Mammals
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.
Habitat · 73 species
Animals of wetlands
Animals of marshes, swamps and bogs, from alligators and herons to frogs, dragonflies and beavers.
Species profiles
Mammals
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.
Reptiles
Alligator snapping turtle
Macrochelys temminckii
The alligator snapping turtle is North America's largest freshwater turtle. Facts on its ridged shell, worm-like tongue lure, size, lifespan, range and threats.
Reptiles
American alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
The American alligator is a large crocodilian of southeastern US wetlands. Facts on its size, diet, nesting, gator holes and its comeback from near extinction.
Mammals
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.
Amphibians
American bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
The American bullfrog is North America's largest true frog, up to 20 cm long and 500 g. Its size, deep call, diet, tadpoles, range and spread as an invasive.
Reptiles
American crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
The American crocodile lives in coastal mangroves from south Florida to Peru and Venezuela. Facts on its size, salt tolerance, nesting and Florida recovery.
Birds
American flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber
The American flamingo is the brightest pink flamingo, a filter feeder of Caribbean lagoons. Facts on its size, color, diet, mud nests, range and lifespan.
Amphibians
American toad
Anaxyrus americanus
The American toad is the common warty toad of eastern North America: its size, colors, long musical trill, garden and woodland habitat, breeding and lifespan.
Crustaceans
Atlantic blue crab
Callinectes sapidus
The Atlantic blue crab is a swimming crab of Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with blue claws and paddle legs. Its size, diet, molting and life cycle.
Other Invertebrates
Australian box jellyfish
Chironex fleckeri
The Australian box jellyfish is a cube-shaped, fast-swimming jellyfish of northern Australia with 60 tentacles, 24 eyes and a sting that can kill in minutes.
Amphibians
Axolotl
Ambystoma mexicanum
The axolotl is a Mexican salamander that keeps its gills and lives in water for life. Facts on its size, colors, diet, regeneration and endangered status.
Birds
Bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
The bald eagle is North America's sea eagle and the US national bird. Facts on its size, white head, fish diet, giant nests, range, lifespan and DDT recovery.
Birds
Barn swallow
Hirundo rustica
The barn swallow is the world's most widespread swallow: a fork-tailed insect hunter that nests in barns and migrates between continents. Size, diet, lifespan.
Mammals
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.
Birds
Brown pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
The brown pelican is the smallest pelican and the only one that plunge-dives for fish. Facts on its size, pouch, colonies, range and recovery from DDT.
Reptiles
Burmese python
Python bivittatus
The Burmese python is a giant constrictor of Southeast Asia that can top 5 m. Facts on size, ambush hunting, egg brooding and its invasion of the Everglades.
Birds
Canada goose
Branta canadensis
The Canada goose is a large black-necked goose native to North America and introduced to Europe. Facts on size, migration, diet, nesting, lifespan and status.
Amphibians
Common frog
Rana temporaria
The common frog is Europe's most widespread frog, from Ireland to the Urals and beyond the Arctic Circle. Its colors, spawn, tadpoles, diet and winter habits.
Reptiles
Common garter snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
The common garter snake is a striped, harmless snake found across most of North America. Facts on its size, color forms, diet, live birth and winter dens.
Insects
Common green darner
Anax junius
The common green darner is a large North American dragonfly with a green thorax and blue abdomen. Its size, hunting, nymphs and multigeneration migration.
Birds
Common kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
The common kingfisher is a sparrow-sized blue and orange bird of rivers in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Its size, fishing dives, burrow nests and lifespan.
Mammals
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.
Reptiles
Common snapping turtle
Chelydra serpentina
The common snapping turtle is a big, rough-shelled freshwater turtle of North America. Facts on its size, powerful bite, diet, nesting, lifespan and range.
Amphibians
Common toad
Bufo bufo
The common toad is Europe's familiar warty brown toad, up to 12 cm long. Its copper eyes, skin toxins, night hunting, spring migrations, spawn and lifespan.
Reptiles
Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
The copperhead is a camouflaged pit viper of the eastern US. How to identify its hourglass bands, plus its size, range, diet, live young and real bite risk.
Reptiles
Cottonmouth
Agkistrodon piscivorus
The cottonmouth, or water moccasin, is a venomous semi-aquatic pit viper of the southeastern US. Its size, white-mouth display, fish diet, live young and range.
