Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,038 · Stories: 19,488

• American beaver Castor canadensis

  

  An animal of North American rivers and lakes. It builds dams and lodges from branches and mud, changing its waterside habitat.

• Pacarana Dinomys branickii

  

  The pacarana is a large rodent of Andean rainforest slopes and valleys from Colombia to Bolivia, with conspicuous pale markings on its back and flanks.

• Rufous Bristlebird Dasyornis broadbenti

  

  This ground-dwelling bird has a rufous head and a pale, scalloped breast. It occurs in coastal scrub and heath from South Australia to Victoria.

• Eurasian Jackdaw Coloeus monedula

  

  A small crow with a pale grey nape and light eyes, seen year-round around towns and farmland in the UK.

• North Pacific Right Whale Eubalaena japonica

  

  The North Pacific right whale is a baleen whale of the North Pacific, with most contemporary sightings in the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea.

• Spectacled Barwing Actinodura ramsayi

  

  This barwing lives in mountain regions from Southeast Asia to southern China. It has a bold white eye-ring and barred wings and tail; the crown and mantle colors differ among described subspecies.

• European polecat Mustela putorius

  A slender mustelid of freshwater margins and forest edges.

• Sun bear Helarctos malayanus

  A small bear of Southeast Asian tropical forests, with short black fur and round ears. Many have a pale chest marking.

• African Finfoot Podica senegalensis

  This river bird differs by sex in size and facial pattern. It searches along the water's edge for fish and other small aquatic prey.

• Grey heron Ardea cinerea

  A large heron that waits in shallow water to catch fish and other prey. In flight it draws its long neck back toward the body.

• Dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima

  The dwarf sperm whale is a small toothed whale found widely in temperate and tropical seas. It is distinct from the pygmy sperm whale.

• Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae

  The Superb Lyrebird lives on the ground in southeastern Australia. Males display a long tail and are famous for imitating other birds and nearby sounds.

• Lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris

  The lowland tapir lives in South American forests and wetlands, preferring sites near water where it swims well.

• Grant's Bushbaby Paragalago granti

  Grant's bushbaby is a small nocturnal primate of southeastern African forests. It rests in tree holes by day and becomes active at night.

• Lesser Melampitta Melampitta lugubris

  The Lesser Melampitta lives in New Guinea's montane forests. This account separates an early description of an adult male from one survey record in eastern Papua New Guinea.

• Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

  A bird with a long, deeply forked tail that catches insects in flight. It nests under building eaves and bridges as well as in other sheltered places.

• Asian house shrew Suncus murinus

  A small shrew with a pointed nose and short fur. It lives near people as well as in forests and searches for insects at night.

• Crested Jayshrike Platylophus galericulatus

  This bird has a black-and-white body and a long crest that curves forward. It occurs in Southeast Asian forests, often in pairs or small family groups.

• Greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis

  The greater one-horned rhinoceros lives along rivers in northern India and southern Nepal.

• Antillean Ghost-faced Bat Mormoops blainvillei

  This nocturnal, insect-eating bat roosts in caves. Its face has conspicuous folds of skin, and the species occurs on Caribbean islands.

• Black-legged Seriema Chunga burmeisteri

  A gray, ground-dwelling bird with long legs and tail, it often runs while searching for food.

• Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus

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

• Lelwel Hartebeest Alcelaphus lelwel

  Alcelaphus lelwel has a reddish coat, pale rump and narrow upright V-shaped horns. Its HMW species account describes grass-only feeding in savanna mixed with woodland, with feeding peaks late in the day.

• Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis

  This small shorebird breeds in the Northern Hemisphere and migrates to Australia. Its head and neck turn reddish-brown in breeding plumage.