Kids Encyclopedia

Aye-Aye — The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a strepsirrhine native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world’s largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unique method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the …

Ass — The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The words refer to the domesticated E. asinus. The animal considered to be its wild ancestor, is called the African Wild Ass, also E. asinus. Colloquially, the term “ass” is usually used today to refer to a larger, horse-sized animal, and …

Armadillo — Armadillos are small placental mammals, known for having a bony armor shell. The Dasypodidae are the only surviving family in the order Cingulata. Until as recently as 1995, the family was placed in the order Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for “little armored one”. There are approximately 10 extant genera and …

Capybara — Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, also known as capibara, chigüiro and carpincho in Spanish, and capivara in Portuguese) is the largest living rodent in the world. It is related to agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs. Its common name, derived from Kapiyva in the Guarani language, means “master of the grasses” while its scientific name, hydrochaeris, is Greek for “water …

Anteater — Anteaters are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. The name is also colloquially applied to the aardvark, the numbat, the echidna, and the pangolin. Together with the sloths, they comprise the order Pilosa. Species include the Giant Anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla, about 1.8 m (6 ft.) long including the tail; …

Alpaca — The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance. Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are …

African Hunting Dog — The African Wild Dog or African Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus, is a carnivorous mammal of the Canidae family, found only in Africa, especially in scrub savanna and other lightly wooded areas. It is also called Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, or Painted Wolf in English, Wildehond in Afrikaans, and Mbwa mwitu in Swahili. It is the …

Addax — The Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) is a critically endangered desert antelope that lives in several isolated regions in the Sahara desert. Although extremely rare in its native habitat, it is quite common in captivity and is regularly bred on ranches where they are hunted as trophies. The Addax stands about 1 metre tall at the shoulder and weighs 60 …

Aardvark — The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) (“Digging foot”), sometimes called “ant bear” is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for “earth pig” (aarde earth, varken pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig. However, the aardvark is not closely related to the pig, being placed in its own order. Nor is …

Yucca — The yuccas comprise the genus Yucca of 40-50 species of perennials, shrubs, and trees in the agave family Agavaceae, notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal clusters of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North America, Central America, and the West Indies. Yuccas have a …