Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,038 · Stories: 19,488

• Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra

  

  A dark, round-headed small whale that forms large groups in tropical seas.

• Agile Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys agilis

  

  The agile kangaroo rat hops on long hind feet. It lives in dry scrub, digs burrows, and carries seeds in its cheek pouches.

• Tumbes Sparrow Rhynchospiza stolzmanni

  

  This sparrow has a finely streaked brown back, a striped head, and a gray underside. It forages on the ground in scrub. Most records cited here are from north-western Peru, with the species also occurring in Ecuador.

• African buffalo Syncerus caffer

  

  A large wild bovine of sub-Saharan Africa, usually found near water. Body size, coat color, and horn shape vary among its subspecies.

• African Manatee Trichechus senegalensis

  

  This manatee lives from West African coasts into rivers and brackish waters. It mainly eats aquatic plants and mangrove vegetation.

• Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

  

  Adults are slim, long-tailed gray birds. In North American towns and grasslands, they forage for insects and eat more fruit in fall and winter.

• Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx

  A wild cat of Europe and Asia, with black ear tufts and a prominent ruff around its cheeks.

• Dwarf Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum Thylamys velutinus

  The velvety fat-tailed opossum has been recorded in Brazil’s Cerrado and has a tail whose thickness changes seasonally.

• Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin

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

• African wolf Canis lupaster

  Animals recorded in Senegal had a sturdy build and broad head. Across its range, the African wolf occupies North Africa, the Sahel, and neighboring regions, and its varied diet includes small animals and fruit as well as larger herbivores.

• Ganges River Dolphin Platanista gangetica

  A freshwater dolphin of river systems in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It has very poor sight and uses echoes from ultrasonic sounds to locate fish and other prey.

• African Broadbill Smithornis capensis

  This small bird has two separated ranges: coastal West Africa and a larger area from Uganda to southern Africa. It perches quietly in forest and feeds on invertebrates.

• Blue wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus

  The blue wildebeest is a cattle relative living and grazing in herds in eastern and southern Africa.

• De Brazza’s monkey Cercopithecus neglectus

  An African monkey with a white beard that lives in forests near rivers.

• Madagascar Hoopoe Upupa marginata

  The Madagascar Hoopoe searches for small prey on the ground in dry woodland and other open habitats on the island.

• Bobcat Lynx rufus

  A short-tailed wild cat of North America, with dark spots and stripes on a brownish coat.

• Dusky Bushbaby Galago matschiei

  Matschie's galago is a nocturnal primate of montane forests east of Lake Albert in central Africa. It is arboreal.

• Ochraceous Piculet Picumnus limae

  The Ochraceous Piculet is a small woodpecker of northeastern Brazil. Its underside grades from pale in the north to brown farther south.

• Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra

  A mountain animal with horns in both sexes and hooves suited to rocky ground.

• Southern African hedgehog Atelerix frontalis

  The southern African hedgehog has a white band across its forehead and a range of separated populations in southern Africa.

• Southern Screamer Chauna torquata

  The Southern Screamer is a large South American wetland bird with a black-and-white neck band and long red legs. It feeds on grasses and aquatic plants near shallow water.

• Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus

  A cheetah is a slender, long-legged cat. It catches prey with fast sprints over short distances.

• Chacoan Peccary Catagonus wagneri

  The Chacoan peccary looks pig-like and also eats cacti.

• Pygmy Cupwing Pnoepyga pusilla

  The Pygmy Cupwing is a small bird with a very short tail and scaled-looking brown plumage. It forages in dense understory and near the forest floor.