Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• Sei Whale Balaenoptera borealis

  

  The sei whale is a baleen whale found widely in subtropical, temperate and subpolar seas around the world.

• Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus

  A tiny bird of eucalyptus canopies, the Spotted Pardalote has a distinctive pattern of white spots. Adult males also show a red rump and yellow throat. It searches foliage for insects and sugary exudates.

• Pel's Anomalure Anomalurus pelii

  Pel's anomalure is a gliding squirrel with scaly structures on its tail. It occurs in high forest in West Africa.

• Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago

  The Common Snipe has a long, straight bill and mottled brown plumage. In the United Kingdom it is most numerous in northern uplands, and birds from northern Europe also arrive in winter.

• Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus

  The Southern Giant Petrel occurs in brown and rarer white phases. It breeds on Southern Ocean islands and the Antarctic Continent and is a distinct species from the related Northern Giant Petrel.

• Western Lowland Olingo Bassaricyon medius

  An olingo of forests from Panama to Colombia and Ecuador west of the Andes. It lives in trees and eats fruit.

• Raccoon dog Nyctereutes procyonoides

  It belongs to the dog family and has a dark mask around the eyes and a pale muzzle. It searches for a wide range of animal and plant foods in wooded cover near forests and water.

• Crowned Sandgrouse Pterocles coronatus

  The Crowned Sandgrouse lives in dry areas from the Sahara into western Asia. It visits water in flocks, and the adult male has a rufous crown and a black facial band.

• Kloss's Gibbon Hylobates klossii

  Kloss's gibbon has black fur and long arms. It lives in the canopy of the Mentawai Islands west of Sumatra.

• Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

  A diving duck distinguished by a tuft at the back of its head and yellow eyes.

• Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin

  The Hoatzin has a long tail and crest; young birds have claws on their wings that help them grip branches.

• Aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis

  A nocturnal lemur of Madagascan forests. Its long thin middle finger helps it locate insects inside wood.

• Argali Ovis ammon

  A wild sheep of Asia’s highlands that moves with the seasons.

• Western Shriketit Falcunculus leucogaster

  This bird occurs in Western Australia. It runs along trunks and branches, tearing at bark to search for insects.

• Linné’s two-toed sloth Choloepus didactylus

  A sloth that hangs from high branches in tropical forests, feeding and resting in the trees.

• Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus

  Whimbrels in northern Australia are migratory waders that probe mudflats with their long bills.

• Cape Sugarbird Promerops cafer

  The Cape Sugarbird is a nectar-feeding bird of South Africa's fynbos. It visits protea flowers for nectar and insects and helps pollinate many proteas.

• Madagascan Straw-colored Fruit Bat Eidolon dupreanum

  The Madagascan Straw-colored Fruit Bat is endemic to Madagascar. A diet study in the east found that it ate mainly fruit and also used eucalyptus flowers.

• Chinese White Dolphin Sousa chinensis

  This dolphin lives along coasts of the Indian and western Pacific oceans and also uses estuaries. Hong Kong has carried out long-term monitoring of the Pearl River Estuary population.

• Black-capped Donacobius Donacobius atricapilla

  This waterside bird has a black head and back and a long tail with white tips. A Peru-focused species account describes pairs and family groups defending territories along lowland Amazon lakes and rivers.

• Laotian Rock Rat Laonastes aenigmamus

  The Laotian rock rat has long whiskers and a densely furred tail, and lives in limestone forests. In a study in central Vietnam, it hid in rock crevices by day and foraged on the forest floor at night.

• Gray seal Halichoerus grypus

  A seal of North Atlantic coasts, with a long, prominent nose especially noticeable in adult males.

• Crab-plover Dromas ardeola

  This coastal bird has black-and-white plumage and a heavy bill, and feeds on crabs. A field study in India’s Gulf of Kachchh recorded wintering birds foraging at low tide.

• Alpaca Vicugna pacos

  A domestic camelid raised for its fiber in the Andean highlands. It lives in herds and has many coat colors.