The lion (Panthera leo ) is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It is the most widely recognized animal symbol in human culture and it has been extensively depicted in sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in...
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is among the most recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of...
The Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. It is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The Blue whale was once abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans until the end of the 19th century. It was hunted...
The Killer whale (Orcinus orca) is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. It is the largest member of this family. The sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors of Killer whales have been described as manifestations of...
The Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a bear species endemic to China. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the Red panda, a neighboring musteloid. The Giant panda has often served as China's national symbol,...
The wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the Gray wolf or Grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly understood, comprise wild...
The Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of Brown bears are called Grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the...
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. Because of...
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant...
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. It is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. The jaguar has featured prominently in the...
The cougar (Puma concolor) is a large cat native to the Americas. It is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Due to its wide range, the cougar has many names, including puma, Mountain lion, catamount,...
The Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a hypercarnivorous bear found within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear species, as well as the largest extant land...
The quokka (Setonix brachyurus), is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook these animals for giant rats, and renamed the Wadjemup island 't Eylandt 't Rottenest, which means "the rat...
The horse (Equus ferus caballus ) is a domesticated, odd-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small...
The raccoon (Procyon lotor), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely...
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph) with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being 93 and 98 km/h (58...
The coyote (Canis latrans) is a species of canine native to North America. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the Golden jackal does in Eurasia. The coyote is larger and more predatory and was once referred to as the American jackal by a...
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (Alces alces) is a member of the New World deer subfamily. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of...
The narwhal, also known as a narwhale (Monodon monoceros), is a medium-sized toothed whale with a large "tusk" from a protruding canine tooth. It is one of two living species of whale in the family Monodontidae, along with the Beluga whale. Narwhals...
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae. The leopard is distinguished by its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic hunting behavior, broad diet, strength, and its...
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the Pygmy hippopotamus. Its name comes from the ancient Greek...
The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It is featured in some stories of the indigenous peoples of North and Central America and in the folklore of European-descended inhabitants of the Americas.
The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented...
The Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is not closely related to the Giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "false thumbs" used for grasping...
The dingo (Canis familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis dingo, or Canis lupus dingo) is an ancient (basal) lineage of dog found in Australia. It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies, a...
The alpaca (Lama pacos) is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfully...
The Guinea pig or Domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is a species of rodent belonging to the genus Cavia in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word cavy to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts, it is far...
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world, following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls,...
The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent and a member of the genus Hydrochoerus. Its close relatives include guinea pigs and Rock cavies, and it is more distantly...
Sheep or Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, Domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep....
The Sperm whale or cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the...
The American bison (Bison bison) is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as buffalo (a distinct species of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the European bison. Once roaming in...
The Honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Despite its name, the Honey badger does not closely resemble other badger species; instead, it bears more anatomical...
The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is the nominate Tiger subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The Bengal tiger is estimated to have been present in the...
The bonobo (Pan paniscus) is an endangered species of great ape found in a 500,000 km2 (190,000 sq mi) area of the Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa. Bonobos are one of the closest living relatives to humans,...
The Domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, Equus africanus, and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, Equus africanus asinus, or as a separate...
The goat or domestic goat (Capra hircus ) is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (C. aegagrus ) of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family...
The llama(Lama glama) is a domesticated South American camelid. It is widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. The ancestors of llamas are thought to have originated from the Great Plains of North America...
The Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a felid native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. The Snow leopard is adapted to living in a cold, mountainous environment and is capable of killing most animals in its range.
The Wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as the least concern on the IUCN Red...
The Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been...
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on...