Animal group · 121 species
Mammals
Warm-blooded animals with hair or fur that feed their young on milk, from tiny shrews and bats to elephants and blue whales.
Species profiles
African buffalo
Syncerus caffer
The African buffalo is a huge wild bovine of sub-Saharan Africa, one of the Big Five. Facts on its horns, size, herds, diet, lions, forest buffalo and status.
African bush elephant
Loxodonta africana
The African bush elephant is the largest land animal, with bulls weighing about 5–7 tonnes. Facts on its size, tusks, herds, diet, calves, range and threats.
African wild dog
Lycaon pictus
The African wild dog, or painted wolf, is an endangered pack hunter of Africa's savannas. Its coat, pack life, hunting, pups, range and why so few remain.
American bison
Bison bison
The American bison is North America's heaviest land animal, a grazing giant of prairies and Yellowstone. Size, hump, herds, diet, near extinction and recovery.
American black bear
Ursus americanus
The American black bear is North America's most common bear, a tree-climbing omnivore of forests from Alaska to Mexico. Size, colors, diet, denning and cubs.
Arctic fox
Vulpes lagopus
The Arctic fox is a small fox of the Arctic tundra with some of the warmest fur of any mammal. Facts on its size, color morphs, range, diet, cubs and lifespan.
Asian elephant
Elephas maximus
The Asian elephant is Asia's largest land animal, smaller-eared than African elephants and Endangered. Facts on its size, tusks, diet, herds, range and threats.
Bactrian camel
Camelus bactrianus
The Bactrian camel is the two-humped camel of Central Asia, built for cold deserts. Its size, humps, winter coat, diet, lifespan and its rare wild relative.
Beluga whale
Delphinapterus leucas
The beluga is a white Arctic whale with a bulging melon, a bendy neck and a huge range of calls. Its size, color change, diet, range, lifespan and threats.
Bighorn sheep
Ovis canadensis
The bighorn sheep is a wild mountain sheep of western North America, famous for the huge curled horns of its rams. Size, climbing, rut, range and recovery.
Black rhinoceros
Diceros bicornis
The black rhino is a critically endangered, hook-lipped browsing rhino of eastern and southern Africa. Its size, diet, behavior, poaching and slow recovery.
Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus
The blue whale is the largest animal known to have lived, up to about 30 m long. Facts on its size, krill diet, deep calls, calves, range and slow recovery.
Blue wildebeest
Connochaetes taurinus
The blue wildebeest, or brindled gnu, is a large grazing antelope of East and southern Africa, famed for the Serengeti's Great Migration. Size, diet and calves.
Bornean orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus
The Bornean orangutan is a Critically Endangered great ape found only on Borneo. Facts on its size, cheek pads, fruit diet, nightly nests, babies and threats.
Brown bear
Ursus arctos
The brown bear is the most widespread bear, found across North America, Europe and Asia, and includes grizzly and Kodiak bears. Size, diet, dens, life, status.
Brown-throated sloth
Bradypus variegatus
The brown-throated sloth is the most common three-toed sloth of Central and South America. Facts on its size, leaf diet, green fur, slow life and lifespan.
California sea lion
Zalophus californianus
The California sea lion is a clever, noisy eared seal of the Pacific coast. Its size, diet, breeding, barking, toxic algae threats and Least Concern status.
Canada lynx
Lynx canadensis
The Canada lynx is a long-legged wild cat of northern forests with huge snowshoe paws and black ear tufts. Facts on size, range, hare diet, kittens and status.
Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
The chimpanzee is an endangered great ape of equatorial Africa and, with the bonobo, our closest relative. Facts on size, diet, tools, social life and range.
Common bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
The common bottlenose dolphin is a large, social toothed whale of warm and temperate seas. Facts on its size, whistles, hunting, lifespan, range and threats.
Common pipistrelle
Pipistrellus pipistrellus
The common pipistrelle is a tiny European bat weighing 3.5–8.5 g that eats up to thousands of midges a night. Facts on its size, calls, roosts and protection.
Common vampire bat
Desmodus rotundus
The common vampire bat is a small Latin American bat that feeds only on blood, mostly from livestock. Facts on its size, heat-sensing nose, range and colonies.
Common warthog
Phacochoerus africanus
The common warthog is a wild African pig of savannas, with facial warts, curved tusks and a habit of grazing on its knees. Size, diet, burrows and predators.
Common wombat
Vombatus ursinus
The common wombat is a stocky burrowing marsupial of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, famous for cube-shaped droppings. Size, diet, burrows and lifespan.
