Aardvarks are unusual African mammals with long snouts, huge ears, strong claws, and sticky tongues. They sleep in burrows during the day and come out at night to search for ants and termites.

The aardwolf is a small African mammal in the hyena family. Its name means earth wolf, but it is neither a wolf nor a bone-crushing hunter. Aardwolves are shy, mostly nocturnal insect eaters that use long sticky tongues to lick up huge numbers of termites without smashing open the termite mound.

Addax are desert antelopes from North Africa. They have pale coats, long spiral horns, and broad hooves that help them walk on sand. These tough animals are built for dry places, but they need protection because they are very rare in the wild.

African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. There are two main African elephant species: the huge savanna elephant and the smaller forest elephant. Both are smart, social mammals with trunks, tusks, big ears, and important jobs in their habitats.

African lions are powerful big cats that live in grasslands, savannas, shrublands, and open woodlands across parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They are among the most social cats, forming prides built around related females and their cubs. Lions communicate with scent, body language, calls, and deep roars that can travel across the landscape.

African wild dogs are social carnivores with long legs, rounded ears, and patchy coats that look painted. They live in packs across parts of sub-Saharan Africa and are famous for teamwork, communication, and caring for pups.

Agoutis are quick tropical American rodents with long legs, small ears, shiny brown fur, and tiny tails. They live in forests and are famous for burying seeds, which can help new rainforest trees grow.

Alpacas are fluffy, gentle mammals from the camel family. They are closely related to llamas, but they are usually smaller and are best known for their soft, warm fleece.

The American badger is a stout, powerful member of the weasel family that lives across open parts of North America. Its wedge-shaped head, bold white facial stripe, broad body, and enormous front claws are built for digging. Badgers pursue ground squirrels, pocket gophers, prairie dogs, and other prey underground, sometimes even hunting near coyotes that chase animals escaping above ground.

The American bison is the largest land mammal in North America. Often called a buffalo, it is a true bison with a towering shoulder hump, shaggy front coat, short curved horns, and a powerful head. Bison graze in herds, roll in dusty wallows, push through winter snow, and reshape grasslands in ways that create food and shelter for many other species.

The American mink is a sleek semi-aquatic member of the weasel family native to North America. It has a long flexible body, short legs, dense dark fur, partly webbed toes, and a thick tail. Mink patrol shorelines and wetlands, slipping between land and water to hunt fish, crayfish, frogs, birds, eggs, and small mammals. The species is now often called Neogale vison, although older sources use Neovison vison.

The Antarctic fur seal is an eared seal that breeds mainly on sub-Antarctic islands and hunts in the cold Southern Ocean. Thick underfur once made it a target for commercial hunters, but protection allowed an extraordinary recovery during the twentieth century. The story has taken a darker turn: warming seas and reduced access to krill have driven a major modern decline, and the IUCN listed the species as Endangered in 2026.

Anteaters are four living species of unusual mammals from Central and South America: the giant anteater, northern tamandua, southern tamandua, and silky anteater. They have no teeth, but their long snouts, sticky tongues, powerful claws, and excellent sense of smell make them expert hunters of ants and termites. Some walk across grasslands, while others climb through forest canopies with gripping tails.

Antelope is a broad everyday name for many hoofed mammals in the cattle family, Bovidae. It is not one formal scientific group, and antelopes include wonderfully different animals such as gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, duikers, oryxes, and elands. Most live in Africa, while several occur in Asia. They range from tiny forest dwellers to enormous open-country grazers.

Apes are tailless primates belonging to the superfamily Hominoidea. Living nonhuman apes include gibbons, siamangs, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos. Humans are also classified as apes scientifically, although this page focuses mainly on our nonhuman relatives. Apes vary enormously in size, movement, diet, communication, and social life.

Arctic foxes are small, tough foxes that live in some of the coldest places on Earth. They have thick fur, furry feet, short ears, and clever food-finding skills that help them survive in the icy Arctic.

The Arctic hare is a large hare built for the treeless tundra of northern Canada and Greenland. Thick fur, short ears, a compact body, and enormous furry feet help it survive bitter wind and snow. Far-northern hares stay white for most or all of the year, while some southern populations develop gray-brown summer coats that blend with exposed rock and vegetation.

Armadillos are unusual mammals with tough armor, strong digging claws, pointed snouts, and a powerful sense of smell. Their name means “little armored one,” which fits them perfectly.

Asian elephants are large, intelligent mammals from South and Southeast Asia. Compared with African elephants, they usually have smaller ears, a twin-domed head shape, and only some males grow large visible tusks, while many females have small tusk-like “tushes.”

The Asian palm civet is a mostly nocturnal mammal native to South and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the civet family, Viverridae, rather than the cat or raccoon families. A dark facial mask, long body, grasping feet, strong claws, and a tail nearly as long as the body help it move through forests, farms, gardens, and even some towns while searching for ripe fruit and small prey.

The Asiatic black bear is a medium-sized forest bear found across parts of southern, eastern, and southeastern Asia. It is also called the Asian black bear or moon bear because many individuals carry a pale crescent-shaped patch on the chest. Strong curved claws and flexible bodies make these bears skilled climbers, while an adaptable omnivorous diet changes with the seasons.

The Asiatic lion is the surviving Asian population of the lion, Panthera leo leo. Once found from the eastern Mediterranean across Southwest Asia into India, wild Asiatic lions now live only in Gujarat, western India. They use dry forests, scrub, grasslands, farmland edges, and coastal habitats around the wider Gir landscape. The official 2025 Gujarat estimate counted 891 lions.

Aye-ayes are rare nocturnal lemurs from Madagascar with huge ears, big eyes, bushy tails, strong teeth, and one extra-long skinny middle finger. They tap on wood to find insects hiding inside trees.

Babirusas are wild pigs from Indonesian islands such as Sulawesi. They are famous for strange upward-curving tusks, long legs, forest and swamp habitats, and a name that is often translated as deer-pig.

Baboons are large Old World monkeys with long faces, strong bodies, and social lives. They often live in troops, travel across the ground, groom each other, and use calls, gestures, and facial expressions to communicate.

The Bactrian camel is a large domesticated camel from Central Asia with two humps, a thick winter coat, and broad feet for travelling across cold deserts and dry steppes. Its scientific name is Camelus bactrianus. It is different from both the one-humped dromedary and the Critically Endangered wild camel, Camelus ferus, which is a separate species.

Badgers are stout burrowing mammals with strong bodies, powerful claws, and a talent for digging. Different badger species live in grasslands, forests, deserts, farms, and open country, where they search for worms, insects, small animals, roots, fruit, and other foods.

Bandicoots are small to medium Australasian marsupials with pointed snouts, strong claws, and longer back legs than front legs. They dig little cone-shaped holes while searching for insects, seeds, roots, and other food.

The banteng is a rare species of wild cattle native to Southeast Asia. Its scientific name is Bos javanicus. White lower legs, a large pale rump patch, curved horns, and strong differences between adult bulls and cows make it one of Asia's most distinctive bovids. Wild populations have fallen sharply, and the IUCN changed the species' status to Critically Endangered in 2024.

Bats are amazing mammals with wings. They are the only mammals that can truly fly, and many bats use echolocation to find their way and catch food in the dark.

Beavers are large rodents famous for building dams, lodges, and watery homes. They have strong teeth, flat tails, webbed feet, and amazing building skills that can change streams and create wetlands.

Beluga whales are small white whales that live in cold Arctic and subarctic waters. They are social, vocal, and famous for their rounded melon heads, flexible necks, and many whistles, clicks, chirps, and squeals.

The Bengal tiger is a population of the tiger, Panthera tigris, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is traditionally called Panthera tigris tigris and lives in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Bengal tigers use forests, grasslands, river floodplains, and the mangrove islands of the Sundarbans. Each animal carries a unique pattern of dark stripes, making photographs useful for identifying individuals.

The bharal, also called the blue sheep, is a mountain-dwelling bovid of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. Its scientific name is Pseudois nayaur. Although it looks partly sheep-like and partly goat-like, genetic studies place it closer to goats than to true sheep. Its slate-gray coat blends with bare cliffs, helping herds disappear against high-altitude rock.

The bighorn sheep is a wild North American sheep famous for the massive curling horns of adult males. Its scientific name is Ovis canadensis. Different populations live in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and dry desert ranges of the western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. Sure-footed hooves and powerful legs help bighorns escape predators across steep cliffs and broken rock.

Bilbies are small Australian marsupials with very long ears, silky fur, pointed snouts, and strong digging claws. They live in dry habitats, come out mostly at night, and use burrows to stay safe from heat and danger.

Binturongs are shaggy rainforest mammals with black fur, tufted ears, long whiskers, and a gripping tail. They are also called bearcats, even though they are not bears or cats.

Bison are huge hoofed mammals with shaggy coats, strong shoulders, curved horns, and big heads. They are famous animals of North American grasslands and are often called buffalo, even though true buffalo are different animals.

Black bears are medium-sized bears found in North America. They are smart, curious, strong climbers, and can live in forests, mountains, swamps, and sometimes near towns where food is available.

The black rhinoceros is a large African browser with a pointed, grasping upper lip and usually two horns. Its scientific name is Diceros bicornis. Despite the name, its skin is normally gray or brown and often takes on the colour of local mud. Black rhinos live in parts of eastern and southern Africa, where they browse shrubs, mark trails with dung, and depend on intensive protection from poaching.

