Animal Atlas

About Animal Atlas

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Animal Atlas answers the questions people ask about animals: what they eat, how long they live, how big and how fast they are, where they live and whether they are in danger. Every page gives the answer in its first sentence and then the detail behind it.

Contact

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You can reach the Animal Atlas editorial team by email at animals@bigworldlist.com.

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We check every report against standard references and update the article when needed. See our editorial policy for how corrections are handled.

Editorial Policy

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research

Our articles are based on established references: the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for conservation status, Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan), the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife and bird organizations, and standard field guides and encyclopedias. The main sources for each article are listed at the end under Sources and further reading.

Privacy Policy

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: November 2, 2026

This policy explains how Animal Atlas (“we”, “us”) handles information when you visit animals.bigworldlist.com. It is written for readers in the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: November 2, 2026

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Information only

Animal Atlas publishes general educational articles about animals. We work hard to be accurate, but we cannot guarantee that every article is complete or free of errors, and scientific knowledge and conservation assessments change over time. Our articles are not veterinary, medical or safety advice. Please check important facts against the sources listed in each article, and in an emergency contact the local emergency services.

How Long Do Cheetahs Live? Lifespan and Cub Survival in the Wild

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:27:03 +0000

Wild cheetahs that survive to adulthood usually live about 6–10 years, and some females reach about 14. In zoos, cheetahs can live 17–20 years. Most cheetahs never get the chance, though: in many areas the great majority of cubs die in their first months, mainly killed by lions and hyenas.

Why Do Cheetahs Have Tear Marks? The Black Lines Explained

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:27:02 +0000

Nobody knows for certain why cheetahs have tear marks. The leading idea is that the black lines absorb sunlight and reduce glare, helping a cheetah keep its eyes on prey during daytime hunts. Another is that they make facial expressions easier to read at close range. Neither has been proven in cheetahs.

Are Cheetahs Endangered? Cheetah Numbers, Status and Threats

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:27:01 +0000

Cheetahs are not officially classed as Endangered, but they are threatened: the IUCN Red List lists the cheetah as Vulnerable, with only about 6,500–7,100 adults left in the wild. Some scientists argue it should be uplisted to Endangered, and the Asiatic cheetah of Iran is Critically Endangered, with only a few dozen animals left.

What Do Cheetahs Eat? Cheetah Prey and Hunting Success

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:27:00 +0000

Cheetahs are carnivores that eat mostly small and medium-sized antelopes, especially gazelles, impala and springbok, along with hares, young warthogs and ground birds. They hunt in daylight, sprint to catch their prey and must eat fast, because lions and hyenas often steal their kills.

How Many Wolves Are in a Pack? Wolf Pack Size and Roles

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:59 +0000

Most wolf packs have about 5 to 10 wolves, with average pack sizes of around eight in North America and five or six in Europe. A pack is a family: usually a breeding pair and their pups from the last one to three years. Exceptional packs have grown to more than 30 wolves.

Where Do Wolves Live? Wolf Range in North America and Europe

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:58 +0000

Gray wolves live across the Northern Hemisphere: in Canada and Alaska, the northern and western United States, Mexico, most of Europe and much of Asia, from Russia to India. They are habitat generalists that live in forests, tundra, prairies, mountains and semi-deserts, wherever they find large prey and are left alone by people.

How Big Are Wolves? Gray Wolf Size, Weight and Height

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:57 +0000

Most adult gray wolves weigh 23–55 kg (50–120 lb), stand about 66–85 cm (26–33 in) tall at the shoulder and measure 105–160 cm (41–63 in) from nose to rump, plus a tail of 29–50 cm (11–20 in). Wolves in the far north are bigger than those in the south, and males are slightly larger than females.

What Do Wolves Eat? Wolf Diet, Prey and Pack Hunting

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:56 +0000

Wolves are carnivores that mainly hunt large hoofed animals, such as elk, moose, deer, caribou, bison and wild boar. They also catch beavers, hares and rodents, scavenge carcasses and eat some fruit. A wolf can eat about 9 kg (20 lb) of meat at one sitting and then go days without food.

Why Are There So Many Foxes in Cities? Urban Fox Facts

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:55 +0000

There are so many foxes in cities because suburbs give red foxes almost everything they need: plenty of food, safe places to dig dens, mild winters and very few predators or hunters. Red foxes are highly adaptable, and since the 1930s they have moved into towns across Britain, Europe, North America and Australia.

What Is a Baby Fox Called? Fox Kits, Cubs and Family Life

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:54 +0000

A baby fox is called a kit, a cub or a pup; all three words are correct. Kit is most common in North America and cub in Britain. Fox kits are born blind and helpless in an underground den in spring, and they grow so quickly that they leave home in their first autumn.

How Long Do Foxes Live? Fox Lifespan in the Wild and Captivity

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:53 +0000

Most wild foxes live only two to three years, and very few pass about eight years of age, even though a fox’s body can last much longer. In captivity, red foxes can live up to about 15 years. The gap is caused by the dangers of wild life: traffic, disease, predators, hunger and people.

