World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stingray): Stingray — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A stingray is a flat-bodied cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes, related to sharks. Its broad pectoral fins form a disc that flaps for swimming, and most species carry a venomous, barbed tail spine used only for defence. Most are bottom-dwelling ambush predators of shellfish.

## Introduction
Stingrays are flattened, cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes, close relatives of sharks. Their bodies are broadened into a smooth disc by enlarged pectoral fins, which ripple or flap to "fly" through the water. Most species live on the seabed, where their flat shape lets them bury in sand and ambush prey such as molluscs, crustaceans and small fish, crushing shells with plate-like teeth. Their best-known feature is a barbed, venom-coated spine partway along the tail, used purely in self-defence. Stingrays inhabit warm coastal seas worldwide, with some living in open ocean and a remarkable group thriving in South American rivers. Many species are now threatened by fishing pressure.

## Takeaway
Stingrays are cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes, making them close cousins of sharks rather than bony fish.

## Takeaway
Their flat, disc-shaped bodies are formed by enlarged pectoral fins that they flap or ripple to swim.

## Takeaway
The barbed tail spine delivers venom for defence only; stingrays are not aggressive and sting when stepped on or cornered.

## Takeaway
Most species are bottom-dwellers that crush shellfish with flattened teeth, though mantas and devil rays filter-feed on plankton in open water.

## Takeaway
Some stingrays live entirely in fresh water, notably the river rays of South America.

## Takeaway
Overfishing for meat, fins and gill plates has pushed dozens of stingray species toward the threatened categories of the IUCN Red List.

## What is a stingray and how is it related to sharks?
Stingrays belong to the order Myliobatiformes, part of the subclass Elasmobranchii — the same broad group that contains sharks, skates and other rays. Like sharks, they have no true bones; their skeleton is built from flexible cartilage, and their skin is covered in tiny tooth-like denticles rather than scales. What sets rays apart is their dramatically flattened shape. The pectoral fins are hugely enlarged and fused to the head and body, forming a broad disc that, in many species, looks almost circular or diamond-shaped. This pancake form is an adaptation for life on the seabed, where a low profile helps a ray rest, bury itself and surprise prey. The order is diverse, spanning around 220 species in roughly a dozen families, from palm-sized round stingrays to the enormous oceanic manta. Familiar groups include the whiptail stingrays (Dasyatidae), eagle rays, cownose rays, butterfly rays and the manta and devil rays (Mobulidae). Despite their fearsome reputation, stingrays are generally placid animals that would rather glide away than confront a swimmer.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stingray): Stingray — wildlife guide.

## How does the stingray's venomous tail spine work?
The stingray's defining weapon is one or more barbed spines, or stingers, set partway along the whip-like tail. Each spine is a modified denticle made of a hard, tooth-like material called vasodentine, edged with backward-pointing serrations. Running along grooves in the spine is venom-producing tissue, and the whole spine is wrapped in a thin skin sheath that tears on contact to release the venom. Crucially, this is a purely defensive system. A stingray cannot 'shoot' its spine; instead, if it feels cornered or is trodden on, it whips the tail upward and drives the barb into the threat. The venom causes intense pain, swelling and, in serious cases, tissue damage, while the serrated barb can inflict a deep, ragged wound. Human stings are uncommon and almost always happen when someone accidentally steps on a buried ray in shallow water, which is why beach-goers are advised to do the 'stingray shuffle', sliding their feet to nudge rays away. Fatalities are extremely rare. The spine is shed and regrown periodically, so a ray is never disarmed for long.

## Where do stingrays live and what do they eat?
Stingrays are found in warm and temperate seas across the globe, mostly in shallow coastal waters where they rest on sandy or muddy bottoms. Some, such as the pelagic stingray and the manta and devil rays, live out in open water instead, swimming with graceful flaps of their wing-like fins. A distinctive group, the river rays of the family Potamotrygonidae, lives permanently in the fresh waters of South American rivers, including the Amazon. Most bottom-dwelling stingrays are ambush predators. They glide over the seabed or lie buried with only their eyes and breathing holes (spiracles) exposed, then use their flexible discs to trap prey and their flattened, pavement-like teeth to crush molluscs, crustaceans and worms. Their mouths sit on the underside of the body, so they sense food using electroreception and smell rather than sight. By contrast, mantas and devil rays are gentle giants that filter tiny plankton from the water through specialised gill plates. This range of feeding styles, from shell-crushing to filter-feeding, helps explain why rays occupy so many different marine habitats.

## Are stingrays endangered?
Conservation status varies enormously across the stingray family, which is why no single label fits the whole group. Many smaller, widespread species are still relatively common, but a large number are in trouble. As of recent IUCN assessments, dozens of stingray and related ray species are listed as Vulnerable or Endangered, and some river and coastal species are Critically Endangered. The main threat is fishing. Rays are caught both deliberately and as bycatch, and demand for their meat, and for the gill plates of manta and devil rays, has driven sharp declines. Because rays grow slowly, mature late and produce only small litters of live young, populations recover very slowly once depleted. Habitat loss, river pollution and the degradation of mangroves and seagrass beds add further pressure, especially for freshwater and inshore species. In response, manta and devil rays have been given protection under CITES, the international convention regulating trade in threatened wildlife, and several countries have introduced sanctuaries and fishing limits. For most stingray species, however, monitoring and protection still lag well behind the scale of the threat.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stingray): Stingray — wildlife guide.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects dedicated specifically to stingrays, which live mostly outside the countries where our partners work — this guide is part of our free educational work to help people understand and value wildlife worldwide. The threats that endanger many rays, especially habitat loss, water pollution and overfishing, are the same pressures harming the coastal and freshwater animals WARN does help protect.

## Donation hook
If learning about these gentle gliders sparked your curiosity, a small gift helps keep our wildlife guides free and supports the animals WARN protects on the ground.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stingray): Stingray — wildlife guide.

## Are stingrays dangerous to humans?
Stingrays are not aggressive and pose little danger if left alone. They sting only in self-defence, almost always when accidentally stepped on in shallow water. A sting is very painful and the barb can cause a deep wound, but fatalities are extremely rare. Wading with a shuffling 'stingray shuffle' nudges buried rays away and prevents most accidents.

## Is a stingray a fish?
Yes. Stingrays are fish, but cartilaginous fish rather than bony fish. They belong to the same group as sharks and skates, with a skeleton made of flexible cartilage instead of bone. Their flattened, disc-shaped bodies and wing-like pectoral fins make them look very different from a typical fish, but they breathe through gills and live entirely in water.

## What do stingrays eat?
Most stingrays are bottom-feeders that hunt molluscs, crustaceans, worms and small fish. They locate buried prey using electroreception and smell, then crush shells with flattened, plate-like teeth. Their mouths sit on the underside of the body. Manta and devil rays are exceptions: these large open-water rays filter tiny plankton from the sea through specialised structures on their gills.

## Do stingrays lay eggs?
No. Unlike their close relatives the skates, stingrays give birth to live young. They are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs develop and hatch inside the mother's body. Embryos are nourished first by a yolk sac and then by nutrient-rich uterine secretions, and the young are born as small, fully formed rays. Litters are usually small, typically only a handful of pups.

## How big can stingrays get?
Size varies hugely across the roughly 220 species. Many coastal stingrays have discs less than a metre wide, while some giant freshwater and marine species grow much larger. The biggest of all are the oceanic manta rays, whose 'wingspan' can reach about 7 metres from fin tip to fin tip, making them among the largest fish in the sea after the great filter-feeding sharks.

## What is the difference between a stingray and a manta ray?
Manta rays are a type of ray within the same order as stingrays, but they live very differently. Mantas are huge, open-water filter-feeders that swim continuously and strain plankton from the sea, and they have only a vestigial tail spine, so they cannot sting. Typical stingrays are smaller bottom-dwellers that ambush shellfish and carry a working venomous tail barb for defence.

## Where do stingrays live?
Stingrays live in Coastal and open seas worldwide; some in fresh water. A stingray is a flat-bodied cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes, related to sharks. Its broad pectoral fins form a disc that flaps for swimming, and most species carry a venomous, barbed tail spine used only for defence.

## How long do stingrays live?
A precise wild lifespan for stingrays is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. A stingray is a flat-bodied cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes, related to sharks. Its broad pectoral fins form a disc that flaps for swimming, and most species carry a venomous, barbed tail spine used only for defence. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starfish): Starfish (Sea Star) — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A starfish, or sea star, is a marine invertebrate in the class Asteroidea (about 1,900 species). It is an echinoderm, not a fish, with radial symmetry, a central disc and usually five arms lined with tube feet. Many can regenerate lost arms and feed by everting their stomach.

## Introduction
Starfish, more accurately called sea stars, are marine animals in the class Asteroidea, with roughly 1,900 living species. Despite the name, they are not fish at all: they are echinoderms, relatives of sea urchins and sea cucumbers, built on a five-part radial body plan rather than a head-and-tail design. Most have a central disc and five arms, though some species carry ten, twenty or even forty. They live in every ocean, from rock pools to the deep abyss, gliding on hundreds of tiny tube feet. Famous for regenerating lost arms and for feeding by pushing their stomach out through their mouth, sea stars are among the sea's most distinctive and ecologically important invertebrates.

