Imagine signing up to spend a month in a forbidding wilderness area—a northern tundra territory, say, or a snake-infested swamp. But there's a catch: You can't bring a single piece of gear—no weapons, no tools, not even a pack of matches or a can of bug spray. The only significant resource you are allowed to draw from—for sustenance, for shelter, for basic implements—is a single fallen animal.

That's the challenge participants of "Alone: The Beast" have chosen to take on, one that will force them to draw deeply on their perseverance, ingenuity and inner reserves as they make a first-hand exploration of humanity's prehistoric scavenger roots. Below, some fascinating facts about the animals that participating teams will be given to start their survival quest.