World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/buzzard): Common Buzzard — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large, broad-winged bird of prey and Britain's most common and widespread raptor. It soars in slow circles, gives a distinctive cat-like mewing call, and hunts small mammals, earthworms and carrion across farmland, woodland and moorland.

## Introduction
The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large bird of prey and the most widespread raptor across Britain and much of Europe. Stocky and broad-winged, it is most often seen soaring in slow circles on rising warm air, or perched motionless on a fence post or bare branch scanning for prey. Its plumage is famously variable, ranging from dark chocolate-brown to almost creamy-white, usually with a pale band across the chest. The buzzard's far-carrying, cat-like "pee-yow" mewing call is one of the most recognisable sounds of open countryside. A patient, opportunistic hunter, it feeds largely on small mammals, earthworms and carrion, and has recovered strongly to recolonise much of its former range.

## Takeaway
The common buzzard is Britain's most common and widespread bird of prey, found in nearly every county.

## Takeaway
It is a broad-winged, stocky raptor best known for soaring in slow circles and giving a cat-like mewing call.

## Takeaway
Plumage is highly variable, from dark brown to pale cream, often with a paler chest band.

## Takeaway
It is a generalist predator, taking small mammals, birds, earthworms and carrion, with over 300 prey species recorded.

## Takeaway
Once heavily persecuted and reduced to the west and north, it has recovered to recolonise most of Britain since the late 20th century.

## Takeaway
Globally it is classified as Least Concern, with a large and stable to increasing population.

## What does a common buzzard look like?
The common buzzard is a medium-large raptor with a compact body, broad rounded wings and a relatively short, fanned tail. Adults typically measure 40-58 cm from bill to tail, with a wingspan of roughly 109-140 cm, and females are noticeably larger and heavier than males. The most striking feature is the variability of its plumage: individuals range from very dark, almost uniform chocolate-brown to pale, creamy birds with extensive white, and many show a paler band or 'necklace' across the breast. In flight the wings are held in a shallow V, the tips slightly upturned, and the tail is often spread into a fan. The underwing usually shows pale patches contrasting with darker margins, and the flight feathers are barred. The bill is hooked and dark-tipped with a yellow base, the legs and feet are yellow, and the eyes are dark. This combination of broad wings, short neck and rounded silhouette helps separate the buzzard from larger eagles and from the more angular, long-tailed kites and harriers.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/buzzard): Common Buzzard — wildlife guide.

## What does a buzzard eat and how does it hunt?
The common buzzard is a true generalist predator, and more than 300 prey species have been recorded across its range. The bulk of its diet is small mammals, especially voles, mice, rabbits and young hares, and in many regions vole abundance directly influences how many chicks a pair can raise. It also takes small and medium birds, reptiles, amphibians, large insects and, importantly, earthworms, which it gathers by walking over damp pasture. Carrion is a significant food source, particularly in winter, and buzzards are frequently seen feeding on roadkill and dead livestock. Hunting is typically unspectacular: the bird perches patiently on a post, pole or bare branch and drops onto prey it has spotted below, or quarters slowly over open ground. It will also soar and, less often, hover briefly in a headwind. This flexible, low-energy approach allows the buzzard to thrive in farmland, woodland edge, moorland and even the fringes of towns, wherever there is a mix of open hunting ground and trees or crags for nesting.

## Why has the buzzard become so common again?
For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries the buzzard was heavily persecuted across Britain, shot and poisoned on game estates and squeezed back into the wilder west and north. Numbers fell further in the 1950s when myxomatosis devastated the rabbit, a key prey, and when agricultural pesticides affected many birds of prey. From the late 20th century, however, the picture reversed dramatically. Legal protection, a decline in illegal persecution in many areas, the recovery of rabbit populations and the buzzard's own dietary flexibility allowed it to spread back eastwards across England. It is now found in nearly every part of the country and is widely regarded as the UK's most numerous bird of prey. The species' adaptability, its willingness to eat carrion and earthworms, and its tolerance of farmed landscapes have all helped. This recovery is a genuine conservation success story, though buzzards can still fall victim to illegal poisoning, collisions with vehicles and overhead lines, and localised persecution.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects dedicated specifically to the common buzzard, which is widespread and secure across Britain and Europe and largely outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational library, written to help people understand and value the wildlife around them. The threats that shaped the buzzard's story, habitat loss, poisoning and persecution, are the same pressures that endanger the raptors and other animals WARN's partners do protect on the ground.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your appreciation of birds of prey, a small gift helps keep WARN's wildlife education free and supports the animals our partners protect.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/buzzard): Common Buzzard — wildlife guide.