## Takeaway
Starfish are echinoderms, not fish, which is why many biologists prefer the name sea star.

## Takeaway
Their bodies show radial symmetry, usually with five arms around a central disc.

## Takeaway
Most sea stars feed by everting their stomach out of their mouth and digesting prey externally.

## Takeaway
Many species can regenerate arms, and a few can regrow a whole body from a single arm and part of the disc.

## Takeaway
Sea stars live in every ocean, from intertidal pools to depths beyond 6,000 metres.

## Takeaway
Most species are unassessed, but some, such as the sunflower sea star, are now Critically Endangered after disease outbreaks.

## Are starfish actually fish?
No. Starfish are not fish, which is why scientists increasingly call them sea stars. They belong to the phylum Echinodermata, the same group as sea urchins, brittle stars, sea cucumbers and feather stars. Fish are vertebrates with backbones, gills and fins; sea stars have none of these. Instead they have an internal skeleton of calcium-carbonate plates (ossicles) embedded in their body wall, and they breathe through tiny skin gills and their tube feet rather than through gills like a fish. The most striking difference is their body plan. Most animals we know well, including fish, have bilateral symmetry with a clear front and back. Adult sea stars instead have radial symmetry, typically arranged in fives, with no head and the mouth set in the centre of the underside. They also possess a feature unique to echinoderms: a water vascular system, a network of fluid-filled canals that powers hundreds of tube feet. By pumping water in and out, a sea star extends and grips with these feet to creep across the seabed, climb rocks and prise open shells. So while the everyday name has stuck for centuries, biologically a sea star sits far from any fish.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starfish): Starfish (Sea Star) — wildlife guide.

## How do starfish eat and move?
Sea stars move using a hydraulic system found nowhere else in the animal kingdom. Sea water is drawn in through a sieve-like plate on the upper surface (the madreporite) and channelled into rows of tube feet running along grooves beneath each arm. By changing the water pressure, the animal extends, anchors and retracts each foot in turn, allowing it to glide slowly but powerfully across the seabed and grip vertical surfaces. Many sea stars are active predators. A common target is bivalves such as mussels and clams. The sea star humps over its prey, grips both shells with its tube feet and pulls steadily until the shell gapes by even a fraction of a millimetre. It then performs one of nature's strangest feeding tricks: it pushes its stomach out through its mouth, slides the everted stomach into the shell and digests the soft body externally before drawing the partly liquefied meal back inside. Other species swallow prey whole, graze on algae, sponges and coral, or sweep up drifting particles. Light-sensitive eyespots at the tip of each arm help them sense brightness and shadow as they hunt.

## Can starfish really regrow their arms?
Yes. Regeneration is one of the sea star's most famous abilities. If a predator or accident removes an arm, most species can slowly regrow it over months, sometimes more than a year. The new limb gradually rebuilds its skeleton, tube feet and internal organs, including a branch of the digestive and reproductive systems that extends into every arm. In a number of species the power goes further still. Because vital organs are distributed along the arms rather than concentrated in a single head, some sea stars can regenerate an entire body from a single severed arm, provided enough of the central disc remains attached. A few, such as certain Linckia species, can even regrow from an arm fragment alone, briefly forming a tiny new disc nicknamed a comet. This ability long caused trouble for shellfish gatherers who chopped up sea stars and threw the pieces back, unwittingly multiplying them. Beyond curiosity value, sea star regeneration is studied by biologists interested in how animals rebuild complex tissues, offering clues that connect to wider questions about healing and growth across the animal kingdom.

## Why do starfish matter to ocean health?
Sea stars are important players in many marine ecosystems, and some are classic keystone species, meaning their influence on a habitat is far greater than their numbers alone suggest. On rocky North Pacific shores, predatory sea stars keep mussels and other shellfish in check; remove the sea stars and a few dominant species can crowd out everything else, collapsing local diversity. This idea, developed from experiments on rocky coasts, helped shape the whole concept of keystone species in ecology. Sea stars also recycle nutrients by scavenging dead animals and grazing surfaces clean. Their importance becomes painfully clear when they vanish. Since 2013 a mass mortality known as sea-star wasting disease has killed billions of sea stars along the eastern Pacific, with the large, fast sunflower sea star among the hardest hit, prompting an IUCN assessment of Critically Endangered in 2020. Losing this voracious predator allowed sea urchins to multiply and graze down kelp forests in many areas, harming a habitat that shelters countless other species. Healthy sea star populations are therefore a useful sign of a balanced, resilient coastal sea.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starfish): Starfish (Sea Star) — wildlife guide.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects dedicated specifically to starfish, which live in oceans far beyond the countries where our partners work; this guide is part of our free educational work to help people understand the wildlife that shares our planet. Yet the pressures that threaten sea stars, including warming seas, disease, pollution and habitat loss, are the same broad forces that endanger the coastal and freshwater animals WARN does help protect, so learning about one corner of nature supports care for all of it.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your wonder at the natural world, a small gift helps keep our wildlife education free and supports the animals in our care.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starfish): Starfish (Sea Star) — wildlife guide.

## Is a starfish a fish?
No. A starfish is not a fish, which is why many scientists call it a sea star instead. It is an echinoderm, in the same phylum as sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Fish are vertebrates with backbones, gills and fins, while sea stars have none of these and instead show radial symmetry and move using water-powered tube feet.

## How many arms does a starfish have?
Most starfish have five arms arranged around a central disc, reflecting the five-part radial symmetry typical of echinoderms — but the number varies widely between species. The sunflower sea star grows around 16 to 24 arms, while the Antarctic sun star (Labidiaster) can carry forty or more. Lost arms can often regenerate over time.

## How do starfish eat?
Many starfish are predators of shellfish such as mussels and clams. A sea star grips the shell with its tube feet, pulls it open a fraction, then pushes its stomach out through its mouth and into the shell, digesting the soft body externally before drawing the meal back in. Other species swallow prey whole or graze on algae, sponges and coral.

## Can a starfish grow back a lost arm?
Yes. Most starfish can regenerate a lost arm, slowly rebuilding its skeleton, tube feet and organs over months. In some species the ability goes further: because key organs are spread along the arms, a whole animal can regrow from a single arm if enough of the central disc remains. A few species can even regenerate from an arm fragment alone.

## What do starfish eat?
Starfish eat Shellfish, algae, sponges, coral, detritus; many are predators. A starfish, or sea star, is a marine invertebrate in the class Asteroidea (about 1,900 species). It is an echinoderm, not a fish, with radial symmetry, a central disc and usually five arms lined with tube feet.

## Where do starfish live?
Starfish live in All oceans, from tide pools to depths beyond 6,000 m. A starfish, or sea star, is a marine invertebrate in the class Asteroidea (about 1,900 species). It is an echinoderm, not a fish, with radial symmetry, a central disc and usually five arms lined with tube feet.

## Are starfish dangerous?
Starfish are not generally dangerous to people. A starfish, or sea star, is a marine invertebrate in the class Asteroidea (about 1,900 species). It is an echinoderm, not a fish, with radial symmetry, a central disc and usually five arms lined with tube feet. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do starfish live?
A precise wild lifespan for starfish is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. A starfish, or sea star, is a marine invertebrate in the class Asteroidea (about 1,900 species). It is an echinoderm, not a fish, with radial symmetry, a central disc and usually five arms lined with tube feet. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a starfish?
A Starfish is about Radial symmetry, central disc with arms. A starfish, or sea star, is a marine invertebrate in the class Asteroidea (about 1,900 species). It is an echinoderm, not a fish, with radial symmetry, a central disc and usually five arms lined with tube feet.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/crab): Crab — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A crab is a ten-legged crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, with a hard exoskeleton, a short broad body, a pair of front pincers and a sideways walk. About 7,000 species live in the oceans, in fresh water and on land worldwide.

## Introduction
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, a hugely successful group of roughly 7,000 species. They are instantly recognisable by a short, broad body protected by a hard exoskeleton, a pair of clawed front legs called chelae, and a characteristic sideways scuttle. Crabs live almost everywhere there is water: across the world's oceans from shallow rock pools to the deep sea, in fresh water, and even on land in tropical forests. Most "true" crabs share a folded tail tucked beneath the body, distinguishing them from look-alikes such as hermit and porcelain crabs. As scavengers, grazers and predators, they are vital recyclers and prey throughout aquatic food webs.

## Takeaway
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, with about 7,000 known species.

## Takeaway
They have ten legs in total; the front pair are modified into pincers (chelae) for feeding and defence.

## Takeaway
A hard exoskeleton protects the body, and crabs must moult it periodically to grow.

## Takeaway
Their sideways walk comes from the way their legs bend at the joints.

## Takeaway
Crabs live in oceans, fresh water and on land, from shallow shores to the deep sea.

## Takeaway
Most crab species have never been formally assessed by the IUCN, so their conservation status is largely unknown.

## What makes a crab a crab?
Crabs belong to the infraorder Brachyura, a name meaning "short tail" that points to their defining feature. Unlike lobsters or shrimp, a true crab's abdomen is small and folded tightly underneath the body, hidden beneath a broad, flattened shell called the carapace. Like all decapods, crabs have ten legs. The rearmost four pairs are used mainly for walking, while the front pair is enlarged into chelae, or pincers, used to grasp food, fight, dig and signal to other crabs. The hard outer exoskeleton is made largely of chitin reinforced with minerals, giving crabs their armoured appearance. Because this shell cannot stretch, a crab grows by moulting: it sheds the old casing and emerges soft and vulnerable, then takes in water to swell before the new shell hardens. Crabs sense the world through two stalked compound eyes, a pair of antennae and fine sensory hairs. Many look-alikes, including hermit crabs, porcelain crabs and horseshoe crabs, are not true Brachyura at all, despite sharing the name.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/crab): Crab — wildlife guide.

