Panda

The Panda is a species of bear that is found in the mountains of central and western
China. One of the most famous and easily identifiable animals in the world, the
Panda is also considered as one of the rarest animal and is under immense threat in
its natural environment, primarily from habitat loss. Here is a description about the
Panda.

The Panda is a medium to large sized bear that like other species has a large head,
short tail and a long muzzle with a large nose, which gives them an excellent sense
of smell. The thick fur of the Panda is creamy-white in color with large patches of
black on the limbs, shoulders, ears and nose, and distinctive black patches around
their small eyes.

The Panda eats almost only bamboo and so has a number of physical adaptations to
help with its consumption including an extension of their wrist bone which acts a bit
like a thumb, allowing the Panda to grip onto bamboo stems. They also have large
jaws with strong jaw muscles that along with their flat molars, allow the Panda to
crush bamboo stems and leaves in order to extract the nutrients.

The Giant Panda is a solitary animal that occupies a territory marked with secretions
from scent glands and scratch marks on trees. Male Giant Pandas roam home ranges
more than double the size of a female's, with his territory overlapping those of
several female Giant Pandas with which he holds breeding rights. Giant Pandas
breed between March and May. After a gestation period that lasts for around five
months, the female Giant Panda gives birth to one or two cubs in the base of a hollow
tree or cave. Panda Bear cubs are very underdeveloped at birth measuring as little as
15cm and weighing only 100g.

Due to the large size and unique habitat of the Panda, adults have no natural
predators within their cool, bamboo-filled world. Humans however are the biggest
threat to Pandas in the Chinese mountains as they have hunted these remarkable
animals for their unique fur. Although harsh punishments for poaching have now
slowed hunting down, Pandas are under extreme threat from habitat loss in the form
of deforestation for agricultures and residences.
 Kangaroo
Kangaroos are native animals in Australia. These animals is in the group of marsupials.
This is because the female kangaroos have pouches in the front of the stomach to keep
its child. Kangaroos have a small, furry, and snouted head. Their biased ears are moving
from front to back following the noise. This ability is helpful for them to keep away from
harm, especially predators. Kangaroo’s size of hind legs are larger than front legs. These
legs are used to jump and save itself from the enemy. The front legs are used to pull
leaves or dig in the dirt looking for water. Kangaroo’s tail is strong and muscular. The tail
serves as the support balance when kangaroo stands.

Kangaroo is a unique animal that moves by jumping. Kangaroos are able to jump at a
speed of 20-25 km / h (slow category), 40-45 km / h (generally), and 70km / h (fast).
Kangaroos are able to jump because it is supported by the structure of the legs,
especially the soles of his feet are formed by thick muscle that also can be bounced.
Beside moving, kangaroo can also run by stepping with its feet that are not flat on the
ground, so it seems like a jump. If it is running like that, kangaroos need the help of the
tail to wag to the left and to the right. Kangaroos can not walk backwards due to the
structure of its body arched forward and muscular tail structure.

The digestive system of kangaroo consists of the digestive glands and digestive organs.
Digestive gland consists of four pairs of salivary glands: Parathyroid, infaorbital,
submaksilari, and sublingual. There is a gallbladder with bile duct and pancreatic lymph
channels that is empty into the duodenum. Cecum (the cecum) is thin walled, has length
approximately 50 cm, has a vermiformis appendix (appendix) that looks like a finger.
While its digestive organ consists of the mouth, esophagus, ventriculus, duodenum,
ileum, rectum, and anus.

Kidneys of kangaroo are shaped like beans on which kidney median space is called the
renal pelvis associated with bladder via the ureters. Urethra from the bladder is
functioned to take the urine out through the urinary tract. The dominant kangaroo has
own separate channels, unlike other vertebrate animals which uses the cloaca.
Kangaroos and other mammals have drains waste products through the anus, urine
through the urethra and reproductive tract via the vagina and penis.

These grooves contain nasal bones turbinal winding that expand the surface olfactory.
Roofed an epiglottis larynx contains the vocal cords. Two lungs respectively separate the
pleural space. The active phase of the breathing inspiration is followed by depression
(flattening) of the diaphragm and the elevation of the ribs (with a curved movement out).
In the reproductive system of male kangaroos, it is consisting of testis, epididymis, vas
deferens, and penis. Vas deferens past the lateral and posterior to then join the urethra.
The male kangaroos have seminal vesicles, resulting in a cycle of its spermatogenesis,
sperm generated is not stored in advance in the sperm sac but is directly channeled.
Kangaroos have wide epididimis channel width and testes. At the end of the kangaroo
penis, it is found a branch where both branches are working to copulate. In a mating, the
male kangaroos produce millions of sperm that will fertilize the female egg.