## Is a buzzard the same as a hawk?
In British usage a buzzard is a particular kind of broad-winged hawk in the genus Buteo, so it is a hawk in the broad sense but distinct from sparrowhawks and goshawks. Confusingly, in North America birds of the same genus are called 'hawks' (such as the red-tailed hawk), while 'buzzard' there usually refers to a vulture. The British 'buzzard' is a soaring raptor, not a vulture.

## What sound does a buzzard make?
The common buzzard's signature call is a loud, plaintive, cat-like mewing, often written as 'pee-yow' or 'peee-oo'. It carries a long way and is frequently heard from birds soaring high overhead, sometimes before the bird itself is spotted. Buzzards use the call in display, to keep contact with a mate, and when defending their territory, making it one of the most recognisable sounds of open countryside.

## How big is a common buzzard?
A common buzzard is a medium-large raptor, typically 40-58 cm long with a wingspan of about 109-140 cm. It is considerably smaller than an eagle but clearly larger and bulkier than a kestrel or sparrowhawk. As with most birds of prey, females are noticeably larger and heavier than males. Body weight varies widely by region and season, generally falling somewhere between roughly 0.4 and 1.4 kg.

## Do buzzards attack pets, livestock or people?
Buzzards very rarely pose any threat to people, and attacks on humans are exceptional, usually limited to a bird defending its nest from someone who has come too close. They mainly take small mammals, earthworms and carrion, so healthy cats, dogs and adult livestock are not realistic prey. Very small pets left unsupervised carry a tiny theoretical risk, but in practice buzzards avoid people and large animals.

## Where do buzzards live and nest?
Common buzzards live across most of Europe and into western and central Asia, with British birds present year-round in nearly every county. They favour a mix of open country for hunting, farmland, moorland, rough pasture, and woodland or scattered trees for nesting. Pairs build a bulky stick nest, often lined with green foliage, in a tall tree or occasionally on a crag, and frequently reuse and enlarge it over several years.

## Are buzzards protected and is their population safe?
Yes. The common buzzard is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a very large global population that is stable or increasing. In the UK it is fully protected by law, and after recovering from heavy historical persecution it is now the country's most common bird of prey. It is also listed on CITES Appendix II, which regulates international trade in the species and its parts.

## What do common buzzards eat?
Common Buzzards eat Small mammals, birds, earthworms, carrion. A common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large, broad-winged bird of prey and Britain's most common and widespread raptor.

## Are common buzzards dangerous?
Common Buzzards are not generally dangerous to people. A common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large, broad-winged bird of prey and Britain's most common and widespread raptor. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do common buzzards live?
A precise wild lifespan for common buzzards is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. A common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large, broad-winged bird of prey and Britain's most common and widespread raptor. 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/kingfisher): Common Kingfisher — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A kingfisher is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that hunts by diving headfirst into water for fish. The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) of Europe, Asia and North Africa is electric-blue above and orange below, with a long, dagger-like bill, and nests in tunnels dug into riverbanks.

## Introduction
The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a small, vivid blue-and-orange bird of clear rivers, streams and lakes across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Barely larger than a sparrow, it perches over water and plunges headfirst to seize small fish in its long, dagger-shaped bill. Its dazzling colours come not from pigment but from the microscopic structure of its feathers, which scatter light. Despite the name, it belongs to a large, varied family (Alcedinidae) of more than a hundred kingfisher species worldwide, many of which do not eat fish at all. The common kingfisher is globally assessed as Least Concern, though it depends on clean water and can suffer in harsh winters.

## Takeaway
The common kingfisher is a small riverbank bird of Europe, Asia and North Africa that dives headfirst to catch small fish.

## Takeaway
Its glowing blue is a structural colour created by feather microstructure scattering light, not by blue pigment.

## Takeaway
It nests in tunnels excavated into vertical earth banks beside water.

## Takeaway
It belongs to a worldwide family of more than 100 kingfisher species, not all of which fish.

## Takeaway
Globally it is assessed as Least Concern, but it is sensitive to water pollution and freezes in cold winters.