Are Foxes Dogs or Cats? Where Foxes Fit in the Family Tree

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:52 +0000

Foxes are not cats. They belong to the dog family, Canidae, together with wolves, coyotes, jackals and domestic dogs. Yet foxes share several features with cats, such as vertical slit pupils, a stalk-and-pounce hunting style and, in the gray fox, the ability to climb trees, which is why many people are unsure.

What Sound Does a Fox Make? Screams, Barks and Gekkering

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:51 +0000

Foxes make a surprising range of sounds: barks, yaps, screams, whines, growls and a rattling chatter called gekkering. The most famous is the vixen’s eerie scream on winter nights, which can sound like a person in distress. Red foxes are noisiest in the mating season from December to February, mostly after dark.

What Do Weasels Eat? Least Weasel Diet and Hunting

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:50 +0000

Weasels eat mainly small rodents, especially voles and mice. The least weasel also takes lemmings, shrews, young rats and moles, young rabbits, small birds, eggs and chicks, and now and then lizards, frogs and insects. It hunts its prey inside burrows and under snow, and it must eat about a third of its body weight every day.

What Is the Smallest Carnivore? The Least Weasel Explained

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:49 +0000

The smallest carnivore in the world is the least weasel (Mustela nivalis). The tiniest individuals, which live in North America and Siberia, weigh only about 25–60 g (0.9–2 oz), as much as two or three mice. No other member of the order Carnivora, the group that includes cats, dogs, bears and weasels, is as small.

Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis): Smallest Carnivore Facts

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:48 +0000

The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) is the smallest carnivoran in the world, a slender, brown-and-white member of the weasel family that weighs as little as 25 g (0.9 oz). It lives across Europe, North Africa, Asia and northern North America and hunts voles and mice inside their own tunnels, even under the winter snow.

What Do Wolverines Eat? Scavenging and Hunting in Snow

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:47 +0000

Wolverines are carnivores and scavengers. In winter they live largely on carrion, the remains of reindeer, caribou, moose and deer killed by wolves, bears, lynx, avalanches or starvation. They also hunt: hares, marmots, ground squirrels, voles, birds and eggs in summer, and reindeer or caribou that flounder in deep snow. Surplus food is cached in snow.

Where Do Wolverines Live? Range in North America and Europe

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:46 +0000

Wolverines live in the cold far north of the Northern Hemisphere: Alaska and Canada, the northern Rocky Mountains and Cascades of the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Mongolia and northeast China. They favor remote boreal forest, tundra and high mountains, and they need places where deep snow lasts well into spring.

How Strong Is a Wolverine? Facts Behind Its Fierce Reputation

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:45 +0000

A wolverine is extraordinarily strong for its size. Weighing only 8–18 kg (18–40 lb), about as much as a medium dog, it can crush frozen bones, kill reindeer and caribou floundering in deep snow, drag carcasses heavier than itself and sometimes bluff wolves or bears away from food. Some popular stories, though, are exaggerated.

Wolverine (Gulo gulo): Facts, Strength, Habitat and Diet

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:44 +0000

The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest land-dwelling member of the weasel family, a stocky, powerful carnivore of the far north. About the size of a medium dog, it roams snowy forests, mountains and tundra in North America, Scandinavia and Russia, living mostly by scavenging carcasses and hunting animals that flounder in deep snow.

How Do Pangolins Protect Themselves? Rolling Into a Ball

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:43 +0000

Pangolins protect themselves mainly by rolling into a tight ball, tucking the head and soft belly inside and leaving only hard, overlapping scales exposed. The scales have sharp edges, and pangolins also flee, hide in burrows or tree hollows, lash their tails and release a foul-smelling secretion to put off predators.

Are Pangolins Reptiles? The Scaly Mammal Explained

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:42 +0000

No, pangolins are not reptiles. They are mammals: they have hair, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk. Their scales look reptilian, but they are made of keratin, the same protein as human fingernails, and grow in a very different way from the scales of snakes or lizards.

Why Are Pangolins Trafficked? The Scale Trade Explained

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:41 +0000

Pangolins are trafficked mainly for two things: their scales, which are used in traditional medicine even though they have no proven medical effect, and their meat, which is eaten as a costly luxury food in parts of Asia. Because they are easy to catch, they are thought to be the most trafficked wild mammals on Earth.

Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica): Facts and Conservation

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:40 +0000

The Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), also called the Malayan or Javan pangolin, is a nocturnal, ant-eating mammal of Southeast Asia covered in overlapping brown scales. It climbs trees with a grasping tail, rolls into a tight ball when threatened and is Critically Endangered because of illegal hunting and trade.

Stoat vs Weasel: Size, Tail Tip and How to Tell Them Apart

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:26:39 +0000

The easiest way to tell a stoat from a weasel is the tail: a stoat’s tail is fairly long and always ends in a bushy black tip, while the least weasel’s tail is short, stubby and plain brown. The stoat is also clearly bigger, and it moves with longer bounds.