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Grassland animals

Open grassland, savanna and steppe: the plains where the big herds graze and the predators follow them. Zebras, wildebeest, giraffes and gazelles in Africa, bison in North America, kangaroos in Australia, and the lions, cheetahs and hyenas that hunt them.

Open country favours speed and good eyesight, which is why so many of the fastest runners are on this list.

137 animals, A to Z.

• 🐾AardvarkA burrowing, nocturnal African mammal that digs out ants and termites with powerful claws and collects them with a long, sticky tongue.
• 🐾AgoutiRodents related to guinea pigs but larger and longer-legged, living in forests and wooded areas of Central and South America.
• 🦙AlpacaA domesticated South American camelid bred for its highly valued fibre, descended from the wild vicuña at least 5,000–6,000 years ago.
• 🐜AntSocial insects living in colonies of a queen, workers and males, with more than 13,800 species described of an estimated 22,000.
• 🐜AnteaterFour species of toothless mammals that eat ants and termites, related to sloths: the giant anteater, the silky anteater and two tamanduas.
• 🐾AntelopeNot a single group but 91 species of horned, hoofed bovids, most of them native to Africa.
• 🦫ArmadilloTwenty-one species of American mammals with a leathery, armoured shell and long digging claws.
• 🐒BaboonSix species of large, ground-dwelling monkeys with long, dog-like muzzles and powerful jaws.
• 🦡BadgerStocky, short-legged omnivores of the weasel and skunk families.
• 🐾BandicootMore than 20 species of small, mostly nocturnal marsupials from Australia and New Guinea, with long pointed snouts, large ears and strong hind legs.
• 🦇BatThe only mammals capable of true, sustained flight, on wings of skin stretched over long fingers.
• 🦊Bat-eared foxA small fox of the African savanna named for its huge ears, which help it keep cool and hear its prey.
• 🐝BeeFlying insects that feed on nectar and pollen, with over 20,000 species.
• 🪲BeetleInsects whose front wings are hardened into wing-cases.
• 🐾BilbyThe greater bilby: a long-eared, rabbit-sized marsupial of Australia that lives in burrows and comes out at night.
• 🦬BisonTwo species of huge, shaggy wild cattle: the American bison, often called buffalo, and the European bison, or wisent.
• 🐻Brown bearA huge, mostly plant-eating bear of northern forests, mountains and tundra, and one of the largest land carnivores alive.
• 🦜BudgerigarA small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot of Australia.
• 🐃BuffaloA large, heavily built wild cow of sub-Saharan Africa.
• 🐝BumblebeeOver 250 species of large, fuzzy, social bees, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.
• 🦋ButterflyWinged insects with large, often brightly coloured wings, around 18,500 species in all.
• 🦅BuzzardThe common buzzard is a medium-sized bird of prey found across most of Europe and east into Asia, and probably the most common daytime raptor in Europe.
• 🐫CamelThree living species of humped desert animals: the one-humped dromedary (94% of the world’s camels), the two-humped Bactrian camel, and the endangered wild Bactrian camel.
• 🐾CapybaraThe largest living rodent, a semiaquatic grazer found in every South American country except Chile.
• 🐆CaracalA slender, long-legged wild cat with a reddish-tan coat and long black ear tufts; its name comes from the Turkish for "black ear".
• 🐆CheetahThe fastest land animal: a lightweight, long-legged cat built for short sprints across open ground.
• 🐒ChimpanzeeA great ape of the forests and savannas of equatorial Africa and, with the bonobo, humanity’s closest living relative.
• 🐍CobraVenomous snakes that rear up and spread a hood when threatened.
• 🐮CowLarge domesticated grazers, first tamed from the wild aurochs about 10,500 years ago.
• 🐺CoyoteA North American wild dog, smaller than its close relative the grey wolf.
• 🐾CraneFifteen species of tall birds with long legs and necks.
• 🐦‍⬛CrowBlack birds of the genus Corvus, which includes the ravens.
• 🦌DeerHoofed plant-eaters whose males, in almost every species, grow and shed a new set of bony antlers every year.
• 🐾Dik-dikFour species of tiny antelope living in the bushlands of eastern and south-western Africa.
• 🐕DingoA lean, hardy wild dog of Australia, ginger, black-and-tan or creamy white.
• 🪰DragonflyAbout 3,000 species of fast, agile predatory insects with huge compound eyes and two pairs of strong wings.
• 🦅EagleLarge birds of prey with huge hooked beaks and powerful talons.
• 🐾ElandThe common eland, a huge spiral-horned antelope of the plains and open woodland of East and southern Africa.
• 🐘ElephantThree living species, the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant, and the largest land animals alive.
• 🐾EmuA flightless bird found only in Australia, the country’s tallest native bird and the third-tallest living bird after the two ostriches.
• 🦅FalconAbout 40 species of fast birds of prey with thin, tapered wings, found on every continent except Antarctica.
• 🪰FlyInsects with a single pair of wings; the hind pair became small balancing organs.
• 🐾GazelleSmall, fast antelopes, mostly fawn-coloured, living in herds in the deserts, grasslands and savannas of Africa and in south-west and central Asia and India.