The blackbuck is a graceful antelope native mainly to India, with a small natural population in Nepal. Its scientific name is Antilope cervicapra. Adult males often develop striking dark coats and long corkscrew horns, while females are usually tan and hornless. Blackbuck live in open grasslands and plains, where strong eyesight, speed, and high bounding leaps help them detect and escape danger.

Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth. These gentle ocean giants are mammals, breathe air through blowholes, use baleen to filter tiny krill, and can make deep sounds that travel through the sea.

This page uses boar to mean the wild boar, Sus scrofa, a tough and adaptable wild pig native to Europe, Asia, and parts of North Africa. Adult males are specifically called boars, females are sows, and young animals are piglets. Wild boars use powerful snouts to root through soil, eat an enormous variety of foods, and live in social female-led groups called sounders.

Bobcats are medium-sized wild cats from North America. They have spotted coats, sharp senses, tufted ears, and short “bobbed” tails that give them their name, making them expert hunters in forests, deserts, swamps, and even suburban edges.

Bongos are large African forest antelopes with reddish coats, white stripes, big ears, and spiral horns. They live in dense forests, where their markings help them blend into shadows, leaves, and stripes of sunlight.

Bonobos are endangered great apes found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are close relatives of chimpanzees and humans, live in rainforest groups, build sleeping nests, use expressive faces and sounds, and spend lots of time building social bonds.

Bowhead whales are huge Arctic baleen whales with dark bodies, massive bow-shaped heads, thick blubber, and giant mouths. They live in icy northern waters and can survive for an extremely long time.

Brown bears are large, powerful bears found in parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. They can live in forests, mountains, tundra, and coastal areas, and they eat many kinds of food depending on where they live.

Buffalo are large, strong hoofed mammals in the cattle family. Some buffalo live in Asia near water, while African buffalo live in grasslands and open woodlands. Buffalo are often confused with bison, but they are different animals.

A bull is an adult male domestic bovine that has not been castrated. Bulls belong to the same species as cows and can come from dairy or beef breeds in many colours, sizes, and horn shapes. They are powerful ruminants with muscular necks and shoulders, broad fields of vision, complex stomachs for digesting plants, and behaviour that should always be respected from a safe distance.

Bush babies, also called galagos, are small African primates with huge eyes, big ears, soft fur, long tails, and springy back legs. They live in trees and are mostly active at night.

The bushbuck is a medium-sized spiral-horned antelope found across much of sub-Saharan Africa. It belongs to the bovid family and depends heavily on dense vegetation for food and hiding cover. Bushbuck coats range from reddish brown to very dark brown, with white spots and stripes that vary between regions and individuals. Scientists have debated whether northern and southern forms should be split, but recent integrative research supports treating them as one widespread species, Tragelaphus scriptus.

The bushpig, Potamochoerus larvatus, is a sturdy wild pig native to eastern and southern Africa. It lives in forests, wetlands, scrub, mountains, farmland edges, and other places offering thick cover and food. Bushpigs are mainly active at night, use muscular snouts to root through soil, and live in family groups called sounders. They are close relatives of red river hogs but usually have darker, coarser coats and shorter ear tassels.

Camels are desert-ready mammals famous for their humps, long eyelashes, wide feet, and amazing ability to survive in dry places. They have helped people travel, carry goods, and live in harsh desert regions for thousands of years.

The Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer caffer, is the largest and darkest form of African buffalo. It lives mainly in eastern and southern African savannas, woodlands, floodplains, and grasslands where dependable water and grazing are available. Cape buffalo are wild bovids rather than domestic cattle or Asian water buffalo. Their massive bodies, curved horns, social herds, mud wallows, and ability to defend calves make them one of Africa’s most formidable grazing mammals.

Capuchin monkeys are clever New World monkeys from Central and South America. They live in forests, move through trees with agile bodies and helpful tails, and are famous for curiosity, problem solving, and even tool use in some species.

Capybaras are the largest living rodents in the world. They are calm-looking, barrel-shaped mammals from Central and South America that live near water, swim well, eat plants, and often relax in social groups.

Caracals are sleek wild cats with reddish-brown fur, short tails, long legs, and dramatic black ear tufts. They live in dry places, grasslands, hills, and scrub areas across Africa and parts of Asia.

The caribou, Rangifer tarandus, is a cold-adapted deer of North America’s Arctic, subarctic, boreal forests, mountains, and tundra. It is the same species that people call reindeer in Eurasia, although the word reindeer is also widely used for domesticated and semi-domesticated animals. Caribou populations differ greatly: some live in forests or mountains, while enormous tundra herds make long seasonal journeys between winter ranges and spring calving grounds.

Cats are curious, playful, and graceful animals that have lived with people for thousands of years. They are known for their whiskers, sharp senses, soft fur, and love of exploring.

Chamois are nimble mountain mammals related to antelopes, goats, and sheep. They live in high rocky areas of Europe and western Asia, where they climb, leap, and balance on steep slopes.

Cheetahs are slim, spotted wild cats famous for being the fastest land animals on Earth. They have long legs, flexible spines, black tear marks, and amazing acceleration that helps them chase fast prey.

Chevrotains are small hoofed mammals in the family Tragulidae. They are often called mouse-deer, but they are neither mice nor true deer. About ten living species occur in tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia, with one species, the water chevrotain, living in central and western Africa. Chevrotains belong to an early branch of the ruminant family tree and combine delicate legs, rounded bodies, large eyes, scent-marking glands, and surprisingly long canine teeth in males.

Chimpanzees are clever, social apes that live in Africa. They are closely related to humans, use tools, care for their young, build sleeping nests, and communicate with sounds, faces, and gestures.

Chinchillas are small rodents from the Andes Mountains of South America. They are famous for incredibly soft fur, long whiskers, strong jumping legs, and special dust baths that help keep their coats clean.

The chinkara, Gazella bennettii, is a small gazelle of dry landscapes from Iran and Afghanistan through Pakistan to India. It is also called the Indian gazelle. A sandy coat, dark-and-white facial stripes, slim legs, and ringed horns help identify it, while flexible feeding and an ability to obtain much of its moisture from plants allow it to survive deserts, scrub, rocky hills, and open dry woodland. Chinkara are often solitary or found in small groups rather than huge herds.

Chipmunks are small striped rodents in the squirrel family. They have cheek pouches for carrying food, quick paws for digging, and cozy burrows where they store seeds and nuts for later.

The chital, Axis axis, is a medium-sized deer native to the Indian subcontinent. It is also called the spotted deer or axis deer. Both adults and fawns carry rows of white spots on a golden-brown coat, while males grow long three-tined antlers. Chital thrive where open grass and forest cover occur together, forming flexible herds and feeding on grasses, leaves, fruit, flowers, and mushrooms.

Civets are small to medium mammals with long bodies, pointed faces, spotted or striped coats, and strong scent glands. Many civets are active at night and live in forests, grasslands, and wooded habitats of Africa and Asia.

Clouded leopards are secretive forest cats with cloud-shaped markings, long tails, strong paws, and unusually long canine teeth. They live in forests of South and Southeast Asia and are excellent climbers.

Coatis are curious mammals related to raccoons. They have long flexible noses, ringed tails, strong claws, and busy foraging habits. Many coatis live in forests and scrublands of Central and South America, where they search the ground and trees for food.

Colobus monkeys are African Old World monkeys known for long tails, tree life, leaf eating, and reduced or missing thumbs. Many live in forests, where they leap between branches and feed on leaves, fruit, flowers, and seeds.

Colugos are unusual gliding mammals from Southeast Asian forests. They are sometimes called flying lemurs, but they are not true lemurs and they do not really fly; they glide on a wide skin membrane.

The common seal, Phoca vitulina, is also called the harbor seal or harbour seal. It is a small true seal found around temperate and Arctic coasts of the Northern Hemisphere. Common seals have rounded heads, V-shaped nostrils, no external ear flaps, short front flippers, and individually patterned spotted coats. They hunt underwater but regularly haul out on rocks, sandbanks, mudflats, beaches, and ice to rest, give birth, nurse pups, and molt.

The cougar, Puma concolor, is a large cat native to the Americas. It is also called mountain lion, puma, catamount, and, in some regions, panther. Cougars occupy an extraordinary range of habitats from Canadian forests and western mountains to tropical forests, deserts, wetlands, and Patagonia. They are solitary ambush hunters with powerful hind legs, long balancing tails, tawny coats, and one of the widest geographic ranges of any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

Cougars, pumas, mountain lions, and panthers are all common names for the same big cat species, Puma concolor. This quiet wild cat has a long tail, strong legs, sharp senses, and a huge range across the Americas.

Cows are gentle farm animals that belong to the cattle family. They are large hoofed mammals that eat plants, live in herds, make milk, and have helped people for thousands of years.

Coyotes are clever wild members of the dog family. They are known for howling, quick running, sharp senses, and their amazing ability to live in deserts, forests, grasslands, farms, and even cities.

Deer are graceful hoofed mammals known for long legs, gentle faces, quick movement, and antlers on many males. They live in forests, grasslands, mountains, wetlands, and many other habitats around the world.

Dholes are wild dogs from Asia with rusty red coats, bushy tails, rounded ears, and strong teamwork. They live in packs and are known for hunting together, caring for pups, and making whistle-like calls.

Dik-diks are tiny African antelopes with big eyes, large ears, thin legs, and pointed noses. They live in bushy habitats, where they hide from predators, browse on plants, and call “dik-dik” when alarmed.

Dingoes are wild dogs that live in Australia. They are clever hunters with pointed ears, bushy tails, strong senses, and the ability to live in deserts, forests, grasslands, and other habitats across the continent.

