OBJECTIVES

PROJECTS

KOUPREY

WILDLIFE PARKS/ ZOOS

SPECIES SAVED FROM EXTINCTION BY ZOOS

PARTNER INSTITUTIONS

COMPANIES AND ANIMAL RESPECT

BIODIVERSITY

 

MAMMALS

Mammals are vertebrate animals that are endothermic, have hair on their bodies, and produce milk to feed their babies.

Classification:               - Monotremes (Unusual Mammals): Monotremes are the most primitive and there are only 3 species ( the Platypus and 2 species of Echidna). These mammals have hair and produce milk, but they also lay eggs. The eggs are similar to reptile eggs, and hatch into tiny young that are not well developed;             - Marsupials (Life in a Pouch): Marsupials also have tiny, undeveloped young, but they grow inside the mother´s fur to a pouch on her belly and settle inside;             - Placental Mammals (Just Like Us!) : Placental mammals are the largest group, and their young develop inside the mother´s body while attached to a placenta. This is an organ that gives them nutrients and oxygen from the mother´s blood.

The largest and the smallest:           - Smallest Mammal : Kitti´s Hog-Nosed Bat (Craseonycteridae thonglongyai), which only weights 1,4 grams.           - Largest Mammal : Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) that weight 150 tons.