## Takeaway
Clean rivers, stable banks and healthy fish stocks are the keys to its survival.

## What does a kingfisher look like and how big is it?
The common kingfisher is a compact, big-headed, short-tailed bird about 16-17 cm long, only a little larger than a house sparrow but heavier and more thickset. Its upperparts are an intense, shifting blue-green, with a brilliant electric-blue stripe down the back that flashes as the bird flies low and fast over water. The cheeks and underparts are a rich chestnut-orange, set off by a white throat and a white patch on each side of the neck. The bill is long, straight and dagger-shaped; females typically show an orange-red base to the lower bill, while the male's bill is all black, one of the few visible differences between the sexes. The legs and feet are short and bright red. Much of the colour is structural: tiny features in the feathers scatter and reflect blue light rather than relying on blue pigment, which is why the bird seems to change shade with the angle of view. Juveniles are similar to adults but duller, with greener upperparts and darker legs. In flight the kingfisher is unmistakable, often glimpsed only as a streak of blue vanishing along a stream.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/kingfisher): Common Kingfisher — wildlife guide.

## How does a kingfisher catch fish?
Kingfishers are sit-and-wait hunters. A bird will choose a low perch, a branch, reed or post overhanging clear, slow-moving water, and watch intently for prey below. When it spots a small fish near the surface, it dives in a fast, near-vertical plunge, folding its wings and entering the water with barely a splash. The eyes are protected as it strikes, and it seizes the fish in its bill rather than spearing it. Back on the perch, the bird often beats the fish against the branch to stun it before swallowing it head-first, so the fins fold flat. Where perches are scarce, a kingfisher can also hover briefly over open water before diving. Its diet is mainly small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks, supplemented by aquatic insects, larvae, tadpoles and freshwater shrimps. Clear water is essential: the bird hunts by sight, so silt, pollution or turbulence that clouds a river makes fishing difficult. A kingfisher may swallow many small fish a day, and the indigestible bones and scales are later coughed up as pellets, much as owls do.

## Where do kingfishers live and nest?
The common kingfisher is widespread across Europe, much of Asia and parts of North Africa, with several geographic races. It favours clear, slow-flowing or still fresh water, lowland rivers, streams, canals, lakes and ponds with overhanging perches and, crucially, vertical earth banks. In colder regions, populations may move to estuaries, sheltered coasts and unfrozen waters in winter, since the bird cannot fish through ice and hard winters can cause heavy losses. Kingfishers are strongly territorial, each defending a stretch of waterway, and pairs nest in a tunnel that they dig themselves into a steep, bare bank close to water. The burrow can be up to about a metre long and ends in a nesting chamber where the female lays a clutch of glossy white eggs, often six or seven. Both parents incubate and then ferry a steady stream of small fish to the growing chicks. In good conditions a pair may raise two or even three broods in a season, which helps the species recover quickly after the population crashes that follow severe winters.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects dedicated to the common kingfisher, which lives mostly outside the countries where WARN and its partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission to help people understand and value wild animals. The threats that shape the kingfisher's fortunes, polluted and silted rivers, lost wetlands and degraded banks, are the same pressures of habitat loss and water quality that affect many of the animals WARN does protect, so learning about one riverbank bird sheds light on the health of freshwater life everywhere.

## Donation hook
If this jewel of the riverbank brightened your day, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education flowing and supports the animals in our care.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/kingfisher): Common Kingfisher — wildlife guide.

## Is the common kingfisher endangered?
No. The common kingfisher is assessed by the IUCN as Least Concern, meaning it is not considered globally threatened, and it is not listed on CITES. It remains widespread across Europe, Asia and North Africa. However, it depends on clean, unpolluted water and natural banks for nesting, and local numbers can fall sharply after hard winters or where rivers are polluted or canalised.

## Why is the kingfisher so blue?
The kingfisher's vivid blue is mostly a structural colour, not a pigment. Microscopic structures in the feather barbs scatter and reflect blue light while absorbing other wavelengths, an effect similar to the way the sky appears blue. Because the colour depends on how light hits the feather, the same bird can look bright blue, green or turquoise as it shifts angle, which is why a kingfisher seems to glow and flicker in flight.