In the reproductive system of female kangaroos, the period of pregnancy in female

kangaroo ranges from 18-38 days depending on the species. Th species of red
kangaroo (Macropus rufus) experiences a period of gestation of about 33 days. Female
kangaroos copulate when the baby in her pocket changes nipples, female kangaroo
produces one egg which is fertilized by one sperm. Egg cells which are fertilized do not
always directly develops, the eggs require a temperature minimum. Therefore, the egg in
the womb of kangaroos will be able to grow in the rainy season. But if the kangaroo do
the copulation during the rainy season, so the fertilized egg will be directly grown for 33
days. The reproductive system of kangaroos is very different from other animals.
Kangaroo embryo passes through several stages of development outside the womb,
which normally occur in the womb.
 Elephant
Elephants (Loxodonta) is a basic thoughest mammal in the world. African
elephants and Asian elephants are the two surviving species of the remains of
various groups of large mammals in prehistoric times. The fossil record shows
that elephants have some distant relatives, namely rodentlike hyrax. In East
Africa a lot of well-preserved fossil remains of elephants have previously
helped scientists in researching the archaeological sites of prehistoric human.

Elephants are the largest living land mammal, one of the most impressive
animals on earth. Of all the features in particular, the proboscis is most
remarkable that serves as a nose, hand, extra foot, signaling device, a tool for
gathering food, vacuum water, dust, tools for digging and a variety of other
functions. Not only that, the long trunk also allows the elephants to reach food
at an altitude of 23 feet. Elephant’s trunk is also capable of doing the twist and
circular with a strong is used to destroy trees or fighting. African elephant’s
trunk has two finger-like structures at the ends, compared with Asian elephants
which have only one.

Ivory is another remarkable feature of the elephant. Ivory is an elongated

incisors (elephants have no canine teeth); about a third of their total length lies
hidden inside the skull. The largest ivory ever recorded weighed 214 pounds
and 138 inches long. The size of ivory is not found on elephants in Africa today,
as over the years poachers have taken animals with the largest tusks. Because
tusk size is a characteristic that is not inherited, it is rare to find an elephant
which has tusks weighing more than 100 pounds now. Both male and female
African elephants have tusks, although in the Asian elephant species only males
have tusks.

Size of African elephant ears over two times are higher than the Asian elephant
and have different forms and are often described as similar to a map of Africa.
Elephants use their ears to indicate a signal or a warning when there is danger or
when they’re angry. Ear also serves to control body temperature elephant. With
ear flaps on hot days, blood is circulated in various blood vessels that ear; return
of blood to the head and body; and make the elephant’s body goes cold.

The soles of the feet of elephants are covered with thick pads that help maintain
weight, prevent slipping and to muffle the sound that makes the elephant can
run almost silently. Elephants usually have five toes on each foot nailed the
front and four on each hind limb.

Elephants form small family groups consisting of older females as the leaders
with three or four offspring along with their children. Elephant group (Herd) is
not led by a male elephant because of the nature of the elephant bulls that prefer
to live solitary (alone). Groups of female elephants are frequented by elephants
adult males for mating. Some groups of elephants that inhabit the region are
interrelated and know each other very well. When they meet at the watering
hole and a hoof they will greet each other.

The social life of male and female elephants are very different. Female
elephants spend their lives in a matrilineal family groups. Some of the group
consists of more than ten members (including three pairs of mothers and
children), are led by a matriarch who is usually the oldest female. The matriarch
leads the group until she dies or if it no longer has enough energy to perform her
duties. According to research at the zoo, when the matriarch dies, the content of
corticosterone (a stress hormone) faecal increases sharply in the elephants that
are still alive. When her job ends, the eldest daughter of the Matriarch will
succeed, even if the matriarch’s sister is still alive. Older matriarch tends to be a
more effective decision-maker.

The social life of a female elephant is not just limited to the small family unit. In
the Amboseli National Park, Kenya, female elephants also interact with the
family, clan, and other subpopulations. Family groups can mingle and create a
bond with the other groups, thus forming a bonding group. Bonding group
usually consists of two groups of families. In the dry season, families of
elephants may get together and form a clan. The groups in this clan do not have
a strong bond, but they retain their territories in dry season from another clan.
Usually there are nine groups in the clan. The population of elephants in
Amboseli is also divided into subpopulations “center” and “edges”.