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Meet March's Calendar Animal: The Orca
Scientific name: Orcinus orca
Length: 9.8 meters (32 feet) for males, 8.5 meters (28 feet) for females
Weight: Up to 5,500 kilograms (12,100 pounds) for males, up to 3,800 kilograms (8,400 pounds) for females
Home: Ocean
Biome: Tundra
Status: Low risk
Favorite Food: Fish, squid, and marine birds and mammals
The orca is also known as the killer whale, but it's not a whale—it's actually the largest member of the dolphin family. Recognizable by its black and white coloring, the orca is one of the fastest animals in the ocean, and can reach speeds up to 30 miles per hour and depths of about 200 feet. Orcas eat about 300 pounds of food a day, but their diet varies by location. No matter where they are, orcas feast mostly on fish, marine mammals, and squid.
Orcas typically live in family groups called "matrilines," made up of an adult female and her offspring. Two or more matrilines join together into a larger group known as a pod, which  can have 40 or more orcas in it. Each pod has its own language dialect, which is a series of clicking noises, whistles, screams, and calls.
Newborn orcas, called calves, weigh about 400 pounds and are about eight feet long. It's unknown how long orcas live, but scientists studying whales in the Pacific Northwest have estimated orca lifespans to be roughly 30 years for males and 60 years for females.
You can find the orca in Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania and the Zookeeper Collection (which includes Marine Mania).
Want to read more about the orca? Check out our Animal Escapade on this aquatic mammal.
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 Meet April's Calendar Animal: The Dodo
Scientific name: Raphus cucullatus
Length: About three feet tall
Weight: About 23 kilograms (50 pounds)
Home: The island of Mauritius, 560 miles east of Madagascar
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Status: Extinct
Favorite Food: Fruit
 The dodo was a flightless bird that lived on the island home of Mauritius. About the size of a turkey, dodos had a large hooked bill and short, thick legs. They loved fruit and were unknown until Dutch colonizers discovered the birds in the 1500s. Since the birds never had met humans before, they did not see humans as threat. When the sailors came to the dodos’ island, they hunted the birds for food. To make matters worse, the animals the sailors brought with them (such as cats, dogs, and pigs) destroyed the grass nests where dodos laid their eggs, preventing the species from rebuilding its numbers. These flightless birds were eventually hunted to extinction. The dodo was last seen in 1681.
You can find the dodo in Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals. Want to learn more about this animal? Check out our Ask the Zookeeper on the dodo and the Animal Escapade on this extinct bird.
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 Meet May's Calendar Animal: The Meerkat
Scientific name: Suricata suricatta
Length: 43-60 centimeters (17-24 inches)
Weight: About 725 grams ( 1.6 pounds)
Home: Southern Africa
Biome: Scrub
Status: Least Concern
Fur: Silvery-brown, with dark stripes
Favorite Food: Insects, lizards, snakes, rodents, and birds
Widely known for: Standing upright, being highly sociable
You think you have a big family? Well, you haven’t seen anything until you meet a meerkat.  This member of the mongoose family lives in colonies of up to 40 members, all living together in southern Africa’s dry and open areas. Together, they watch out for predators, dig burrows to live in, drive off invaders, and raise young pups. Meerkats are among the few wild animals that train their offspring by giving the pups prey to handle.
Some humans hunt meerkats because they’re believed to carry rabies. South Africans, however, have been known to tame the meerkat and keep some as pets.
You can find the meerkat in Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure and the Zookeeper Collection (which includes African Adventure).
Want to read more about the meerkat? Check out our Ask the Zookeeper entry and Animal Escapade starring this member of the mongoose family.
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 Meet June's Calendar Animal: The T. rex
Scientific name: Tyrannosaurus Rex
Length: 12.5 meters (41 feet)
Weight: Five metric tons
Home: North America
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Status: Extinct
Favorite Food: Anything meaty
 There are few animals, living or dead, that inspire such awe or fear as the T. rex. This carnivorous dinosaur is famous for its ferocity and size. As one of the largest meat eaters ever, the T. rex had a bone-crushing bite and likely could have reached speeds between 25-45 mph, factors which were ideal for chasing down and eating smaller prey. But for all of its power, the T. rex had a short life, at least compared to us humans. It grew into adulthood at 18, but rarely lived beyond 30.