## What do kingfishers eat?
The common kingfisher eats mainly small fish, such as minnows and sticklebacks, caught by diving from a perch into clear water. It also takes aquatic insects and their larvae, freshwater shrimps, tadpoles and the occasional small crustacean. A kingfisher hunts by sight, so it needs clean, unclouded water to spot prey. Indigestible scales and bones are regurgitated later as small pellets, much like the pellets produced by owls.

## How does a kingfisher dive without hurting itself?
A kingfisher dives fast and near-vertically, folding its wings just before it hits the surface so it enters with little splash. It grabs the fish in its bill rather than spearing it. The bird's eyes are protected as it strikes, and it adjusts for the way water bends light so it can judge the true position of prey beneath the surface. It then carries the catch back to a perch to subdue and swallow it head-first.

## Where do kingfishers build their nests?
Kingfishers nest in tunnels they dig themselves into steep, bare earth banks beside rivers, streams or lakes. A pair excavates a burrow that can reach about a metre in length, ending in a chamber where the female lays a clutch of glossy white eggs, often six or seven. Both parents incubate and feed the chicks a constant supply of small fish. Stable, vegetation-free vertical banks are essential nesting habitat, which is one reason heavily engineered rivers can lose their kingfishers.

## Where do common kingfishers live?
Common Kingfishers live in Clear, slow rivers, streams, canals, lakes and ponds with earth banks. A kingfisher is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that hunts by diving headfirst into water for fish.

## Are common kingfishers dangerous?
Common Kingfishers are not generally dangerous to people. A kingfisher is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that hunts by diving headfirst into water for fish. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do common kingfishers live?
A precise wild lifespan for common kingfishers is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. A kingfisher is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that hunts by diving headfirst into water for fish. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a common kingfisher?
A Common Kingfisher is about About 16-17 cm, roughly sparrow-sized. A kingfisher is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that hunts by diving headfirst into water for fish. Conservation status: Least Concern (not CITES-listed).


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill.

## Introduction
The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a tall, long-legged wading bird and one of the most familiar large birds of British and European wetlands. Standing up to a metre high, it hunts by standing motionless in shallow water before striking down at fish, frogs and other small animals with its dagger-shaped bill. Grey herons are widespread across the Palearctic, from Scandinavia south to North Africa and east across Asia, and many people meet one at the edge of a river, canal, lake or even a garden pond, where the bird may help itself to ornamental fish. Adaptable and resilient, it is currently classed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Takeaway
The grey heron is a tall, grey, long-legged wading bird of UK and European wetlands, standing up to about a metre high.

## Takeaway
It hunts by standing still in shallow water and striking down at fish, frogs and other prey with a sharp, dagger-like bill.

## Takeaway
Grey herons are widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia and are common on rivers, canals, lakes and at garden ponds.

## Takeaway
They nest communally in treetop colonies called heronries, laying three to five eggs incubated for around 25 days.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists the grey heron as Least Concern, with a large range and a generally stable population.

## Takeaway
It is not listed on CITES, and in the UK it is protected under wildlife legislation like other wild birds.

## What does a grey heron look like?
The grey heron is unmistakable: a tall, slim wading bird with a grey back and wings, a whitish head and neck, and a bold black stripe running back from the eye into a slender black plume. The underparts are pale, marked with dark streaking down the front of the neck, and the long, powerful bill is yellowish, brightening towards pinkish-orange in the breeding season. Adults stand up to around a metre tall and measure roughly 84–102 cm from bill to tail, with a broad wingspan of about 155–195 cm. Body weight ranges from a little over one kilogram to around two kilograms. In flight the grey heron is distinctive, holding its head drawn back in an S-shape against the shoulders rather than outstretched, with the long legs trailing behind and slow, deep, bowed wingbeats. This retracted-neck flight silhouette is one of the easiest ways to tell a heron from a crane or stork, which fly with the neck extended. Young birds are duller and greyer on the head, lacking the crisp black-and-white head pattern of the adult.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## Where do grey herons live and what do they eat?
Grey herons are birds of fresh and coastal waters, found wherever there are shallow margins to hunt in: rivers, streams, canals, lakes, reservoirs, marshes, flooded fields, estuaries and garden ponds. The species ranges widely across the Palearctic, from Scandinavia south to Spain, North Africa and the Middle East and east across much of temperate Asia, with related populations reaching sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. In Britain and much of western Europe they are present year-round, though some northern birds move south in hard winters. The grey heron is a patient, opportunistic predator. Its core diet is fish and amphibians, but it also takes crustaceans, aquatic insects, small mammals such as voles and rats, reptiles, and occasionally young birds like ducklings. The classic hunting technique is to stand statue-still in shallow water, or to stalk forward very slowly, then stab or seize prey with a lightning-fast thrust of the neck and bill. This willingness to fish almost anywhere is why herons so readily visit ornamental ponds and take prized fish.

