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 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 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 axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic salamander related to the Tiger salamander. Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic...
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 Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant species of lizard. As a result of their size,...
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 Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It is the second-longest venomous snake after the King cobra. Despite its reputation as 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 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 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 Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a magnificent bird of prey found in North America. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. It builds the largest nest of any North...
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 King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a highly venomous snake endemic to jungles in Southern and Southeast Asia. The sole member of the genus Ophiophagus, it is distinguishable from other cobras, most noticeably by its size and neck patterns. The...
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 Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest living reptile and crocodilian known. It was hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s and is threatened by illegal killing and habitat loss. It is regarded as dangerous to...
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 Water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is a species of venomous pit viper. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers (along with the Florida cottonmouth) and is native to the southeastern United States. As an adult, it is large and...
The Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of prey in the...
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...
The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) is a very large stork-like bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on...
The Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a species of large freshwater turtle. It is noted for its combative disposition when out of the water with its powerful beak-like jaws, and highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific epithet...
The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a small, carnivorous mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family (commonly referred to as the weasel family), and is sometimes misleadingly referred to as a fisher cat, although it is not a...
The Common raven (Corvus corax) is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the Thick-billed raven, and is possibly the...
The Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is a large species of turtle in the family Chelydridae. The species is one of the heaviest freshwater turtles in the world. It is also the largest freshwater species of turtle in North America....
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized wild cat that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The association of the ocelot with humans dates back to the Aztec and Incan civilizations; it has occasionally been kept as a pet.
The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. Unlike most other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the...
The serval (Leptailurus serval ) is a wild cat native to Africa. It is rare in North Africa and the Sahel, but widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either...
The bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is one of the most common indigenous species of rat on the continent, found in many heathland areas of Victoria and New South Wales.
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the genus Alligator, and is probably the largest species within its family...
The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is an artiodactyl mammal that is found only in central Africa. It was not discovered until 1901. Okapia johnstoni, its taxonomic name, honors its native Central African name, as well as the man who ‘discovered’ it, the...
The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild cat. It was first scientifically described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Typically nocturnal, the caracal is highly secretive and difficult to observe. It was...
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in cold environments and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is...
The Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi ), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population of the...
The ermine (Mustela erminea) is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Introduced in the late 19th century into New Zealand to control rabbits, the ermine has had a devastating effect on native bird populations. It...