Dogs are one of the most popular pets in the world. They are loyal, playful, intelligent animals that have lived alongside humans for thousands of years.

Dolphins are smart, social marine mammals known for jumping, clicking, whistling, swimming fast, and using echolocation to find their way underwater. They breathe air, live in groups, and give birth to live babies called calves.

The domestic cat, Felis catus, is a small domesticated member of the cat family. Genetic and archaeological evidence traces its main origins to African wildcats living near early farming communities in the Near East. Cats now live worldwide as companions, working mousers, community cats, and feral animals. Across breeds and mixed-breed populations, they share flexible spines, sharp senses, protractile claws, meat-specialized digestion, sensitive whiskers, rough grooming tongues, and strong hunting instincts.

Donkeys are sturdy mammals in the horse family. They are known for long ears, strong bodies, careful steps, loud brays, and their long history of helping people carry loads and travel in tough places.

Dormice are small rodents known for big eyes, fluffy tails, and long periods of sleep. Many live in forests, hedgerows, and woodlands, where they climb through branches searching for fruit, nuts, flowers, and insects.

The dromedary, Camelus dromedarius, is the one-humped camel of North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It has been domesticated for thousands of years for transport, milk, meat, fibre, and work. No truly wild dromedary population survives, although large feral herds live in Australia. Dromedaries are superbly adapted to hot, dry landscapes with fat stored in one hump, broad padded feet, closable nostrils, long eyelashes, tough lips, and remarkable control of heat and water loss.

Dugongs are gentle marine mammals often called sea cows. They live in warm coastal waters, graze on seagrass, breathe air at the surface, and use a whale-like fluked tail to swim.

The Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Macropus giganteus, is a large marsupial native to eastern and southeastern Australia, including Tasmania. It favors open forest and woodland beside grassy feeding areas and often gathers in social groups called mobs. Eastern greys have soft woolly gray fur, darker faces, black-tipped tails, powerful hind legs, long feet, small forelimbs, and muscular tails. They rest in shade during hot daylight hours and graze mainly from late afternoon through the night.

Echidnas are strange and spiky mammals from Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They are monotremes, which means they lay eggs, and they use long sticky tongues to eat ants and termites.

Elands are the largest antelopes in the world. These huge African hoofed mammals have strong bodies, spiral horns, long faces, big ears, and loose skin under the throat called a dewlap.

Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They are smart, social, gentle giants with long trunks, big ears, strong tusks, and close family groups.

Elephant seals are enormous true seals in the genus Mirounga. Two living species exist: the Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris, of the eastern North Pacific, and the Southern Elephant Seal, Mirounga leonina, of subantarctic and Antarctic waters. Adult males develop an inflatable trunk-like nose called a proboscis and can be several times heavier than females. Elephant seals spend most of the year at sea, making repeated deep dives for squid and fish before returning to land for breeding and molting.

The elk, Cervus canadensis, is also called the wapiti. It is one of the largest members of the deer family and is native to North America and parts of Central and East Asia. Elk have long legs, a pale rump patch, dark necks, and large social herds. Adult males grow branching antlers, bugle during the autumn rut, and compete for groups of females. Elk graze on grasses and herbs and browse shrubs, bark, and tree shoots.

The Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx, is the largest living lynx and the biggest member of the small-cat branch on average. It ranges from parts of western and northern Europe across Russia, Siberia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, and East Asia. Eurasian lynx have long legs, broad furry paws, tufted ears, cheek ruffs, spotted gray-to-reddish coats, and short tails ending in a completely black tip. They are solitary ambush predators that hunt hares, birds, rodents, and hoofed mammals such as roe deer.

The European badger, Meles meles, is a sturdy black, white, and gray member of the weasel family. It lives across much of Europe and into western Asia in woodland, farmland, grassland, scrub, and even some suburbs. European badgers are powerful diggers that shelter in underground tunnel systems called setts. They emerge mainly after dark to search for earthworms, insects, fruit, roots, small animals, and other seasonal foods.

The European beaver, Castor fiber, is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Europe and parts of Asia. It has dense waterproof fur, bright orange incisors, webbed hind feet, small dexterous front paws, and a broad scaly tail. European beavers live along rivers, streams, lakes, canals, and wetlands, where they feed entirely on plants. By cutting vegetation, digging canals, building lodges, and sometimes constructing dams, they can transform waterways into complex wetland habitat.

The European bison, Bison bonasus, is also called the wisent. It is Europe's heaviest wild land mammal and the closest living relative of the American bison. European bison have high shoulders, long legs, a shaggy forequarters and beard, slimmer hindquarters, and short curved horns carried by both sexes. They graze on grasses and herbs and browse leaves, shoots, twigs, and bark. Every living animal descends from a tiny captive population used to restore the species after extinction in the wild.

The European Mink, Mustela lutreola, is a small semi-aquatic member of the weasel family and one of Europe's most endangered mammals. It has dark chocolate-brown fur, a slender body, short legs, a relatively short tail, and distinctive white fur on both the upper and lower lips. European Mink live close to rivers, streams, marshes, wetlands, and densely vegetated banks. They hunt frogs, fish, crayfish, insects, small mammals, birds, and other waterside prey.

The European Wildcat, Felis silvestris, is a sturdy wild feline native to scattered parts of Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus. It has thick gray-brown fur, dark stripes on the head and body, a clear black line along the back, and a thick blunt tail marked with dark rings and a black tip. European Wildcats usually live alone in forests, scrub, grassland mosaics, rocky country, and quiet farmland edges. They hunt rodents, rabbits, birds, reptiles, and other small animals.

Fennec foxes are tiny desert foxes with huge ears, sandy fur, fluffy tails, and quick little feet. They live in deserts of northern Africa and nearby regions, where their ears help them hear prey and release heat.

Ferrets are small domesticated mustelid mammals with long flexible bodies, short legs, pointed faces, and curious behavior. The common ferret is a domesticated form of the European polecat and has been used by people for hunting and companionship.

The Fin Whale, Balaenoptera physalus, is a sleek baleen whale found in every major ocean. It is the second-largest living animal after the Blue Whale and can grow longer than a large passenger airplane. Fin Whales have long streamlined bodies, narrow V-shaped heads, tall curved dorsal fins, pale chevrons behind the head, and unusually asymmetrical jaw coloring. They feed by lunging through krill and schools of fish, then filtering prey through hundreds of baleen plates.

Fishers are forest mammals from North America. They belong to the weasel family, but they are not cats and do not mainly catch fish. These agile hunters have long bodies, bushy tails, sharp claws, and strong climbing skills.

The Fishing Cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, is a stocky medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asian wetlands. It has gray or olive-brown fur patterned with dark spots and stripes, a broad head, small rounded ears, powerful short legs, and a thick tail much shorter than that of most cats. Fishing Cats hunt alone around rivers, marshes, mangroves, reedbeds, swamps, fishponds, and flooded grasslands. Fish are important prey, but these adaptable hunters also catch frogs, crustaceans, birds, reptiles, and small mammals.

The Flat-Headed Cat, Prionailurus planiceps, is a tiny, poorly known wild cat of the Sunda region in Southeast Asia. It survives in scattered wetlands on Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula, with its status in southern Thailand uncertain. The cat has a long narrow head, flattened forehead, large close-set eyes, small rounded ears, reddish-brown silvery fur, long narrow feet, visible claws, and a short furry tail. It is strongly associated with rivers, peat swamps, marshes, lakes, and lowland forests near water.

Flying squirrels are tree-living rodents that do not truly fly like birds or bats. They glide between trees using furry skin membranes stretched between their front and back legs, steering with their limbs and tails.

Fossas are catlike carnivores that live only on Madagascar. They are strong forest hunters with long tails, sharp claws, flexible bodies, and amazing climbing skills that help them move through trees and across the forest floor.

Fox is a common name for several small to medium-sized members of the dog family, Canidae. The best-known true foxes belong to the genus Vulpes and include Red, Arctic, Fennec, Swift, Kit, Bengal, Corsac, and Tibetan foxes. Other fox-named canids include gray foxes, bat-eared foxes, and South American foxes from separate evolutionary branches. Foxes inhabit tundra, deserts, mountains, forests, grasslands, farms, cities, and islands, using sharp senses, flexible diets, and remarkable behavior to survive.

Fruit bats are Old World bats in the family Pteropodidae, also called flying foxes or megabats. They live naturally across tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, Australia, and Pacific and Indian Ocean islands. The family includes tiny nectar-feeding bats and huge flying foxes with wingspans wider than a child's height. Most use large eyes and an excellent sense of smell to find fruit, flowers, nectar, pollen, and leaves, helping forests by carrying seeds and pollen over long distances.

The gaur, Bos gaurus, is the largest living species of wild cattle. It is native to forests, grasslands, and wooded hills across South and Southeast Asia. Adult bulls can be massive, with dark brown or nearly black coats, high muscular shoulders, a raised ridge along the front of the back, pale gray foreheads, thick curved horns, and white lower legs that look like stockings. Cows and young animals are smaller and usually lighter brown. Gaur graze and browse in forest-edge mosaics close to water.

Gazelles are graceful antelopes with slim bodies, long legs, sharp senses, and speedy running skills. They live in grasslands, savannas, steppes, and dry places in Africa and Asia, where they graze and browse on plants.

Geladas are large monkeys from the high mountains of Ethiopia. They are famous for eating lots of grass, living near cliffs and high plateaus, having pale eyelids, and showing a bright patch of skin on the chest.

Genets are small, catlike mammals with spotted coats, long ringed tails, pointed faces, and quick climbing skills. Most genets live in Africa, while the common genet also lives in parts of southern Europe and western Asia.