You can find the T. rex in Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals.
Want to read more about the T. rex? Check out our Animal Escapade starring this terrible lizard.
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 Meet July's Calendar Animal: The Dolphin
Scientific name: Tursiops truncatus (common bottlenose dolphin)
Length: Four meters (13 feet)
Weight: 650 kilograms (1,430 pounds)
Home: Global warm oceans
Biome: Coastal
Status: Vulnerable
Color: Gray
Favorite Food: Fish, squid, and crustaceans
 Bottlenose dolphins, one of at least 40 species of dolphins, love to swim in the warmer coastal waters of the world. Traveling in schools of 10-20, these aquatic mammals use whistles, clicks, and screeches to talk to one another and find food. Dolphins are one of the fastest creatures in the water, swimming at speeds between 25-30 mph.
They’re also friendly around humans, allowing themselves to be studied and trained to perform in marine park shows. It hasn’t always been smooth swimming for humans and dolphins, though. Dolphins have been hunted by humans for commercial purposes since the 18th century, but recently laws have been enacted to protect them. In the wild, the bottlenose dolphin lives up to 25 years.
You can find the dolphin in Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania.
Want to read more about the dolphin? Check out our Animal Escapade starring this aquatic superstar.
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 Meet August's Calendar Animal: The Giraffe
Scientific name: Giraffa camelopardalis
Length: 5.3 meters (17 feet)
Weight: Up to 1,900 kilograms (4,200 pounds)
Home: Africa
Biome: Savannah
Status: Low risk
Fur: Short, dense, brown patches with jagged outlines
Favorite Food: Leaves
 It’s no stretch to see why the giraffe is the world’s tallest living animal. Instantly recognizable by their long necks, these gentle giants love to munch on leaves. Their tongues, about 18 inches in length, are great tools for stripping leaves off the branches of the tallest trees in the African savannah and woodland areas. It’s a good thing, too, since giraffes spend half their day eating. As for getting a drink, giraffes get most of their moisture from food, but can lower their necks to drink from ground-level water sources.
Giraffes are social animals and live in herds of as many as 10 members. Baby giraffes, known as “calves,” can stand on their own within 20 minutes of birth. Even though they’re born six feet tall, giraffes face threats from hyenas, lions, and leopards. Giraffes can live up to 25 years if they escape their predators.
You can find the giraffe in Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure and the Ultimate Collection (which includes African Adventure).
Want to read more about this long-necked wonder? Check out our Animal Escapade and Ask the Zookeeper entry on the Masai giraffe.
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 Meet September's Calendar Animal: The Chimpanzee
Scientific name: Pan troglodytes
Length: Up to 1.7 meters (5.6 feet)
Weight: Up to 70 kilograms (154 pounds)
Home: Central Africa
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Status: Endangered
Fur: Black
Favorite Food: Leaves, fruits, termites, ants, honey, birds, bird eggs, small mammals
 Chimpanzees, which make their home in central Africa, are the animals most closely related to humans. They are natural problem solvers and use items like rocks and twigs to do anything from digging up termites to driving off predators. Chimpanzees also have language skills featuring posture, facial expressions, and vocalizations. Chimpanzees can even learn human sign languages or languages based on pictures or symbols.
In the wild, chimpanzees live up to 40 years. In captivity, they can reach ages of 50 and up. However, chimpanzees face multiple threats. Logging and other human encroachments reduce the chimpanzee’s native habitat. Humans capture chimpanzees to send them to zoos, for scientific research, or to eat. Diseases like Ebola also have reduced the chimpanzee population, but national parks and sanctuaries are trying to preserve the chimpanzee.
You can find the chimpanzee in Zoo Tycoon 2 and the Ultimate Collection (which includes Zoo Tycoon 2).
Want to learn more? Check out the Animal Escapade featuring this popular primate.
