Mammal. Caracals are also called desert lynx because of their resemblance to lynx. They can survive for long periods without water, obtaining moisture from their prey. “Karakal” is Turkish for “black ears.” Their ears are larger than most other cats, and they are topped by long, black tufts of fur. Caracals are agile tree-climbers, and will sometimes store the remains of their prey in the forks of trees or bushes. They are known for their bird-catching abilities. Their strong legs and big paws enable them to jump up and knock birds out of the air.

Redfish

The Redfish is notorious as a bottom feeding animal.  However, it can also be seen on the surface, feeding on schools of fingerling baitfish.  It prefers shallow grass beds and and structures where small fish and crustaceans are abundant.  There was a drastic decline in Red Drum populations in the late sixties and early seventies.  Through conservation efforts the species has once again reached abundant levels.  The first hatchery established to restock the Redfish population was here in Texas near Port O'Conner.  In 1983, they released 2.3 million fingerlings into the San Antonio Bay.  This is an amazing sport fish to pursue. The only three truly unique feature this animal possesses is its prominent spot or multiple spots on the dorsal edge of the tail fin.  It does have strong jaws and the ability to grind its food, aiding in the consumption of mollusks and crustaceans .  Its unique behavioral feature is that this fish likes to dig its nose into the sandy ocean bottoms, allowing its tail to splash the top of the water, known as "tailing".  The Texas Wild exhibit has on display 5 Redfish.  They are typically a schooling fish which allows them to be more efficient during feeding.  Typically Redfish like to corral their prey into the shallows and feed in waves.This is a feisty, fun fish to pursue on regular fishing tackle or a fly rod.  They are amazing fighters.  Due to continued conservation efforts, the Redfish is continuing its resurgence in the wild.  The exhibit at the Ft. Worth Zoo contains five fish in varying stages of maturity.  The immature fish typically contain four or five spots on their tail section whereas the mature fish typically have only one.

 

Sergeant - Major Fish

The Sergeant Major Fish can grow up  which is a relatively large damsel fish.  It is not suprising to see this bright beautiful fish grow to 6 or 7 inches in total length.  It's generally lively colored and laterally compressed with upper body being yellow, occassionally with shades of blue.  The lower body of the fish is white with shades of gray.  These black vertical stripes narrows towards the belly, with a dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin.  They have a small terminal mouth, a single nasal opening on each side of the head and a single continuous dorsal fin.
This species is a coral reef fish that is found in many reefs in the Atlantic Ocean.  They are common in tropical and subtropical shallows all over the world.  This fish adopted its name sergeant major because of the five black bars that resemble the insignia of that rank in the military services.  The Sergeant Major fish scientific name is Abudefduf saxatilis.  This scientific name stands for Abudefduf - father, saxa - living among rocks, tilus - tile-like in color.  The reason it is called father is because it is aggressive and bossy to the other inhabitants of a reef. The Sergeant Major fish really doesn't have any special adaptions except for its aggressiveness and  determining sexes - if male or female species. 
During the months of April - August mating occurs and territories are established for reproduction.  This is when  the male is extremely territorial .  Also, during mating the male of the species becomes deep blue (note the blue fish in the photo below).  Other than waiting for mating season it is really hard to determine males from females and vice versa.  Many damsel fish change sex over their lifetimes, beginning as male, and then as they grow, become female.

Alligator Gar

         
An adult alligator gar can reach lengths of up to eight feet and can weigh in excess of 302 pounds. It has a long and slender body which is covered in bony scales. Its anal and dorsal fins are located rearward and are nearly opposite of each other. It has a long snout which consists of two rows of sharp teeth, making it easy to tell it apart from the other gars. Its colors range from brown to olive on the top portion of its body, to lighter colors on the underside.Lepisosteus is a Greek term meaning "bony scale", and spatula is the Latin word for "spoon". The most noticable part of the gars body is the elongated snout. This menacing looking fixture contains two rows of teeth which are used in shredding their victims. Its prime source for food is catfish if available; if not they are not shy of chomping down on almost anything. This fish is often referred to as a "trash fish", because of its choice of brackish water and its willingness to try to eat just about anything. The alligator gar, however, is a dominant species in its habitat, for no other creature can tackle its size.  An alligator gar's buoyancy bladder is connected directly to its throat, giving it the ability to breathe air above the surface of the water. Because of this benefit, the gar has a dangerous habit of basking near the surface. This is a danger because of the ease in which bowhunters can catch this interesting fish.I have had some experience with this fish, for I have caught a few myself (the smaller ones of course). One of these even had part of a license plate and a sliver of a soda can caught in its jaws, setting an example of this animal's sharp bite and willingness to eat, or at least attempt to eat, just about anything. As evil as they might look at first sight though, they are quite fascinating to watch. They will sit near the surface for long periods of time giving the viewer a chance to see the entire animal.