Gerbils are small rodents that live in deserts, grasslands, and dry regions. They are known for long tails, strong back legs, burrowing skills, and social behavior with family groups.

Gerenuks are slim, long-necked antelopes from dry parts of East Africa. They are sometimes called giraffe gazelles because they can stand on their hind legs and stretch upward to nibble leaves.

Giant anteaters are large mammals from Central and South America with long snouts, huge claws, bushy tails, and very long sticky tongues. They do not have teeth, so they use their tongues to slurp ants and termites.

The Giant Panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is a black-and-white bear found only in mountain forests of central China. Wild populations survive mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, where dense bamboo grows beneath cool temperate forest. Giant Pandas have powerful jaws, broad molars, thick fur, strong climbing claws, and a false thumb made from an enlarged wrist bone. Although they belong to the meat-eating order Carnivora, bamboo forms nearly all of their natural diet.

Gibbons are small apes that live in forests of Southeast Asia. They are famous for long arms, loud songs, and amazing branch-swinging movement called brachiation, which lets them travel quickly through the treetops.

Giraffes are the tallest animals on Earth. They are famous for their long necks, spotted coats, long tongues, and gentle nature. These amazing animals live in Africa and spend much of their day eating leaves from tall trees.

Goats are curious, clever mammals in the same animal family as sheep. They are known for climbing, nibbling plants, living in herds, making milk, and sometimes having horns and beards.

The Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey, Rhinopithecus roxellana, is an Endangered Old World monkey found only in mountain forests of central China. Populations survive in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Hubei. Adults have blue-gray faces, strongly upturned nostrils, thick golden-orange fur, long tails, and dense winter coats. These monkeys live in complex multilevel societies that may gather hundreds of animals. They eat lichens, leaves, buds, bark, flowers, seeds, and fruit, using a specialized multi-chambered stomach to ferment tough plant foods.

Pocket gophers are stout burrowing rodents in the family Geomyidae. They are usually called simply gophers, although people sometimes use that name incorrectly for ground squirrels. Nearly 50 living pocket-gopher species occur only in North and Central America. They spend most of their lives inside sealed tunnel systems, using powerful claws and exposed front teeth to dig. Fur-lined cheek pouches carry roots, stems, bulbs, and nesting material without opening into the mouth.

Gorals are small, stocky Asian hoofed mammals in the genus Naemorhedus. They belong to the goat-antelope tribe Caprini in the bovid family, alongside goats, sheep, serows, and relatives. Current mammal taxonomy tentatively recognizes six living species: Red, Cranbrook's, Long-Tailed, Burmese, Himalayan, and Chinese Gorals. They inhabit steep forested mountains, rocky cliffs, ravines, and scrub from the Himalayas and northeastern India through China and mainland Southeast Asia to Korea and the Russian Far East.

Gorillas are the largest apes and some of humans' closest living relatives. They live in African forests, move mostly on their knuckles, eat many plant foods, and often stay in family groups led by a silverback male.

The Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robustus, is a large baleen whale found regularly only in the North Pacific Ocean. It is the sole living species in the family Eschrichtiidae. Gray Whales have mottled gray skin, broad paddle-shaped flippers, no true dorsal fin, and a row of small back bumps called knuckles. They are famous for feeding along the seafloor, migrating close to shore, and raising calves in warm shallow lagoons. Two main populations remain: the much larger eastern North Pacific population and the far smaller western North Pacific population.

The Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, is the largest living wild member of the dog family. It once occupied most of the Northern Hemisphere and still survives across wide parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Gray Wolves inhabit tundra, taiga, mountains, forests, grasslands, deserts, and some human-shaped landscapes. Most live in family packs built around breeding parents and their offspring. Packs communicate through howls, scent marks, facial expressions, body posture, and touch while hunting, raising pups, and defending territories.

Greater gliders are large nocturnal gliding marsupials from eastern Australia. They live high in eucalypt forests, eat mostly eucalyptus leaves, rest in tree hollows during the day, and glide between trees using a furry membrane.

The Grey Seal, Halichoerus grypus, is a large true seal found around the North Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. It is also spelled Gray Seal in American English. Adult males grow much larger than females and develop long convex noses that inspired the scientific name meaning hooked-nosed pig of the sea. Grey Seals rest and breed on beaches, rocky islands, reefs, sea ice, caves, and sandbars, then travel offshore to hunt fish, squid, octopuses, and crustaceans.

The Eastern Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, is a tree squirrel native to eastern North America. Grey is the usual British spelling, while American sources normally write Gray Squirrel. These agile rodents have gray-brown fur, pale bellies, large dark eyes, sharp curved claws, and long bushy tails. They live in deciduous woodland, parks, gardens, suburbs, and cities. Introduced populations occur in Britain, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, and parts of western North America, where their ecological effects differ from their role in native forests.

The Grizzly Bear is a North American Brown Bear, Ursus arctos, commonly classified as Ursus arctos horribilis. The exact number and boundaries of North American Brown Bear subspecies remain debated, so grizzly is also used as a regional and ecological name. Grizzlies live across Alaska, western Canada, and several recovering populations in the northwestern contiguous United States. They have muscular shoulder humps, long front claws, concave facial profiles, powerful senses of smell, and extraordinarily flexible omnivorous diets.

Groundhogs, also called woodchucks, are large ground squirrels and members of the marmot family. They live in North America, dig burrows, eat many plants, and are famous for deep winter hibernation and Groundhog Day traditions.

The Guanaco, Lama guanicoe, is a wild South American camelid and the largest native herbivore across many dry landscapes of Patagonia and the Andes. It lives from sea level to high mountains in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and a small part of Paraguay. Guanacos have long necks, pointed ears, cinnamon-brown coats, gray faces, white bellies, padded two-toed feet, and no hump. They graze and browse tough plants, live in flexible family and bachelor groups, and are closely connected to the ancestry of the domestic llama.

Guinea pigs are small, gentle rodents that are popular pets. They are also called cavies, and even though their name says pig, they are not pigs at all. They are known for squeaks, soft fur, tiny feet, and big appetites for hay and fresh plants.

Hamsters are small, furry rodents known for round bodies, short tails, tiny paws, and stretchy cheek pouches. Many hamsters are active at night and like to explore, dig, store food, and run.

Hares are fast-running mammals related to rabbits. They usually live in open habitats such as grasslands and fields, where they rely on powerful legs, keen senses, and camouflage to stay safe from predators.

The Harp Seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus, is a true seal of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. Adults have pale silver-gray bodies, dark faces, and a black harp-shaped or saddle-like marking across the back and sides. They migrate between feeding seas and drifting pack-ice breeding grounds. Three main populations or stocks breed in the Northwest Atlantic, Greenland Sea, and White Sea or Barents Sea. Females give birth to one pup on the ice and nurse it for less than two weeks before returning to sea.

Hedgehogs are small mammals with sharp spines, tiny faces, short legs, and curious noses. They are known for curling into a prickly ball when threatened and searching for food mostly at night.

Hippopotamuses, often called hippos, are huge mammals that live in Africa. They spend much of the day in rivers, lakes, and swamps to stay cool, then often come onto land at night to graze on grass.

Hog is a common word for a domestic pig and is also used for feral pigs or wild hogs. This page focuses on the domestic pig, which the Mammal Diversity Database recognizes as Sus domesticus, while many other authorities write Sus scrofa domesticus because domestic pigs descend from Eurasian Wild Boar. Hogs are intelligent, social, even-toed mammals with flexible snouts, strong senses of smell, continuously growing canine tusks, and omnivorous diets. Escaped domestic pigs and wild-boar hybrids can form damaging feral populations outside their native range.

Honey badgers, also called ratels, are tough mustelid mammals with strong claws, loose thick skin, and a bold black-and-white coat. They live across parts of Africa and Asia in habitats such as grasslands, deserts, forests, and scrublands.

Horses are strong, graceful mammals that have helped people travel, farm, play sports, and carry loads for thousands of years. They are known for fast running, flowing manes, powerful legs, and close bonds with humans.

Howler monkeys are New World monkeys famous for their deep booming calls. They live in forests of Central and South America, move through the treetops, and use strong prehensile tails to grip branches.

Humpback whales are large ocean mammals famous for their long flippers, haunting songs, huge leaps, and clever feeding tricks. They are baleen whales that filter small sea animals from the water.

Hyenas are clever, strong mammals known for loud calls, powerful jaws, social groups, and nighttime activity. They may look a little like dogs, but hyenas belong to their own animal family and have amazing survival skills.

The Iberian Lynx, Lynx pardinus, is a medium-sized wild cat found only in Spain and Portugal. It has a yellowish or tawny spotted coat, long black ear tufts, a broad facial ruff, long legs, and a short black-tipped tail. Iberian Lynxes live mainly in Mediterranean scrub, open woodland, grassland mosaics, and rocky country where European rabbits are abundant. After falling close to extinction, coordinated breeding, reintroduction, rabbit recovery, habitat protection, road-safety work, and genetic management helped the monitored population reach 2,663 animals in 2025.

Ibexes are wild goats that live in steep mountain habitats. They have strong hooves, excellent balance, beards on males, and large curved horns that help them look perfectly built for cliffs.

Impalas are graceful African antelopes known for powerful jumps, fast running, reddish coats, and black markings near the back legs. They live in savannas and woodlands of eastern and southern Africa.