## How do grey herons breed and nest?
Grey herons are social nesters. They breed in colonies known as heronries, usually building large stick nests high in tall trees, though reedbeds, cliffs and bushes are sometimes used. In the UK breeding starts early, often from late winter, and the same heronries may be used for many years. A typical clutch is three to five pale blue-green eggs. Both the male and female share incubation, which lasts about 25 days, and both parents feed the chicks by regurgitation. The young remain in or around the nest for several weeks before fledging. Heronries can range from a single pair to dozens of nests clustered together, and the noisy, conspicuous gatherings are easy to spot once trees are bare. Outside the breeding season herons are more solitary, each bird often defending a favoured stretch of bank or shoreline. In the wild many grey herons live only a few years, with high mortality among young birds, but individuals can survive much longer; ringing records include birds living into their twenties.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run dedicated field projects for grey herons, which are common, widespread and classed as Least Concern, and live largely outside the countries where WARN's partners work partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, written to help people understand and appreciate the wildlife around them. The threats that do affect herons locally, above all the loss, pollution and drainage of wetlands, are the same pressures that harm many of the rarer animals WARN does work to protect.

## Donation hook
If guides like this deepen your love of wildlife, supporting WARN helps keep this free educational work going and protects vulnerable animals elsewhere.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## Is a grey heron a protected bird in the UK?
Yes. Like other wild birds in the UK, the grey heron and its nests and eggs are protected under wildlife legislation, so it is illegal to deliberately kill, injure or take the bird or to destroy an active nest. This means herons cannot simply be removed or harmed when they visit ponds; instead, pond owners are encouraged to use humane deterrents such as netting, cover and hiding places for fish.

## Why do herons stand on one leg?
Herons, like many long-legged wading and water birds, often rest on one leg. The most widely accepted explanation is heat conservation: tucking one leg up into the warm body feathers reduces heat loss through the bare leg, which is important for a bird that spends long periods standing in cold water. Standing on one leg may also simply be a comfortable resting posture, with the bird alternating legs to share the load.

## Do herons really eat fish from garden ponds?
Yes. Grey herons are opportunistic hunters and readily visit garden ponds, where they may take goldfish, koi and other ornamental fish, as well as frogs. A heron will often arrive at dawn, standing patiently at the pond edge before striking. Pond owners can reduce losses by adding netting or a grid over the water, providing deep areas and planting cover where fish can hide, rather than harming the bird.

## What is the difference between a heron and a crane or stork?
Herons, cranes and storks are all tall, long-legged birds, but they belong to different families and behave differently. The clearest difference is in flight: herons fly with the neck pulled back into an S-shape against the body, while cranes and storks fly with the neck stretched out straight. Grey herons are also strongly tied to water for hunting fish and amphibians, and they nest colonially in trees in structures called heronries.

## What do grey herons eat?
Grey Herons eat Fish, amphibians, crustaceans, insects, small mammals. A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill.

## Where do grey herons live?
Grey Herons live in Rivers, lakes, canals, marshes, estuaries, ponds. A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill.

## Are grey herons dangerous?
Grey Herons are not generally dangerous to people. A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## How long do grey herons live?
A precise wild lifespan for grey herons is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a grey heron?
A Grey Heron is about Up to about 1 m. A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill. Conservation status: Least Concern.


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

## One-line answer
A duck is a waterbird in the family Anatidae — smaller and shorter-necked than its relatives the geese and swans. Ducks have a broad flat bill, webbed feet and waterproof feathers, live on fresh and salt water worldwide, and feed by dabbling at the surface or diving underwater.