## Why do crabs walk sideways?
The sideways scuttle is one of the most familiar things about crabs, and it comes down to anatomy. A crab's legs are jointed so that they bend outward to the sides rather than forward and back, the way ours do. Pushing off in a sideways direction lets a crab move quickly and efficiently across sand, rock and seabed without its legs tangling, while keeping its broad body low and stable. Walking sideways also presents the narrower edge of the body to the direction of travel, which can help when squeezing between rocks or into crevices. That said, the rule is not absolute. Some crabs can walk forwards or backwards when needed, and certain swimming crabs have flattened, paddle-like rear legs that let them propel themselves through open water. Spider crabs and others amble more slowly in any direction. The sideways gait is best understood as the most natural and rapid movement for a typical broad-bodied crab, rather than the only one available to it.

## Where do crabs live and what do they eat?
Crabs are extraordinarily adaptable and have colonised an enormous range of habitats. The majority are marine, found from intertidal rock pools and sandy beaches down to coral reefs and the cold, dark deep sea. Others thrive in brackish estuaries and mangroves, while true freshwater crabs live in rivers, streams and lakes across the tropics and subtropics. Some species are largely terrestrial: land crabs and robber crabs roam tropical forests and shorelines, returning to water mainly to breed, and famous mass migrations see millions move between forest and sea. Most crabs are omnivorous opportunists. They scavenge dead plants and animals, graze on algae, sift detritus and hunt smaller creatures such as molluscs, worms and other crustaceans, using their pincers to tear and manipulate food. This broad diet makes crabs important recyclers, cleaning up organic matter and turning over sediment. In turn they are eaten by fish, birds, octopuses, mammals and people, giving them a central place in many food webs.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for crabs, which live far beyond the countries where WARN's partners work and are mostly outside its rescue remit. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand the wildlife that shares our planet. The threats that affect crabs, such as habitat loss, coastal pollution and overharvesting, are the same pressures that harm the animals WARN does protect, so learning about one corner of the natural world supports care for all of it.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your wonder at the natural world, a small gift helps keep WARN's educational work free and its rescue work going.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/crab): Crab — wildlife guide.

## How many legs does a crab have?
A true crab has ten legs in total, which is why crabs are classed as decapods. The front pair is modified into pincers, called chelae, used for feeding, fighting and defence rather than walking. The remaining four pairs are walking legs. In some swimming crabs the rearmost pair is flattened into paddles, helping the crab move through open water.

## Why do crabs walk sideways?
Crabs walk sideways because their legs are jointed to bend outward to the sides rather than forward and back. Moving sideways lets a broad-bodied crab travel quickly and efficiently while staying low and stable, and helps it slip between rocks. Many crabs can also move forwards or backwards when they need to, so the sideways gait is the easiest, not the only, option.

## How do crabs grow if they have a hard shell?
Crabs grow by moulting. Because the hard exoskeleton cannot stretch, a crab periodically sheds its old shell and emerges with a soft new one underneath. It then takes in water to swell its body to a larger size before the fresh shell hardens around it. During this brief soft-shell stage the crab is very vulnerable and usually hides until its armour sets.

## Are hermit crabs and horseshoe crabs real crabs?
Not in the strict sense. True crabs belong to the infraorder Brachyura, with a short tail folded beneath a broad shell. Hermit crabs and porcelain crabs are crustaceans in a different group and are not true crabs, even though they look similar. Horseshoe crabs are not crustaceans at all and are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to crabs.

## What do crabs eat?
Most true crabs are omnivorous scavengers. They feed on algae, detritus, small animals and carrion, using their front pincers to grasp and tear food. As decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, they play a recycling role throughout aquatic food webs, breaking down dead material in oceans, fresh water and on land.

## Where do crabs live?
Crabs live almost everywhere there is water. About 7,000 species of true crab colonise the world's oceans from rock pools to the deep sea, fresh water and even tropical land. Their hard exoskeleton, ten legs with front pincers and sideways walk make them instantly recognisable across these varied habitats.

## Are crabs dangerous?
Most crabs are not dangerous to humans. Large species with powerful claws, such as some marine crabs, can deliver a painful pinch if handled carelessly. As a group, crabs are far more important as recyclers and prey than as threats. Roughly 7,000 Brachyura species exist, and only a few large coastal crabs need cautious handling.

## How big is a crab?
Crab size varies enormously across about 7,000 true crab species. Many shore crabs are hand-sized, while the largest marine species have carapaces spanning tens of centimetres. All share a short, broad body protected by a hard exoskeleton, a pair of clawed front legs and the characteristic sideways scuttle of the infraorder Brachyura.

## How long do crabs live?
A precise wild lifespan for crabs is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. A crab is a ten-legged crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, with a hard exoskeleton, a short broad body, a pair of front pincers and a sideways walk. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lobster): Lobster — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A lobster is a large clawed marine crustacean of the family Nephropidae, including the American and European lobsters. It grows by moulting its hard shell, can regenerate lost claws, has blue copper-based blood, and may live an estimated 45 to 50 years in the wild.

## Introduction
Lobsters are large, long-lived marine crustaceans of the family Nephropidae, the group of true "clawed" lobsters that includes the American lobster (Homarus americanus) and the European lobster (Homarus gammarus). Encased in a hard exoskeleton they must shed to grow, these bottom-dwelling decapods are built around a pair of unequal front claws, long sensory antennae and copper-rich blue blood. They walk the cold rocky floors of the Atlantic, scavenging and hunting in the dark, and they are famous both for their longevity and for the rare colour mutations - blue, calico, split and albino - that periodically go viral when one turns up in a fishing trap. Where they have been assessed, clawed lobsters are not classed as threatened, though they remain heavily fished and sensitive to warming, acidifying seas.

## Takeaway
Lobsters are clawed crustaceans of the family Nephropidae; the best-known are the American lobster (Homarus americanus) and the European lobster (Homarus gammarus).

## Takeaway
They grow by moulting - shedding the entire hard exoskeleton - and can regenerate claws and legs lost to predators or fights over successive moults.

## Takeaway
Their blood is blue because it carries oxygen using copper-based haemocyanin rather than the iron-based haemoglobin found in vertebrates.

## Takeaway
Rare colour mutations make headlines: blue lobsters occur in roughly 1 in 2 million, calico and orange around 1 in 30 million, and albino around 1 in 100 million.

## Takeaway
Where evaluated, clawed lobsters are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and are not CITES-listed, but they are intensively fished and exposed to warming, acidifying seas.

## Takeaway
True clawed lobsters are not the same as spiny (rock) lobsters, which lack the large front claws.

## What a lobster is and how to recognise one
A lobster is a large marine crustacean in the family Nephropidae, part of the order Decapoda ('ten-footed'). The body divides into a fused head-and-thorax (the cephalothorax), protected by a shield-like carapace, and a muscular segmented tail or abdomen - the part most people picture on a plate. Lobsters have eight walking legs plus a front pair modified into large claws, giving the ten limbs of a decapod. The two claws are usually unequal: a heavy 'crusher', studded with rounded nodules for breaking shells, and a slimmer 'cutter' or pincer with sharper edges for tearing prey. Long, mobile antennae and smaller antennules act as the lobster's main sense organs in murky water, while compound eyes on stalks detect movement and dim light. The American lobster can reach about 64 cm (25 in) in length, and the heaviest lobster on record weighed 20.15 kg (44.4 lb), landed off Nova Scotia. Importantly, these clawed lobsters differ from 'spiny' or 'rock' lobsters, which belong to separate families and lack the big front claws.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lobster): Lobster — wildlife guide.

## Moulting, regeneration and a very long life
Because a lobster's armour cannot stretch, it can only grow by moulting - backing out of its old shell and expanding a soft new one underneath before it hardens. Young lobsters moult often, sometimes around ten times a year, slowing to once every few years as they mature; a single moult can raise body weight by roughly 40 to 50 per cent. Moulting is dangerous: studies cited on the species' Wikipedia entry note that an estimated 10 to 15 per cent of lobsters die of exhaustion during the process, and a freshly moulted lobster is soft and highly vulnerable until its shell sets. Moulting also powers regeneration - a lobster that loses a claw or leg can regrow it gradually over successive moults. Combined with slow, indeterminate growth, this lets lobsters reach great ages: individuals are thought to live an estimated 45 to 50 years in the wild, though precise ageing is difficult because each moult erases hard structures that might otherwise record age.

## Blue blood, rare colours and life on the sea floor
Lobsters live on rocky, sandy and muddy bottoms of cold Atlantic waters, from the shallows down beyond the continental shelf, sheltering in crevices by day and foraging by night. They are opportunistic omnivores, taking molluscs, worms, other crustaceans, fish and some algae, and scavenging when they can. Their blood runs blue rather than red because it uses haemocyanin, a copper-based oxygen carrier, instead of iron-based haemoglobin. Live lobsters are typically mottled greenish-brown or, in the European species, a dark blue - the bright 'lobster red' only appears after cooking, when heat unmasks the pigment astaxanthin. Genuine colour mutations are spectacularly rare and reliably go viral: blue lobsters appear in roughly 1 in 2 million, calico and orange forms around 1 in 30 million, split-coloured 'half-and-half' lobsters near 1 in 50 million, and ghostly albino lobsters about 1 in 100 million. Such oddities are usually returned to the sea or sent to public aquariums rather than eaten.