Ostrich Birds

Ostriches are raised for their lean red meat. These ostriches are seen at a commercial farm.Standing up to 9 feet  tall with lanky legs, massive bodies, huge overbites and eyes the size of a child's fist, an ostrich looks like an avian punch line. These birds are no laughing matter, though. They're the largest birds alive, and they can kill a lion with one swift kick.
The ostrich is different from almost all other birds. They belong to a family of birds called ratites, which includes emus and rheas as well, and they are easy to tell apart from other winged creatures. For one thing, these birds can't fly.The ostrich is different from almost all other birds. They belong to a family of birds called ratites, which includes emus and rheas as well, and they are easy to tell apart from other winged creatures. For one thing, these birds can't fly.As strange as it seems for a bird to be flightless, it makes sense if you consider flight as a way to escape predators. Ostriches don't need that particular escape route because they can sprint at up to 43 miles per hour  and run long distances at more than 30 mph  . They're the fastest animal on two legs. Their speed is even more impressive when you consider they can weigh up to 400 pounds (181 kg) [source: USDA]. While they don't fly, their wings aren't useless: They serve to balance the ostrich while it runs and act as rudders to quickly change direction at top speed. Male ostriches also use their huge wingspan to attract females in mating season.
Ostriches live mostly in desolate desert climates, so they have to be pretty flexible in their diet. They'll eat almost anything: plants, lizards, seeds, locusts and stones are common parts of their diet (yes, stones -- they help to crush up the other stuff they eat). One rancher has reported his ostriches swallowing tennis balls -- and a kitten [source: NWF]. On farms, ostriches' small and nonpicky appetite makes them a good investment. They grow faster than cattle on much less food. They reproduce more often than cows, and they sell for a lot more because their meat is considered a delicacy, at least in the United States. In Europe and South Africa, it's actually pretty common fare.Why's their meat so special? For one thing, while ostrich meat is poultry, it's red, not white like most other birds. And this red meat, which looks and tastes much like beef, is lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than not only beef, but also white meats like chicken and turkey. All ratites have red meat. It has to do with their muscles. On the next page, we'll find out what meat actually is and what makes ostrich meat red instead of white.

Cheetah Animals

The cheetah is Mammal animals . The cheetah is very large and  world's fastest land animal, the cheetah can go from 0 to 65 km (40 mi) per hour in three strides, with a single stride covering 7-8 meters (23-26 feet). Cheetahs can reach full speed 110 km (70 mi) per hour in seconds. They are the only cats who have nonretractile claws. This gives them better traction, and helps maintain their footing while they run. Cheetahs are one of the few big cats who can purr. They also make other unusual sounds such as chirping, yelping, and bleating. Females live alone except when they are raising cubs. Males live in coalitions of two to five members.The cheetah has unusually low genetic variability. This is accompanied by a very low sperm count, motility, and deformed flagella.[8] Skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs illustrate the former point, in that there is no rejection of the donor skin. It is thought that the species went through a prolonged period of inbreeding following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age. This suggests that genetic monomorphism did not prevent the cheetah from flourishing across two continents for thousands of years.The cheetah likely evolved in Africa during the Miocene epoch (26 million to 7.5 million years ago), before migrating to Asia. Recent research has placed the last common ancestor of all existing populations as living in Asia 11 million years ago, which may lead to revision and refinement of existing ideas about cheetah evolution.The now-extinct species include: Acinonyx pardinensis (Pliocene epoch), much larger than the modern cheetah and found in Europe, India, and China; Acinonyx intermedius (mid-Pleistocene period), found over the same range. The extinct genus Miracinonyx was extremely cheetah-like, but recent DNA analysis has shown that Miracinonyx inexpectatus, Miracinonyx studeri, and Miracinonyx trumani (early to late Pleistocene epoch), found in North America and called the "North American cheetah" are not true cheetahs, instead being close relatives to the cougar.

Pancake tortoises

Pancake tortoises are small and flat with a thin, flexible shell. The shell is normally 6 to 7 inches long and an inch or so high. On the legs, they have bigger scales with points that project downward and outward. Usually the shell has radiating dark lines on the carapace (upper part of the shell). The plastron (bottom part of shell) is also pale yellow but with dark brown seams and light yellow rays. Juveniles have pale yellow top shells with black seams and yellow rays. Some may have brown spots on their back. The carapace of juveniles is more domed than that of adults.Males can be distinguished from females by their larger and longer tails; However they are smaller than the females and have less distinctive patterns on their shell.
Pancake tortoises live in colonies but the colonies are usually isolated from each other.  Within one habitat they coexist and many individuals may share the same crevice amicably. Males may fight during the breeding season in January and February.

The pancake tortoise is adapted to fitting into tight crevices. Even larger individuals are less than 2 inches high. The shell is so thin and flexible that the plastron moves in and out when the animal breathes. Since the tortoise ould easily be torn apart by predators, it relies on its speed and flexibility to escape from dangerous situations. With the reduced weight of the shell, it can move much more quickly than other species.It was once thought that it could puff its body up with air to wedge itself in place, but this has been found not to be true. Instead, it orients its spiky legs outward so that it is almost impossible to dislodge. Also this animal can also climb vertically. Because they are so light they can turn themselves over with ease if they fall on their backs.
In the wild breeding is in January-February with nesting in July-August.They lay eggs that are about two inches long. The eggs can incubated at about 30 degrees Celsius for 140 to 190 days. Combat between males prior to breeding can lead to better reproductive success.  In captivity breeding can be any time of the year. Captive animals can live 25 years and perhaps longer.