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King vultures are very large, scavenging birds that soar high over a variety of tropical forests, watching for carcasses located by other, smaller species of vultures. With their large size, king vultures usually displace the smaller local species from a large carcass. Adult pairs cooperate to raise single offspring.

These birds, like all species of hornbill, have distinctively large, down-curved bills that they use to grab small animals from among the grasses and shrubs of their habitats. They can fly, but spend most of their time on the ground. Males and females differ in size and coloration, with females displaying bright-blue throat patches. The southern ground hornbill’s low-pitched booming sound is a simple territorial announcement.

These strikingly-patterned monkeys have very long tails that help them balance as they move quickly through trees. They feed primarily on leaves in a variety of forest types and live in social groups made up of a single dominant male and multiple females.

These medium-sized mammals may weigh sometimes up to 50 pounds. They use their prehensile tails and specialized wrists and ankles to maneuver about rainforest trees in search of fruits, bird eggs or small animals.

Panamanian golden frogs are native only to central Panama, where they have been viewed as symbols of good luck for centuries. Unfortunately, an epidemic of chytrid, a fungus highly dangerous to amphibians, has eliminated their populations, and the Panamanian golden frog is considered extinct in the wild. Their species is now maintained in carefully managed survival-assurance breeding groups at facilities in Panama and in the U.S., including Zoo Atlanta.

Black-and-white-ruffed lemurs are the largest of the lemurs, all of which are found only on the island of Madagascar. They are herbivores, primarily feeding on leaves, shoots, flowers and fruits. These lemurs typically live in the middle to upper part of the rainforest. Vocalizations and scent-marking are known methods of communication for these social primates.

The diamondback terrapin is unique among all turtles, except sea turtles, in that it lives in coastal brackish waters (mixture of fresh and salt water). Their large beak and jaw muscles help them crush hard-bodied prey such as clams or shrimp. Diamondback terrapins were once overharvested for human consumption; today, they are largely at risk because of automobile collisions on roads, boat strikes in the water, and unattended crab traps. Conservation programs have allowed their populations to recover.

The word “orangutan” comes from “Orang Hutan,” meaning “Person of the Forest.” They are unique among the great apes in that they do not live in social groups. Adults typically forage on their own, but mothers care for their offspring for years. Orangutans have complex cognitive and spatial skills, meaning that they have good memories and are outstanding problem-solvers. Orangutans are highly endangered as a result of habitat loss and black market trade for infants as pets. There are three species of orangutans: Bornean, Sumatran, Tapanuli (recently discovered, Tapanuliensis). Morphologically, the Tapanuli species has differing skull and teeth structure. ...

Sloths are arboreal animals and are slow and deliberate rather than swift and agile. Specialized, enlarged claws enable them to hang upside down below the branches they traverse. Sloths derive their entire diet of leaves and some fruits in the trees, and they do almost everything upside down.