## Introduction
A duck is a waterbird in the family Anatidae, the same family as geese and swans, but smaller and shorter-necked. "Duck" is not a single scientific group: it covers many species across several subfamilies, united by a broad flat bill, webbed feet and dense waterproof plumage. The most familiar is the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), a dabbling duck found across the Northern Hemisphere and the ancestor of almost all domestic ducks. Ducks live on fresh and salt water on every continent except Antarctica, feeding by dabbling at the surface or diving below it. Most common species are widespread and classed as Least Concern, though some specialised ducks are threatened by habitat loss.

## Takeaway
Ducks belong to the family Anatidae, alongside geese and swans, but are generally smaller and shorter-necked.

## Takeaway
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the most familiar species and the ancestor of almost all domestic duck breeds.

## Takeaway
Dabbling ducks feed at the surface or by upending; diving ducks submerge fully and are usually heavier.

## Takeaway
Waterproof feathers, kept oiled by preening and an insulating layer of down, let ducks stay warm and dry on water.

## Takeaway
A male is a drake, a female a duck or hen, and the young are ducklings; many drakes moult into dull 'eclipse' plumage in summer.

## Takeaway
Most common ducks are classed as Least Concern, but some specialised species face pressure from habitat loss.

## What is a duck, and how does it differ from geese and swans?
A duck is a waterbird in the family Anatidae, which also contains geese and swans. There is no single "duck" group in scientific classification — the name is applied to many species spread across several subfamilies, and taxonomists still disagree on exactly how to divide them. What unites ducks is a familiar body plan: a broad, flattened bill, short legs set well back on the body, fully webbed front toes and dense, waterproof plumage. Compared with their relatives, ducks are generally smaller and noticeably shorter in the neck than the long-necked swans and geese. They also tend to have brighter, more patterned plumage, especially the males of Northern Hemisphere species. Ducks have a near-worldwide distribution, living on lakes, rivers, marshes, estuaries and coasts on every continent except Antarctica. Some, like the mallard, are at home almost anywhere there is water, including city parks; others are restricted to particular habitats such as fast rivers, sea coasts or tropical wetlands. This mix of a shared, recognisable form and great variety between species is exactly why "duck" is an everyday word rather than a precise scientific one.


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

## How do ducks feed — dabbling versus diving?
Ducks are usually split into two broad feeding groups. Dabbling ducks, such as the mallard, teal and wigeon, feed at or just below the surface. They skim food from the water, graze on land, or "upend" — tipping forward so the head and neck are underwater and the tail points to the sky — to reach plants and small animals just beneath the surface. Many strain water through comb-like ridges along the edge of the bill, called the pecten or lamellae, trapping seeds, insects and tiny aquatic creatures. Dabbling ducks can usually spring almost straight up off the water into flight. Diving ducks, including pochards, scaup and eiders, submerge completely and swim underwater to feed on plants, molluscs, crustaceans and fish. They are typically heavier and have legs set further back, which makes them powerful swimmers but means they often need a running take-off across the water before becoming airborne. Diet varies widely between species and seasons: many ducks eat more plant matter outside the breeding season and take more protein-rich invertebrates when laying eggs and raising young.

## Why are ducks so well adapted to life on water?
A duck's body is built for water. Its feathers are waterproof, kept that way by frequent preening: the duck draws its bill over its plumage, spreading oils and locking the feather barbs together so water runs off rather than soaking in. Beneath the outer feathers lies a thick layer of soft down that traps air and insulates against cold water — the same down long valued for filling quilts. Webbed feet act as paddles, and because the legs have little blood flow near the skin and a heat-exchange system in the circulation, ducks can stand on ice or swim in cold water without losing much body heat. Many ducks show strong differences between the sexes: in numerous Northern species the drake wears bright breeding colours while the female is mottled brown for camouflage on the nest. After breeding, drakes often moult into a dull "eclipse" plumage that resembles the female, and during this moult they briefly lose the power of flight while new wing feathers grow. A male is called a drake, a female a duck or hen, and the downy young are ducklings.