Dromedary camel
Camelus dromedarius
The dromedary is the one-humped camel of Arabia and North Africa. Its fat-filled hump, how it survives without water, size, lifespan and domestication.
Eastern chipmunk
Tamias striatus
The eastern chipmunk is a small striped ground squirrel of eastern North America that hoards seeds in its burrow. Size, diet, pouches, winter torpor and calls.
Eastern cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus
The eastern cottontail is North America's most common wild rabbit. Facts on its cotton-ball tail, size, diet, grass nests, fast breeding, lifespan and enemies.
Eastern gorilla
Gorilla beringei
The eastern gorilla, home of mountain and Grauer's gorillas, is the largest living primate. Facts on its size, diet, family groups, range and Critical status.
Eastern gray squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
The eastern gray squirrel is the familiar park squirrel of eastern North America, invasive in Britain and Italy. Size, diet, nut caching, nests and lifespan.
Eurasian lynx
Lynx lynx
The Eurasian lynx is Europe's largest wild cat, a spotted forest hunter with black ear tufts that preys on roe deer. Size, diet, range and its return to Europe.
Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra
The Eurasian otter is a sleek, fish-eating member of the weasel family found on rivers and coasts from Ireland to Asia. Size, diet, holts, spraints, recovery.
European badger
Meles meles
The European badger is a stocky, black-and-white striped mammal that lives in family clans in underground setts and eats mostly earthworms. Size, diet, range.
European bison
Bison bonasus
The European bison, or wisent, is Europe's heaviest land animal. Wiped out in the wild by 1927 and saved from 12 zoo animals, it now roams forests again.
European hare
Lepus europaeus
The European or brown hare is a fast, long-eared hare of open farmland. Facts on its size, speed, spring boxing, leverets, diet, lifespan and status.
European hedgehog
Erinaceus europaeus
The European hedgehog is a small spiny insect-eater of Europe's gardens and hedgerows. Facts on its spines, diet, hibernation, hoglets, lifespan and decline.
European rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
The European rabbit is the wild ancestor of every domestic rabbit breed. Facts on its size, warrens, diet, breeding, lifespan and Endangered status in Iberia.
Fennec fox
Vulpes zerda
The fennec fox is the world's smallest fox, a Sahara desert specialist with huge ears. Facts on its size, burrows, diet, water, family life and status.
Giant anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla
The giant anteater is a toothless, ant-eating mammal of Central and South America. Facts on its size, long tongue, huge claws, babies, range and its status.
Giant panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
The giant panda is a black-and-white bear from the mountains of China that eats almost nothing but bamboo. Size, diet, cubs, lifespan and conservation status.
Gray whale
Eschrichtius robustus
The gray whale is a mottled North Pacific baleen whale that sucks prey from the seafloor and migrates between Arctic seas and Mexico. Size, diet and threats.
Harbor porpoise
Phocoena phocoena
The harbor porpoise is a small, shy toothed whale of cool coastal seas. Its size, clicks, diet, North Sea and Baltic range, short lifespan and bycatch threats.
Harbor seal
Phoca vitulina
The harbor seal is a spotted true seal of northern coasts in Europe, North America and Asia. Its size, fish diet, pups, diving, threats and conservation status.
Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius
The hippopotamus is Africa's giant river mammal: up to 1.5 tonnes or more, grazing at night and resting in water by day. Size, behavior, danger and status.
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth
Choloepus hoffmanni
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth is a nocturnal, tree-dwelling sloth of Central and South America. Facts on its size, claws, diet, babies, lifespan and how it lives.
Honey badger
Mellivora capensis
The honey badger, or ratel, is a tough mustelid of Africa and southern Asia. Facts on its loose skin, size, diet of snakes and bee larvae, range and lifespan.
Humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
The humpback whale is a 14–17 m baleen whale famous for its long flippers, breaching, bubble nets and male song. Facts on size, diet, migration and recovery.
Large flying fox
Pteropus vampyrus
The large flying fox is one of the world's biggest bats, with wings up to 1.5 m (5 ft) across. Facts on its fruit and nectar diet, eyesight, roosts and threats.
Least weasel
Mustela nivalis
The least weasel is the world's smallest carnivoran, weighing as little as 25 g. Its size, vole hunting, white winter coat, breeding, range and status.
Little brown bat
Myotis lucifugus
The little brown bat is a small North American insect-eating bat that can live over 30 years. Size, echolocation, colonies, hibernation and white-nose syndrome.
