Region · 96 species
Animals of Africa
Animals of Africa, from the lions, elephants and giraffes of the savanna to gorillas, crocodiles and desert wildlife.
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 gray parrot
Psittacus erithacus
The African gray parrot is a gray, red-tailed parrot of Central and West African rainforests, famed for its intelligence and speech. Size, diet and threats.
African penguin
Spheniscus demersus
The African penguin is the only penguin that breeds in Africa and is now Critically Endangered. Its looks, braying calls, colonies, diet, breeding 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.
Aldabra giant tortoise
Aldabrachelys gigantea
The Aldabra giant tortoise is one of the world's largest tortoises, living over 100 years on a remote Seychelles atoll. Size, diet, tortoise turf and status.
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.
Atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a giant, warm-bodied ocean fish of up to 679 kg (1,496 lb). Its size, migrations, spawning, diet and recovery from overfishing.
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.
Black mamba
Dendroaspis polylepis
The black mamba is Africa's longest venomous snake, usually 2–3 m long and gray-brown, not black. Facts on its size, real speed, habitat, diet and venom.
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 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.
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bombus terrestris
The buff-tailed bumblebee is one of Europe's commonest bumblebees: an early-flying pollinator with a yearly colony, used in greenhouses and invasive abroad.
Bull shark
Carcharhinus leucas
The bull shark is a stocky coastal shark that can swim far up rivers into fresh water. Its size, diet, river nurseries, risk to people and Vulnerable 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 cuttlefish
Sepia officinalis
The common cuttlefish is a European cephalopod that changes color, pattern and skin texture in under a second. Size, cuttlebone, hunting, range and lifespan.
Common harvestman
Phalangium opilio
The common harvestman is a long-legged arachnid, not a spider: one-piece body, two eyes, no silk, no venom. Size, diet, range, life cycle and detachable legs.
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.
Common octopus
Octopus vulgaris
The common octopus is a clever, eight-armed mollusk of the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Its size, three hearts, camouflage, diet, dens and short life.
Common ostrich
Struthio camelus
The common ostrich is the largest living bird, up to 2.75 m tall and 130 kg. Facts on its speed, two-toed feet, giant eggs, shared nests, range and status.
Common pill bug
Armadillidium vulgare
The common pill bug is a land crustacean, not an insect, that rolls into a ball and eats dead leaves. Facts on its looks, range, diet, breeding and lifespan.
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 raven
Corvus corax
The common raven is a huge all-black songbird of the Northern Hemisphere, famous for deep croaks, play and problem-solving. Size, diet, nests, lifespan, myths.
Common swift
Apus apus
The common swift is a dark, sickle-winged bird that feeds, drinks and sleeps on the wing for most of the year. Size, diet, nesting, migration and decline.
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.
Deathstalker
Leiurus quinquestriatus
The deathstalker is a pale yellow desert scorpion of North Africa with one of the most potent scorpion venoms known. Size, range, hunting, young and real risk.
Desert locust
Schistocerca gregaria
The desert locust is a grasshopper that can switch from a shy loner to a swarming plague insect. Facts on its phases, swarms, diet, life cycle and upsurges.
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 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 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 eel
Anguilla anguilla
The European eel grows up in rivers from Iceland to North Africa but is born in the Sargasso Sea. Its life cycle, size, diet, lifespan and why it is endangered.
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.
European robin
Erithacus rubecula
The European robin is a small orange-breasted songbird of Europe's gardens and woods. Facts on its size, song, fierce territories, nests, lifespan and range.
European starling
Sturnus vulgaris
The European starling is a glossy, speckled songbird famous for mimicry and huge murmurations. Facts on its size, diet, nests, lifespan and spread to America.
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.
Garden snail
Cornu aspersum
The garden snail is a brown land snail from the Mediterranean and western Europe, now found worldwide. Facts on its shell, diet, slime, mating and lifespan.
