# |
Species
[range] |
Photo/art [see credits]
all photos taken in wild unless stated |
Reason for choice |
DR seen? |
21 |
Lion
Panthera leo
[Africa & s. India] |
|
The
"King of Beasts" is the top predator of the African veldt. It is so
familiar and yet, upon encountering one in the wild, so awe inspiring.
Numbers have been in decline but it is still easy to see in African
national parks and at its one Asian stronghold in the Gir Forest of s.
India. |
Yes |
22 |
Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
[oceans] |
|
The
largest toothed whale, it ranges the deep oceans, diving for up to an
hour (recorded down to 8200' depths!). Numbers declined seriously
during whaling but it is still widespread. Yet few pelagic birders see
it because you must get out over the deep ocean and then get lucky. |
Yes |
23 |
Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
[c. Africa] |
|
Genetically
our closest relatives, Chimpanzees are almost too well known from
Hollywood or research. But wild chimps are usually hard to find (but
not so hard to hear) in the lowland forests of central Africa. They
make sleeping nests but move sites daily. Their social system provides
insights into our own ancestry. |
Yes |
24 |
Indri
Indri indri
[e. Madagascar] |
|
The
largest of Madagascar's lemurs, the Indri is nearly tail-less but lives
in the canopy. The antiphonal haunting calls are a real forest
experience. Their range is now fragmented as numbers decline; the
Perinet Reserve was established to help save them. There are about a
dozen very colorful lemurs (patterns of black, white, red or orange) in
Madagascar. |
Yes |
25 |
Aardvark
Orycteropus afer
[Africa]
|
|
Entirely
nocturnal and almost never seen, Aardvark is so unique it is placed in
its own Order, Tubulidentata. It feeds entirely on termites and ants,
and digs burrows for sleeping during the day. Surprisingly large (size
of German shephard dog), it is very memorable to encounter one in the
wild. |
Yes |
26 |
Giant Anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla
[s. Central & South America] |
|
Although
its range is broad, this unlikely combination of tail and snout is
elusive and its numbers are relatively small, reaching highest
densities in remote undisturbed pampas. It is the strangest beast in
the New World. |
No |
27 |
Wolverine
Gulo gulo
[Holarctic] |
|
The
world's largest mustelid (family of weasels, otters, badgers), the
Wolverine is an absolutely fearless carnivore. It has a huge home range
and seems impossible to see without an aircraft or radio-tracking. A
very few in the alpine Sierra Nevada are California's rarest mammal.
|
No |
28 |
any Tapir
Tapirus sp.
[Neotropics & tropical Asia]
|
|
Any tapir is a rare treat. The size of a donkey, they are very elusive in the dense jungle. Brazilian T. terrestris (left) is the most common & widespread; Mountain T. pinchaque & Baird's T. bairdii are also in the Neotropics. The black-and-white Malayan T. indicus is rare in s.e. Asia. |
Yes; 1 of 4 |
29 |
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus
[Africa]
|
|
Sometimes
called "Cape Hunting Dog," this pack predator was once common and
widespread. Habitat loss, hunting, and disease have reduced the extant
population to a very few remote pockets. The pack hunting techniques
are very impressive. |
Yes |
30 |
Narwhal
Monodon monoceros
[Arctic Ocean] |
|
Male
Narwhals carry spear-like tusks that they use in combat, and then this
whale lacks a dorsal fin as yet another oddity. It is a whale of the
Arctic Ocean and has been in serious decline for some time. They are
usually found near pack ice, a habitat rarely visited by birders . . .
or anyone else. |
No |
|
Links to all of the "top 50":
RESOURCES & CREDITS
|
FURTHER READING:
This is not an exhaustive bibliography but rather personal choices of
books, mostly in the popular literature genre, but all fact-based and
well-written. I do not have favorite literature for all species, but
for these see:
* For Lion:
There are hundreds of books. So far I've most enjoyed the stories of
lion research in Botswana in Mark & Delia Owens' (1984) Cry of the Kalahari: Seven Years in Africa's Last Great Wilderness
[Mark Owens' project was on lions; Delia Owens was working on the
elusive and little known Brown Hyena]. A good natural history is George
Schaller's (1976) Serengeti Lion: a Study of Predator-Prey Relations, and I enjoyed Craig Packer's stories of working on the Serengeti lion project in Into Africa (1994).
* For Sperm Whale: Herman Melville's classic American novel Moby Dick (1851) is about a giant white Sperm Whale. More realistic are the art and thoughtful text in Richard Ellis' (1980) The Book of Whales, and I also very much appreciate Ellis' work on a major prey item, the Giant Squid, in his The Search for the Giant Squid (1998).
* For Chimpanzee: Obviously, the popular works are Jane Goodall's (1967) My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees and her (1996) My Life with the Chimpanzees, both accounts of her field work, and then her more formal natural history in the (1980) The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. I also enjoyed Craig Packer's (1994) stories of working with her at Gombe in Into Africa.
* For African Wild Dog, several good stories are in Mark & Delia Owens' (1984) Cry of the Kalahari: Seven Years in Africa's Last Great Wilderness.
* For Narwhal: although it has nothing at all to do with Narwhals, Andrea Barrett's (1998) novel The Voyage of the Narwhal
is a fascinating book, half arctic exploration in the mid-19th century
and then an unexpected half of insights into societal perceptions, all
within a natural history venue. Sorry, I haven't read anything
spectacular about the Narwhal itself, although I do like the art in
Richard Ellis's (1980) The Book of Whales.
CREDITS:
All artworks are copyrighted by the artist (as detailed below) and are
either used with permission or are posted here in reliance on the
non-commercial "fair use" doctrine; all rights are reserved by the
artist
* Bruce Pearson painted the Aye-aye (from Burton & Pearson's 1987 Collins Guide to Rare Mammals of the World)
* Walter Weber painted Wolverine (from National Geographic's 1960 Wild Animals of North America)
* Tom Ritchie painted Narwhal (from Watson's 1981 Sea Guide to Whales of the World)
* Marion Westmacott painted Tasmanian Devil (from Cronin's 1991 Key Guide to Australian Mammals)
All
the photographs are copyrighted by the photographer (as detailed below)
and are used with permission; all rights are reserved to the
photographer
* Rita Carratello photographed Aardvark (South Africa; this is a video capture)
* Jeri M. Langham photographed the Sperm Whale (off California, U.S.A.)
* Don Roberson photographed Lion (Tanzania), Chimpanzee (Uganda), Indri (Madagascar), and Brazilian Tapir (Brazil)
* African Wild Dog photo is from Wikipedia (unattributed)
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Page created 1-6 June 2002, updated 20 Aug 2002, revised 10 Nov 2007 |
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