Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,825 · Stories: 19,540

• Common Swift Apus apus

  

  A summer visitor to the UK, the Common Swift spends almost all its life on the wing, catching small insects and spiders in the air.

• Northern Tamandua Tamandua mexicana

  The northern tamandua ranges from southeastern Mexico through Central America to northern Peru west of the Andes. It is partly arboreal and feeds mainly on ants and termites.

• European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis

  A study in eastern Poland found ampicillin resistance among Aeromonas isolates from turtles and water.

• Wild boar Sus scrofa

  A robust wild pig native to Europe and Asia. It uses habitats with water and dense vegetation for cover.

• White-tailed Ptarmigan Lagopus leucura

  This ptarmigan inhabits alpine areas of western North America. Its plumage changes with the seasons, and feathers cover its feet.

• Grand Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros grandis

  Surveys in central Vietnam recorded this bat in forests and orchards near limestone areas. The paper says that its taxonomy and distribution still need clarification.

• Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus

  A long-necked waterbird known for its showy breeding feathers.

• Carolina Anole Anolis carolinensis

  Males of this lizard can extend skin under the throat.

• Red-tailed Vanga Calicalicus madagascariensis

  The Red-tailed Vanga is about 13–14 cm long. By day it uses forest, second growth, and brushland in Madagascar and eats invertebrates.

• Walrus Odobenus rosmarus

  A northern marine mammal recognized by long tusks and sturdy whiskers around its muzzle.

• Long-tailed chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera

  A chinchilla of dry rocky habitats in Chile, with dense soft fur and large ears. Rock crevices provide shelter.

• Western Japanese skink Plestiodon japonicus

  A smooth-scaled lizard of woodland edges and stone walls that basks during the day.

• Eurasian wren Troglodytes troglodytes

  A tiny brown bird with a loud, extended song. In Japan it breeds in habitats such as woodland beside mountain streams.

• Great Black-headed Gull Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus

  Great Black-headed Gulls breed from the Black Sea region east to Mongolia and move south for winter. In Hong Kong, they have been recorded on an estuary mudflat during winter and passage periods.

• Gambian Rat Cricetomys gambianus

  A rat with large cheek pouches for carrying food, it rests in burrows or hollow trees by day and searches for food at night.

• Domestic goat Capra hircus

  A goat raised by people for milk, fiber and meat. It prefers the company of other goats.

• Campbell's alligator lizard Abronia campbelli

  An arboreal lizard from Guatemala. In a 2009 survey, animals were found in old oak trees covered with dense plant growth.

• Noisy Scrubbird Atrichornis clamosus

  The Noisy Scrub-bird has short wings and strong legs and moves along the ground and through low shrubs. It occurs on the mainland of southwestern Western Australia.

• Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus

  Often hidden high in trees, this bird has an adult male with a bright yellow body and black wings.

• Malagasy Civet Fossa fossana

  The Malagasy civet is a small carnivore with rows of spots along its back. At night it searches for small animals on the ground and in low trees.

• Bridled House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

  A gecko found on Mo’orea.

• Harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena

  A small porpoise of cool Northern Hemisphere waters. It uses bays and estuaries and mainly eats schooling fish.

• Rifleman Acanthisitta chloris

  The Rifleman is a tiny forest bird endemic to New Zealand and feeds on insects and spiders. It keeps moving as it searches along trunks and branches.

• Gray-bellied Caenolestid Caenolestes caniventer

  The gray-bellied caenolestid is a small marsupial with an elongated face and a grayish belly. It lives in cool, wet Andean habitats of central Ecuador and northwestern Peru.