## Conservation status and pressures
As a group, clawed lobsters are not assessed as threatened: both the American lobster and the European lobster are listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and clawed lobsters are not listed under CITES. Some less-studied members of the family remain data deficient, meaning there is too little information to judge their status. That relative security depends on management. Lobsters are among the most valuable fished invertebrates in the North Atlantic, and stocks are guarded by rules such as minimum and maximum size limits, protection of egg-bearing females, escape vents in traps and seasonal closures. Longer-term, warming and acidifying seas pose real concerns: rising temperatures can shift lobster ranges and stress larvae, while more acidic water can hamper shell formation. Healthy lobster populations therefore rest on continued science-based fisheries management and on tackling the broader pressures of climate change and habitat loss.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects for lobsters. Our role here is educational: we publish clear, sourced explainers so readers understand these animals and the pressures - overfishing, warming seas and ocean acidification - that affect marine wildlife. By making accurate science easy to find, we aim to help people appreciate crustaceans and support responsible, well-managed seas.

## Donation hook
Support World Animal Rescue Network's free, fact-checked wildlife education. Your gift helps us research and publish accurate guides like this one, so more people can understand and value the world's animals.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lobster): Lobster — wildlife guide.

## Why is lobster blood blue?
Lobster blood is blue because it carries oxygen using haemocyanin, a copper-based protein, rather than the iron-based haemoglobin that makes vertebrate blood red. When haemocyanin binds oxygen it takes on a bluish tint, so a lobster's circulating fluid (haemolymph) looks pale blue.

## How long do lobsters live?
Clawed lobsters are long-lived and are estimated to reach about 45 to 50 years in the wild. Exact ages are hard to confirm because lobsters moult away the hard body parts that might otherwise record their age, so lifespans are estimates rather than precise counts.

## How big can a lobster get?
American lobsters can reach around 64 cm (25 in) in length. The heaviest lobster ever recorded weighed 20.15 kg (44.4 lb) and was caught off Nova Scotia, making it the heaviest crustacean on record. Most lobsters caught commercially are far smaller.

## How rare is a blue lobster?
A blue lobster is estimated to occur in roughly 1 in 2 million wild lobsters, caused by a genetic mutation that overproduces a blue protein. Even rarer are calico and orange forms (around 1 in 30 million), split-coloured lobsters (about 1 in 50 million) and albinos (about 1 in 100 million).

## Can lobsters regrow their claws?
Yes. A lobster that loses a claw or leg to a predator or a fight can regenerate it gradually over successive moults. Because lobsters grow by shedding and replacing their shell, each moult lets a regrowing limb get a little larger until it is restored.

## Are lobsters endangered?
The well-studied clawed lobsters are not endangered: the American and European lobsters are both listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, and clawed lobsters are not CITES-listed. Some lesser-known species are data deficient. Populations still depend on careful fisheries management and on limiting warming and acidification of the oceans.

## What do lobsters eat?
Lobsters eat Omnivore: molluscs, worms, fish, crustaceans, algae. A lobster is a large clawed marine crustacean of the family Nephropidae, including the American and European lobsters.

## Where do lobsters live?
Lobsters live in Cold Atlantic sea floors, rocky to muddy bottoms. A lobster is a large clawed marine crustacean of the family Nephropidae, including the American and European lobsters.

## Are lobsters dangerous?
Lobsters are not generally dangerous to people. A lobster is a large clawed marine crustacean of the family Nephropidae, including the American and European lobsters. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/squid): Squid — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A squid is a fast-swimming cephalopod mollusc of the order Teuthida, related to octopuses and cuttlefish, with eight arms, two longer feeding tentacles, jet propulsion, ink defence and colour-changing skin; the order includes around 300 species, from tiny pygmy squid to the deep-sea giant squid.

## Introduction
Squid are fast-swimming marine molluscs of the order Teuthida, a group of roughly 300 cephalopod species closely related to octopuses and cuttlefish. They share the cephalopod toolkit of eight arms, jet propulsion, ink defence and skin that changes colour in an instant, yet squid add two long feeding tentacles and a streamlined, torpedo-shaped body built for open water. Most species are small, but the order also contains the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) and colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni); the colossal squid carries the largest eyes known in the animal kingdom, and the giant squid's are among the largest. From shallow reefs to the deep sea, squid are key open-ocean predators and prey, helping move energy through marine food webs worldwide. This guide is educational; the World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects for squid.

## Takeaway
Squid are cephalopod molluscs of the order Teuthida, closely related to octopuses and cuttlefish, with around 300 known species.

## Takeaway
They have eight arms plus two longer retractile feeding tentacles, and most carry an internal chitinous 'pen' (gladius) instead of a shell.

## Takeaway
Squid swim by jet propulsion, expelling water through a funnel, and can also undulate their fins for slower, precise movement.

## Takeaway
Their defences include a cloud of ink and chromatophores - pigment cells that allow rapid colour change for camouflage and signalling.

## Takeaway
The colossal squid has the largest eyes known in the animal kingdom and the giant squid's are among the largest, adaptations for the dark deep sea.

## Takeaway
Most squid are Least Concern or Not Evaluated and none are CITES-listed, but heavy commercial fishing makes monitoring important.

## What is a squid?
Squid are marine cephalopods - the same molluscan class as octopuses, cuttlefish and the nautilus. The order Teuthida contains roughly 300 species, making it one of the most diverse cephalopod groups. A squid has a soft, elongated body enclosed by a muscular mantle, paired swimming fins, a distinct head with large eyes, and a parrot-like beak at the centre of its arms. Unlike most molluscs, squid have no external shell; instead they keep a small internal skeleton called a gladius or 'pen', made of chitin, which stiffens the body. Around the mouth sit eight arms lined with suckers, plus two longer, retractable feeding tentacles that shoot out to seize prey. Squid are more closely related to octopuses than to the so-called vampire squid, which despite its name sits closer to the octopuses.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/squid): Squid — wildlife guide.

## How squid move, hunt and defend themselves
Squid are among the fastest invertebrates. They draw water into the mantle cavity and expel it in a powerful jet through a flexible funnel, rocketing backwards; some flying squid even glide above the surface for many metres to escape predators. For slower, controlled movement they ripple their fins. To hunt, a squid ambushes large zooplankton, fish and other squid, firing out its two tentacles and drawing prey to its beak. Defence relies on a trio of tricks: a cloud of melanin-rich ink to confuse attackers, jet-powered escape, and chromatophores - tiny muscle-controlled pigment sacs that let the skin change colour and pattern almost instantly for camouflage or communication. Many deep-sea species add bioluminescence, using light to hide their silhouette or lure prey.

## Size, diversity and the giants of the deep
Most squid are modest in size, typically under 60 cm long, and some pygmy squid (Idiosepius) measure barely 1-2 cm. At the other extreme lie the legendary deep-sea giants. The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) can reach around 13 m in total length including its tentacles, while the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is shorter at around 4-5 m total length but far more heavily built, weighing up to roughly 500 kg - making it the heaviest squid known. The colossal squid carries the largest eyes recorded in the animal kingdom, measured at around 27 cm across, and the giant squid's eyes are among the largest too; both gather faint light in the lightless depths. Squid are generally short-lived: species such as Loligo live only one to three years, growing fast, breeding once and then dying. This rapid life cycle lets populations respond quickly to ocean conditions but also makes them sensitive to environmental change.

## Squid in the ocean and human use
Squid occupy a central place in marine food webs, playing a role much like open-water fish: voracious predators of smaller animals, and essential prey for sharks, large fish, seabirds, seals and toothed whales - the sperm whale is a famous hunter of deep-sea squid. They are also one of the world's most heavily fished groups of invertebrates, supporting major commercial fisheries from Japan to the Mediterranean and South America. Because most squid are short-lived and their numbers swing with ocean temperature and currents, scientists emphasise careful, science-based catch limits and habitat protection. While individual squid species are mostly assessed as Least Concern or remain unevaluated, the scale of fishing and the influence of warming seas mean ongoing monitoring is wise.

## WARN work
The World Animal Rescue Network does not run field rescue or conservation projects for squid. Our role here is educational: we publish sourced, accessible guides so readers understand cephalopod biology, the ocean food webs squid support, and the pressures these animals face from large-scale fishing and a changing climate.

## Donation hook
If clear, science-based wildlife guides like this help you understand and care about ocean life, please consider supporting the World Animal Rescue Network's educational work so we can keep producing them.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/squid): Squid — wildlife guide.

## Is a squid a fish?
No. A squid is not a fish but a mollusc - specifically a cephalopod, the same group as octopuses, cuttlefish and the nautilus. Unlike fish, squid have no backbone or bony skeleton; they have a soft body, eight arms, two feeding tentacles and move by jet propulsion.

## How many arms and tentacles does a squid have?
A squid has ten appendages in total: eight arms lined with suckers, plus two longer, retractable feeding tentacles that shoot out to grab prey. The arms are used for handling food and manipulation, while the tentacles are the squid's main hunting strike.

## What is the difference between a squid and an octopus?
Both are cephalopods, but a squid has eight arms plus two longer feeding tentacles and an internal chitinous 'pen', while an octopus has eight arms and no tentacles or internal pen. Squid have a streamlined body with fins for fast open-water swimming; octopuses are softer-bodied and tend to live on the sea floor.

## How do squid change colour?
Squid change colour using chromatophores - thousands of tiny pigment-filled sacs in the skin, each controlled by muscles. By expanding or contracting these sacs, a squid can shift colour and pattern almost instantly for camouflage, courtship or signalling. Many deep-sea squid also produce light through bioluminescence.

