Hamadryas Baboon - Djibouti

Lac Assal is only 54 square kilometers in size, but it is the world’s largest salt reserve. The lake has no natural outflow or water loss except through evaporation. This feature makes Lac Assal the world’s most saline lake after Don Juan pond in Antarctica. The saline level of Lac Assal is over 10 times higher than sea water. 

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Papio hamadryas - The hamadryas baboon is the northern most baboon in Africa and is native to the Horn of Africa. Revered by the ancient Egyptians, it is also known as the sacred baboon. There are four levels of social interactions within a hamadryas community. A harem consists of one alpha male and several females. Two or more harems form a clan; usually led by related males. Two to four clans are known as a band; a sleeping or traveling arrangement. Several bands grouping together is known as a troop.

Mandrill - Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, having once being under the control of Spain, is the only country in Africa whose official language is Spanish. The list of indigenous languages spoken by regional groups include Balengue, Benga, Bube, Bujeba, Fang, and Ndowe. These indigenous languages are part of the Bantu family of languages.

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Mandrillus sphinx - Mandrills are the world’s largest monkeys and the most colorful primates. The sexual dimorphisms between male and female mandrills is greater than any other primate; males are twice the size of females. Mandrills live in large groups called hordes. These groups consist of adult females with their offspring. Males are solitary and attach themselves to hordes when the females are in estrous. The ecological status of Mandrills is considered threatened resulting from deforestation and the bushmeat trade.

Mountain Gorilla - Rwanda

Gorilla beringei beringei - The eastern gorilla is divided into two subspecies: the lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. The mountain gorilla is native to the volcanic slopes of the Eastern Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. It is the largest living primate. A typical adult male will grow to 1.7 meters in height and weigh 140 to 205 kilos. Gorilla populations are in sharp decline; there are less than 5,000 individuals of the lowland gorilla and less than a 1,000 of the mountain gorilla remaining in the wild.

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The Brussels Conference of 1890 awarded the territories of Burundi and Rwanda to Germany in exchange for Germany agreeing to relinquishing its claim on Uganda. The first German expedition to settle Rwanda arrived in 1893 and was followed by colonialists and missionaries arriving in 1897. Germany lost Rwanda to Belgian at the end of World War I. Belgium retained control over Rwanda until the emerging Pan-African movements of the 1950’s brought independence to Rwanda in 1961.

Chimpanzee - Tanzania

Pan troglodytes - There are two species of chimpanzees; the bonobo and the common chimpanzee. The bonobo inhabits the rainforest of the Congo and the chimpanzee is found in Western and Central Africa. In 1960, primatologist Jane Goodall began an extensive field study of chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. A profound revelation emerged from Gombe; chimpanzees were making and using tools. This discovery prompted the redefining of Homo sapiens.

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The Maasai are an semi-nomadic people with a long historical presence in the Great Rift Valley. They are now limited to Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania. The Maasai are pastoral people, relying heavily on their domesticated livestock of cattle and sheep. Their basic community consists of kraals, a group of homes arranged in a circle and protected by fences made from acacia branches. The long thorns of the acacia protect the livestock from being attacked by lions, cheetahs, and other predators.

Mantled Guereza - Uganda

Although Uganda is a landlocked country in South-Central Africa, it has a longer coastline than many other countries bordering an open sea. Uganda is in the Great Lakes region of Africa and fronts or contains Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake George, Lake Kyoga, and Lake Edward. These are the primary lakes of the Nile Basin.

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Colobus guereza - The mantled guereza is a member of the genus Colobus. The genus name is derived from the Greek “kolobus,”  translating as “docked," a reference to the thumb of the colobus monkey; it is a mere stump. The mantled colobus is one of the few animals engaging in the practice of allomothering, a term describing females willing to care for unrelated infants within their group. Colobus monkeys feed primarily on leaves, seeds, fruits, and arthropods. They are known for their sloppy eating habits, ideal for seed dispersal.

Bald Uakari - Peru

Quechua, an indigenous language of the Andean region, is spoken by 9 million people. It was the official language of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. There are numerous extant Amerindian languages and Quechua, with its many dialects, has the largest number of native speakers; the Guarani language ranks second.

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Cacajao calvus - The bald uakari and two other species of the Cebidae family are three of the few short-tailed monkeys in the Americans. These species lack facial hair and when excited, the face, already red from lack of skin pigment, becomes flushed in bright scarlet. A typical uakari group consists of 10 to 30 members passing the day feeding on nuts and fruits found in the higher canopies of the forest. The uakari is confined to a small area in South America. Habitat loss and human encroachment has placed the uakari on the endangered list.

Guianan Red Howler - Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad was connected to the South American mainland during the last ice age through a land bridge. When the ice sheets receded, the water levels rose and submerged the channel. Trinidad is now separated from Venezuela by the Columbus Channel in the south and the Bocas del Dragón, the Dragon's Mouths, in the north.

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Alouatta macconnelli - The Guianan red howler monkey is well known for its roaring howl, the first tactic for defending territorial claims. Their howls are common during early morning or late afternoons and prior to the beginning of rain showers. Howlers feed primarily on leaves and fruit. When the opportunity arises, they will also take on bird eggs and small invertebrates. There are three species of howler monkeys in the Americas with the Guianan red howler being native to the Guinana Shield northeastern region of South America.

Yellow Baboon - Deutsch-Ostafrika

Located in the African Great Lakes Region, German East Africa, covered present day Burundi, mainland Tanzania, and Uganda. Corruption and scandal plagued the colony for the first few years, but when a new governor was installed in 1907, the colony became a model of economic and administrative efficiency.

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Papio cynocephalus - Each of the five species of baboons found in Africa have their distinctive home range; the yellow baboon inhabits the southern section spanning across Central Africa. The yellow baboon begins the day with a brief period of grooming activities before casually foraging their neighborhood for food. By mid-afternoon, they begin the return journey to their sleeping grove. They, like all baboons, spend the night in trees to avoid predators ranging from lions to pythons and surprisingly, a list including chimpanzees.

Orangutan - Indonesia

Pongo pygmaeus - About 400,000 years ago, a split occurred within the sole species of orangutan resulting in the current three species and three sub-species within Pongo pygmaeus. The Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli orangutans are the exclusive primates native to Asia. The Bornean orangutan is endemic to the island of Borneo, an island shared by Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. The three species of orangutan are facing extinction resulting from habitat loss and the bushmeat trade.

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In terms of flora and fauna diversity, Indonesia ranks second in the world; Brazil is first. Indonesia contains some of the rarest plant and animal life on earth; Rafflesia arnoldii and Varanus komodoensis, the Komodo dragon. The country contains more than 17,000 islands, Sumatra being the largest at 473,000 square kilometers. Over 300 ethnic groups, speaking 700 indigenous languages, combine to make Indonesia the world’s 15th and 4th largest country in area and population respectively.