The Indian Rhino, Rhinoceros unicornis, is more precisely called the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. It lives in protected floodplain grasslands, wetlands, and riverine forests of northern India and southern Nepal. This enormous herbivore has one horn, a flexible upper lip, thick gray-brown skin arranged in deep armor-like folds, and strong three-toed feet. Greater One-Horned Rhinos are excellent swimmers and spend much of the day grazing, browsing, wallowing, and resting near water. By early 2025, the population had increased to an estimated 4,075 animals.

The Indri, Indri indri, is one of the largest living lemurs and is found only in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar. It has dense black-and-white fur, round furry ears, long powerful hind legs, grasping hands and feet, and an extremely short tail. Indris live in small territorial family groups and are famous for long, haunting songs performed by several group members. They mainly eat young leaves, mature leaves, fruit, flowers, and seeds. The species is Critically Endangered because its forest is fragmented and continues to be lost, while hunting and very slow reproduction make recovery difficult.

Jackal is a common name usually used for three medium-sized wild canids: the Golden Jackal, Canis aureus, of Europe and Asia; the Black-Backed Jackal, Lupulella mesomelas, of eastern and southern Africa; and the Side-Striped Jackal, Lupulella adusta, of central, eastern, and southern Africa. They are not one species and do not all belong to the same genus. Jackals have pointed ears, long muzzles, bushy tails, excellent smell and hearing, flexible omnivorous diets, and social systems often centered on a long-term breeding pair.

Jackrabbits are actually hares, not rabbits. They are famous for huge ears, long legs, and incredible speed, helping them survive in deserts, grasslands, and open habitats across North America.

Jaguars are powerful spotted cats that live in the Americas. They are excellent swimmers, strong climbers, quiet hunters, and the largest big cats found in the Western Hemisphere.

The Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yagouaroundi, is a slender, long-bodied wild cat native from Mexico through Central America and much of South America. It belongs to the puma evolutionary lineage and is more closely related to the Puma and Cheetah than to spotted cats such as the Ocelot. Jaguarundis have small flattened heads, rounded ears, short legs, long tails, and plain coats that may be blackish, gray, brown, yellowish, or reddish. Unlike many small wild cats, they are often most active during daylight.

The Javan Rhino, Rhinoceros sondaicus, is one of the rarest large mammals on Earth. Roughly 50 are thought to survive, all inside Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of Java, Indonesia. This solitary rainforest browser has gray skin folded into an armor-like pattern, a flexible upper lip, small rounded ears, and three-toed feet. Adult males usually carry one small horn, while females often have no visible horn or only a low knob. The entire species depends on one vulnerable population.

Jerboas are small jumping rodents with long hind legs, short front legs, long tails, and big eyes. They live in deserts and dry grasslands of northern Africa, Asia, and parts of eastern Europe.

Kangaroos are amazing marsupials known for hopping, strong back legs, long tails, and babies called joeys. They are one of Australia's most famous animals and are built for life on open grasslands, woodlands, and scrublands.

Kangaroo rats are small nocturnal rodents in the genus Dipodomys. More than 20 living species occur only in western North America, from southern Canada through the western United States into Mexico. They are not true rats in the family Muridae and are not related closely to Australian kangaroos. Their enormous hind legs, tiny front feet, long balancing tails, external fur-lined cheek pouches, seed-storing behavior, and remarkable water-saving physiology suit life in deserts, shrublands, sandy grasslands, and dry open country.

Kinkajous are small rainforest mammals with golden-brown fur, big eyes, sharp claws, and long prehensile tails. They live mostly in trees at night and are sometimes called honey bears because they enjoy sweet foods such as nectar and fruit.

Koalas are tree-living marsupials from Australia. They are often called koala bears, but they are not bears at all. They are known for fluffy ears, strong claws, eucalyptus leaves, and very sleepy days.

Kudus are graceful African antelopes with long legs, big ears, pale body stripes, and amazing spiral horns in males. They use woodland cover for safety and can stand very still when hiding from predators.

A lamb is a young domestic sheep, Ovis aries, usually during its first year of life. An adult female is a ewe and an adult male is a ram. Lambs may be born with woolly, hairy, white, black, brown, spotted, or mixed coats depending on breed. Soon after birth, a healthy lamb attempts to stand, find its mother's udder, and drink antibody-rich colostrum. It begins life as a milk drinker, then gradually develops the four-part digestive system needed to graze and ruminate like an adult sheep.

Langurs are slender Old World monkeys, often called leaf monkeys. Many live in Asia, where they leap through trees, eat leaves and fruit, move in social groups, and use long tails for balance.

Lemurs are primates known for big eyes, soft fur, long tails, and curious faces. Wild lemurs are native to Madagascar, where different species live in forests, dry areas, and other special habitats.

Leopards are powerful spotted wild cats found in parts of Africa and Asia. They are skilled climbers, quiet hunters, and adaptable animals that can live in forests, grasslands, mountains, deserts, and rocky places.

The Leopard Seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, is a large solitary true seal of the Antarctic pack ice and Southern Ocean. It has a long muscular body, powerful front flippers, a broad reptile-like head, enormous jaws, and dark spots across a pale underside. Females are generally larger than males. Leopard Seals are unusual predators because the same mouth can seize penguins, fish, squid, and young seals while interlocking back teeth strain tiny krill from seawater. The species is currently assessed as Least Concern, but its abundance is difficult to measure across moving pack ice.

Lions are powerful big cats known for their loud roars, social family groups, and impressive hunting skills. They are among the most famous animals on Earth and are often called the kings of the jungle.

Llamas are tall, sturdy mammals from the camel family. They are closely related to alpacas and have been used for carrying goods in South America for thousands of years.

Lynxes are medium-sized wild cats with short tails, tufted ears, sharp eyesight, and soft fur. They live in forests and wild places across parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.

Macaques are clever Old World monkeys found mostly in Asia, with one famous species, the Barbary macaque, living in North Africa. They are social primates that often live in troops and can adapt to forests, mountains, cities, temples, and rocky places.

Manatees are gentle aquatic mammals often called sea cows. They have round bodies, paddle-shaped tails, flippers, whiskery faces, and big lips that help them eat aquatic plants.

Mandrills are large, colorful Old World monkeys from the rainforests of west-central Africa. Adult males have bright blue and red faces, strong bodies, short tails, and bold colors that make them look like living rainforest masks.

The Maned Wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus, is a tall, red-gold member of the dog family from South America. Despite its name and fox-like face, it is neither a true wolf nor a fox. Long black legs carry it through grasslands and savannas, huge ears help locate small prey, and an unusual omnivorous diet includes plenty of fruit. It is the only living species in the genus Chrysocyon.

The Margay, Leopardus wiedii, is a small spotted wild cat from Mexico, Central America, and South America. Its huge eyes, flexible ankles, broad paws, and remarkably long tail help it travel through forest trees at night. It resembles an ocelot but is smaller and more lightly built, with climbing adaptations that let it descend trunks headfirst and hang beneath branches.

Markhors are large wild goats that live in rugged mountains of Central and South Asia. They are famous for huge corkscrew-shaped horns, strong climbing skills, beards on males, and a bold mountain look.

Marmosets are tiny long-tailed monkeys from South America. They live in trees, move quickly through branches, use claw-like nails for climbing, and eat insects, fruit, tree sap, gum, and other small foods.

Martens are slender, weasel-like mammals that live in forests across parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. They are quick climbers with bushy tails, sharp senses, and a flexible diet that can include small animals, insects, fruit, and berries.

Meerkats are small, social mammals that live in dry deserts and grasslands in southern Africa. They are famous for standing upright, living in busy groups, digging burrows, and taking turns watching for danger.

Minks are long-bodied, short-legged carnivorous mammals in the weasel family. Two living species carry the mink name: the American Mink, Neogale vison, and the much rarer European Mink, Mustela lutreola. Both live close to freshwater and are strong swimmers, but they are distinct animals with different native ranges and conservation stories. A third species, the Sea Mink, became extinct in the 1800s.

Moles are small underground mammals with velvety fur, tiny eyes, strong digging paws, and powerful noses. They spend much of their lives tunneling through soil while searching for worms and insects.

Mongooses are small bold carnivorous mammals found mainly in Africa, with some species in Asia and southern Europe. They are quick, alert hunters, and some mongooses are famous for attacking venomous snakes such as cobras.

Monkeys are clever primates that often climb trees, live in groups, use their hands to grab food, and communicate with sounds and body language. Many monkeys have tails, which helps separate them from apes.

Moose are the largest members of the deer family. They are tall, long-legged mammals with big noses, strong bodies, and huge antlers on adult males. Moose often live near forests, lakes, rivers, and wetlands in northern regions.

The mountain goat is a powerful white-coated mammal built for life on the steep mountains of northwestern North America. Its scientific name is Oreamnos americanus. Despite its familiar name, it is not a true goat—it belongs to a related group of hoofed mammals called goat-antelopes.

The mountain lion is a large, athletic wild cat of North and South America. Its scientific name is Puma concolor, meaning cat of one color. This secretive predator has more familiar English names than almost any other mammal, including cougar, puma, panther, and catamount.

Mice are small rodents with rounded ears, pointed noses, long tails, whiskers, and quick little feet. They live in many habitats around the world and use sharp senses to find food, avoid danger, and build cozy nests.

A mule is the hybrid offspring of a male donkey, called a jack, and a female horse, called a mare. Mules can inherit a horse-like body along with long ears, strong hooves, and other donkey traits. People have carefully raised them for thousands of years as riding, pack, farm, and transport animals.

