Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,676 · Stories: 19,540

• Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

  

  A whale with a large head and narrow lower jaw that dives into deep water to find food.

• Eastern Spotted Skunk Spilogale putorius

  White stripes on the black body break into spots toward the rump. A 2015 survey in South Carolina recorded it at night in mixed and conifer-dominated forests.

• Pale-winged Trumpeter Psophia leucoptera

  A ground-walking bird of Amazonian forest, with glossy black plumage and a broad rounded white area on the back.

• White wagtail Motacilla alba

  A bird that walks in search of insects along watersides and farmland in Japan. Birds commonly seen there have white faces with a dark line through the eye.

• Greensnake Opheodrys aestivus

  This snake sometimes moves around alligator nests.

• Xingu Silky Anteater Cyclopes xinguensis

  The Xingu Silky Anteater is known from dense Amazonian forests in Brazil. Its coat is predominantly gray, with a yellow patch near the base of the tail and a pale yellow underside. Brazil’s species assessment says its species-specific diet and natural history are not known.

• Gray seal Halichoerus grypus

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

• Rufous-capped Antthrush Formicarius colma

  A bird that searches for food while walking on the Amazon forest floor.

• Mangrove Smooth-scaled Gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris

  A gecko found on Hainan Island in China.

• Great tit Parus major

  A small bird with green and yellow body plumage and a glossy black head. In Britain it is familiar in gardens as well as woodland.

• African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata

  The African palm civet is a nocturnal forest-dwelling mammal of Africa. It eats fruit often, but also takes small animals, making it an omnivore.

• Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor

  The Sumatran Laughingthrush lives in montane old-growth forest on Sumatra. It has black-and-white plumage and an erectile crest, and field observations remain limited.

• Raccoon Procyon lotor

  Native to North and Central America, it has a black mask around the eyes and rings along its tail.

• Western Japanese skink Plestiodon japonicus

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

• California Deermouse Peromyscus californicus

  The California deermouse is a relatively large mouse with a white underside and feet. It is active at night and often eats California bay seeds in woodland.

• Black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus

  A gull that gathers around watersides and visits Japan mainly in winter.

• Thick-billed Honeyguide Indicator conirostris

  This honeyguide is associated with forest in West Africa. A Cameroon tour report recorded one individual each on Mount Cameroon and Mount Kupe.

• Hermann's Tortoise Testudo hermanni

  Hermann’s tortoise is a terrestrial turtle found in southern Europe. Its rounded carapace is domed and can range from yellow, olive, or orange to dark brown.

• 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.

• Fossa Cryptoprocta ferox

  A tree-climbing carnivorous mammal of Madagascar forests.

• Little Pied Cormorant Microcarbo melanoleucos

  The Little Pied Cormorant is a small cormorant of Australia and nearby regions, with contrasting dark upperparts and a white underside.

• Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops

  A bird with a raised crest, an orange-beige body, and bold black-and-white wings.

• European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis

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

• Banded linsang Prionodon linsang

  A slender animal with dark bands, found in Southeast Asian forests. It uses both trees and the ground and hunts alone.