| Aardvarks | The Aardvark is nocturnal and a solitary creature that feeds almost exclusively on ants and termites; the only fruit eaten by aardvarks is the aardvark cucumber. It is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. It is an exceptionally fast digger, but otherwise moves rather slowly. Although the Aardvark is killed by humans both for its flesh and teeth, which are used for decoration it remains unthreatened. |
| Albatrosses | Albatrosses are nomadic birds that spend months wandering great distances over the oceans. Albatrosses are amongst the largest of flying birds. They sleep while floating on the ocean surface, drink seawater, and feed on cuttlefish, other small marine animals, and refuse from ships. They return to land only to breed, at that time they perform a stylized courting ritual of elaborate bowing and posturing. Albatross is the world’s most spectacular seabird; some have a wing span that goes up to 3 meters. |
| Alligators | There are two living alligator species: the American Alligator and the Chinese Alligator. Alligators and their close relatives the caimans have broad, flat, and rounded snouts, as opposed to the longer, sharper snouts of other crocodilians. The eyes of an alligator glow red when a light is shined on them. This fact can be used to find alligators in the dark. Unlike a crocodile the lower teeth of an alligator cannot be seen when their mouths are closed. Alligators feed on fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, birds, mammals, and carrion. Alligators can survive a wider range of temperatures than other crocodilians, and they are found in more temperate regions. |
| Alpacas | Alpacas are closely related members to the llama, vicuna and camel family. Being native to South American lands, these surefooted animals are smaller than the llama, have longer, softer wool, and ordinarily are not used as beasts of burden. |
| Anteaters | Ant eaters are mammals known for eating ants and termites. Ant eaters have a long head with a long, tubular mouth and long tongue, but no teeth. It lives in forests and swampy areas and on open plains and is mainly diurnal in areas where there are few people, and is nocturnal in densely populated areas. It is extensively distributed in the tropical parts of South and Central America, frequenting low swampy savannas, along the banks of rivers, and the depths of the humid forests, but is nowhere abundant. The anteater rapidly flicks its long tongue in and out of the small mouth opening, scooping up termites or other insects on its sticky surface. |
| Antelopes | Distinguished by a pair of hollow horns on their heads antelopes belong to the same family as cattle, goats, and sheep. Unlike deer, which have branched antlers that they shed annually, antelopes have pointed horns that they keep throughout their life. About 100 species of antelopes live in Africa and Asia, including some of the worlds fastest and most elegant hoofed mammals, as well as some of the most endangered. Antelopes typically have a light, elegant figure, are slender, have graceful limbs, small cloven hoofs and a short tail. Antelopes have powerful hindquarters and, when startled, run with a peculiar bounding stride. |
| Ants | Ants can rightly be considered as the most successful insect of the animal kingdom. Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth except for the permanently frozen Arctic and Antarctic, the coldest mountaintops, and a few islands. Ants are social insects and form highly organized colonies or nests which sometimes consist of millions of individuals. They flourish in soil, rotting wood, leaf litter, dead trees, and living trees in such varied habitats as mountains, deserts, swamps, and human homes. Ants are most abundant in the tropical regions. |
| Apes | Apes fall in the category of any 13 species of large, highly intelligent primates, including chimpanzees, gorillas, gibbons, and orangutans. Except for gorillas and humans, all true apes are agile climbers of trees. Apes are sometimes confused with monkeys, but unlike their smaller primate counterparts, apes do not have tails and their arms are usually longer than their legs. They are best described as omnivorous, their diet consisting of fruit, grass seeds, and in most cases some quantities of meat and invertebrates—either hunted or scavenged—along with anything else available and easily digested. They are native to Africa and Asia, although humans have spread to all parts of the world. |
| Ass | Also known as a donkey, this mammal is a domesticated creature of the horse family. An ass has very long ears, usually a gray coat with white underpants and muzzle, a short, erect mane, and a tail with a tuft of long hair only at the tip. |
| Auks | Auk is the common name for any of the web-footed seabirds. They are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits. Auks are good swimmers and divers, but their walking appears clumsy. Due to their short wings auks have to flap their wings very fast in order to fly. |
| Baboons | Powerful and aggressive animals about the size of a large dog, baboons have strong, elongated jaws, large cheek pouches in which they store food, and eyes close together. Baboons are terrestrial (ground dwelling) and are found in savanna, open woodland and hills across Africa. Their diet is omnivorous, but is usually vegetarian. |