The mule deer is a large-eared deer native to western North America. Its scientific name is Odocoileus hemionus. It is named for ears that reminded people of a mule, but this wild deer is not related to the horse–donkey hybrid beyond both being mammals with conspicuous ears.

Muntjacs are small deer from Asia that are often called barking deer because they make dog-like alarm calls. They have short legs, reddish or brown coats, tiny antlers in males, and sometimes tusk-like canine teeth.

Musk deer are small, shy hoofed mammals living in mountain forests and shrublands across Asia. Modern mammal checklists recognize seven living species in the genus Moschus. Despite their name and deer-like appearance, they belong to their own family, Moschidae, rather than the true-deer family.

Musk oxen are shaggy Arctic mammals with thick coats, curved horns, short legs, and strong bodies. They live on cold tundra in places such as Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, where herds help each other survive.

The muskrat is a sturdy semiaquatic rodent native to North American wetlands. Its scientific name is Ondatra zibethicus. Although its name mentions a rat and people sometimes mistake it for a small beaver, the muskrat is a large member of the hamster-and-vole family with its own distinctive tail and lifestyle.

Naked mole rats are small nearly hairless rodents that live underground in eastern Africa. They are famous for large colonies, a queen, worker roles, big front teeth, wrinkly skin, and amazing survival in dark low-oxygen tunnels.

Narwhals are small Arctic whales famous for their long spiral tusks. They are sometimes called unicorns of the sea, but the tusk is not a horn. It is actually a special tooth.

Nilgai are large Asian antelopes often called blue bulls. Adult males can look bluish gray, females are usually brownish, and both have a sturdy body, long legs, short mane, and alert open-country habits.

The North American beaver is the continent’s largest rodent and one of nature’s most influential builders. With orange cutting teeth, webbed hind feet, waterproof fur, and a broad flat tail, it is superbly equipped for life in and around water. By building dams in suitable streams, beavers create wetlands that become homes for many other species.

Numbats are small Australian marsupials with reddish-brown fur, white stripes, pointed snouts, bushy tails, and very long sticky tongues. Unlike many Australian marsupials, numbats are active during the day and mostly eat termites.

Nyalas are elegant antelopes from southeastern Africa with white stripes, big ears, and shy forest habits. Males are dark with spiral horns, while females are reddish brown and usually smaller.

Ocelots are medium-sized wild cats with golden coats covered in dark chains, spots, and rosettes. They move quietly through forests, wetlands, and thick scrub from the southern United States through much of tropical America. Ocelots usually explore alone and do most of their hunting after sunset, when their sharp hearing, sight, and sense of smell help them find prey beneath dense vegetation.

Okapis are shy rainforest mammals with brown bodies, white-striped legs, large ears, and long dark tongues. They live only in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are the closest living relatives of giraffes.

Opossums are marsupial mammals from the Americas. The Virginia opossum is famous in North America for its pouch, hairless prehensile tail, many teeth, night activity, and amazing defense trick called playing possum.

Orangutans are red-haired great apes that live in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They spend much of their lives in trees, use long arms to move through branches, and build leafy nests for resting.

Orcas, also called killer whales, are powerful ocean mammals with black-and-white bodies, strong fins, sharp teeth, and close family groups called pods. Even though people call them whales, orcas are actually the largest members of the dolphin family.

Oryxes are large antelopes with long horns, pale coats, and bold face markings. They live in dry deserts and near-deserts, where their bodies are adapted to heat, scarce water, and open spaces.

Otters are playful mammals that live in and around water. They belong to the weasel family and are excellent swimmers with sleek bodies, strong tails, and clever ways to catch food.

An ox is a domestic bovine trained to pull loads and perform other work. Most oxen are adult male cattle that were castrated when young, but cattle of different sexes and breeds can be trained for draft work in some traditions. For thousands of years, these patient, powerful animals have helped people plough fields, move carts, haul timber, and power farm equipment.

Pademelons are small, stocky relatives of kangaroos and wallabies that live in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. They hide in dense forest and scrub during much of the day, then hop toward grassy edges to feed around dusk or at night. Their compact bodies, powerful hind legs, short thick tails, and pouch-raised joeys make them perfectly shaped for life among tangled plants.

Giant pandas are black-and-white bears that live in bamboo forests in China. They are famous for eating bamboo, climbing trees, and looking wonderfully round and fluffy.

Pangolins are shy scaly mammals from Africa and Asia. They have tough overlapping scales, long sticky tongues, strong claws, and a special habit of curling into a ball when danger comes near.

“Panther” is a common name with several meanings, not the scientific name of one animal species. Most people who say black panther mean a black-coated leopard from Africa or Asia or a black-coated jaguar from the Americas. Both cats still have rosette patterns beneath the dark pigment, and each keeps the body shape, behavior, habitat, and conservation status of its actual species.

Patagonian maras are large South American rodents with long legs, big ears, short tails, and rabbit-like faces. They live in open and semi-open habitats of Argentina, including Patagonia, where they graze and run across dry grasslands.

Peccaries are piglike mammals from the Americas. They may look like wild pigs, but they belong to their own family. Many live in herds, use scent to communicate, and search for roots, fruit, seeds, cactus, and small foods.

Pigs are smart, social mammals with strong snouts, short legs, curly tails, and a love for rooting around. They can live on farms or in the wild and are known for being curious, clever, and surprisingly tidy when given space.

Pikas are small round mountain mammals with short legs, round ears, thick fur, and almost no visible tail. They are not rodents; they are lagomorphs, which makes them relatives of rabbits and hares.

The European pine marten, Martes martes, is a slender woodland mammal in the weasel family. Its chocolate-brown coat, pale yellow or cream throat patch, rounded ears, sharp claws, and long bushy tail suit a life spent running on the ground and climbing through trees. Pine martens are shy, mostly solitary omnivores whose menus change with the season.

Platypuses are strange and wonderful mammals from eastern Australia and Tasmania. They have duck-like bills, webbed feet, beaver-like tails, waterproof fur, and something very rare for mammals: they lay eggs.

Polar bears are huge Arctic bears built for ice, snow, cold water, and seal hunting. They have thick fur, strong paws, a great sense of smell, and a close connection to sea ice.

The European polecat is a secretive mustelid with dark brown fur, a pale undercoat, white-edged ears, and a mask-like face. It hunts mostly after dark across woodlands, wetlands, fields, and farm edges. Polecats are close relatives of domestic ferrets and can release a powerful smell when threatened, but they are not skunks despite the nickname “polecat” sometimes being used for skunks in North America.

A pony is a small type of domestic horse, not a baby horse. Many organizations use a mature height near 14.2 hands at the withers as the dividing line, although breed traditions and competition rules can differ. Ponies share the same species as other domestic horses, Equus caballus, and many have sturdy bodies, strong legs, thick manes, and hardy coats.

Porcupines are large rodents famous for sharp quills that help protect them from predators. They are mostly plant eaters, and different porcupine species live in forests, deserts, grasslands, rocky places, and trees around the world.

Porpoises are seven living species of small toothed whales in the family Phocoenidae. They are close relatives of dolphins but form a different family. Most have compact bodies, rounded heads without a long beak, and small spade-shaped teeth. From shy harbor porpoises to speedy Dall’s porpoises and critically endangered vaquitas, each species has its own range and conservation story.

Possums are Australasian marsupials, not the same animals as American opossums. This page focuses on the common brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, one of Australia’s best-known nighttime mammals. Its pointed ears, thick coat, grasping feet, and brushy partly prehensile tail help it climb through forests, gardens, and city trees after dark.

Potoroos are small Australian marsupials related to kangaroos and wallabies. They have pointy faces, strong back legs, short ears, and hopping movement, and many live quietly in forest underbrush.

Pottos are slow-moving nocturnal primates from African forests. They have large eyes, strong gripping hands and feet, woolly fur, and careful climbing skills that help them move quietly through trees at night.

Prairie dogs are social burrowing rodents from North American grasslands. They live in colonies, make alarm calls, build tunnel systems, and help shape prairie habitats for many other animals.

Proboscis monkeys are unusual long-tailed monkeys from Borneo. Adult males are famous for their large hanging noses, and these monkeys often live near rivers, mangroves, and swampy forests where they climb, leap, and swim.

Pronghorns are speedy hoofed mammals from North America. They look a bit like antelopes, but they belong to their own family and are famous for fast running, big eyes, and open grassland life.

Pudus are tiny South American deer with compact bodies, short legs, rounded ears, and shy forest habits. Current mammal taxonomy recognizes three living species: the southern pudu, northern pudu, and Peruvian Yungas pudu. They occupy very different regions, from cool temperate rainforest in Chile and Argentina to high Andean cloud forest, páramo, and Yungas habitat farther north.

Quokkas are small wallabies from Western Australia with round faces, short ears, strong back legs, and a famous smile-like look. They are marsupials, so their babies grow in a pouch like tiny joeys.

Quolls are spotted carnivorous marsupials from Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They have pointed noses, sharp teeth, long tails, and beautiful spotted coats that help make them one of the most interesting small predators in their habitats.

Rabbits are small, furry mammals with long ears, strong back legs, soft tails, and twitchy noses. They are known for hopping, digging, eating plants, and living in groups or safe hiding places.

Raccoons are clever mammals known for their mask-like faces, ringed tails, curious paws, and nighttime adventures. They live in forests, wetlands, towns, and cities, and they can eat many different kinds of food.

A ram is an adult intact male sheep, not a separate species. This page focuses on domestic sheep, Ovis aries. Rams vary enormously among breeds: some carry thick curling horns, some have smaller horns, and others are naturally hornless or polled. They are social grazing mammals with excellent side vision, multi-chambered stomachs, strong flock instincts, and powerful breeding-season behavior.