## How big can a squid get?
Most squid are under 60 cm long, and some pygmy squid are only a centimetre or two. The deep-sea giants are far larger: the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) can reach around 13 m in total length, while the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is more heavily built - the heaviest squid known, up to roughly 500 kg - but shorter, at around 4-5 m in total length.

## What do squids eat?
Squids eat Carnivorous: zooplankton, fish, other squid. A squid is a fast-swimming cephalopod mollusc of the order Teuthida, related to octopuses and cuttlefish, with eight arms, two longer feeding tentacles, jet propulsion, ink defence and colour-changing skin; the order includes around 300 species, from tiny pygmy squid to the deep-sea giant squid.

## Where do squids live?
Squids live in All oceans, from shallow seas to the deep. A squid is a fast-swimming cephalopod mollusc of the order Teuthida, related to octopuses and cuttlefish, with eight arms, two longer feeding tentacles, jet propulsion, ink defence and colour-changing skin; the order includes around 300 species, from tiny pygmy squid to the deep-sea giant squid.

## Are squids dangerous?
Squids are not generally dangerous to people. A squid is a fast-swimming cephalopod mollusc of the order Teuthida, related to octopuses and cuttlefish, with eight arms, two longer feeding tentacles, jet propulsion, ink defence and colour-changing skin; the order includes around 300 species, from tiny pygmy squid to the deep-sea giant squid. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do squids live?
Squids typically live 8 arms plus 2 feeding tentacles. A squid is a fast-swimming cephalopod mollusc of the order Teuthida, related to octopuses and cuttlefish, with eight arms, two longer feeding tentacles, jet propulsion, ink defence and colour-changing skin; the order includes around 300 species, from tiny pygmy squid to the deep-sea giant squid. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/alligator): Alligator — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Alligators are broad-snouted crocodilians with two living species — the recovered American alligator of the US South-east and the Critically Endangered Chinese alligator of the Yangtze — both vital wetland predators whose status ranges from Least Concern to Critically Endangered.

## Introduction
Alligators are large crocodilians of the genus Alligator, native to freshwater wetlands of the south-eastern United States and the lower Yangtze region of China. Only two living species remain: the widespread American alligator and the critically rare Chinese alligator. Unlike crocodiles, alligators have broad, U-shaped snouts and tolerate cooler climates. They are apex predators that shape wetland ecosystems through nest building, wallowing and prey regulation. After near extinction in the twentieth century, the American alligator became a flagship recovery story; the Chinese alligator remains one of the world's most endangered crocodilians.

## Takeaway
Alligators have broad, rounded snouts; crocodiles have narrower, V-shaped snouts — a reliable field distinction in overlap zones.

## Takeaway
The American alligator recovered from near extinction and is now Least Concern; the Chinese alligator is Critically Endangered with fewer than 150 wild individuals.

## Takeaway
Alligators build mound nests of vegetation that incubate eggs through heat from decay — a behaviour that creates microhabitats for other species.

## Takeaway
They are not suitable pets: adults exceed three metres, require large aquatic enclosures and remain dangerous throughout their lives.

## Takeaway
Wetland drainage, pollution and illegal trade threaten Chinese alligators; habitat protection and captive breeding underpin recovery efforts.

## Takeaway
Alligators play a keystone role in marshes and swamps, maintaining fish populations and opening water channels through their movements.

## What is an alligator — and how does it differ from a crocodile?
Alligators belong to the order Crocodylia alongside crocodiles, caimans and gharials. The two alligator species share a broad, U-shaped snout suited to crushing turtle shells and hard prey, whereas most crocodiles have longer, narrower jaws adapted for fish and varied prey. When mouth is closed, an alligator's lower teeth are mostly hidden beneath the upper jaw; in crocodiles the fourth lower tooth remains visible.

American alligators inhabit freshwater marshes, rivers, lakes and swamps from Texas to North Carolina. Chinese alligators once ranged across the lower Yangtze floodplain but now survive in fragmented ponds and canals in Anhui Province. Both species are ectothermic — they bask to regulate body temperature and become less active in cold weather, which allows American alligators to survive occasional freezes by keeping nostrils above ice.

Fossil evidence shows alligators have changed little over tens of millions of years. Their armoured osteoderms, powerful tails and acute night vision make them effective ambush predators. Understanding the distinction from crocodiles matters for conservation reporting, because trade rules and regional protection laws often treat crocodilians differently.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/alligator): Alligator — wildlife guide.

## Behaviour, reproduction and ecology
Alligators are most active from dusk to dawn. They hunt fish, turtles, birds, mammals and carrion, using explosive lunges from water rather than prolonged chases. Large males defend territories during the breeding season; females build mound nests of vegetation in spring, depositing 20 to 50 eggs that hatch after roughly 65 days as heat from rotting plant material incubates the clutch.

Temperature during incubation determines sex in American alligators — a phenomenon called temperature-dependent sex determination. Hatchlings stay with their mother for up to two years, receiving protection from predators including raccoons, large fish and other alligators. This extended maternal care is unusual among reptiles and improves juvenile survival.

In wetland ecology, alligator holes — excavated depressions that hold water through dry seasons — provide refuge for fish, amphibians and wading birds. Their nest mounds offer nesting sites for turtles and birds. Removing alligators from a marsh can cascade through the food web, which is why regulated hunting and habitat management focus on sustaining populations rather than eradication.

## Threats and conservation
The American alligator was hunted nearly to extinction for leather until legal protection and trade bans under CITES allowed recovery from the 1960s onward. Today it is listed as Least Concern with a stable or increasing population across millions of hectares of protected and managed wetland. Controlled harvest programmes in some US states provide sustainable economic incentives for landowners to maintain habitat.

The Chinese alligator tells a different story. Wetland conversion for agriculture and urban development eliminated most of its range. Fewer than 150 individuals may remain in the wild, though captive breeding at facilities in China and zoos worldwide has produced a larger insurance population. Reintroduction projects aim to establish self-sustaining groups in restored reserves.

Globally, crocodilians face illegal skin and meat trade, conflict with fisheries, and pollution. Climate change may alter nest temperatures and sex ratios. Effective conservation combines wetland restoration, anti-poaching enforcement, community education and science-based reintroduction.

## Alligators and people
In the American South, alligators are a familiar part of the landscape — seen on golf courses, in suburban ponds and along highways. Most human encounters end without injury when people keep distance and do not feed them; feeding habituates animals and increases bite risk. Fatal attacks are rare but possible, especially where large alligators inhabit heavily used waterways.

Chinese alligators rarely encounter people in remaining wild sites, but historical records describe them living alongside rice farmers. Recovery depends on coexistence programmes that compensate landowners for maintaining suitable ponds and discourage illegal capture for the exotic pet trade.

For readers learning about wildlife, the lesson is clear: alligators are wild predators requiring healthy wetlands, not novelty pets. Supporting wetland protection in the Yangtze basin and the south-eastern United States helps both species and the countless birds, fish and plants that share their habitat.

## Related WARN guides
Alligators sit within WARN's crocodilian coverage. Read the crocodilian hub for the wider group, the saltwater crocodile guide for Indo-Pacific giants, and the gharial page for the fish-eating specialist of Indian rivers.

Snake and turtle guides cover other reptile groups that share wetland and river habitat with crocodilians.

Wetland protection in WARN partner countries — its partner-network countries — benefits freshwater predators and prey alike.

## WARN work
WARN does not operate alligator rescue programmes, but our free wildlife guides support public understanding of wetland species and the habitats our partners protect in its partner-network countries. Healthy freshwater ecosystems abroad mirror the conservation principles that saved the American alligator — habitat first, science-led recovery and honest education.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/alligator): Alligator — wildlife guide.

## How many alligator species are there?
Two living species: the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) of the south-eastern United States and the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) of eastern China. Several extinct species are known from fossils.

## What is the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?
Alligators have broader, U-shaped snouts and hide most lower teeth when the mouth is closed. Crocodiles have narrower snouts and show the fourth lower tooth. Alligators tolerate cooler climates; most crocodiles prefer tropical and subtropical waters.

## Are alligators endangered?
The American alligator is Least Concern with a large, recovering population. The Chinese alligator is Critically Endangered, with very few individuals left in the wild despite successful captive breeding.

## How long do alligators live?
American alligators commonly live 30 to 50 years in the wild, with exceptional individuals exceeding 60 years in captivity. Chinese alligators have similar potential lifespans but wild longevity data are limited.

## Can you keep an alligator as a pet?
Private keeping is restricted or illegal in most jurisdictions. Alligators grow large, require specialist aquatic housing and remain dangerous. Releasing unwanted pets harms wild populations and public safety.

## What do alligators eat?
Alligators are opportunistic carnivores eating fish, turtles, snakes, birds, mammals and carrion. Hatchlings feed on insects and small fish; adults can take deer and feral pigs at the water's edge.

## Where do alligators live?
Alligators inhabit freshwater wetlands, rivers and marshes. The American alligator is native to the south-eastern United States; the Critically Endangered Chinese alligator survives in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China. Both are apex predators that shape wetland ecosystems through nest building, wallowing and prey regulation.

## Are alligators dangerous?
Large alligators are powerful apex predators and can injure people who approach too closely, especially near water where they strike quickly. The American alligator recovered after near extinction and remains widespread; the Chinese alligator is one of the world's most endangered crocodilians with very few wild individuals left.