| Badgers | Badgers are short-legged and heavy-set mammals characterized by elongated feet that are more or less plantigrade (heels touch the ground); and straight, strong toes adapted to burrowing. Badgers are social animals, often living in large groups of adults and young. They are nocturnal, which means they usually leave their setts at dusk or later. They emerge cautiously, sniffing and listening for signs of danger. |
| Barracudas | Barracudas are elongated fishes with powerful jaws. The lower jaw of the large mouth juts out beyond the upper. Barracudas possess strong, fang-like teeth. These are unequal in size and set in sockets in the jaws on the roof of the mouth. Barracuda are found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. Smaller species swim in schools, but larger species are solitary. |
| Bass | Bass is a common name shared by many food fishes, but not corresponding to any particular scientific classification. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species, many of which are native to North America and surrounding waters. Various bass are known by such local names as black, white, or rock bass. |
| Bats | Being the only mammal that can fly bats have modified hands and arms that serve as wings capable of sustained flight. There are estimated to be about 1,100 species of bats worldwide: about 20% of all mammal species. Bats have been flitting across the night skies since the last 50 million years. Bats vary in social structure, with some bats leading a solitary life and others living in caves colonized by more than a million bats. |
| Bears | Any of a group of mammals distinguished by a short tail, excellent senses of smell and hearing, five non-retractable claws per paw, and long, dense, shaggy fur. Bears live in a variety of habitats from the tropics to the Arctic and from forests to snowfields. They are mainly omnivorous, although some have a more specialized diet, such as polar bears. They eat lichens, roots, nuts, and berries. They can also go to a river or other body of water to capture fish. |
| Beavers | Beavers are best known for their natural trait of building dams in rivers and streams, and building their homes (aka lodges) in the eventual artificial pond. They are the second largest rodents. There are only two kinds of beavers, the American beaver and the Eurasian beaver. The two species share similar behavior and anatomy, although they have some small physical differences, such as the shape of the nasal bones. |
| Bees | Bees are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. There are approximately 20,000 species of bees, and they may be found on every continent except Antarctica. Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source, and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used for food for the brood. |
| Beetles | Beetles have evolved over 230 million years to form one of the most successful groups of insects. Beetles can be found in almost all habitats, but are not known to occur in the sea or in the Polar Regions. They have a major impact on the ecosystem in three ways: feeding on plants and fungi, breaking down animal and plant debris, and eating other invertebrates. Beetles are especially successful in tropical habitats, but they can also be found in frigid mountainous habitats as well as in some of the hottest, driest deserts. Estimates put the total number of beetle species, described and undescribed, at between 5 and 8 million. |
| Birds | Birds are characterized as warm-blooded, vertebrate animals primarily having feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and hollow bones. Birds range in size from the tiny hummingbirds to the huge Ostrich. Most birds are active during the day, but some birds, such as the owls and nightjars, are nocturnal and active during twilight hours. Many characteristics and behaviors of birds are distinct from all other animals, but there are some similarities. |
| Bison | The largest terrestrial animal in North America, where it is commonly called buffalo. Only two species still exist—the American and European bisons. Bison are very large mammals. They have a big head with horns. Bison have short legs, but they run very fast. Some bisons are distinguished by their flat back, while some by their large humped back. |
| Bitterns | Bitterns are a classification of wading birds in the heron family, species named as bitterns tend to be the shorter necked, and often more secretive members of this family. The plumage is brown, yellow, and black, variously striped and speckled. Bitterns usually frequent reedbeds and similar marshy areas, and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects and fish. The bird is sluggish, and its flight slow and of short duration. When attacked, it uses both its bill and claws for defense. |
| Bloodhounds | Bloodhound is a large breed of dog bred for the specific purpose of tracking human beings. Consequently, it is often used by authorities to track escaped prisoners, missing children, or earthquake victims. It is a scent hound, famed for its ability to follow a scent many days old, over vast distances. The bloodhound has thin, loose skin, hanging in folds about the head and neck, forming a dewlap; diamond-shaped, deep-set eyes, which give it a mournful appearance; long, soft ears falling in folds; a long neck; muscular sloping shoulders; and well-sprung ribs. It is red and tan, black and tan, or tawny. |