• 🐾GerbilAbout 110 species of small desert rodents from Africa, India and Asia, including jirds and sand rats.
• 🦒GiraffeThe tallest living land animal, browsing leaves from treetops across African savanna.
• 🪿GooseLarge waterfowl, between ducks and swans in size.
• 🦗GrasshopperPlant-eating insects with powerful hind legs for leaping, one of the oldest groups of chewing plant-eaters.
• 🐻Grizzly bearThe North American brown bear, a population or subspecies of the brown bear.
• 🐾GroundhogA large ground squirrel, also called the woodchuck, and the only lowland marmot.
• 🐾GuanacoA wild camelid of South America and the ancestor of the domestic llama.
• 🐹HamsterStout-bodied rodents with cheek pouches that stretch to their shoulders, used to carry food home.
• 🐇HareLong-legged relatives of rabbits that live above ground and rely on speed, not burrows, to escape.
• 🐾HartebeestA large African antelope with a long face, oddly bent horns on both sexes, long legs and a back that slopes down from a hump over the shoulders.
• 🦅HawkBirds of prey of the eagle family, found on every continent except Antarctica.
• 🦔HedgehogSmall, spiny insect-eaters of Europe, Asia and Africa that roll into a tight ball when threatened.
• 🦛HippopotamusA huge, semi-aquatic grazer that spends its days in African rivers and lakes and comes out at night to feed.
• 🐾HornbillA family of birds of tropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia with a long, down-curved, often colourful bill, sometimes topped by a hollow casque.
• 🐴HorseA one-toed, hoofed grazer, domesticated on the steppes of western Eurasia.
• 🐦HummingbirdThe smallest birds, about 375 species native to the Americas.
• 🐺HyenaFour species of dog-like carnivores, including the spotted, brown and striped hyenas.
• 🐾IbisTwenty-nine species of long-legged wading birds with long, down-curved bills, which they use to probe mud for food, usually in groups.
• 🐾ImpalaA medium-sized antelope of eastern and southern Africa with a glossy reddish-brown coat.
• 🐺JackalWild dogs of Africa and Eurasia: the black-backed and side-striped jackals of Africa and the golden jackal of south-central Europe and Asia.
• 🐆JaguarThe biggest cat in the Americas and the only one of the roaring big cats native there.
• 🐾KakapoA large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot found only in New Zealand, with mottled moss-green feathers and an owl-like face.
• 🦘KangarooThe largest marsupials, and the only large mammals that get around mainly by hopping on two legs.
• 🦅KestrelThe common kestrel is a small falcon of open country across Europe, Asia and Africa, famous for hovering in one spot while it scans the ground.
• 🦎Komodo dragonThe largest living lizard, a monitor lizard found only on a few Indonesian islands.
• 🐞LadybirdOver 6,000 species of small, domed beetles, often red with black spots that warn predators they taste bad.
• 🐆LeopardThe most widespread wild cat, a spotted, secretive hunter that survives almost anywhere with cover: rainforest, savanna, mountains and semi-desert across Africa and Asia.
• 🦁LionAfrica's social big cat.
• 🦙LlamaA domesticated South American camelid, used by Andean cultures for meat and as a pack animal since before Columbus.
• 🦜MacawLarge, long-tailed and often colourful New World parrots in six genera.
• 🐾MagpieThe Eurasian magpie is a black-and-white member of the crow family found across northern Europe and Asia, and one of the most intelligent birds.
• 🐍MambaFour species of fast, highly venomous African snakes in the cobra family.
• 🐾Maned wolfThe largest canine in South America, with a reddish coat and very long, slender legs.
• 🐾MarmotFifteen species of large ground squirrels, the heaviest members of the squirrel family, from Asia, Europe and North America.
• 🦫MeerkatA small, highly social mongoose of southern Africa.
• 🦡MoleSmall burrowing mammals with velvety fur, tiny eyes and ears, and big, powerful front paws for digging.
• 🐾MongooseSmall carnivores of Africa, Asia and southern Europe, 34 species in two subfamilies.
• 🐵MonkeyPrimates of the Americas, Africa and Asia, split into New World and Old World monkeys.
• 🦋MothThe vast majority of the insect order that also includes butterflies, with about 160,000 species.
• 🐭MouseSmall rodents best known through the house mouse, which lives alongside people almost everywhere.
• 🐾MuskoxA shaggy, heavy-horned Arctic hoofed mammal, closer to sheep and goats than to oxen, named for the musky smell of males in the rut.
• 🦤OstrichThe tallest and heaviest living bird, flightless and native to parts of Africa.
• 🦉OwlMore than 200 species of mostly solitary, nocturnal birds of prey, with an upright stance, a broad head, forward-facing eyes and feathers adapted for near-silent flight.
• 🦔PangolinScale-covered, ant-eating mammals of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, also called scaly anteaters.
• 🦜ParrotAbout 410 species of intelligent, mostly tropical birds with strong curved beaks and grasping feet.
• 🐾PartridgeMedium-sized, ground-dwelling game birds, between quail and pheasants in size, mostly grey and brown.
