Wild pandas live in remote, mountainous areas of central China, where they munch bamboo for most of their day (this cub was on loan to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and returned to China). These black-and-white, roly-poly giants are an endangered species, and are protected by China and conservation groups with research stations, preserves, parks and bamboo corridors, undeveloped parcels of land that allow pandas to travel from mountain to mountain. Despite these efforts, the panda is not completely out of the woods: When the Sichuan earthquake damaged the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Wolong in May, one panda died and others had to be moved elsewhere.
A pygmy hippo calf is a good sign for the species; they are at risk and known to live in just four West African countries that offer their habitat of rain forest, swamp and river — Liberia, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Sierra Leone. “Pygmy” might be a misnomer for this shy creature at the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: They can grow to be 39 inches tall and can weigh up to 600 pounds.
Millions of Eastern gray kangaroos roam the forests and grasslands of Australia, making them an icon of the nation. Growing up to 7 feet tall, the gray kangaroo can hop at speeds of more than 35 mph, covering 25 feet in a single bound. Murramarang National Park in New South Wales is just one of many places to see kangaroos.
A picture of curiosity, a young giraffe gets its close-up at Germany's Frankfurt Zoo. Giraffes live on the African savannah south of the Sahara. These mild-mannered animals are an eye-popping sight because of the beauty of their coats and their size, especially if they are peering into a second-story window.
Emperor penguins must cooperate to survive on the Antarctic ice and the surrounding sea. They huddle to escape the wind and conserve warmth while spending the winter on open ice, and must travel about 50 miles to reach the ocean for hunting, all the while buffeted by gales that can push the wind chill to minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Emperors, the largest of all the penguins, can dive to 1,850 feet and remain under water for more than 20 minutes. Visitors face an epic journey: sailing on an ice breaker to Antarctica, flying in a helicopter to a landing spot on the ice and walking up to 2 kilometers to a remote rookery.
This Siberian tiger cub at the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark is a member of an endangered species that lives in snowy forests in eastern Russia, China and North Korea. Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are the world’s largest cats, with some males weighing more than 400 pounds and growing longer than 10 feet; among tigers, they have the palest orange coat and the fewest stripes.
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