| Boars | Boars are adult males and the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. It lives in woodlands across much of Central Europe, the Mediterranean Region (including North Africa’s Atlas Mountains), and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia. Adult females are known as sows. Boars have short, woolly hair interspersed with bristles forming a mane along the spine. The lower teeth grow into formidable tusks, which turn up and are sometimes 30 cm (12 in) long. The boar usually inhabits marshy forestland, feeding largely on roots and grain, although occasionally it kills and eats small animals. |
| Bobcats | Bobcat, also known as the wildcat, resemble their Canadian cousin Lynx, are often highly adaptable to human-caused changes in environmental conditions. Bobcats have a dark gray back streaked with chestnut; the belly is grayish-white, often with black spots. Bobcats are carnivores that typically hunt wild rabbits, hares, and rodents, but will also attempt to hunt the larger deer in winter months when other food is scarce. |
| Bovine | Bovine is a common term for the domesticated herbivorous mammals that constitute the genus Bos, of the family Bovidae, and that are of great importance to humans because of the meat, milk, leather, glue, gelatin, and other items of commerce they yield. |
| Buffaloes | Buffaloes are wild or domesticated oxen native to Asia and Africa. Like domestic cattle and some other artiodactyl mammals, buffaloes are cud-chewing and have cloven hooves and permanent horns, but they are much larger and more powerful than cattle. The so-called American buffalo are more properly called bison. The water buffalo has short, stiff, scanty hair, and a large portion of the hide is bare and glossy. In the wild, the water buffalo is dangerous if aroused. The animal has been domesticated, however, and has been used as a draft animal since ancient times. |
| Bull | A Bull is an adult male of various large animal species including moose, bovines (esp. cattle), elephants, whales, seals, and sealions. |
| Bullfinch | These are birds of genus of the finch family, particularly the common European bullfinch. The origin of the name is uncertain, but probably refers to the short, thick head of the species as compared with other finches. The birds are good mimics, and individuals can be caged and taught to whistle several tunes. |
| Butterflies | Butterflies and Moths are insects distinguished by four wings covered with tiny, shingle-like scales and by mouthparts that form a hollow, flexible tube like a drinking straw. Most butterflies and moths use their distinctive mouthparts to feed on the nectar of flowers. The insects have proportionately small bodies and large wings, and a pair of antennae on their heads. |
| Buzzard | A common name used for certain hawks, but widely applied in North America as a vernacular name for the smaller species of New World vultures, especially the turkey vulture. |
| Camels | Camels are large ruminant natives to the desert regions of Asia and northern Africa. There are two kinds of camels: the Arabian, or dromedary camel, which has one hump, and the Bactrian camel, which has two humps. The humps are stores of flesh and fat, absorbed as nutrition when food is scarce. A camel can subsist without water for several days. |
| Caribou | Caribou is a North American deer of the same species as the reindeer of Eurasia. Caribou range in height from 87 to 140 cm (34 to 55 in) at the shoulder and weigh from 60 to 318 kg (130 to 701 lb). Both males and females have antlers, but the female’s are smaller and simpler. Two principal groups exist: the Barren Ground, or Arctic, caribou and the woodland caribou. |
| Caterpillars | The caterpillar develops like any other larva from the segmented egg and differentiating embryo and undergoes several moltings, or ecdyses. It is the larval stage of butterflies and moths, members of the order Lepidoptera, and corresponding in this special order to the grub, maggot, or larva phase in the life history of other insects. It later falls into a quiescent pupa stage, and the pupa is usually sheathed in a silken cocoon. |
| Cats | Cats are small, mainly carnivorous animal, Felis catus, member of the family Felidae, popular as a household pet, and valuable for killing mice and rats. Like other members of the cat family, the domestic cat has retractile claws; keen hearing and smell; remarkable night vision; and a compact, muscular, and highly supple body. Cats possess excellent memory and exhibit considerable aptitude for learning by observation and experience. The natural life span of a domestic cat is about 15 years. |
| Cattle | Cattle also known as cows in vernacular usage. are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). |
| Chickens | Chicken means any kind of bird, applied chiefly to edible species. Except in combinations such as waterfowl and wildfowl, in modern usage the word usually is restricted to the common domestic fowl, or chicken. In poultry markets, fowl commonly means a full-grown female bird. Young birds of both sexes, such as broilers and fryers, are called chickens. |
| Chimpanzee | Chimpanzee is an ape of equatorial Africa that, physically and genetically, is the animal most closely related to humans. Two species of chimpanzee, or chimp, exist: the common chimpanzee and the bonobo, also known as the pygmy chimpanzee. |