• 🦚PeacockPeafowl are three species of pheasant: the Indian and green peafowl of Asia and the Congo peafowl of Central Africa.
• 🐾PheasantThe common pheasant is a game bird native to Asia and the far south-east of Europe, introduced widely elsewhere for shooting.
• 🦔PorcupineLarge rodents covered in sharp quills.
• 🐾Prairie dogFive species of burrowing ground squirrels from the grasslands of North America, named for their bark-like warning call.
• 🦗Praying mantisOver 2,400 species of predatory insects with big, grasping front legs held folded as if praying.
• 🐾PronghornNot a true antelope but the last survivor of its own North American family, whose closest living relatives are the giraffe and okapi.
• 🐍PythonA family of 39 non-venomous snakes of Africa, Asia and Australia, including some of the largest snakes in the world.
• 🐰RabbitEvery pet and farmed rabbit belongs to one species, the European rabbit.
• 🐍RattlesnakeThirty-six species of venomous pit vipers of the Americas, named for the rattle of interlocking keratin segments at the tail tip.
• 🦊Red foxThe familiar orange fox of the northern hemisphere and the most widespread wild carnivore on Earth.
• 🐾RheaLarge flightless birds of South American grasslands, just behind the emu in size.
• 🦏RhinocerosFive living species of huge, thick-skinned plant-eaters, two in Africa and three in South and Southeast Asia.
• 🐾SaigaAn antelope of the Central Asian steppes with a swollen, downward-pointing nose.
• 🦂ScorpionArachnids with eight legs, grasping pincers and a curved tail ending in a venomous sting.
• 🐆ServalA slender, medium-sized African wild cat with a small head, big ears and a golden coat spotted and striped with black.
• 🐑SheepDomesticated ruminants kept for wool, meat and milk, most likely descended from the wild mouflon.
• 🦨SkunkBlack-and-white New World mammals famous for spraying a foul-smelling liquid from glands under the tail.
• 🐾Slow wormA legless lizard native to Europe: neither a worm nor a snake.
• 🐾SlugLand gastropods with no shell, or only a tiny internal one.
• 🐍SnakeLimbless reptiles with more than 4,170 species, found on every continent except Antarctica.
• 🕷️SpiderEight-legged arachnids with fangs that inject venom and spinnerets that make silk.
• 🐾SpringbokA slender, fast antelope of the dry south-west of Africa, with a white face, a dark stripe from eye to mouth and a reddish-brown band along each flank.
• 🐿️SquirrelRodents with slender bodies, long bushy tails and large eyes.
• 🐾StarlingA family of 128 species of glossy, often iridescent birds, famous for mimicry and for murmurations: huge flocks that twist and turn together.
• 🐾StorkTwenty species of large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with stout bills.
• 🐾TakinA stocky, shaggy goat-antelope of the eastern Himalayas, closest to sheep despite its muskox-like looks.
• 🕷️TarantulaLarge, often hairy spiders, over a thousand species in almost 200 genera.
• 🐯TigerThe biggest of the striped cats and a solitary ambush hunter of forests, from Indian mangroves to snowy Russian taiga.
• 🐸ToadA common name for frogs with short legs and dry, warty skin, especially the true toads.
• 🐢TortoiseLand-living turtles with domed shells and column-like, elephant-like legs.
• 🦃TurkeyA large North American game bird, the heaviest of the chicken-like birds.
• 🐒Vervet monkeyAn African monkey with a black face and grey body hair, living in groups of 10 to 70.
• 🐾VicunaA wild camelid of the high Andes and probably the ancestor of the alpaca.
• 🐍ViperVenomous snakes with long, hinged fangs that fold back against the roof of the mouth when not in use.
• 🦅VultureBirds of prey that scavenge carrion.
• 🦘WallabySmall and medium-sized relatives of the kangaroo.
• 🐗WarthogA wild pig of the grasslands and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, with two pairs of upward-curving tusks.
• 🐝WaspNarrow-waisted insects that are neither bees nor ants, with tens of thousands of species.
• 🐾WeaselSmall, fast predators with long, slender bodies and short legs, in the same genus as stoats, polecats and ferrets.
• 🐗Wild boarThe wild pig of Eurasia and North Africa, now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world after introductions to the Americas and Oceania.
• 🐾WildebeestTwo species of antelope from eastern and southern Africa, also called gnus: the blue wildebeest and the black wildebeest.
• 🐺WolfThe largest wild member of the dog family.
• 🐨WombatShort-legged, muscular marsupials of Australia that dig large burrows with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws.
• 🪱WormEarthworms are soil-dwelling annelids, among nature’s most important recyclers of dead plant matter.
• 🐂YakLong-haired domesticated cattle of the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau and the mountains of Central Asia, north to Mongolia and Siberia.
• 🦓ZebraThree species of striped wild horse: the plains, Grévy’s and mountain zebras of eastern and southern Africa.
• 🐂ZebuHumped domestic cattle that originated in South Asia, with a fatty hump over the shoulders, a large dewlap and often drooping ears.
• 🐾ZonkeyA zebroid: the hybrid of a zebra and a donkey, also called a zedonk or zebrass.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.