## How big is an alligator?
Large American alligators reach up to roughly 4 m and 450 kg according to this guide's quickFacts. Chinese alligators are smaller. Both species build vegetation mound nests with temperature-dependent sex determination and can live 30 to 50 years or more in the wild.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/seal): Seal — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Seals are earless marine mammals (family Phocidae) with about 19 species worldwide — expert divers of polar and temperate seas whose conservation status ranges from abundant to Endangered depending on species and region.

## Introduction
Seals are marine mammals of the family Phocidae, often called true or earless seals to distinguish them from eared seals such as sea lions. With roughly 19 species, they range from the Arctic ringed seal to the Antarctic leopard seal and the harbour seals familiar on temperate coastlines. Seals have fusiform bodies, flipper-propelled swimming and the ability to dive for extended periods on a single breath. They are central to polar food webs and commercial histories of hunting, yet many populations now face climate change, fisheries conflict and pollution.

## Takeaway
True seals (phocids) lack external ear flaps and move awkwardly on land by wriggling; sea lions have visible ears and walk on rotated flippers.

## Takeaway
Elephant seals are the deepest-diving seals, reaching depths beyond 1,500 metres and holding breath for over two hours.

## Takeaway
Historic commercial sealing devastated many populations; most have partially recovered under protection, but some remain depleted.

## Takeaway
Climate change reduces sea ice used by ringed, harp and crabeater seals for breeding and moulting.

## Takeaway
Seals compete with fisheries for prey and can become entangled in nets — management requires balanced, science-based policies.

## Takeaway
Harbour and grey seals are the species most often seen on European and North American coasts.

## What is a seal — and how is it different from a sea lion?
Seals belong to the mammalian order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia, alongside dogs, bears and walruses. The family Phocidae — true seals — includes harbour, grey, elephant, leopard, harp and monk seals among others. They are distinct from Otariidae (sea lions and fur seals), which have external ear flaps and can rotate hind flippers beneath the body to walk on land.

True seals have short fore flippers and propel themselves by undulating the trunk and hind flippers in water. On land or ice they hump forward, which makes them slower and more vulnerable to predators such as polar bears and killer whales. Their physiology is tuned for diving: flexible ribs collapse under pressure, blood stores oxygen in muscle myoglobin, and heart rate slows during dives to conserve oxygen.

Seals inhabit coasts and pack ice from the tropics (monk seals) to both poles. Some species are migratory, travelling thousands of kilometres between feeding and breeding sites. Pupping strategies vary: harbour seals often bear young on rocky shores, while ringed seals give birth in snow lairs on sea ice.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/seal): Seal — wildlife guide.

## Diving, feeding and life history
Seal diets are dominated by fish and squid; leopard seals also take penguins and other seals. Foraging trips can last days at sea, with GPS tracking showing individuals commuting tens of kilometres from haul-out sites. Deep-diving elephant seals feed in oceanic zones where they capture lanternfish and squid at depths impractical for most predators.

Breeding biology varies widely. Many temperate species breed annually with single pups; some polygynous species such as elephant seals gather in dense colonies where dominant males guard harems. Pups are born with thick blubber or lanugo and nurse for days to weeks before weaning. Survival depends on prey availability, ice conditions and freedom from disturbance at haul-out sites.

Seals molt annually, coming ashore or onto ice to replace hair and skin. During molt they are less insulated and more sensitive to disturbance. Coastal development, tourism and vessel traffic that flush seals from resting sites can increase stress and pup mortality.

## Threats and conservation
Commercial sealing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries reduced many populations drastically. Legal protections, harvest bans and international agreements helped species such as the grey seal and northern elephant seal recover to hundreds of thousands or millions. Not all species shared that trajectory: the Mediterranean monk seal is Endangered with fewer than 700 individuals, and the Hawaiian monk seal remains Endangered despite intensive management.

Modern threats include climate-driven loss of sea ice, reduced snow cover for ringed seal pupping lairs, entanglement in fishing gear, oil spills and bioaccumulation of pollutants in blubber. Seals are also shot in conflicts with aquaculture and fisheries when perceived as competitors for salmon or cod.

Conservation responses include marine protected areas, bycatch reduction, ice-dependent species monitoring and captive rehabilitation for injured animals. CITES lists several seal species on Appendix II, regulating international trade in parts and products.

## Seals and people
Coastal communities have long relied on seals for meat, oil and skins; Indigenous subsistence harvest continues in some Arctic regions under regulated quotas. In much of the world, seals are now valued for ecotourism — boat trips to colonies generate income when conducted with distance rules that prevent stress and pup abandonment.

Public attitudes vary: seals are beloved wildlife icons in some countries and viewed as pests where they compete with anglers. Science supports non-lethal deterrence and fishery management rather than culling whenever possible. Rehab centres treat orphaned or entangled seals, though release success depends on age and health at stranding.

Understanding seal biology helps policymakers balance ocean use with recovery goals. Readers concerned about marine mammals can support clean oceans, responsible seafood choices and policies that protect breeding beaches and ice-dependent habitats.

## Related WARN guides
True seals differ from eared seals — read WARN's sea lion guide for Otariidae comparison. The whale hub, dolphin, orca and sperm whale pages cover other marine mammals; walrus and sea otter guides address ice-edge and kelp-forest neighbours.

Sea turtles share coastlines with haul-out seals and face similar bycatch and pollution pressures.

Clean oceans and climate-resilient ice habitat underpin seal recovery worldwide.

## WARN work
WARN's partner countries include coastal and archipelagic nations where marine habitat protection overlaps with broader conservation education. This seal guide is free public outreach — helping readers understand ocean mammals, climate pressures on ice-breeding species and why healthy seas matter from Pakistan's shores to Brazil's Atlantic coast.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/seal): Seal — wildlife guide.

## How many seal species are there?
Scientists recognise about 19 species of true seals (family Phocidae), plus roughly 15 species of eared seals (sea lions and fur seals) in a separate family. This guide focuses on true seals.

## What is the difference between a seal and a sea lion?
True seals lack external ear flaps and move on land by wriggling. Sea lions and fur seals have visible ears and can walk on all fours using rotatable hind flippers. Sea lions are generally more vocal and agile on land.

## How long can seals hold their breath?
Most seals dive for 10 to 30 minutes routinely. Northern elephant seals can exceed two hours on a single breath and dive deeper than 1,500 metres — among the longest dives of any mammal.

## Are seals endangered?
Many common species such as harbour and grey seals are Least Concern with large populations. Mediterranean and Hawaiian monk seals are Endangered, and several species face regional declines from climate change and fisheries conflict.

## Where do seals live?
True seals inhabit coasts and ice across the Arctic, Antarctic and temperate oceans. Species range from polar pack ice to rocky shores in Europe, North America, South Africa and New Zealand.

## What do seals eat?
Most seals eat fish and squid. Leopard seals also hunt penguins and other seals. Diet varies by species, season and local prey availability.

## Are seals dangerous?
Seals are marine mammals of the family Phocidae, often called true or earless seals to distinguish them from eared seals such as sea lions. Give wild seals space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do seals live?
A precise wild lifespan for seals is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Seals are earless marine mammals (family Phocidae) with about 19 species worldwide — expert divers of polar and temperate seas whose conservation status ranges from abundant to Endangered depending on species and region. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a seal?
A Seal is about 2+ hrs (Maximum dive duration (elephant seal)). Seals are earless marine mammals (family Phocidae) with about 19 species worldwide — expert divers of polar and temperate seas whose conservation status ranges from abundant to Endangered depending on species and region.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/parrot): Parrot — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Parrots are tropical and subtropical Psittaciformes — about 400 species including macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — known for intelligence and longevity; many are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade, with status ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered.

## Introduction
Parrots are birds of the order Psittaciformes, renowned for curved beaks, zygodactyl feet (two toes forward, two back) and often vivid plumage. Roughly 400 species occur from Mexican forests to Australasian islands. They include macaws, Amazon parrots, cockatoos, lorikeets and the budgerigar — one of the world's most familiar cage birds. Parrots are long-lived, socially complex and frequently monogamous. They are also the most heavily trafficked bird group globally, with habitat loss and the pet trade driving declines across range states including Brazil and Colombia.

## Takeaway
Parrots collectively form the most trafficked group of birds in the illegal wildlife trade.

## Takeaway
Related WARN guides cover macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — distinct groups within the parrot order.

## Takeaway
Most parrots are poor pets for typical households: they need space, social contact, mental stimulation and decades of care.

## Takeaway
Brazil and Colombia are major range and transit countries for trafficked parrots — both WARN partner regions.

## Takeaway
Large parrots can live 50 years or more; impulsive purchases create lifelong welfare crises.

## Takeaway
Habitat protection and customs enforcement are the most effective levers against parrot decline.

## What is a parrot — and how do macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars fit in?
Parrots share a distinctive bill — short, deep and hooked — designed for cracking seeds and nuts, plus feet adapted for climbing and manipulating food. Taxonomists divide the order into cockatoos (family Cacatuidae, often crested, native to Australasia) and the broader parrot lineage (Psittacidae and Psittaculidae) that includes macaws, Amazon parrots, African greys, lorikeets and budgerigars.

Macaws are large, long-tailed Neotropical parrots — see WARN's macaw guide for species-level detail. Cockatoos are crested parrots from Australia, Indonesia and nearby islands, often white or pink with powder-down plumage. The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) is a small Australian parakeet, wildly popular in aviculture but still a wild flocking bird in the Outback.