Giant African millipede
Archispirostreptus gigas
The giant African millipede is the largest living millipede, up to 33.5 cm long. Its legs, slow detritus diet, curling defense, mites and lifespan explained.
Golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
The golden eagle is the most widespread eagle in the world, a dark brown hunter of hares and ground squirrels with 2 m wings. Size, range, diet and threats.
Great hammerhead
Sphyrna mokarran
The great hammerhead is the biggest hammerhead shark, up to 6 m (20 ft) long. Its T-shaped head, stingray diet, warm-sea range and Critically Endangered status.
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.
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.
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.
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.
House centipede
Scutigera coleoptrata
The house centipede has 15 pairs of long legs, runs about 0.4 m (1.3 ft) per second and hunts insects in homes. Its size, eyes, venom, range and lifespan.
House sparrow
Passer domesticus
The house sparrow is a small, chirpy seed-eater that lives alongside people on every inhabited continent. Facts on its size, plumage, diet, nesting and decline.
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.
Leopard slug
Limax maximus
The leopard slug is a large spotted land slug of Europe, now also in North America. Facts on its size, hidden shell, diet, mating on a slime rope and lifespan.
Magnificent sea anemone
Radianthus magnifica
The magnificent sea anemone is a large Indo-Pacific reef anemone and clownfish host. Its size, colors, algae partners, movement, bleaching and new name.
Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
The monarch is an orange-and-black milkweed butterfly famous for flying up to 4,800 km to winter in Mexico. Its looks, size, life cycle, toxins and status.
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.
Painted lady
Vanessa cardui
The painted lady is the most widespread butterfly on Earth, found on every continent except Antarctica. Its looks, host plants, life cycle and migration.
Panther chameleon
Furcifer pardalis
The panther chameleon is Madagascar's most colorful chameleon. Facts on its color forms, rival displays, tongue, eyes, size, short wild life and breeding.
Peacock mantis shrimp
Odontodactylus scyllarus
The peacock mantis shrimp is a colorful Indo-Pacific reef crustacean with a club strike of up to 23 m/s and complex eyes. Facts on size, diet, burrows and life.
Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus
The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on Earth, diving at over 300 km/h. Facts on its size, bird diet, worldwide range, city nests and recovery from DDT.
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.
Praying mantis
Mantis religiosa
The praying mantis is a green or brown ambush hunter 5–8 cm long with spiny grasping forelegs. How it hunts, sees in 3D, mates and survives winter as an egg.
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.
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.
Rock pigeon
Columba livia
The rock pigeon is the wild cliff bird behind every city pigeon and homing pigeon. Facts on its size, range, nests, crop milk, intelligence and history.
Sacred scarab
Scarabaeus sacer
The sacred scarab is a black ball-rolling dung beetle of the Mediterranean and North Africa, revered in ancient Egypt. Size, dung balls, larvae and range.
Secretary bird
Sagittarius serpentarius
The secretary bird is an African bird of prey with an eagle's body on crane-like legs that kills prey by stamping. Facts on its size, diet, nesting and status.
Seven-spot ladybug
Coccinella septempunctata
The seven-spot ladybug is a red beetle 5–8 mm long with seven black spots that hunts aphids. Its life cycle, defenses, winter clusters and spread to America.
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.
Wandering albatross
Diomedea exulans
The wandering albatross has the longest wings of any living bird, about 3 m (10 ft) across. Facts on its soaring flight, slow breeding, long life and threats.
West Indian Ocean coelacanth
Latimeria chalumnae
The coelacanth is a deep-water lobe-finned fish thought extinct for 66 million years until 1938. Size, caves, live birth, long life and why it is endangered.
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.
Western honey bee
Apis mellifera
The western honey bee is a social bee that lives in colonies of up to 80,000. Facts on its queen, workers and drones, comb, waggle dance, honey and spread.
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 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.
White-spotted puffer
Arothron hispidus
The white-spotted puffer is a common Indo-Pacific pufferfish that inflates with water, has a beak of fused teeth and carries tetrodotoxin. Size, diet and range.
