October 1, 2022 by Carmen Rizzo Spanish Vocabulary 0 comments

200+ Names of Animals in Spanish: Vocabulary for Everyone

Animals in Spanish are a fun and useful topic to learn for kids of all ages! Wherever we go, animals are part of our everyday lives.

If you like animals and want to expand your Spanish vocabulary and fluency to speak with others about more than basic animals, like dogs or cats, this article is just for you! This massive list is a way for you to have easy access to new Spanish words and names of animals in Spanish. Let’s get to it!

Animal Classification

La clasificación de los animales is the perfect way to categorize the amazing animals of the Earth by their characteristics. This way, it’s easier for experts, zoologists, students, and animal enthusiasts to identify and learn about them.

Here is the classification of the animals in Spanish:

Spanish	English
La clasificación de los animales	Animal classification
Los Acuaticos	Aquatic
Los Aero-terrestres	Aerial-terrestrial
Los Anfibios	Amphibians
Las Aves	Birds
Los Domesticos	Domestic
Los Insectos	Insects
Los Invertebrados	Invertebrates
Los Mamíferos	Mammals
Los Oviparos	Oviparous
Los Peces	Fish
Los Reptiles	Reptiles
Los Salvajes	Wild
Los Terrestres	Terrestrial
Los Vertebrados	Vertebrates
Los Vivíparos	Viviparous

Animals can be classified in multiple categories. For example, dogs are mammals, vertebrates, domestic, and terrestrial animals!

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Domestic Animals in Spanish

Los animales domésticos (domestic animals) are animals that have been chosen and bred to live with in human homes for countless generations.

Domestic animals are genetically different from their wild ancestors and cousins. There are domestic animals for companionship, farming, and other types of work.

Farm Animals

Known as animales de granja in Spanish, farm animals provide food and/or help with work and production for the thriving of humankind.

To learn more about farms, read The Definitive Vocabulary Guide: On the Farm in Spanish.

Spanish	English
Los animales de granja	Farm animals
El asno / El burro	Donkey
El becerro	Calf
El buey	Ox
La cabra / El cabro	Goat
El cordero	Lamb
El caballo	Horse
El cerdo / La cerda	Pig
Los cerditos / El lechón	Piglets
La gallina	Hen
El gallo	Rooster
La llama	Llama
La mula	Mule
La oveja	Sheep
El pato / La pata	Duck
El toro	Bull
La vaca	Cow
La yegua	Mare

Companion Animals

On the other hand, los animales de compañía (companionship animals) were domesticated to be companions for humans during their time on Earth and grow with them.

Dogs were initially domesticated to help with hunting. Over time, they’ve evolved to be the perfect companion for the human being. Many other companion animals also make great pets!

Spanish	English
Animales de compañía	Companion animals
El cachorro / La cachorra	Puppy
El conejo / La coneja	Bunny/Rabbit
El gato / La gata	Cat
El gatito / La gatita	Kitten
El erizo	Hedgehog
El hurón	Ferret
El perro / La perra	Dog
La rana	Frog
El ratón	Mouse

Wild Animals in Spanish

Animales salvajes (wild animals) live in the wilderness. Many wild animals are in danger of going extinct because of the expansion of urban areas and poor environmental choices that benefit humans and harm the wildlife.

The wild animals on this list are categorized by their habitat: sea, forest, rainforest, and desert.

Sea Animals

Animals in the sea are known as animales marinos in Spanish. This group contains animals that live in or near the ocean.

Spanish	English
Animales marinos	Sea animals
Las almejas	Clams
La anguila	Eel
La anguila electrica	Electric Eel
La ballena	Whale
La ballena asesina / La orca	Killer whale
La ballena azul	Blue whale
La ballena barbada	Baleen whale
La ballena jorobada	Humpback whale
El caballito de mar	Sea horse
El calamar	Squid
El camarón	Shrimp
El cangrejo	Crab
Los caracoles	Sea snails
La estrella de mar	Starfish
El delfín	Dolphin
La foca	Seal
La gaviota	Seagull
El manatí	Sea Cow
Las medusas	Jellyfish
El pez payaso	Clown fish
El pulpo	Octopus
La serpiente marina	Sea Snake
El tiburón	Shark
El tiburón blanco	White shark
El tiburón martillo	Hammerhead shark
El tiburón tigre	Tiger shark
La tortuga marina	Sea turtle

Forest Animals

Known as animales del bosque in Spanish, these creatures live in the woods. The forest ecosystem has lots of trees that support a myriad of life forms. The variety of animals that live in the forest is amazing!

