22 WILD ANIMALS, HABITATS AND CHARACTERISTICS - BIOLOGY - 2025

The wild animals are those species that are not domesticated, or educated to live with humans. They live wild in nature, inhabiting any of the ecosystems on Earth. However, the effects of humanity on the world affect their environments, habitats and ways of life in a direct way.

Wild animals have a way of life, with behaviors and food, very different from their domesticated peers. They are used to having to fulfill their life cycle motivated by their survival instincts, without external help and exposed to great threats.

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, the term "wild" is used to define the wild, the uncultivated or the uncultivated. In the case of animals, it is used to differentiate non-domesticated species.

Currently, the environmental impact and the trafficking of specimens endanger this type of animal. Many were affected by changes in their habitat, which caused the extinction of many classes or their migration to other areas where they found refuges.

There are wild animals of all families and in all ecosystems: jungle, forest, savanna, fields or desert. There are herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, hunters and predators or in danger of extinction. Even some of which there is no historical record.

Next I will review some species of wild animals that exist on the planet. You can also meet the 10 most representative animals with a warm climate.

List of 22 wild animals

1- Kangaroo

Belonging to the Macropodinae subfamily, these friendly animals are native to the Australian grasslands. Among their peculiarities, they have the ability to jump and carry their young in a kind of natural bag in the abdomen.

Kangaroos are herbivores and nocturnal, so they spend much of the day still, feeding. They live in groups and have a long, muscular tail that allows them to maintain balance.

2- Macaw

This family of birds of the parrot type is made up of 14 species that inhabit the jungle, all of them with a colorful plumage. They are mainly found in Latin America, in the long stretch of territory that exists between Mexico and northern Argentina.

The qualities of macaws vary according to their species, but they all share the fact that they live in trees and feed on insects and fruits, such as berries.

3- Rhinoceros

This mammal is large and its name means “horned nose” in Latin. Rhinos have a remarkable capacity for adaptation and can live in diverse ecosystems, from savannas to forests, whether in tropical or subtropical climates.

There are five species of rhinoceros recorded. They all share their herbivorous diet, thick and resistant skin, a keen sense of smell and hearing, but limited eyesight.

4- Koala

These marsupials are the only survivors of the Phascolarctidae family and lead a sedentary life, in which they can sleep up to 20 hours per day.

They live in forests, inhabit eucalyptus trees and feed mostly on their leaves. Koalas have a robust body with gray fur and are commonly found in the southern and eastern region of Australia.

5- Orca

These gigantic and agile aquatic animals are one of the largest species of their kind. They have a dorsal fin that can measure up to 1.8 meters, and a body that can reach nine meters in length and nine tons in weight.

Its body, black with white spots, became famous for being present in some aquariums and movies.

However, killer whales are not a domestic animal, rather they are wild beasts with a combination of strength, speed and intelligence that makes them very versatile predators.

6- Pelicans

There are eight species of these white birds with yellow beaks. They live and travel in flocks, breed in colonies, and hunt cooperatively.

They can inhabit different ecosystems, from intertropical zones to temperate places. They can be seen in jungles, forests, and grasslands. However, they cannot inhabit polar regions or the open ocean.

7- Buffalo

This large mammal is also known as the American bison. It lives in the plains of North America, from northern Mexico to Canada, through the entire length of the United States.

They live in herds and can measure up to 1.8 meters high and 3 meters long. They can weigh more than a ton.

8- Bullfrog

Inhabitant of lakes and swamps, this species of anuran amphibian has the peculiarity of weighing almost a kilo and presenting a color that varies from brown brown to different shades of green.

Unlike other species in this family, bullfrogs can feed on small vertebrate organisms.

9- Penguin

These flightless seabirds inhabit the Southern Hemisphere of the planet and have the ability to dive thanks to their wings.

They live in large colonies that move according to the seasons of the year. They feed mainly on fish and the males are responsible for taking care of the eggs with the young.

10- Giraffe

This mammal, native to the savannas and forests of Africa, is the tallest animal on Earth. It has a stature that can reach six meters in height, with a neck that is two meters long.

Giraffes have the agility to escape danger, they feed on the fruits of tall trees but the emission of sounds from their mouths has not been recorded. Science could not determine if they do not produce them or if they occur at a frequency too low for human hearing.

11- South American Wildcat

It is the most common wild cat in South America and inhabits different ecosystems in this vast territory. It mainly feeds on meat from other organisms.

These cats are solitary animals, similar to domestic cats but with wild attitudes. They have a great sense of sight and are agile nocturnal hunters.