Nine-banded armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
The nine-banded armadillo is an armored, insect-eating mammal and the only armadillo in the US. Its shell, size, diet, quadruplet births and spread north.
North American beaver
Castor canadensis
The North American beaver is the largest rodent in North America, a dam-building wetland engineer. Its size, teeth, lodges, bark diet, family life and comeback.
North American porcupine
Erethizon dorsatum
The North American porcupine is a large, tree-climbing rodent covered in about 30,000 barbed quills. Its size, bark diet, salt cravings, predators and range.
North American river otter
Lontra canadensis
The North American river otter is a playful, fish-eating otter of rivers, lakes and coasts in Canada and the US. Its size, fur, diet, family life and comeback.
North Atlantic right whale
Eubalaena glacialis
The North Atlantic right whale is a rare baleen whale of the western Atlantic with no dorsal fin. Its size, copepod diet, calving, threats and survival odds.
Northern elephant seal
Mirounga angustirostris
The northern elephant seal is a giant true seal of the eastern Pacific. Its size, trunk-like nose, harems, record dives, molt and comeback from near extinction.
Plains zebra
Equus quagga
The plains zebra is the most common zebra, a striped wild horse of eastern and southern African grasslands. Size, stripes, herds, migration, diet and status.
Polar bear
Ursus maritimus
The polar bear is the largest land carnivore, a marine mammal that hunts seals from Arctic sea ice. Size, fur and black skin, dens, range, threats and status.
Pygmy hippopotamus
Choeropsis liberiensis
The pygmy hippopotamus is a small, shy forest hippo of West Africa, mainly Liberia. Facts on its size, night life, diet, calves, Endangered status and Moo Deng.
Red kangaroo
Osphranter rufus
The red kangaroo is the largest living marsupial, a fast hopper of Australia's dry interior. Size, speed, boxing males, joeys, diet and surviving drought.
Red squirrel
Sciurus vulgaris
The red squirrel is Eurasia's native tree squirrel, with ear tufts and a red to near-black coat. Size, diet, nests, lifespan and why it declined in Britain.
Ring-tailed lemur
Lemur catta
The ring-tailed lemur is an Endangered primate from southern Madagascar with a black-and-white striped tail. Size, troops led by females, diet, stink fights.
Short-beaked echidna
Tachyglossus aculeatus
The short-beaked echidna is a spiny, egg-laying mammal of Australia and New Guinea that eats ants and termites. Size, spines, puggles, hibernation and lifespan.
Snow leopard
Panthera uncia
The snow leopard is a big cat of the high mountains of Central and South Asia. Facts on its thick fur, long tail, size, prey, voice and Vulnerable status.
Sperm whale
Physeter macrocephalus
The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale, with males about 16 m (52 ft) long. Its huge head, record brain, deep squid dives, clicks and Vulnerable status.
Spotted hyena
Crocuta crocuta
The spotted hyena is Africa's most common large carnivore, a skilled hunter living in female-led clans. Facts on its size, bite, diet, calls and lifespan.
Striped skunk
Mephitis mephitis
The striped skunk is North America's familiar black-and-white skunk. Facts on its warning display, spray, size, omnivorous diet, dens, predators and lifespan.
Sunda pangolin
Manis javanica
The Sunda pangolin is a scaly, ant-eating mammal of Southeast Asia that rolls into a ball when threatened. Facts on its scales, diet, young and illegal trade.
Tasmanian devil
Sarcophilus harrisii
The Tasmanian devil is the largest living carnivorous marsupial, a noisy scavenger found only in Tasmania. Size, bite, diet, young and facial tumor disease.
Virginia opossum
Didelphis virginiana
The Virginia opossum is North America's only marsupial north of Mexico. Size, 50 teeth, prehensile tail, playing possum, diet, babies on the back and lifespan.
West Indian manatee
Trichechus manatus
The West Indian manatee is a gentle, plant-eating sea cow of Florida and the Caribbean. Size, diet, warm-water needs, breeding, threats and Vulnerable status.
Western gorilla
Gorilla gorilla
The western gorilla is a Critically Endangered great ape of Central African rainforests. Facts on its size, diet, silverback-led groups, range and threats.
White rhinoceros
Ceratotherium simum
The white rhino is the largest rhino, a 2-tonne grazer with a wide square lip. Facts on its size, herds, poaching and its comeback from near extinction.
White-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus
The white-tailed deer is the most widespread deer in the Americas, named for the white tail it flashes when alarmed. Size, antlers, fawns, diet, rut and range.