This page is the parrot hub: it covers shared biology, trade threats and welfare themes. For deeper species-group coverage, explore WARN guides on macaw, cockatoo and budgerigar.

## Intelligence, behaviour and social life
Parrots rank among the most cognitively advanced birds. Studies document tool use, problem-solving, vocal learning and long-term social bonds. Many species live in flocks outside the breeding season, roost communally and communicate with loud calls that carry across forest canopies.

Breeding pairs often mate for years or life, nesting in tree cavities, termite mounds or cliff crevices. Chicks are altricial — blind and helpless — and require extended parental feeding. That slow development makes wild-caught nestlings especially valuable and vulnerable to poaching.

In captivity, parrots need enrichment: foraging puzzles, flight space and compatible companions. Isolated birds develop feather-plucking, screaming and aggression. Welfare organisations consistently advise that parrots are not starter pets; they are wild animals with specialist needs.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/parrot): Parrot — wildlife guide.

## Trade, threats and conservation
The illegal parrot trade extracts nestlings from cavities, frequently felling trees to reach a single clutch. Chicks travel in tubes, boxes and luggage without adequate food or water; mortality often exceeds half before sale. Wild-caught birds are laundered as captive-bred, exploiting weak documentation.

Habitat loss compounds trade pressure. Oil palm, soy, cattle ranching and logging remove nest trees across the Amazon, Congo basin and South-East Asia. Pesticide use and climate shifts further stress populations. The IUCN lists numerous parrots as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered — including Spix's macaw (Extinct in the Wild with reintroduction efforts) and the yellow-crested cockatoo.

CITES regulates international trade, with many species on Appendix I prohibiting commercial export of wild birds. Effective conservation combines nest protection, community ecotourism, border detection training and demand reduction in consumer countries.

## Parrots and people
Parrots have lived alongside humans for millennia — as companions, ceremonial birds and symbols. Today legal captive breeding supplies much of the pet market in Europe and North America, but demand for rare colour morphs and wild-caught status persists underground.

Ethical engagement means choosing accredited sanctuaries over photo props, refusing to buy birds of unknown origin and supporting habitat projects in range countries. WARN highlights parrot trafficking in Brazil and Colombia, where partner centres triage confiscated birds and train customs staff.

Readers searching for parrot facts should treat longevity, intelligence and beauty as reasons for protection, not casual ownership. Wild parrots belong in functioning forests, flying in flocks — not in silent rooms without flight.

## Explore parrot species on WARN
This hub introduces parrots as an order — but most searchers want a particular species. WARN publishes a twelve-species parrot library on this page covering African greys, cockatoos, budgerigars, cockatiels, Amazon parrots, conures and more, each with range, behaviour, trade status and FAQs.

Large macaws have a dedicated ten-species library at /wildlife-guides/macaw — blue-and-gold, scarlet, hyacinth and others. Standalone guides also cover cockatoo and budgerigar at the species-group level. Together these pages map the parrot order for researchers, owners and students.

If you are deciding whether to support conservation, start with the parrot crisis appeal — funding triage for confiscated birds and anti-trafficking training in WARN partner countries.

## WARN work
WARN funds parrot rescue and anti-trafficking work with partners in Brazil and Colombia — triage for confiscated birds, aviary infrastructure and customs detection training. This hub guide is free education for readers in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and worldwide, explaining why parrots are not commodities and how habitat protection supports every species from macaw to budgerigar.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/parrot): Parrot — wildlife guide.

## How many parrot species are there?
Scientists recognise roughly 400 species in the order Psittaciformes, divided among cockatoos, New World and Old World parrot families. The exact count shifts as taxonomic studies refine species limits.

## Are parrots the most trafficked birds?
Yes. Parrots as a group — including macaws, Amazon parrots and cockatoos — account for the largest share of birds in illegal wildlife trade seizures globally, according to CITES and monitoring organisations.

## What is the difference between a parrot, a macaw and a cockatoo?
Macaws are large, long-tailed Neotropical parrots. Cockatoos are crested parrots mainly from Australasia. Both belong within the broader parrot order; budgerigars are much smaller Australian parakeets in the same group.

## Can parrots talk?
Many parrot species mimic sounds, including human speech, through vocal learning. Ability varies by species and individual; African greys, Amazon parrots and some macaws are especially noted mimics.

## How long do parrots live?
Small parakeets may live 10 to 15 years with good care; large macaws and cockatoos often reach 50 to 80 years in captivity. Long lifespan makes parrot ownership a multi-decade commitment.

## What do parrots eat?
Parrots are tropical and subtropical Psittaciformes — about 400 species including macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — known for intelligence and longevity; many are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade, with status ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. The guide's ecology sections give the prey or forage detail behind that summary.

## Where do parrots live?
Parrots live in Central America, South America, Africa. Parrots are tropical and subtropical Psittaciformes — about 400 species including macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — known for intelligence and longevity; many are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade, with status ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered.

## Are parrots dangerous?
Parrots are domesticated animals and are not dangerous to people in the wild-predator sense. Parrots are tropical and subtropical Psittaciformes — about 400 species including macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — known for intelligence and longevity; many are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade, with status ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. Usual risks are husbandry and handling, not unprovoked attacks.

## How big is a parrot?
A Parrot is about 10–80+ years depending on species. Parrots are tropical and subtropical Psittaciformes — about 400 species including macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — known for intelligence and longevity; many are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade, with status ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. Conservation status: Habitat loss and illegal pet trade.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/red-panda): Red Panda — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is an Endangered Himalayan forest mammal unrelated to giant pandas — a bamboo-eating specialist threatened by deforestation, poaching and road deaths across Nepal, India, Bhutan, China and Myanmar.

## Introduction
The red panda is a small arboreal mammal native to temperate forests of the eastern Himalayas and south-western China. Despite its name, it is not closely related to giant pandas; it occupies its own family, Ailuridae. Russet fur, a bushy ringed tail and white facial markings make it instantly recognisable. Red pandas feed mainly on bamboo but also eat fruit, eggs and small animals. Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, the species faces habitat fragmentation, poaching for fur and pets, and mortality on roads.

## Takeaway
Red pandas are not bears or true pandas — they belong to the family Ailuridae, a distinct evolutionary lineage.

## Takeaway
Bamboo forms most of the diet, yet red pandas have a carnivore digestive system and must eat constantly.

## Takeaway
Habitat loss and fragmentation from logging, agriculture and roads are the primary threats.

## Takeaway
The illegal pet and fur trade still removes animals from the wild despite CITES Appendix I protection.

## Takeaway
Red pandas are solitary and largely nocturnal, spending most of their time in trees.

## Takeaway
Community forestry and wildlife corridors in Nepal and China are central to recovery plans.

## What is a red panda — and why is it not a 'small panda'?
The red panda was described to Western science in 1825, decades before the giant panda. Its scientific name Ailurus means 'cat' and 'tail', reflecting early confusion about its affinities. Molecular studies now place it in Carnivora as the sole living member of Ailuridae, with raccoons and weasels as distant relatives. Giant pandas belong to Ursidae — the two 'pandas' share a bamboo diet through convergent evolution, not shared ancestry.

Two subspecies are recognised: A. f. fulgens of the Himalayas and A. f. styani of China. Both inhabit cool, moist montane forests with dense bamboo understory at elevations roughly 2,200 to 4,800 metres. A thick coat and bushy tail wrapped over the nose conserve heat in snow; large paws and semi-retractile claws aid climbing.

Red pandas communicate with whistles, squeaks and scent marking. They are shy and difficult to census, which contributes to uncertainty in population estimates.

## Diet, behaviour and daily life
Bamboo leaves and shoots provide most calories, but red pandas — like giant pandas — derive limited energy from plant cell walls. They must spend much of the day feeding and have a modified wrist bone that acts as a thumb for grasping stems. They also consume berries, mushrooms, insects, eggs and small birds when available.

Activity peaks at dawn and dusk. Individuals maintain overlapping home ranges marked with anal gland secretions and urine. Except during breeding season, adults usually forage alone. Females build tree or rock crevice dens and typically bear one to four young in summer; kits remain in the nest for roughly three months before venturing out.

In zoos red pandas breed readily, supporting insurance populations and research. Reintroduction remains experimental because released animals need secure, connected forest with adequate bamboo.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/red-panda): Red Panda — wildlife guide.

## Threats and conservation
The IUCN assessed the red panda as Endangered in 2015, estimating fewer than 10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline. Forest clearing for timber, fuelwood and agriculture fragments populations into isolated patches too small for long-term genetic health.

Poaching for fur — used in traditional hats and garments — and live capture for the pet trade persist despite legal bans. Domestic dogs transmit diseases and kill red pandas; roads bisecting forests cause vehicle strikes. Climate change may shift bamboo distribution upslope, further squeezing habitat.

Conservation action includes anti-poaching patrols, community-managed buffer forests, ecotourism that funds guardianship and cross-border cooperation between Nepal, India and China. CITES Appendix I prohibits international commercial trade. Protected areas such as Singalila and Langtang anchor key populations when connectivity is maintained.

## Red pandas and people
Red pandas feature in folklore across the Himalayas — the name 'firefox' inspired a popular browser logo. They are flagship species for Eastern Himalayan conservation: protecting their forest benefits clouded leopards, takins and hundreds of plant species.

Tourism must follow strict distance rules; flash photography and crowding stress breeding animals. Sustainable livelihood programmes reduce pressure on forests for slash-and-burn agriculture.

