The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is among the most recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of...
The Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. It is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The Blue whale was once abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans until the end of the 19th century. It was hunted...
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae. The leopard is distinguished by its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic hunting behavior, broad diet, strength, and its...
The Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is not closely related to the Giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "false thumbs" used for grasping...
The King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a highly venomous snake endemic to jungles in Southern and Southeast Asia. The sole member of the genus Ophiophagus, it is distinguishable from other cobras, most noticeably by its size and neck patterns. The...
The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea ), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 1.8 metres and...
The binturong (Arctictis binturong) is a carnivore of a medium size found in dense forests in South-East Asia. This animal is thought to be a close relative of the palm civet. It is the biggest member of this family.
The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is one of only three living species of elephants or elephantids anywhere in the world, the others being the African bush elephant and African forest elephant. The Asian elephant is the largest living land animal...
The gaur (Bos gaurus) is a bovine native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the largest species among the wild cattle and the Bovidae. In Malaysia, this adorable giant is called seladang, and pyaung in Myanmar.
The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest species of snakes. This non-venomous snake is native to a large area of Southeast Asia and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of...
The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is a canid native Asia. During the Pleistocene, the dhole ranged throughout Asia, Europe, and North America but became restricted to its historical range 12,000-18,000 years ago. The dhole is listed as Endangered on the IUCN...
The Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a Clouded leopard was brought to London from China and described in 1821....
The Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. The common name of this species refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black....
The Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. The animal gets its name from the characteristic orange-to-cream-colored chest patch. It is also known as the "honey bear", for its love of honeycombs and honey....
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta ), is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when...
The Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia. It is unique among bears in that it is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and is threatened by...
The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is now critically endangered, with only five substantial populations in the wild. Sumatran rhinos,...
The Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild population has declined by at least 50% since the 1930s...
The Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The Hawksbill sea turtle has a global distribution; it lives part...
The Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. It is a threatened species whose population has declined severely over the last decade. Its scientific name comes from its viverrine or civet-like...
The Asian wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is among the heaviest living wild bovid species. It is the most likely ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.
The Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. This species has a long history alongside humans. It has been alternately seen as an agricultural pest, a sacred animal, and, more recently, the...
The Great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) is a large colorful bird found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast. Due to its large size and color, it is important in many tribal cultures and rituals. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official...
The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea ), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world....
The sambar (Rusa unicolor) is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The name "sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine deer called the "Philippine sambar", and the Javan rusa called the "Sunda sambar".
The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) (otherwise known as Asian tapir) is the only living species of Old World tapir. There are only 4 tapir species around the globe, and this animal is the largest of them. Meanwhile, the Asian tapir is the most...
The giant clams are the members of the clam genus Tridacna that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus Tridacna, which are often misidentified for Tridacna gigas, the most commonly...
The takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is a large species of ungulate found in the eastern Himalayas. It is the national animal of Bhutan. The specific name ‘taxicolor’ comes from Latin and rougly can be translated as ‘badger-like coloration’.
The Sarus crane (Antigone antigone) is the world's tallest extant flying bird, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in). This crane, when standing, is as tall as a man. In India, these birds are considered symbols of marital fidelity,...
The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in scattered subpopulations near sea coasts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the Australian snubfin dolphin and was not...
The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545...
The banteng (Bos javanicus) is a species of cattle found in Southeast Asia. Banteng occur in a variety of habitats throughout their range and can survive without water for long periods during droughts. The wild banteng is classified as Endangered on...
The Green peafowl (Pavo muticus) is a peafowl species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Due to their natural beauty, these birds are still sometimes targeted by the pet trade, feather collectors, and even by hunters for meat. They...
The Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large graceful bird of prey that breeds in Eurasia. Like all eagles, the Eastern imperial eagle is a member of the family Accipitridae. Furthermore, its well-feathered legs mark it as a member of the...
The Oriental small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus ), also known as the Asian small-clawed otter is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its webbed digits. It is the smallest...
The sangai is an endemic and endangered subspecies of Eld's deer found only in Manipur, India. It is also the state animal of Manipur. Its common English name is Manipur brow-antlered deer or Eld's deer and the scientific name is Rucervus eldii...
The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla ) is a pangolin native to the northern Indian subcontinent, northern parts of Southeast Asia and southern China. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2014, as the wild...
The Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) is a large and impressive raptor. Its well-feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as the "booted eagles". The Steppe eagle is in many ways a peculiar species of eagle....
The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is an aquatic marine mammal found throughout most of the Indian Ocean, as well as the tropical and subtropical Pacific from Indonesia north to the Taiwan Strait. Finless porpoises are the...
The Lar gibbon (Hylobates lar) is a captivating primate and a master of agility, being remarkably fast when swinging through the trees from branch to branch. It has long arms and hands, perfectly adapted to this means of locomotion. It is an...
The Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) is an otter species found in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. As its name indicates, its fur is smooth and shorter than that of other otter species.
The Pink-headed duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea) is a rare diving duck that was once found in parts of eastern India, Bangladesh and northern Myanmar but feared extinct since the 1950s. Numerous searches have failed to provide any proof of continued...
