Animal Atlas

We visit the very fast cheetah, horse, and peregrine falcon, the very slow tortoise, and many animals in between.

Many animals represent something to us: the lion is courage; the bear is strength and fortitude; the bald eagle is freedom and a whole lot more.

From the tails of the New World monkeys, to the fly swishing tails of the pig family, to the display tails of lemurs, most tails serve a purpose.

What serves as a head in the animal kingdom? We look at the round and familiar heads of the primates, to the long jaws or snouts like the alligator.

A look at how fish live, swim, and survive. We also look at what's special about fish, both the bony and the cartilaginous.

A look at the domestic dog: its super senses, how breeding has changed its appearance, the histories of different breeds, and what working dogs do.

A look at the cat family, from domestic cat to wild cats, and an investigation into where domestic cats come from and how wild cats hunt.

A comparative look at the members of the dog and cat family: their super senses, their roles as carnivorous predators, which is the fastest.

A panoramic look at a variety of reptiles, from snakes to lizards and alligators to turtles. What makes a reptile a reptile?

The world of the domestic horse, from breeds to breeding, to the biggest and the smallest, to the horse's historic relationship with man.

A journey into the Animal Kingdom's greatest mysteries from what exactly is a seahorse, to why can't ostriches fly, to why tigers have stripes?

A panorama of animals whose looks defy their true identity, from the naked mole rat, to the okapi, the only living relative of the giraffe.

A walk on the wild side with members of the pig family and those rodents whose names have negative connotations but who are really remarkable.

A visit into the world of the arachnids, and a vivid explanation of which animals are venomous and why, and which are poisonous.

A look at the different coverings on animals' bodies. From animals with interesting skin, thick-skinned pachyderms, to remarkable animals with fur.

A look at amazing animals, from an egg-laying mammal, to a kangaroo that lives in trees, to the only living North American marsupial, the opossum.

What animals are the most social? A prairie dog coterie and town? A group of dwarf mongooses? Plus, why do animals live together?

An introduction to animals with wings from birds, to mammals, to insects. We ask what makes flight possible, and necessary, in the animal world.

A look at animals with more than the traditional five senses, from the smell-taste sense of those with the Jacobson organ, to the swim bladder.

A journey down the river where water dwellers include the Nile hippopotamus, the giant anteater, the river otter, and the strange looking bush dog.

We correct some misconceptions about animals, from 'dolphins are fish', to 'bald eagles are bald', to the idea that there's only one kind of elephant.

A look at the great predatory birds. How they hunt, how they fly, their super senses, and the adaptations that help them to pursue and capture prey.

A close look at a family of eight chimpanzees who live in a wild-like habitat at the zoo. Hear their stories and amazing facts about the great apes.

Meet the flightless penguins. A look at how penguins live. Plus, meet the neighboring puffin as we ask, 'why can one fly, but not the other?'

A look back at some zoos Animal Atlas has visited and their animals, such as Scooby, the mane-less lion at Branson Zoo and Aquarium; and many others.