Readers can support red pandas indirectly by backing habitat protection appeals and avoiding products linked to illegal wildlife trade. The species will not recover in cages alone — it needs continuous, bamboo-rich forest spanning national boundaries.

## Related WARN guides
Red pandas are not bears — read WARN's giant panda guide for the bamboo-eating bear they were once grouped with. Civet and binturong pages cover South-east Asian forest mammals that share threatened Himalayan and montane forest.

Monkey and sloth guides address other arboreal species in overlapping range countries.

Forest protection in Nepal, India, China and Myanmar — priorities for red pandas — mirrors habitat work WARN supports in South-east Asia.

## WARN work
WARN supports habitat protection and anti-trafficking education in partner countries including Pakistan and Indonesia, where forest conservation principles parallel Himalayan red panda work. This guide is free public education — explaining why Endangered species need connected habitat, not social-media pets.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/red-panda): Red Panda — wildlife guide.

## Is the red panda related to the giant panda?
No. Despite the shared name and bamboo diet, red pandas belong to family Ailuridae while giant pandas are bears (Ursidae). Similar diets evolved independently.

## Why is the red panda Endangered?
Habitat loss and fragmentation from logging and agriculture, poaching for fur and pets, dog attacks and road mortality drive decline. The IUCN lists the species as Endangered with fewer than 10,000 mature individuals.

## What do red pandas eat?
Mostly bamboo leaves and shoots, supplemented by fruit, berries, eggs, insects and small vertebrates. They must feed for many hours daily because bamboo is low in digestible energy.

## Where do red pandas live?
Cool montane forests of the eastern Himalayas and south-western China — Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and Chinese provinces including Sichuan and Yunnan.

## Can red pandas be pets?
No. They are wild, Endangered, CITES Appendix I animals requiring specialist diets and forest habitat. Private keeping is illegal in most range countries and harmful to wild populations.

## How big is a red panda?
Roughly cat-sized: about 50 to 64 cm body length plus a 28 to 59 cm tail, weighing 3 to 6 kg. The bushy tail provides balance and warmth.

## Are red pandas dangerous?
Russet fur, a bushy ringed tail and white facial markings make it instantly recognisable. Give wild red pandas space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do red pandas live?
A precise wild lifespan for red pandas is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is an Endangered Himalayan forest mammal unrelated to giant pandas — a bamboo-eating specialist threatened by deforestation, poaching and road deaths across Nepal, India, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/cockatoo): Cockatoo — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Cockatoos are crested parrots (family Cacatuidae) with 21 species across Australasia — intelligent and long-lived birds threatened by illegal trapping for the pet trade, with several Indonesian species Critically Endangered.

## Introduction
Cockatoos are parrots of the family Cacatuidae, distinguished by erectile crests, often pale plumage and powder-down feather maintenance. Twenty-one species occur mainly in Australia, Indonesia and Oceania — from the familiar sulphur-crested cockatoo to the Critically Endangered yellow-crested cockatoo of Indonesia. Cockatoos are intelligent, social and among the longest-lived parrots. They are heavily trapped for the pet trade, especially in Indonesia and East Timor, where wild populations of several species have collapsed.

## Takeaway
Cockatoos are parrots with movable crests — they raise feathers when alarmed or excited.

## Takeaway
Indonesia is a critical range country; trapping for export devastated yellow-crested and salmon-crested cockatoos.

## Takeaway
Cockatoos are louder and more demanding than many parrots — unsuitable for typical flats or busy households.

## Takeaway
Powder-down produces a fine dust that can trigger allergies; a consideration for captive care.

## Takeaway
Palm cockatoo — largest cockatoo — uses tools to drum on hollow trees in courtship displays.

## Takeaway
WARN links cockatoo welfare to broader parrot anti-trafficking work in Brazil and Colombia and education in Malaysia and Indonesia.

## What is a cockatoo?
Cockatoos form a distinct branch of the parrot order native primarily to Australasia. Unlike many colourful parrots, most cockatoos wear white, black or pink plumage with striking crests. They lack the oil gland used by many birds for preening, instead producing powder-down that cleans feathers — visible as dust in aviaries.

Genera include Cacatua (white cockatoos such as sulphur-crested and umbrella), Calyptorhynchus (black cockatoos of Australia), Callocephalon (gang-gang) and Nymphicus (cockatiel — the smallest cockatoo). Sizes range from the 30 cm cockatiel to the 60 cm palm cockatoo.

Cockatoos pair bond strongly and roost communally. Large flocks of galahs or corellas can aggregate in agricultural landscapes, sometimes creating conflict with farmers — a management challenge distinct from endangered island species.

## Intelligence, vocalisation and welfare
Cockatoos excel at manipulation: unscrewing fixtures, opening latches and destroying timber is common in captivity without enrichment. They learn screams and phrases, using loud contact calls natural to open woodland — behaviour that becomes problematic in apartments.

Wild birds spend hours foraging, chewing bark and extracting seeds. Captive cockatoos need large aviaries, chewable branches and social partners. Single birds often develop self-mutilation and feather loss.

Lifespans of 40 to 80 years mean rehoming crises when owners age or relocate. Sanctuaries report cockatoos among the most surrendered large parrots.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/cockatoo): Cockatoo — wildlife guide.

## Trade and conservation
The yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) exemplifies trade-driven collapse: once common across Indonesia and East Timor, trapping for the cage-bird market reduced wild numbers by over 80 percent in three generations. The species is Critically Endangered, with fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. Similar patterns affect the salmon-crested cockatoo of the Moluccas.

Australian black cockatoos face habitat loss as old-growth forest is cleared for agriculture; Carnaby's black cockatoo is Endangered. CITES lists most cockatoos on Appendix I, banning commercial international trade in wild specimens.

Recovery requires nest guarding, export enforcement, community awareness and sustainable ecotourism. Captive breeding supplies legal birds but cannot replace wild populations without habitat security.

## Cockatoos and people
In Australia cockatoos are cultural icons — sometimes celebrated, sometimes cursed for crop damage. In Indonesia they symbolise status and spiritual connection, which fuels demand despite legal protection.

Responsible engagement supports accredited sanctuaries and rejects social-media markets selling unregistered birds. Tourists should avoid venues offering cockatoo photo ops tied to unknown sourcing.

WARN's parrot appeal connects to cockatoo conservation through shared trafficking routes and welfare standards. Readers learning about cockatoos should explore the parrot hub guide and macaw pages for the wider Psittaciformes picture.

## Related WARN guides
Cockatoos belong to the parrot order alongside macaws and budgerigars. Read WARN's macaw guide for Neotropical parrots, the budgerigar page for Australia's small flocking parrot, and the parrot species library for trade and welfare context.

Hyacinth macaw covers a Critically Endangered cockatoo relative in Brazil — a WARN partner country.

Never buy wild-caught parrots; habitat protection and customs enforcement protect every cockatoo species.

## WARN work
WARN supports parrot anti-trafficking and rehabilitation in Brazil and Colombia and publishes free education reaching readers in Indonesia and Malaysia — key cockatoo range states. Confiscated parrots and cockatoos receive triage at partner centres; this guide explains why crested birds belong in forest canopies, not smuggler's crates.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/cockatoo): Cockatoo — wildlife guide.

## How many cockatoo species are there?
Twenty-one living species in family Cacatuidae, including cockatiel, sulphur-crested, umbrella, palm and several black cockatoos. Most occur in Australia, Indonesia and nearby islands.

## Are cockatoos parrots?
Yes. Cockatoos are a family within the parrot order Psittaciformes, alongside macaws, lorikeets and budgerigars. They are distinguished by crests and powder-down plumage.

## Why are yellow-crested cockatoos Critically Endangered?
Intense trapping for the pet trade, habitat loss and persecution as crop pests reduced populations across Indonesia and East Timor by more than 80 percent. Fewer than 2,500 mature birds may remain.

## How long do cockatoos live?
Large cockatoos commonly live 40 to 60 years in captivity, with some exceeding 80 years. Cockatiels are shorter-lived, often 15 to 25 years with good care.

## Are cockatoos good pets?
They are demanding wild animals requiring space, noise tolerance and decades of commitment. Welfare experts caution that most households cannot meet their social and enrichment needs.

## What is the largest cockatoo?
The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) of New Guinea and northern Australia is the largest — up to about 60 cm long with a powerful bill used to drum on trees.

## What do cockatoos eat?
Cockatoos forage on seeds, nuts, bark, fruit and native grains across Australia, Indonesia and Oceania. Wild birds spend hours chewing bark and extracting seeds. Twenty-one species in family Cacatuidae share this broad plant-based diet, though exact foods vary by species and season.

## Where do cockatoos live?
Cockatoos occur mainly in Australia, Indonesia and Oceania, from open woodland and agricultural margins to forest canopies. Twenty-one species in family Cacatuidae range across Australasia, including the Critically Endangered yellow-crested cockatoo of Indonesia, where trapping for the pet trade has devastated wild populations.

## Are cockatoos dangerous?
Cockatoos are not dangerous in the wild, though large species have powerful bills. Captive birds can bite severely if stressed. They are intelligent, social parrots with erectile crests and powder-down plumage, listed on CITES Appendix I for most wild-sourced trade. Several Indonesian species are Critically Endangered after population collapse.

## How big is a cockatoo?
Cockatoo size varies across 21 species in family Cacatuidae. The palm cockatoo is the largest at up to about 60 cm long, while the cockatiel is the smallest at around 30 cm. Large cockatoos can live 60 to 80 years, making them among the longest-lived parrots.