Rats are medium-sized rodents with long tails, sharp senses, strong front teeth, and quick feet. Some rats live close to people, but many wild rats live in forests, fields, wetlands, and rocky places around the world.

The red deer, Cervus elaphus, is one of the world’s largest deer species. Native populations live across much of Europe and parts of western Asia and North Africa, while people have introduced red deer to several other regions. Adult males are called stags or harts, females are hinds, and young are calves. Their famous autumn roars echo through woodland, grassland, moor, and mountain valleys.

Red foxes are clever wild members of the dog family with reddish fur, pointed ears, narrow faces, and bushy white-tipped tails. They can live in forests, farmlands, grasslands, suburbs, and even some cities.

The red kangaroo, Osphranter rufus, is the largest living marsupial and Australia’s largest native land mammal. It roams open country across much of the dry interior. Adult males are usually rusty red, while females are often blue-gray or brown, although color varies. Enormous hind feet, springy legs, and a muscular tail make this grazing mammal superbly suited to long journeys between scattered food and water.

Red pandas are reddish-brown tree-climbing mammals with fluffy ringed tails, white face markings, and a big love for bamboo. They live in cool mountain forests of the Himalayas and nearby parts of eastern Asia.

The red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, is also called the Eurasian red squirrel. This agile tree-dwelling rodent lives across a huge stretch of Europe and northern Asia. It is famous for its bushy tail and winter ear tufts, but not every individual is bright red. Coats can range from orange and chestnut to dark brown or nearly black, usually with a pale belly.

Reindeer are members of the deer family that live in cold northern places. They are also called caribou in North America and are known for antlers, wide hooves, thick fur, and traveling in herds across snowy lands.

Rhinoceroses, often called rhinos, are huge plant-eating mammals with thick skin, strong bodies, and one or two horns on their snouts. They live in parts of Africa and Asia and are some of the largest land animals on Earth.

Ring-tailed lemurs are Madagascar primates famous for long black-and-white striped tails, bright eyes, and lively social groups. They spend more time on the ground than many lemurs and live in dry forests, rocky areas, and scrubby habitats.

The ringed seal, Pusa hispida, is a small true seal adapted to icy northern waters. Pale rings and spots pattern its darker back, while strong front claws keep breathing holes open in sea ice. Most ringed seals live around the Arctic Ocean, but distinct subspecies also inhabit the Baltic Sea and the freshwater lakes Ladoga and Saimaa. Snow, ice, and access to water shape nearly every part of their lives.

This page focuses on the North American river otter, Lontra canadensis. It is a sleek semiaquatic member of the weasel family that lives beside rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and some rocky coasts across North America. A long muscular body, webbed feet, sensitive whiskers, dense waterproof fur, and a thick tapering tail help it chase prey through water and travel confidently on land.

The roan antelope, Hippotragus equinus, is one of Africa’s largest antelopes. Its horse-like build inspired the scientific name equinus, while its common name refers to its reddish or sandy roan coat. A bold black-and-white face mask, very long tasseled ears, an upright mane, and backward-curving horns make this savanna grazer easy to recognize.

This page focuses on the European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, also called the western roe deer. It is a small, quick deer found from western Europe into western Asia. A short tail, bright white rump patch, reddish summer coat, gray-brown winter coat, and barking alarm call help distinguish it. The larger Siberian roe deer is a separate species called Capreolus pygargus.

The sable antelope, Hippotragus niger, is a large, powerful bovid of eastern and southern African savanna woodland. Mature males often become glossy dark brown or black, while females and young are generally chestnut or reddish-brown. Both sexes carry long ringed horns that rise from the head and sweep backward, and bold white facial markings contrast with a dark mask.

Saiga antelopes are unusual hoofed mammals with large swollen noses, long legs, and herd lifestyles. They live on open steppes and dry grasslands of Central Asia, where their special noses help them survive dust, heat, and icy air.

The sambar deer, Rusa unicolor, is the largest deer native to southern and Southeast Asia. Its coarse brown coat, large rounded ears, short tail, and sturdy body suit life in forests, wooded grasslands, mountains, and wetlands. Adult males grow rugged antlers, while females do not, and both are excellent swimmers that often stay close to water.

The saola, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, is an extraordinarily rare wild cattle relative found only in the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam and Laos. Scientists announced its discovery in 1992 after unusual horns and skulls were found in local homes. No saola lives in captivity, the last confirmed camera-trap image was taken in 2013, and the exact number surviving is unknown.

Sea lions are lively marine mammals with strong front flippers, small visible ear flaps, loud barks, and playful swimming skills. They are related to seals and walruses, but they move on land differently from true seals.

Sea otters are playful-looking marine mammals that live along northern Pacific coasts. They float on their backs, use rocks as tools, have super dense fur, and help keep kelp forests healthy by eating sea urchins.

Seals are marine mammals with smooth bodies, flippers, whiskers, and thick blubber. They spend lots of time in water, but they also come onto land or ice to rest, warm up, and raise their pups.

Serows are stocky, shaggy goat-antelopes in the genus Capricornis. They live in forested mountains and rocky country across parts of South, East, and Southeast Asia. Although people sometimes mistake them for deer, serows belong to the bovid family with goats, sheep, cattle, and antelopes, and both females and males usually carry short permanent horns.

Servals are slender African wild cats with very long legs, large ears, spotted coats, and quick jumping skills. They live mostly in grasslands and wet areas, where they listen carefully for small animals hiding in tall grass.

Servaline genets are slender spotted mammals from Central Africa. They look a little catlike, but they are viverrids, relatives of civets and other small carnivores, with long tails, sharp senses, and secretive nighttime habits.

Sheep are gentle, woolly mammals that often live in flocks. People have raised sheep for thousands of years for wool, milk, meat, and help managing grassy land.

Shrews are tiny mammals with pointed noses, small eyes, and fast-moving bodies. They eat insects and other small animals, and many spend their lives searching constantly for food in forests, grasslands, and gardens.

Siamangs are large black gibbons that live in forests of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. They are famous for swinging through trees and making loud booming calls with an inflatable throat sac.

The Siberian tiger is better called the Amur tiger because its surviving wild population lives mainly around the Amur-Ussuri region of the Russian Far East and northeastern China, not across central Siberia. It is a cold-adapted mainland tiger with a large body, thick winter coat, broad paws, and pale orange camouflage for snowy temperate forests.

Sifakas are leaping lemurs from Madagascar with silky fur, long tails, big eyes, and powerful legs. They live mostly in trees and are famous for springing between branches and doing funny sideways hops on the ground.

Skunks are small to medium mammals famous for black-and-white warning colors and a powerful spray defense. They usually give warning signs before spraying, which means smart animals know to back away.

Sloths are slow-moving mammals that live mostly in trees in Central and South America. They hang from branches with long claws, eat leaves and fruit, sleep a lot, and move slowly to save energy.

The sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, is a shaggy insect-eating bear of South Asia. It is not a sloth and usually travels on the ground, although it can climb. Powerful curved claws tear open termite mounds, while closing nostrils, missing upper front teeth, a mobile snout, and long lips turn its mouth into a noisy insect vacuum.

Slow lorises are small nocturnal primates from Southeast Asia. They have big eyes, careful movements, strong gripping hands, and a rare venom defense, which means wild slow lorises should never be touched or kept as pets.

Snow leopards are beautiful mountain cats with thick gray fur, dark rosettes, long tails, big paws, and powerful legs. They live in cold high mountains of central and southern Asia and are sometimes called ghosts of the mountains.

The snowshoe hare is a North American member of the rabbit family named for its exceptionally large, fur-covered hind feet. It lives mainly in boreal and mountain forests with thick shrubs where it can hide and find food. Many populations change from brown in summer to white in winter, but every snowshoe hare remains active all year and plays an enormous role as food for lynx, owls, foxes, coyotes, and other predators.

Solenodons are rare, nocturnal Caribbean mammals with long flexible snouts, powerful claws, scaly tails, and venomous saliva. Only two species survive: the Hispaniolan solenodon on Hispaniola and the Cuban solenodon, or almiquí, in eastern Cuba. They are not rodents and are not true shrews, but belong to an ancient branch of the mammal group that also contains shrews, moles, and hedgehogs.

The southern elephant seal is the largest seal and one of Earth’s most extreme diving mammals. It breeds and molts on subantarctic and southern coasts but spends most of its life roaming the cold Southern Ocean for fish and squid. An adult male can weigh several times as much as a female and develops the inflatable trunk-like nose that gives elephant seals their name.

Spectacled bears are shaggy bears from South America with light markings around the eyes that can look like glasses. They live in the Andes and are also called Andean bears.

The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale and the biggest living predator with teeth. Its enormous square head contains sound-producing structures that create powerful echolocation clicks for exploring the dark ocean. Sperm whales live in deep seas around the world, dive far below sunlight for squid and fish, and maintain rich social lives built around families, vocal patterns, and long-distance journeys.

Spider monkeys are long-limbed New World monkeys that live high in tropical forests of Central and South America. They are famous for using long prehensile tails almost like extra hands while swinging through trees.

The spotted hyena is Africa’s largest living hyena and one of its most successful large carnivores. It is a skilled hunter as well as a scavenger, with bone-crushing jaws, excellent endurance, and a complex social system led by females. Clan members recognize ranks, relatives, voices, and scent messages while cooperating or competing across large savannas and woodlands.

