Mammals

Scientific Name: Diceros bicornis

Weight Range: 1,800 - 3,100 lbs (800 - 1,400 kg)

Key Detail: They have a hooked, prehensile upper lip used like a thumb to strip leaves and twigs from branches.

Scientific Name: Loxodonta africana

Weight Range: 4 - 7 tons (3,600 - 6,300 kg)

Key Detail: Their massive ears act like built-in air conditioners. By flapping them, elephants can cool down the blood flowing through the large vessels in their ears.

Scientific Name: Panthera leo

Weight Range: 330 - 550 lbs (150 - 250 kg)

Key Detail: A male's mane isn't just for show; a darker, thicker mane indicates top health and higher testosterone.

Scientific Name: Panthera pardus pardus

Weight Range: 65 - 200 lbs (30 - 90 kg)

Key Detail: To protect their food from scavengers, leopards can haul prey weighing as much as themselves up into tree branches.

Scientific Name: Acinonyx jubatus

Weight Range: 46 - 158 lbs (21 - 72 kg)

Key Detail: Built for speed and agility, cheetahs can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds.

Scientific Name: Giraffa camelopardalis

Weight Range: 1,750 - 2,800 lbs (794 - 1,270 kg)

Key Detail: Kenya's tall icon, shaped for browsing treetops and spotting movement across open country.

Scientific Name: Equus quagga

Weight Range: 440 - 990 lbs (200 - 450 kg)

Key Detail: Every zebra has a unique stripe pattern, much like human fingerprints.

Scientific Name: Syncerus caffer

Weight Range: 1,100 - 2,200 lbs (500 - 1,000 kg)

Key Detail: An adult male's massive horns fuse to form a 'boss' that can even stop bullets.

Scientific Name: Phacochoerus africanus

Weight Range: 110 - 330 lbs (50 - 150 kg)

Key Detail: Warthogs can run up to 30 mph (48 km/h) and often use abandoned aardvark burrows.

Scientific Name: Hippopotamus amphibius

Weight Range: 2,900 - 4,000 lbs (1,300 - 1,800 kg)

Key Detail: Despite their bulky appearance, hippos can run faster than humans and spend up to 16 hours a day submerged.

Scientific Name: Pan troglodytes

Weight Range: 88 - 132 lbs (40 - 60 kg)

Key Detail: Sharing ~98% of our DNA, chimpanzees are our closest living relatives with complex social behaviors and tool use.

Scientific Name: Lycaon pictus

Weight Range: 40 - 79 lbs (18 - 36 kg)

Key Detail: Also known as painted wolves, they have an 80% hunting success rate - among Africa's most effective predators.

Scientific Name: Orycteropus afer

Weight Range: 110 - 180 lbs (50 - 82 kg)

Key Detail: Perfectly adapted for nocturnal diet of ants and termites, lapping them up with its long, sticky tongue.

Scientific Name: Leptailurus serval

Weight Range: 20 - 42 lbs (9 - 19 kg)

Key Detail: Incredible leaping ability - can jump up to 10 feet in the air to catch birds.

Scientific Name: Smutsia temminckii

Weight Range: 22 - 40 lbs (10 - 18 kg)

Key Detail: World's only truly scaly mammals, unfortunately the most trafficked wild mammal on the planet.