12- Wild boar

This mammal inhabits different ecosystems in Africa, America or Asia and is considered one of the most harmful invasive exotic animals on the planet.

Wild boars are omnivores, they eat meat and vegetables and can weigh up to 90 kilos. They have a great sense of smell that allows them to detect food at 100 meters, but they have very poor eyesight.

13- Dwarf Hippo

These solitary and nocturnal mammals live in forests and marshes in West Africa. They are smaller than common hippos, they adapt easily to the terrestrial ecosystem but they also need water to live.

These animals come out of their lethargy in the water during the afternoon to feed, a task in which they can invest up to six hours a day. One of the peculiarities they present is their ability to take advantage of the paths opened by other species to move around.

14- Gorilla

These mammals, which move on four legs, share 97% of their DNA with that of humans. They can measure 1.8 meters, weigh 200 kilos and are divided into subspecies, according to their geographical distribution in Africa: eastern or western.

Due to their genetic similarities to humans, they have great intelligence and can decode some sign languages. Gorillas are in danger of extinction due to the action of poachers and the destruction of their natural habitat.

15- polar bear

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) whose white fur serves as camouflage in the snow landscape, to protect itself and to go unnoticed when hunting. rSource: Alan Wilson, via Wikimedia Commons

The polar bear is the only super predator that lives in the Arctic. It is also the largest land carnivorous animal on the planet.

These bears need low temperatures to survive, which is why they live in polar areas of the Northern Hemisphere. They have highly developed legs both for walking on ice and for swimming.

Its body has a light-colored coat, very reduced ears and tail, to be able to maintain body heat and not suffer from the cold. They feed on the meat of other species, especially baby seals.

Females hibernate during the gestation period, but males do not need to. This species is at risk of extinction due to the melting of the ice due to climate change.

16- Fox

Also known as vulpins, they comprise 27 different species that inhabit various ecosystems and habitats on Earth. In some parts of the world they are considered a pest.

Foxes are one of the species with the greatest presence in popular culture, starring in different fictional stories. They are considered opportunistic carnivores, as they feed on other organisms found in the vicinity of their place of life.

17- Moose

These herbivorous animals are characterized by reproducing during the months of September and October. Although they can adapt to different ecosystems and climates, their area of ​​distribution has been reduced by indiscriminate hunting.

Currently, they live mostly in small groups of 10 or 15 specimens in Nordic forests of Europe and Asia, although there are also some families in America.

They are solitary animals. The males have large and wonderful antlers that fall off in winter and regenerate in spring with different shapes in each specimen.

The antlers are used to differentiate themselves according to gender and to defend themselves from the attack of other animals or specimens.

18- Tapir

Inhabitants of the forest areas of Latin America and Southeast Asia, they are large herbivores with a history of 55 million years on the face of the Earth.

Tapirs are primitive, docile and calm animals that have a versatile trunk, ideal for feeding on fruits, leaves and plants. They usually carry out their activities at night.

They are in danger of extinction, especially in the territory of Mexico, due to indiscriminate hunting, low reproductive potential and the destruction of their habitat.

19- Pink grasshopper

The pink grasshoppers correspond to a subspecies of the grasshoppers. According to science, one in every 500 grasshoppers is born pink, while the rest are green, brown or white.

Their survival is in jeopardy as their body tones are an added attraction to predator eyes.

20- liger

The liger is one of the most particular animals on Earth, as it is a cross between the male lion and the female tiger, which can reach four meters in length.

Despite its large and bulky size, this species has the problem that the males are sterile, so its survival depends on crossing other species.

They are carnivorous animals and their existence was related to fictional stories. Its existence was proven in Russia. There are currently no records of specimens in the wild.

21- Fennec Fox

This exotic animal from the Sahara desert is one of the smallest of this type of family and one of the most beautiful. The Fénec fox has particular ears that serve as ventilation.

This species is one of the favorite prey of predators. It carries out most of its life cycle during the night hours, it feeds on insects, reptiles, rodents, birds and their eggs.

In addition, these foxes have a great sense of hearing, so developed that it allows them to hear the noise of their prey even when they are inside their burrows.

22- Slow Loris

Also known as the slow monkey, this type of lazy primate inhabits Asia and has a mysterious evolutionary history for which there is no accurate record.

It is a species at risk of extinction, in this case not only due to human or climatic attitudes, but because it does not have any type of protection against its predators. Her only weapon of defense is a gland that shoots poison from the armpits.

There is a worldwide ban that prevents having a loris as a pet or for any domestic purpose.