Spanish	English
Los animales del bosque	Forest animals
El águila	Eagle
El alce	Moose
La ardilla	Squirrel / Chipmunk
El búho	Owl
El castor / La castora	Beaver
El ciervo / El venado	Deer
El colibrí	Hummingbird
La culebra / La serpiente	Snake
El glotón / La glotona	Wolverine
El jabalí	Wild pig / boar
La liebre	Hare / Jackrabbit
El lobo/ La loba	Wolf
El lobezno	Wolf cub
El mapache	Racoon
El mirlo	Blackbird
El oso / La osa	Bear
El osezno	Bear cub
La paloma / El palomo	Pigeon
El pavo	Turkey
El pájaro carpintero	Woodpecker
El puerco espín	Porcupine
La rata	Rat
El tejón	Badger
El zorro/ La zorra	Fox
El zorrillo / La mofeta	Skunk

Rainforest Animals

The rainforest or jungle is known as el bosque lluvioso in Spanish. It’s a dense tropical forest rich in biodiversity with consistent rainfall throughout the year.

Did you know that the animals that live in the rainforest are different than those that live in drier forests?

Spanish	English
Los animales del bosque lluvioso	Rainforest animals
La anaconda	Anaconda
La boa constrictora	Boa constrictor
La cacatua	Cockatoo
La guacamaya roja	Scarlet Macaw
La iguana	Iguana
Las mariposas	Butterflies
El mono ardilla	Squirrel monkey
El oso hormiguero	Anteater
El perezoso / La perezosa	Sloth
La rana arborícola de ojos rojos	Red eyed tree frog
La rana dardo venenoso azul	Blue poison dart frog
La tarántula	Tarantula
El tucán	Toucan

Desert Animals

El desierto (desert) is a dry region that is hot during the day and cold at night.

The ecosystem on the deserts is impressive! It consists of animals that endure the heat and know how to survive in extreme temperatures with little water.

Impressed by these creatures that can survive such extreme conditions? Learn to talk about desert animals in Spanish!

Spanish	English
Los animales del desierto	Desert animals
El buitre	Vulture
El camello	Camel
El carnero de las montañas rocosas	Bighorn
El correcaminos	Roadrunner
El coyote	Coyote
El conejo / la coneja del desierto	Desert rabbit/cottontail
El escorpión	Scorpion
El halcón	Hawk
La lagartija	Lizard
El león / La leona de montaña	Mountain lion
La serpiente de cascabel	Rattlesnake
La tarántula del desierto occidental	Western desert tarantula
La tortuga del desierto	Desert tortoise

Zoo Animals

El zoológico (the zoo) is a manmade park that houses animals from all around the world.

Animals in the zoo live in cautiverio (captivity). What kinds of animals do you find at the zoo? This list is divided into animals from Africa, Oceanía, America, and Asia. Let’s explore!

African Animals

Los animales africanos are used to extreme conditions like long, hot days, and scarce food and water. African weather can be ruthless, and all the animals that live in this territory are resilient.

Spanish	English
Animales Africanos	African animals
El águila coronada africana	African crowned eagle
El avestruz	Ostrich
El bufalo africano	African Buffalo
La cebra	Zebra
El elefante africano	African elephant
La hiena manchada	Spotted hyena
El hipopótamo	Hippopotamus
El impala	Impala
La jirafa	Giraffe
El león / La leona	Lion
El leopardo africano	African leopard
El lobo etíope	Etiopian Wolf
La suricata / El suricato	Meerkat
El tigre	Tiger

American Animals

These animals thrive in wet environments, so the North, Central, and South American rainforests, manglars, rivers, and lakes are perfect for them. The different temperatures and heights present throughout the Americas contributes to the region’s biodiversity.