| Chinchillas | Chinchilla is a common name for rodents found in the Andes at altitudes of about 3000 to 5000 m (about 10,000 to 16,000 ft). With short front legs chinchillas hold the roots and grasses on which they feed; the long hind legs enable the animals to hop about with great agility. Females produce an average of two to three offspring per litter, and may produce two litters in a single year. |
| Clams | Clam is a common name for many species of bivalve mollusks that burrow wholly or partly into sand or mud by means of a hatchet-shaped muscular foot. Clams are eaten throughout the world. In the United States, those commonly preferred for consumption are the round, or hard, clam and the long, or soft, clam. |
| Cockroaches | Cockroach is a common name for an order of insects, the most familiar of which are characterized by their oval shape, foul odor, and their status as household pests. About 4000 species are known worldwide; most inhabit the warm tropical regions of the globe. About 25 species have attained worldwide distribution due to accidental transport in commerce and their affinity for human habitation. Among these are most of the important pest species. |
| Cod | Cod is a common name for nearly 60 species of a family of valuable food fishes. Other families in the same order are also known as cod, such as the deep-sea cod, but the best-known and most commercially important cod is the Atlantic cod. Cod live chiefly in cold or temperate northern seas, at depths of 180 to 360 m (600 to 1200 ft), and undertake long migrations. Many live near the bottom. |
| Colts | Young male horses are called colts. |
| Coots | Coots are a member of a genus of birds of the rail family, also called mud hens or swamphens due to their habitat in the marshy borders of streams and lakes. Coots have a short, straight bill, the base of which extends up the forehead to form a horny shield. Instead of the webs of most swimming birds, coots have a series of flaps along the sides of each toe. They cannot take off from land, but must run along the surface of the water to attain flight speed. |
| Cougars | Cougar also known as Puma or mountain lion is a carnivore of North and South America with thick fur that ranges from reddish-brown in tropical forms to bluish-gray in northern forms. The fur is lighter on the sides, and the muzzle, chin, throat, breast, and insides of the legs are whitish. Pumas hunt elk, deer, and smaller mammals. Because ranchers suspect them of killing cattle, the animals have been exterminated or are endangered in many areas. |
| Cows | Cattle also known as cows in vernacular usage. are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). |
| Coyotes | Coyotes are carnivores now widespread in North America and closely related to the wolf (see Dog Family). The coyote has erect, pointed ears; a long snout; and green, wolflike eyes. Coyotes are most active at night, when they emit their characteristic sharp barks and prolonged howls; they are also active at dawn and dusk. Usually they hunt singly or in relays with others rather than in packs. They subsist on carrion, birds, large insects, and rodents, and can reach speeds of more than 60 km/h (more than 40 mph) when running down animals such as rabbits. |
| Crabs | Crab is a common name for any group of crustaceans characterized by a reduced abdomen and an enlarged and broadened anterior portion of the body. Although most common as bottom dwellers in the sea, crabs also occur in fresh water, and some venture onto land. Crabs are divided into two groups: true crabs (about 4500 species) and hermit crabs and their allies (about 1400 species). |
| Cranes | Crane is a common name for any of about 15 members of a family of birds, found from above the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South Africa, in all continents except South America and Antarctica. Cranes are superficially similar to herons, which also have long legs and long necks, but they are not closely related. Cranes fly with their necks fully extended, whereas herons, once they have attained their full flight speed, pull their heads back so that the neck is bent in an S-curve. |
| Crickets | Crickets are insects of a family characterized by the chirping courtship call of the male and by the needlelike or cylindrical ovipositor (organ at the end of the abdomen where eggs are deposited) of the female. The male produces his courtship song by rubbing a grooved ridge on the underside of one of his front wings against the sharp edge of the other front wing. True crickets include the familiar black field cricket and the house cricket. |
| Crocodiles | One of the largest reptiles on the earth today, the crocodile is also one of the most ferocious. It swallows many small animals whole but will also attack humans and other large animals, often batting them with its tail into a nearby pool of water to make them easier to capture. Crocodiles can close off their nasal passages in the water, allowing them to seize food without drowning. They are immensely strong and may dismember larger prey by simply twisting it to death in the water. |
| Crows | Crows are found on every continent except South America and Antarctica. They are among the most intelligent and adaptable of birds, and several species have been able to thrive near humans, although others, especially on islands, are endangered and their habits little known. Northern-hemisphere crows are sometimes migratory, but often they are resident the year round. Although territorial in the breeding season, crows are gregarious at other times, and wintering flocks may number in the thousands. |