Reptiles
Eastern box turtle
Terrapene carolina
The eastern box turtle is a small land turtle of eastern US woods that can shut its hinged shell tight and may live 100 years. Size, diet, range and threats.
Reptiles
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
The eastern diamondback is the largest rattlesnake: a heavy pit viper of southeastern US pine forests. Size, diamond pattern, diet, birth, venom and decline.
Fish
Electric eel
Electrophorus electricus
The electric eel is an air-breathing South American knifefish, not a true eel, that stuns prey with shocks of hundreds of volts. Size, habitat, diet and life.
Mammals
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.
Mammals
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.
Reptiles
Grass snake
Natrix natrix
The grass snake is Europe's harmless, water-loving snake with a yellow collar. Its size, frog diet, compost-heap eggs, playing dead and the 2017 species split.
Birds
Great blue heron
Ardea herodias
The great blue heron is North America's largest heron. Facts on its size, slow flight, fish diet, treetop colonies, the white Florida form, migration and range.
Amphibians
Great crested newt
Triturus cristatus
The great crested newt is Britain's largest newt, with warty dark skin, an orange belly and a jagged male crest. Its size, ponds, life cycle and legal status.
Birds
Greater flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus
The greater flamingo is the largest and most widespread flamingo, found from Spain and France to Africa and India. Its size, diet, colonies and lifespan.
Reptiles
Green anaconda
Eunectes murinus
The green anaconda is the world's heaviest snake, a giant boa of South American swamps and rivers. Facts on its size, hunting, breeding balls and live birth.
Mammals
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.
Reptiles
King cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, usually 3–4 m long. Facts on its size, hood and growl, snake-eating diet, nests, range and status.
Mammals
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.
Reptiles
Nile crocodile
Crocodylus niloticus
The Nile crocodile is Africa's largest reptile and second-largest crocodile. Its size, range, hunting, nesting, danger to people and the West African split.
Mammals
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.
Mammals
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.
Birds
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
The northern cardinal is a crested red songbird of eastern North America and the state bird of seven US states. Facts on its size, song, diet, nests and range.
Reptiles
Northern water snake
Nerodia sipedon
The northern water snake is a harmless banded snake of ponds and streams in eastern North America. Its size, range, fish diet, live young and cottonmouth ID.
Birds
Pileated woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
The pileated woodpecker is North America's largest common woodpecker, a crow-sized bird with a red crest. Facts on its size, carpenter ant diet, nests, range.
Mammals
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.
Fish
Red-bellied piranha
Pygocentrus nattereri
The red-bellied piranha is a South American river fish with razor-sharp teeth, a varied diet and a fearsome but exaggerated reputation. Size, range and habits.
Amphibians
Red-eyed tree frog
Agalychnis callidryas
The red-eyed tree frog is a small nocturnal frog of Central American rainforests. Its size, colors, startle display, diet, eggs on leaves, lifespan and status.
Reptiles
Reticulated python
Malayopython reticulatus
The reticulated python of Southeast Asia is the world's longest snake, measured at almost 7 m in the wild. Facts on its size, net-like pattern, diet and range.
Reptiles
Saltwater crocodile
Crocodylus porosus
The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile. Its size, range from India to Australia, life at sea, hunting, nesting, recovery and the risk to people.
Birds
Sandhill crane
Antigone canadensis
The sandhill crane is the most numerous crane on Earth: a tall gray bird with a red crown and bugling call. Facts on its size, dances, diet, migration and life.
Birds
Southern cassowary
Casuarius casuarius
The southern cassowary is a huge flightless rainforest bird of New Guinea and Queensland with a blue neck, a tall casque and a dagger claw. Size, diet, habits.
Reptiles
Timber rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus
The timber rattlesnake is a large, calm pit viper of eastern US forests. Facts on its color phases, size, range, winter dens, slow breeding and protection.
Birds
Toco toucan
Ramphastos toco
The toco toucan is the largest toucan, a black and white South American bird with a huge orange bill. Facts on its size, beak, fruit diet, nesting and range.
Mammals
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.
Mammals
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.
Mammals
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.
Birds
White stork
Ciconia ciconia
The white stork is a tall black-and-white bird that nests on rooftops and migrates from Europe to Africa. Facts on its size, diet, bill-clattering and comeback.
Amphibians
Wood frog
Lithobates sylvaticus
The wood frog is a masked brown frog of North American forests that survives winter frozen. Its size, range to Alaska, vernal pool breeding, calls and life.