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 Meet October's Calendar Animal: The Bengal Tiger
Scientific name: Panthera tigris
Length: 2.3-4 meters (7.5-13 feet) (from tail to head)
Weight: 180-258 kilograms (400-570 pounds)
Eyes: Blue
Fur: White with black stripes
Home: Southeast Asia
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Status: Endangered
Favorite Food: Deer, pigs, buffalo
 Bengal tigers are sometimes white due to a recessive genetic code that occurs in only one of 10,000 wild births. All white Bengal tigers in captivity are descended from a single white tiger that was captured in India in 1951. One of the earliest recorded white tiger sightings was in 1820.
Tigers are solitary animals, except when looking after their young. They hunt at night, staying in the same area for their food, water, and shelter needs. Poaching and destruction of the tiger’s habitat has put the Bengal tiger’s future in jeopardy. In the wild, Bengal tigers live for 10 years; their lifespan doubles in zoos.
You can find the Bengal tiger in Zoo Tycoon 2 and the Ultimate Collection (which includes Zoo Tycoon 2).
Want to know more about the Bengal tiger? Read about the feline in our Ask the Zookeeper entry and Animal Escapade.
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 Meet November's Calendar Animal:
The Great White Shark
Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias
Length: 3.7-6 meters (12-20 feet)
Weight: Up to 2,403 kilograms (4,500 pounds)
Eyes: Black
Skin: Blue or brown gray, white on its underside
Home: Coastal areas worldwide
Biome: Benthic
Status: Vulnerable
Favorite Food: Seals, sea lions, dolphins, fish
 Famous for its monstrous appearances in films and other popular culture, the great white shark is the largest meat-eating shark. It'll travel the world to find a meal and isn't a picky eater, devouring everything from marine life to garbage such as discarded clothing and soda cans. Great whites are also resilient from birth. Newborn sharks, called pups, are about three to five feet in length and can fend for themselves soon after they are born.
The great white shark is responsible for more human deaths than any other kind of shark. That said, attacks on humans are rare, despite the great white’s reputation. In fact, humans are more of a danger to these sharks than the other way around. Shark hunters seek out the great white for its teeth, skin, fins, and bragging rights. Various nations have enacted laws to protect the shark.
You can find the great white shark in Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania and the Ultimate Collection (which includes Zoo Tycoon 2).
Want to read more about this underwater eating machine? Check out our Animal Escapade on this shark.
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 Meet December's Calendar Animal: The Polar Bear
Scientific name: Ursus maritimus
Length: Between 2-3 meters (6.6-10 feet)
Weight: Between 250-800 kilograms (550-1,760 pounds)
Eyes: Dark
Skin: Translucent fur on dark skin
Home: Arctic
Biome: Tundra
Status: Vulnerable
Favorite Food: Seals, walruses, white whales, berries, mussels, kelp
 This resident of the icy Arctic Circle is the only marine bear. It has a very good sense of smell and is known to be adept at solving problems to get food. For the most part, polar bears don’t bother other species (unless they want to eat them) and generally ignore any humans around them.
Polar bears recently faced a risky future because of hunting by humans. International treaties have been enacted to protect the bear, but the polar bear is still threatened by rising temperatures and pollution.
You can find the polar bear in Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania and the Ultimate Collection (which includes Zoo Tycoon 2).
Want to read more about this Arctic resident? Check out the polar bear questions in our Ask the Zookeeper section.
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 Meet January's Calendar Animal:
The Emperor Penguin
Scientific name: Aptenodytes forsteri
Length: 115 centimeters (45 inches)
Weight: Between 22-37 kilograms (48-80 pounds)
Skin: Black feathers on the chin, back, throat, tail, and flippers, with white chest and stomach
Home: Antarctica
Biome: Tundra
Status: Low risk
Favorite Food: Fish, mollusks, and aquatic crustaceans
 Easily recognizable by its tuxedo-like appearance, the emperor penguin resides in the chilly confines of Antarctica. Social by nature, emperor penguins look for food and nest together in order to keep safe from predators and stay warm in winter. To keep in touch with one another, they use a complex series of vocalizations and body language.
Emperor penguins spend 80 percent of their time in the water, looking for a meal. They can dive up to 500 meters deep. However, emperor penguins have to watch out for killer whales and leopard seals, which prey on the penguins. In the wild, emperor penguins can live up to 20 years.
The emperor penguin can be found in Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania and the Ultimate Collection.
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