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Animal Profiles
African Wild Dogs
The African Wild Dog has many aliases including the Hunting Dog, Cape Hunting Dog and is also known as the Painted Dog, due to the unique artistic patterns along their body. Their scientific name, Lycaon pictus, is latin, meaning painted wolf.
Find out moreAsian Elephant
The Asian Elephant is the largest of Asia's many animal species. They can grow to a height of 3.5m and may weigh up to 5,000kg. Newborn elephants weigh only 100kg.
Find out moreBarking Owl
Barking Owls are most common in savannah woodland, although they also inhabit well-forested hill and riverine woodlands. They are widely distributed throughout Australia, but are absent from central areas.
Find out moreBrown Bear
In the wild these animals are generally solitary, except for mothers with cubs. They are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material.
Find out moreCorroboree Frog
The tiny Southern Corroboree Frog is a spectacularly colourful species with well-defined black and yellow markings. It has yellow, white and black blotches on its underside. The pattern on each frog is individual.
Find out moreDingo
Famous or infamous? Villain or victim? Controversy has surrounded the Dingo in Australia but new research suggests that this iconic predator could be an ecological saviour and help to restore the natural order of the Australian bush.
Find out moreGiraffe
The tallest of all living creatures, the giraffe is perfectly adapted to feeding from the tops of trees in the African savannah.
Find out moreGorilla
Western Lowland Gorillas live in tropical forests on the west coast of Africa. The size of their territory depends on the availability of food and the size of the group.
Find out moreGreater Bilby
Also known as the Rabbit-eared Bandicoot, the Bilby indeed has long rabbit-like ears and soft fur. It has a long pointed snout and long black tail with a white tip.
Find out moreHippopotamus
The word ‘hippopotamus’ is Greek for ‘river horse’. These large African animals spend most of their time in or near large pools of water and can weigh up to 3 tonnes.
Find out moreKoala
The Koala is found in eucalypt forests from south-east Queensland to south-east South Australia. Their diet is almost entirely comprised of leaves from eucalyptus trees.
Find out moreLion
Often called ‘King of the Jungle’, the lion in fact is not a jungle dweller, but lives on the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa.
Find out moreMeerkat
The meerkat is not a cat, nor is it related to the prairie dog. It is a member of the civet family, which includes the otter and mongoose.
Find out moreOrang-utan
Orang-utans were once widespread throughout Asia, but now inhabit only the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
Find out morePlatypus
With a duck bill, beaver-like tail, no teeth, and venomous spur this truly unique Australian was thought to be a hoax when first discovered by Europeans.
Find out morePelicans
Australian Pelicans are the largest of the world's seven pelican species.
Find out morePenguins
The penguin family are the best swimmers and divers of all the world's birds. Victoria's native penguin species (Little Blue Penguins) are the smallest of the world's penguins, which are all found in the Southern Hemisphere. They grow to 30cm in height and weigh only 1 to 1.5kg, in contrast with their largest cousins, the Emperor Penguins, which stand up to 100cm tall and weigh up to 40kg.
Find out moreRed Kangaroo
Red Kangaroos are the largest marsupials existing today. Males stand nearly 2.2m tall and weigh around 66kg, while females average 26.5kg.
Find out moreRed Panda
In the wild these animals are generally solitary, except for mothers with cubs. They are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material.
Find out moreRhinoceros
The Southern White Rhinoceros is a ‘gentle giant’ being the calmest of the five rhino species. Living mainly in South Africa, it is under threat from poaching.
Find out moreSeals
The Australian Fur Seal, along with the Cape Fur Seal, is the largest of the fur seals. Males (bulls) are approximately 2 -2.3 metres long and weigh 218-360kg, and females (cows) are approximately 1.5 metres long and 36-113kg.
Find out moreSnow Leopard
The Snow Leopard is most active at dawn and dusk. The Snow Leopard has long thick fur, white to greyish and tinged with yellow and patterned with dark grey or black rosettes and spots.
Find out moreSumatran Tigers
Found exclusively on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, Sumatran Tigers are the smallest of the five remaining tiger subspecies.
Find out moreTasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devils are the largest surviving marsupial carnivores. Early European settlers named them ‘Devils’ due to their screeches, black colour and fierce reputation.
Find out moreTree Kangaroo
The Goodfellow’s Tree-Kangaroo is one of eight recognised species of tree kangaroo found in New Guinea. There are also two species found in north-eastern Queensland, Australia.
Find out moreWombat
Zoos Victoria has two types of Wombat in its care - the Southern Hairy Nosed and the Common Wombat
Find out moreZebra
A Plains zebra has rather broad stripes, especially towards its rump, with colour ranging from black to dark brown. There may be a brown ‘shadow stripe' between a black and white stripe
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