Spanish	English
Animales americanos	American animals
El águila harpía	Harpy eagle
La alpáca	Alpaca
El caimán	Alligator
La capibara	Capybara
El cinguládo	Cingulata
El coatí	Coatí
El condor andino	Andean condor
El ibis rojo	Red ibis
El jaguar	Jaguar
El lobo amelenado	Maned wolf
El mono capuchino	Capuchin monkey
El mono saki	Saki monkey
La piraña	Piranha
El puma	Cougar
La zarigueya	Opposum
El tapir	Tapir
El tití	Tamarin
La tortuga galápagos	Galapagos turtle
La víbora de pestañas	Eyelash viper

Asian Animals

Asia is a huge continent, so it is not surprising to find such rich diversity of animals in the territory. Los animales asiáticos (Asian animals) are a perfect example of how animals have adapted to the expansion of human territory.

Spanish	English
Animales asiaticos	Asian animals
El axis / El chital / El ciervo moteado	Axis deer
El binturong / El manturón	Binturong / Bearcat
El cerdo barbudo	Bearded pig
La cigueña india	Indian stork
La cobra	Cobra snake
El dragón de Komodo	Komono dragon / Komono lizard
El elefante asiático	Asian elephant
El faisán plateado	Silver pheasant
El gaur / El bisonte de la India	Gaur / Indian bison
La grulla	Crane
El lagarto monitor	Monitor lizard
El lemur	Lemur
El leopardo de nieve	Snow leopard
La mangosta	Mongoose
El mono monson	Monson monkey
El mono narigudo	Proboscis monkey
El orangután	Orangutan
El oso himalayo	Himalayan bear
El oso panda	Panda bear
El panda rojo	Red panda
El pangolín	Pangolin
El pavo real	Peacock
El tarsero	Tarsier
La tortuga de agua dulce	Terrapin

Animals of Oceania

Oceanía is home to several unique animals. Here’s a list of unique animals that are only found in Australia and the other countries in Oceanía.

Spanish	English
Animales de Oceanía	Oceanía animals
La ave lira	Lyrebird
El canguro	Kangaroo
El casuario	Cassowary
La cucaburra	Kookaburra
El diablo de Tasmania	Tasmanian devil
El dingo	Dingo
El emú	Emu
El equidna	Echidna
El ganso cenizo	Gray goose
El lori arco iris	Rainbow lorikeet
El koala	Koala
El ornitorrinco	Platypus
El perico de Tasmania	Tasmanian parakeet
La rana arbórea de Tasmania	Tasmanian tree frog
La tuatara	Tuatara
El wallaby	Wallaby
El wombat	Wombat
La zarigüeya de cola de escoba	Broom-tailed possum

You may have noticed that several animals in Spanish on this list don’t have a name for male and female, and if you change the “o” for an “a”, like with gato and gata, it may not sound right. So how can you communicate that you are talking about a female or a male in Spanish? Easy, with the words hembra (female) and macho (male). Here are some examples:

El elefante hembra – female elephant
El cocodrilo hembra – female crocodile
Una zarigüeya macho – male possum.
La rana macho – male frog
La hyena macho – male hyena

This was a long list full of information and animal names in Spanish! But the best way to secure all this new knowledge is through practice! Download this PDF worksheet to review and put into practice the names of these animals in Spanish and their habitats all around the world!

And another great way to practice all this content is learning how the animal sounds in Spanish! Did you know that the sounds change in Spanish and English? To learn more about check out this Kid’s Guide to Animal Sounds in Spanish.

Keep Learning Spanish!

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Carmen Rizzo

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I’m a native Spanish speaker from Guatemala with a B.A. in Psychology. I have a passion for teaching Sunday school in my spare time and for learning and sharing valuable information. I'm a cat lover who gets excited over cartoons, anime, and video games. I dabble in digital illustration and animation. I'm inspired by sharing my culture, traditions, food, and beliefs with others, while learning about theirs in return.