The Fly River turtle, or pig-nosed turtle, is the last living member of the Carettochelyidae family of turtles. With flipper-like forelegs, webbed hind legs and a shell covered in soft, leathery skin, it is well adapted to aquatic life.
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Goats are versatile, domesticated animals kept for meat, milk and fiber. They are intelligent, social and difficult to herd. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo exhibits Nigerian dwarf goats.
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The alpaca is a small relative of the camel domesticated by Andean people for its wool. They are slender-bodied animals with long legs and necks, small heads and large, pointed ears. Alpacas are covered in a soft fleece and have soft, padded feet.
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Gibbons live in the evergreen tropical rainforests and monsoon forests of Laos, Vietnam and southern China. They are arboreal and spend most of their time in the forest canopy. White-cheeked gibbons are critically endangered, and their numbers have declined by 80 percent or more over the past 45 years, primarily due to habitat loss and poaching.
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For the Zoo’s insect-eating residents, no meal is complete without live, nutrient-packed bugs.
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The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is North America’s longest, heaviest venomous snake, averaging 3-6 feet long, with some adults growing up to 8 feet. It’s known for its iconic rattle and its venomous bite, which can be fatal to humans.
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The largest canid in South America, the maned wolf looks like a fox, is called a wolf and is closely related to neither. Maned wolves primarily eat small animals, fruits and vegetables.
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The world’s most social felines, lions roam the savannas and grasslands of the African continent, hunting cooperatively and raising cubs in prides.
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A striking and easy to identify bird, chickadees have a reputation for being chatty busybodies. They are frequent visitors to feeders and backyards and are one of the most studied and well-recognized wild songbirds in North America.
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Golden-headed lion tamarins are named for their thick, golden manes. These endangered animals live only in Brazil and, like many tamarin species, are tree-dwelling, fruit-eating primates.
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