Mammals
Distemper
"D" - canine and cat infectious disease
Sheep
"Jumbuck" in Australia (lots of them) - grazed on White House lawn in WWI - make wools
Camel
"Ships of the desert" - beasts of burden - imported by US Army in 1850s for desert operations
Aardwolf
"aa" - jackal-like animal of South Africa
Aardvark
"aa" African mammal - also called an anteater or ant bear - Afrikaans for "earth pig" - first animal alphabetically
Hippopotamus
2nd largest land mammal - "river horse" - jaws can open 150 degrees - types: pygmy, river
Gnu
3-letter African antelope named for the sound it makes - aka: wildebeest
Yak
3-letter ox family member of central Asia and Tibet - hairy
Lynx
4-letter wildcat with no vowels
Heifer
A cow less than 3 years old that has not given birth
Filly
A female horse under the age of 4
Antelope
African ruminant - types: sable, oryx, grysbok, dik-dik, gerenuk
Jackal
African wild dog - head on statues of Egyptian god Anubis
Donkey
Aka: burro (Spanish)
Caribou
Aka: reindeer
Elk
Aka: wapiti - found in Wyoming
Groundhog
Aka: woodchuck, marmot/rodent
Opossum
American marsupial (most abudent in Amer) - thought to play dead
Bactrian
Asian 2-humped camel of China and Mongolia
Echidna
Australian egg layer (also Platypus) - porcupine looking anteater - monotreme
Koalas
Australian marsupial (mistakenly called bears) - eat eucalyptus - name means "animal that doesn't drink"
Wombat
Australian marsupial - largest burrowing animal in the world - type: hairy-nosed
Panda
Bamboo eating bear
Guano
Bat droppings
Kodiak
Bear named for Alaskan island
Holstein
Black and white cow - named for duchy/area of Holland
Mole
Blind insectivore - types: star-nosed
Cow
Bovine - Vacca (Latin - forms vaccine) - types: Holstein, Guernsey
Angus
Breed of cattle that shares its name with a Celtic god
Giraffe
Camelopardalis (camel leopard) - tallest mammal
Musk Ox
Canada/Alaska bovine with a beard - named for odor
Wolf
Canis Lupus - Lobo (Spanish) - types: gray, timber
Tasmanian Devil
Carnivorous marsupial - only on island of Australia
Ocelot
Endangered small cat of Americas - aka: painted leopard
Jackalope
Fabled hare/antelope hybrid
Prognhorn
Fastest land animal in W Hempishere - closely related to antelope
Leopard
Feline thought to be hybrid of a lion and panther - types: clouded, snow, spotted
Mongoose
Ferret-like creature - eats snakes and rodents - Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Coatimundi
Full name of racoon family member often shortened to coati
Prairie Dog
Great Plains/Western rodent - "barking squirrel"
Goat
Hair makes Angora, mohair, cashmere, Morocan leather - capra/caprinio (Latin) - hirsine (like one)
Ibex
Himilayan mountain goat with back-curving horns
Snowshoe Hare
Large footed hare with a white coat - in winter snow
Kangaroo
Large marsupial of Australia - red and grey types - red is largest marsupial in world - groups called a mob
Jaguar
Largest cat in the Americas (only big cat) - native to South and Central Amer
Moose
Largest member of deer family
Wolverine
Largest weasel family member - aka: glutton - associated with Michigan
Deer
Latin - cervine/cervus
Hyena
Laughing African mammal
Rabbits
Live in warrens - lagomorpha
Cattle
Livestock that is polled (without horns) - types: Santa Gertrudis, Brahman, Angus - stomach has 4 compartments
Musk Ox
Long-haired Arctic ruminant/bovine
Okapi
Looks like zebra - related to the giraffe but only lives in the forest/jungle
Sun Bear
Malaysian bear known for the orange/yellow on its chest
Ox
Male bovines used as draft animals - only 2-letter member of Chinese calendar
Muskrat
Marsh-dwelling rodent named for its odor
Bandicoot
Marsupial - name means "pig-rat"
Raccoon
Masked, nocturnal - gets in trash - ring-tailed - lesser pandas in some family
Meerkat
Mongoose relative in the Kalahari desert (Timon from Lion King)
Field Mouse
Mouse aka: a vole
Joey
Name for a baby male marsupial
Jenny
Name for a female donkey
Kits
Name for newborn foxes and beavers
Rhinoceros
Name: "nose-horned"/unicorn - pachyderm - group called a crash - types: black, Indian, African, 1 or 2 horned, Sumatran
Naked Mole Rat
Nearly hairless, underground rodent
Mule
Offspring of a female horse and male donkey - also a backless shoe
Lamb
Often found "Of God" - Agnus in Latin
Ermine
Old world winter weasel - white coat with black tipped tail - prized by royalty and as a pregnancy emblem
Dromedary
One-humped camel - Greek for "running or racing"
Spectacled Bear
Only South Amer bear - rings around eyes
Tapir
Pig-like mammal of Asia/South America - snout
Pig
Porcine
Hedgehog
Porcupine like insectivore
Angora
Rabbit named for an area of Turkey - used in sweaters
Dormouse
Rodent that hibernates half the year - character in Alice in Wonderland
Pack Rat
Rodent that likes to keep stuff
Beaver
Rodent with gnawing teeth - makes dams and lives in a lodge
Porcupine
Rodent with needles/quills - "thorny pig"
Lemmings
Rodents from Norway - mistaken belief that they commit suicide
Armadillo
Shelled Texas state mammal - often roadkill - types: 3-banded, 9-banded
Sloth Bear
Slow moving bear
Chinchilla
Small Andean mountain rodent prized for its fur
Kangaroo Rat
Small hopping rat with another animal in its name
Wallaby
Smaller kangaroo relative - types: quokka
Polecat
Smelly varmint - aka: foul marten with a partly feline name
Vicuna
South Amer camel - smallest camel - only one spelled with a tilde
Llama
South Amer camel relative used for carrying loads - hiss and spit when angry
Alpaca
South Amer llama/camel relative - prized for wool/fleece - lives high in the Andes
Kinkajou
South American mammal related to racoon - long prehensile tail
Bobcat
Spotted N. American cat with short tail
Bear
Ursine/Ursa
Grizzly Bear
Ursus arctos horribilis - aka: silvertip - state animal of California
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus - white arctic bear
Sloth
Very slow tree-living mammal
Fox
Vulpine - Vulpes chama
Mink
Weasel family member raised for its valuable pelts
Ferret
Weasel-like mammal - name menas to search out, drive out or uncover
Dingo
Wild canine of Aust - preys on kangaroos - aka: warrigal
Yoke
Wooden bar that connects two oxen
Capybara
World's largest rodent - lives in South Amer - aka: "water hog" - webbed feet