Springboks are graceful antelopes from southern Africa. They live on open plains and dry grasslands, where they run fast, leap high, graze on plants, and sometimes perform bouncy jumps called pronking.

Squirrels are quick, clever rodents with bushy tails and strong legs. Many live in trees, some live in underground burrows, and others can glide through the air using special skin flaps.

The stoat is a small, long-bodied predator in the weasel family. It is usually chestnut brown above and creamy white below, with a black tail tip that helps distinguish it from smaller weasels. In cold snowy regions many stoats grow a white winter coat called ermine, while their flexible bodies, sharp senses, rapid metabolism, and fearless hunting let them pursue rodents and rabbits through complex habitats.

The stone marten, also called the beech marten, is a quick and curious relative of weasels, otters, and badgers. It lives across much of Europe and Asia and is surprisingly comfortable near people. Explore how this adaptable night hunter climbs, scent-marks, eats a changing menu, and raises its tiny kits.

Sugar gliders are small tree-living marsupials with big eyes, soft fur, long tails, and stretchy gliding membranes between their front and back legs. At night, they glide between trees to find food.

The Sumatran rhino is the smallest living rhinoceros and the only Asian rhino with two horns. Reddish hair covers much of its folded skin, giving it a wonderfully prehistoric look. Yet this shy Indonesian forest animal is Critically Endangered, so every calf and every protected patch of connected habitat matters.

Sun bears are the smallest bears in the world. They live in tropical forests of Southeast Asia and are known for dark fur, an orange-yellow chest patch, long claws, and a long tongue for honey and insects.

Takins are big, shaggy, mountain-loving hoofed mammals from the eastern Himalayas and nearby regions of Asia. They have heavy bodies, thick coats, curved horns, and a large rounded nose that gives them a wonderfully unusual face.

Tamarins are small South American monkeys related to marmosets. Many have long tails, quick jumps, expressive faces, and funny-looking mustaches or hair tufts. They live in forests and eat fruit, insects, nectar, and small animals.

Tapirs are shy hoofed mammals with heavy bodies, short legs, small tails, and flexible snouts that work like tiny trunks. They live in forests and wet places in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.

Tarsiers are tiny primates with giant eyes, long hind legs, soft fur, and amazing leaping skills. They live in forests of Southeast Asia and hunt insects and small animals at night.

Tasmanian devils are stocky black marsupials with strong jaws, loud screeches, and bushy tails. Wild Tasmanian devils live naturally only on the island of Tasmania, where they search for food mostly at night.

Tenrecs are a family of small mammals found naturally in Madagascar. Millions of years of evolution produced an amazing collection of shapes: some are furry, some are spiny, some burrow, and one swims. Although several look like hedgehogs or shrews, tenrecs belong to a different branch of the mammal family tree.

Tigers are powerful big cats known for their beautiful striped coats, incredible strength, and stealthy hunting skills. They are the largest wild cats on Earth and live in forests, grasslands, and wetlands across Asia.

Tree kangaroos are unusual kangaroo relatives that live in trees. They have strong limbs, long tails, padded feet, and pouches for joeys, and they are found in rainforests of New Guinea and nearby parts of Australia.

Uakaris are unusual New World monkeys from the Amazon region. They are known for shaggy fur, short tails, bald-looking faces, and in some species, bright red faces that stand out in the green rainforest.

Vampire bats sound like storybook monsters, but the real animals are small, intelligent, and highly social. Only three bat species live entirely on blood, and all occur in the Americas. They do not suck like straws—instead, they make a tiny cut and lap the flowing blood while the host often remains asleep.

The vicuña is a slim wild relative of llamas and alpacas that lives far above the trees in the Andes Mountains. Thin air, freezing nights, fierce sunlight, and dry grasslands make its home challenging. Dense fleece, efficient movement, specialized blood, and close family groups help this national animal of Peru survive.

Voles are small rodents with short tails, round bodies, and tiny ears. They often live in meadows, grasslands, forests, and wetlands, where they build tunnels, nests, and pathways through vegetation.

Wallabies are small to medium-sized marsupials related to kangaroos. They have strong back legs, long tails, pouches for joeys, and bouncy hopping movement that helps them travel through grasslands, forests, rocks, and scrub.

Walruses are huge Arctic marine mammals with long tusks, thick blubber, wrinkly skin, stiff whiskers, and flippers. They spend time in cold seas and haul out on ice or beaches to rest.

Warthogs are wild members of the pig family that live in Africa. They have tusks, face bumps called warts, short legs, bristly hair, and a funny habit of trotting with their tails held high.

For thousands of years, people have raised water buffalo for milk, farm work, transport, meat, and manure. These huge bovids are especially at home in hot, wet landscapes where broad feet cross soft ground and a muddy wallow provides relief from heat and insects. Domestic water buffalo are different from both African buffalo and the rare wild water buffalo.

Waterbucks are large African antelopes that often stay near rivers, lakes, marshes, and wetlands. They have shaggy coats, rounded ears, and males have long ringed horns that curve backward and forward.

Weasel is a common name for several small, slender predators in the family Mustelidae, especially species in the genera Mustela and Neogale. They are relatives of stoats, ferrets, mink, otters, badgers, and wolverines, not rodents. Different weasel species live across much of Europe, Asia, North America, and parts of Africa, with some introduced elsewhere. Their tube-shaped bodies, short legs, sharp senses, and energetic hunting style help them follow mice and voles through narrow tunnels, but coat colour, tail pattern, size, reproduction, and conservation status vary by species.

The Weddell Seal, Leptonychotes weddellii, is a large true seal that lives around Antarctica, especially beside stable coastal fast ice. It is the only living species in its genus and is famous for maintaining breathing holes with its teeth, making eerie underwater calls, and diving beneath sea ice for fish and other prey. Weddell Seals breed farther south than any other mammal, but they still need open cracks or holes because they breathe air. Their global IUCN category is Least Concern, while climate-driven changes to sea ice and food webs remain important long-term concerns.

Whale is a broad common name for many cetacean mammals, ranging from the enormous blue whale to much smaller toothed species. Cetaceans are divided into baleen whales, or mysticetes, and toothed whales, or odontocetes; dolphins and porpoises are scientifically part of the toothed-whale branch even though everyday speech often lists them separately. Whales breathe air, give birth to live young, nurse calves with milk, and use sound in remarkable ways. Species differ enormously in size, diet, migration, social life, diving ability, and conservation status, so no single fact fits every whale.

The White Rhino, Ceratotherium simum, is the largest living rhinoceros and a grass-eating giant of African savannas and open woodlands. Its name is misleading because its skin is gray, not white. A wide square-shaped upper lip helps it crop short grass, while two keratin horns, three-toed feet, thick folded skin, strong smell and hearing, mud wallows, and communal dung piles shape its daily life. Most living animals belong to the southern subspecies. Only two northern white rhinos remain, both females, making that subspecies functionally extinct. The species is currently listed as Near Threatened, and the estimated wild population fell to about 15,752 by the end of 2024.

The White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, is a highly adaptable deer native from southern Canada through much of the United States, Mexico, Central America, and into northern South America. Its famous tail is brown above and bright white below, flashing like a flag when raised. White-tailed deer live in forests, grasslands, farms, wetlands, deserts, suburbs, and tropical habitats. They browse nutritious leaves, shoots, fruits, acorns, fungi, crops, and other plants, digest food in a four-part ruminant stomach, and communicate through scent, posture, sounds, and tail movements. Size, breeding season, coat, antlers, habitat, predators, and conservation needs vary greatly across the species' enormous range.

The Wild Boar, Sus scrofa, is a sturdy wild pig native across much of Europe and Asia and parts of North Africa. Humans have introduced wild boar, domestic pigs, feral pigs, and mixtures of them to many other regions, so the words wild boar and feral pig should not automatically be treated as identical. Wild boar use muscular snouts to root through soil, eat an extremely varied omnivorous diet, cool themselves in mud, and communicate with grunts, squeals, scent, and body posture. Females and young often live in groups called sounders, while mature males are usually more solitary outside the breeding season. The species is globally listed as Least Concern, although introduced populations can damage crops, habitats, and native wildlife.

The Wild Dog on this page is the African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus, also called the painted dog or painted hunting dog. It is a long-legged canid of sub-Saharan Africa, not a feral domestic dog, wolf, fox, jackal, or hyena. Every animal carries a different patchwork of black, brown, tan, yellow, and white fur, along with enormous rounded ears and only four toes on each foot. African Wild Dogs live in close cooperative packs that hunt, protect pups, feed pack members, and make group movement decisions together. They are globally Endangered and survive in scattered populations, mainly in eastern and southern Africa. Conservation groups often cite fewer than about 7,000 animals, but the widely repeated estimate is not a fresh continent-wide census and should be treated as approximate.

Wolves are wild members of the dog family known for packs, howling, sharp senses, and teamwork. They can live in forests, tundra, mountains, grasslands, and other wild places across the Northern Hemisphere.

Wolverines are powerful mustelid mammals that live in cold northern forests, tundra, and mountain areas. They look a bit like small bears, but they are related to weasels, otters, martens, and badgers.

Wombats are sturdy Australian marsupials with short legs, strong claws, small ears, and powerful digging bodies. They live in burrows, eat plants, and are famous for making cube-shaped poop.

Yaks are shaggy hoofed mammals built for cold mountain life. They have long hair, strong bodies, curved horns, and tough hooves that help them live on high plateaus where the air is thin and winters are icy.

Zebras are wild members of the horse family known for their bold black-and-white stripes. They live in Africa, eat grasses, stay in groups, and use their sharp senses to watch for danger.