Animal Champions
Published: Aug 5, 2016
We have lots of species from Brazil at the Zoo and to celebrate this year’s Olympic Games we’ve put together some fun facts and highlighted their location at the zoo to help you find them during your visit.
1 Hoffman’s two-toed Sloth- These rainforest heroes can hold their breath under water for 40 mins and they don’t sweat or have any body odour – perfect for a day in the Olympic park. (Map point 50)
2 Tapir- The Brazilian Tapir has a nose like a snorkel and can stay under water for several minutes- a synchronise swimmer perhaps? (Map point 24)
3 Capybara – These large rodents are semi-aquatic and have special adaptations that help them to excel at swimming and diving – could give Plymouth’s Tom Daley a run for his money! (Map point 24)
4 Squirrel monkeys- These tree-dwelling primates are a proper team player and live in groups of up to 200 in the wild. (Map point 51)
5 Emperor Tamarin - Thanks to their small stature they are quick and shifty leapers, a crucial trait for both catching prey and avoiding predators. (Map point 19)
6 Silvery Marmosets – Some of these height-loving primates sometimes never leave the trees their entire lives. (Map point 12)
7 Tanagers - These birds are excellent flyers with super quick reflexes which help them to catch and eat flying insects- perfect Ping-Pong players maybe? (Map point 50)
8 Toucans- Toucans have big bills. As a matter of fact, they have larger bills, in proportion to the size of their body, than any other birds. (Map point 27)
9 Green vine snake - Eyes of green vine snake work together, unusual for a snake, focusing on the same image. This type of vision is called binocular and it is typical for humans. Using binocular vision, snake can identify prey easily- perfect for Olympic shooting/darts. (Map point 50)
10 Goliath bird eating spider- largest body mass of any spider – champion wrestlers if given the chance. (Map point 50)
11 Scarlet Macaws- flying of up to 35 mphs 50kms a hour- and could give even Usain Bolt a run for his money. (Map point 7)
12 Poison Dart frog - Scientists believe that these frogs gain their poison from a specific arthropod and other insects that they eat in the wild. These insects most likely acquire the poison from their plant diet. - like an athlete they have to eat the right thing to stay in shape. (Map point 50)
13 Yellow breasted Capuchins - Yellow-breasted capuchins are one of the few species of animals that use objects as tools –prime javelin champions maybe? (Map point 51)
14 White Throated capuchins- They have a long prehensile tail that is the same length of its body which would make them master gymnasts. (Map point 51)
15 Geoffrey’s marmoset - The Pygmy Marmoset can rotate their heads 180 degrees and can leap 15 feet into the air! Great skills for any artistic gymnast. (Map point 12)
16 Azara Agouti- can jump up to 6 feet from a standing position- high jump would be a breeze to them! (Map point 14)
17 Ultramarine grosbeak – These colourful birds have a loud far-reaching song- and would put any Olympic fan to shame. (Map point 50)
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