Animals That Start With K: 20 Animals From Kangaroo to Kookaburra

Kakapo

The kakapo of New Zealand is the world’s only flightless parrot and also its heaviest, with males averaging about 2 kg (4.4 lb). It is active at night, and males attract females with deep booming calls. Only a few hundred birds survive, each one named and monitored on predator-free islands, and the species is Critically Endangered.

Kangaroo

Kangaroos are marsupials of Australia that hop on their powerful hind legs and use their thick tail for balance. The red kangaroo is the largest marsupial alive today: big males stand about 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 ft) tall and weigh 55–90 kg (121–198 lb), and they can reach around 60 km/h (37 mph). A baby kangaroo is called a joey.

Kangaroo rat

Kangaroo rats are small rodents of the deserts and dry grasslands of western North America that hop on long hind legs, much like tiny kangaroos. Merriam’s kangaroo rat gets all the water it needs from the dry seeds it eats and never needs to drink. When a snake comes close, kangaroo rats may drum their feet or kick sand at it.

Katydid

Katydids, also called bush crickets, are leaf-green insects related to crickets and grasshoppers, and many look remarkably like leaves. Their ears are on their front legs, and males “sing” by rubbing their wings together. The common true katydid of eastern North America is named for its call, which sounds like “katy-did, katy-didn’t”.

Kea

The kea is a large olive-green parrot of the forests and mountains of New Zealand’s South Island, and one of very few parrots at home in alpine country. It is famous for its intelligence and curiosity, which sometimes leads it to tear at tents, backpacks and parts of cars. It is listed as Endangered.

Kestrel

The common kestrel of Europe, Asia and Africa is a small falcon famous for hovering in one spot while it watches the ground for voles. Kestrels can see ultraviolet light, which may help them spot the scent trails voles leave behind. The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America.

Killdeer

The killdeer is a North American plover named after its loud, shrill call. It often nests on bare gravel, including parking lots and flat gravel roofs, and protects its eggs with a “broken-wing” act, fluttering along the ground to lure predators away. In 2024 it was moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened because of long-term declines.

Killer whale

The killer whale, or orca, is actually the largest member of the dolphin family. Males are typically 6–8 m (20–26 ft) long, weigh more than 6 tonnes and have a dorsal fin that can be taller than a person. Orcas live in close family pods in every ocean, and different populations specialize in prey from fish to seals and other whales.

King cobra

The king cobra of South and Southeast Asia is the world’s longest venomous snake, usually 3.2–4 m (10–13 ft) long, with a record of 5.85 m (19 ft). It feeds mainly on other snakes and is the only snake known to build a nest for its eggs, which the female guards. In 2024 scientists proposed splitting it into four species. It is listed as Vulnerable.

King penguin

The king penguin is the second-largest penguin, standing 70–100 cm (28–39 in) tall, and breeds on subantarctic islands such as South Georgia. It builds no nest; instead it carries its single egg on its feet under a fold of belly skin. Raising a chick takes 14–16 months, so a pair can breed at most twice in three years.

Kingfisher

The common kingfisher is a small, brilliant blue-and-orange bird of rivers and lakes across Europe and Asia that dives headfirst into the water to catch fish. Its long, pointed bill enters the water with barely a splash, an idea Japanese engineers borrowed to reshape the nose of a bullet train; read how kingfishers inspired bullet trains.

Kinkajou

The kinkajou is a rainforest mammal of Central and South America, related to raccoons, with a gripping prehensile tail that it uses like an extra hand. It feeds mostly on ripe fruit and uses its long tongue to lick nectar from flowers, which has earned it the nickname “honey bear”. It can turn its hind feet backward to climb down trees headfirst.

Kit fox

The kit fox is one of the smallest wild dogs in North America, living in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its very large ears help it hear prey such as kangaroo rats at night and release heat during the day. The San Joaquin kit fox of California is still protected as an endangered subspecies.

Kiwi

Kiwi are flightless, nocturnal birds found only in New Zealand, where five species live. They are the only birds with nostrils at the tip of the beak, which they use to sniff out worms and insects in the soil. A female’s egg can weigh up to about 20% of her body weight, one of the largest eggs for body size of any bird.

Klipspringer

The klipspringer is a small antelope of rocky hills and outcrops in eastern and southern Africa, weighing 8–18 kg (18–40 lb). It walks on the very tips of its rounded hooves, which grip rock and let it bounce nimbly across cliffs. Its name means “rock jumper” in Afrikaans, and pairs usually stay together.

Koala

The koala of eastern Australia is a marsupial, not a bear, and its closest living relatives are wombats. It feeds almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves, which are low in energy, so it sleeps or rests for most of the day. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable; see are koalas bears?

Komodo dragon

The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard, reaching up to 3 m (10 ft), with wild adults usually weighing around 70 kg (150 lb). It lives on Komodo, Rinca, Flores and a few nearby Indonesian islands. Females can sometimes lay fertile eggs without mating, and the species is Endangered.

Kookaburra

The laughing kookaburra is a large kingfisher of eastern Australia, also introduced to Tasmania, southwestern Australia and New Zealand. Its loud call, which sounds like raucous laughter, is used by family groups to mark their territory, often at dawn and dusk. Despite being kingfishers, kookaburras eat mainly insects, lizards, small snakes and other small land animals, and only rarely fish.

Krill

Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans. Antarctic krill, which grow up to about 6 cm (2.4 in) long, are among the most abundant animals on Earth, with a combined weight estimated at around 500 million tonnes. They form the base of the Southern Ocean food web, feeding whales, seals, penguins and fish.

Kudu

The greater kudu is a large antelope of eastern and southern Africa with pale stripes on its sides. Males carry spiraling horns with about two and a half twists, averaging 120 cm (47 in) if straightened, with a record of nearly 1.9 m (6.2 ft). Kudus are shy browsers that hide in thick bush, and the species is listed as Least Concern.