What are they like

||Mammals have stereoscopic vision, which gives them depths of perception. Moreover, in the case of hunters such as tigers, their night vision is six times keener than of human. There are many species that have a very keen sense of smell, and sense of taste is closely linked to that of smell. Hair, too, performs various function in these animals' lives - conserving body heat, providing protection and serving as camouflage. Those that almost have no hair and live in the environments where temperature is very low, such as whales, have developed a layer of fat under their skins.

Constant Heat

Mammals are homeothermic - which means they are capable of maintaining a stable internal body temperature despite environmental conditions. This ability has allowed them to establish themselves in every region of the planet. Homeostasis is achieved by a series of processes that tend to keep water levels and concentrations of minerals and gluccse in the blood in equilibrium as well as prevent an accumulation of waste products - among other things.

Grace and Movement

Horses, one of the old-toed, hoofed, ungulate mammals, are considered symbols of grace and freedom. They have great vigour and can run swiftly because their spine bends every little, preventing unnecessary expediture of energy during the rising and falling of their body mass. They are equipped with strong, light and flexible bones, and their muscles work by contraction, arrange in pair of group that pull in opposing directions.

Extremities

Mammals'extremities are basically either of the foot or chiridium type but are modified according to the way in which each species moves about. Thus, for example, they become fins or swimming in aquatic mammals and membranous wings in bats. In land mammals, these variations depend on the way the animal bears its weight in walking: those that use the whole foot are called plantigrades; those that place their weight on their digits, digitigrades; and those that only touch the ground with tips of their phalanges, ungulates.

What doesn't run, flies.

They are meteors of flesh, bone and hot blood. Cheetahs are the fastest of the land animals and unique members of the Felidae family, which hunt using their keen vision and great speed. They can reach more than 115 km/h (700 mph) in short runs and reach 72 km/h (45 mph) in an average of only 2 seconds. They can get aboce 100 km/h (60 mph), but they can sustain that speed for only a few seconds. They look like leopards, although their physical characteristics are different: they are longer and thinner, and their heads are smaller and rounded.

Developed Senses

Dogs have inherited from wolves great hearing and excellent sense of smell. Both perform an essential role in their relationship to their surroundings and many of their social activities. However, they are very dependent on the keenness of their senses, depending on the habitat in which they develop. Whereas humans often remember other people as images, dogs do so with their smell, their most important sense. They have 44 times more olfactory cells than people do, and they can perceive smells, in an area coovering some 150sq cm (24 sq ins). Dogs can discern one molecule out of a million other ones, and they can hear sounds so low that they are imperceptible to people.

Soft Contact

Admired, adored and conveted by humans, a mammals fur coat is much more than a skin covering. It acts as a protective layer against mechanical injuries, prevents invasion by germs, and regulates the lose of body heat and moisture. In many species, such as the arctic fox, it provides camouflage by changing colour and texture from winter to summer.