The Sulawesi macaque 🐒, also known as the crested black macaque, is native to Indonesia's Sulawesi island. Locals call it "yaki" or "macaque-mag".
It has a distinctive crest on its head and a short tail.
They live in groups of 5-25 in highlands, feeding on leaves, fruits, and even snakes 🐍.
Unfortunately, they are hunted for their meat and due to crop damage 🌾.

🏔️ The Alpine ibex reaches 150 cm in length and 90 cm in height. Males weigh up to 100 kg, females around 40 kg.
🦌 Males have impressive curved horns up to 1 m long, while females have short, slightly curved horns.
🌄 They inhabit the Alps at high altitudes, and can climb up to 3500 m. Today, there are 30-40 thousand ibex in the Alps, saved from extinction in the 19th century 🙏

🐿️ The American ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii) inhabits tundra meadows and steppes.
🌡️ They hibernate from August to September, and emerge in April-May, even in -40 °C temperatures! 🥶

Meet the Persian horned viper, a snake that mimics a spider to catch birds 🕷️🐍!
It has a "spider-like" tail that lures birds in.
This unique tail grows after birth and is fully formed in adulthood.
Interestingly, adult snakes only hunt migratory birds, as local birds may be aware of their tricks 🐦💡

The Blue-winged Traupis 🐦 lives in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeast Argentina.
It visits farmlands, gardens, and adapts to urban areas with many trees and fruit 🌳.
This bird eats flowers, buds, and insects, making it one of the most common urban birds in southeast Brazil 🌴.

🦆 The Mandarin duck is a symbol of marital fidelity and family happiness.
In China, figurines of these ducks are placed under a girl's pillow if she's taking too long to get married.
They got their name from Chinese mandarins, as officials loved to dress up, and the drake's plumage resembles their colorful robes 🌟

🐿️ Striped skunks in the northern part of their range hibernate during winter.
They gather dry grass and leaves for their winter nest in late October.
🏠 They often take over another animal's burrow or find a dry spot to sleep.
👥 Female skunks usually hibernate in groups of up to 6 with their babies, sometimes with a male.
🐾 Interesting fact: skunks are expert diggers! 😊

🦅 The Australian Wedge-tailed Eagle is a large, daytime bird of prey.
It weighs up to 5 kg and is 1 m long.
They live in pairs, building huge nests (up to 3 m in diameter) 🏠
Their diet consists of 70-80% rabbits and hares, and they also eat carrion and large lizards 🦎

🐍 Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus) - a non-venomous snake.
It grows up to 60-80 cm.
Uses its upturned snout to dig burrows 🌀
When threatened, it puffs out its neck, arches back, or plays dead 🙅‍♂️

The Scarlet Ibis 🌴 gives Trinidad a fantastic atmosphere 🌟.
They live in groups of hundreds, feeding on insects, shellfish, and fish 🐟.
Their curved beak helps them find worms and crabs 🐜.
They can live up to 20 years 🐦.
Featured on Trinidad and Tobago's coat of arms, they symbolize the island 🌟

Meet Sinag, a 5-year-old Philippine Eagle 🦅 with a 2-meter wingspan.
Despite being territorial and aggressive, Sinag poses for selfies with trainer Lohwana Halak 📸.
This rare bird is one of the largest and strongest in the world, found only in the Philippines 🌴.
Interestingly, Philippine Eagles are monogamous and hunt in pairs, with one distracting the prey while the other sneaks up 🐒💡.

🌴 The Red-billed Chachalaca is a unique bird species 🐦
It's featured on the coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the Scarlet Ibis 🌺
These medium-sized birds have small heads, strong legs, and long tails 🌟
They're social, loud, and often found in family groups, foraging for fruits and seeds in trees 🌳

🌴 The Cuban hutia (Capromys pilorides) is a large rodent found only in Cuba and nearby islands.
🐾 It grows 30-60 cm in length, with a 14-30 cm tail, and weighs 3-9 kg.
🌳 They are mainly ground-dwelling, but can climb trees.
🍃 They eat leaves, bark, fruits, and small animals. 🌞

🕷️ Meet the fishing spider! 🌊
They're not monsters, only 3cm long, but can kill 5-6cm fish.
Their secret? Long legs with 3 claws and special hair on their feet that prevents them from getting wet.
Their main weapon? Patience! 🤯 They wait for hours, creating ripples on the water to lure in prey.
They can even dive underwater for 45 minutes, using air bubbles on their legs for oxygen! 🌟

🌿🐦 You see the jacana bird taking its chicks under its wings and quickly carrying them away from the crocodile.
They walk on water (actually, on water lily leaves) in search of food.
Interesting fact: jacanas can carry eggs and chicks under their wings! 🐥💕

The Quetzal 🐦 inhabits cold mountain forests from southern Mexico to Panama. It nests in high tree crowns, seeking hollows at least 50m above ground.
Its body length is 35cm, with two long tail feathers of the same length.
A sacred bird to the ancient Mayans and Aztecs, it was considered the air god 🌟.

🦎 The blue-tongued skink, Tiliqua scincoides, is a large lizard up to 0.5m long.
It has a smooth, fish-like scales and a bony layer underneath.
🤔 Scientists still can't explain the purpose of its unique blue tongue.
Two popular theories:
1️⃣ to scare off predators with its blue tongue and pink mouth,
2️⃣ to show strength and dominance during mating season 🐲💪

🦎 The Anolis proboscis is a lizard found only in subtropical highland forests of Ecuador.
It's 8-14 cm long, with a grey and light green body and red, black, brown, and yellow markings.
Males have a distinctive long growth on their head, like a nose or horn, which is not functional but indicates good health and genetics.
Interestingly, it moves without muscles or bones, possibly due to blood flow changes.
After being unseen from 1960 to 2005, it was rediscovered in 2005 in an Ecuadorian suburb 🌳💚

🐒 The Siamang is the largest, strongest, and loudest of the gibbon family. Their loud "singing" can be heard up to 3 km away 🌳. They have long, shaggy black fur with reddish eyebrows.
🌟 Interestingly, they are excellent swimmers, using a unique monkey breaststroke. Each morning, they greet the sunrise with a loud chorus, led by the adult male and female, lasting around 15 minutes 🌅

🦰 The giant elephant shrew was rediscovered in Africa after 50 years of obscurity.
The last recorded sighting was in the 1970s. Recently, it was found again in Djibouti during a biological expedition.
Over 1,000 traps were set in 12 locations, baited with peanut butter, oats, and yeast, capturing 12 elephant shrews and providing the first photos and videos for research 📹💡

🌴 The Radiated Tortoise is a rare species of land tortoise, endemic to Madagascar 🌟.
It has a unique, high shell with a geometric yellow pattern on a black-brown background 🌈.
They can live up to 80 years and weigh up to 13 kg 🐢.
Found in dry forests, they eat plants and animals 🌿🐜.