects. African elephants are the largest living land animal weighing an average of 4 to 8 tons and standing 11 feet tall. Elephant’s foodpads act as a cushion with each step absorbing the impact and taking some strain off the leg.