## Are ducks endangered?
For ducks as a whole, the honest answer is: it depends on the species. "Duck" covers dozens of species, and their conservation status ranges from extremely abundant to critically threatened. Many of the most familiar ducks are doing well. The mallard, for example, is assessed by the IUCN as Least Concern, with a population estimated at more than 17 million mature individuals across an enormous range — although even its numbers are noted as currently decreasing. Other widespread, adaptable species are similarly secure. At the other end of the scale, ducks restricted to small islands, single lakes or specialised wetlands can be highly vulnerable. Several species have become endangered or extinct because of habitat loss, drainage of wetlands, introduced predators, hunting pressure and hybridisation with introduced ducks. Because ducks depend so completely on wetlands, the draining and pollution of marshes, lakes and estuaries is the single biggest pressure on the group. Protecting and restoring healthy wetlands benefits not only the rarer ducks but the whole community of waterbirds, fish, amphibians and insects that share their world.


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

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects dedicated to wild ducks, which are widespread across the Northern Hemisphere and beyond, outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational library. The threats that affect specialised ducks most — wetland drainage, pollution and habitat loss — are the same pressures that harm many of the animals WARN's partners do protect, so understanding them helps the wider cause.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you understand ducks a little better, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education growing and supports the animals its partners care for every day.


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

## What is the difference between a duck, a goose and a swan?
All three belong to the same family, Anatidae. Ducks are generally the smallest and shortest-necked, with flat bills suited to dabbling or diving. Geese are larger, with longer necks and a more upright, grazing build. Swans are the largest, with very long necks and mostly white plumage in familiar species. Size and neck length are the quickest ways to tell them apart.

## What is the most common type of duck?
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the most familiar and widespread duck across the Northern Hemisphere. The drake has a glossy green head, white neck-ring and chestnut breast, while the female is mottled brown. Mallards thrive almost anywhere with water, from wild marshes to city park ponds, and are the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds.

## Why do ducks not get wet or cold in the water?
Ducks waterproof their feathers by preening, spreading natural oils and zipping the feather barbs together so water runs off. Beneath the outer feathers, a thick layer of down traps air and insulates against cold. Their legs also have a heat-exchange system in the blood flow, so ducks lose very little body heat even when swimming in icy water or standing on ice.

## What do you call a male, female and baby duck?
A male duck is called a drake, a female is called a duck or a hen, and the young are ducklings. In many Northern Hemisphere species the drake has bright breeding plumage while the hen is mottled brown for camouflage on the nest. After breeding, drakes often moult into a duller 'eclipse' plumage that looks much like the female.

## What do ducks eat?
Ducks are omnivores with varied diets. Dabbling ducks like the mallard eat seeds, water plants, grasses, insects and small aquatic animals taken at or just below the surface, often by upending. Diving ducks feed underwater on plants, molluscs, crustaceans and fish. Many ducks eat more plant matter outside the breeding season and take more protein-rich invertebrates when laying eggs and raising young.

## Are ducks endangered?
It depends on the species. Many familiar ducks, such as the mallard, are classed by the IUCN as Least Concern and remain abundant. However, ducks restricted to small islands or specialised wetlands can be endangered or even extinct, mainly because of wetland drainage, pollution, introduced predators and hunting. Since all ducks depend on healthy wetlands, protecting those habitats is key to their future.

## Where do ducks live?
Ducks live on fresh and salt water on every continent except Antarctica, from Arctic tundra ponds to tropical wetlands and coastal estuaries. The familiar mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is one of the most widespread waterbirds in the Northern Hemisphere. Different species favour marshes, lakes, rivers or open sea, but all depend on healthy wetlands for feeding, moulting and nesting. IUCN estimates more than 17 million mature mallards worldwide.

## Are ducks dangerous?
Most ducks are not dangerous to people, though wild birds may bite if cornered or during nesting season. Large relatives such as swans can be aggressive when defending young, but typical dabbling ducks like the mallard are timid. The greater risk is to ducks themselves: habitat loss, pollution, hunting and predation threaten specialised species, even though common ducks such as the mallard remain Least Concern and abundant.


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

## How long do ducks live?
Lifespan varies by species and conditions. Wild mallards typically live around 5 to 10 years, though many fall to predators or hunting in their first year. Captive ducks often live longer with steady food and protection. Longevity records for wild mallards exceed 25 years. Because ducks mature quickly and lay large clutches, populations can remain stable even when individual survival is relatively short.

## How big is a duck?
Size varies widely across the many duck species in family Anatidae. The mallard — the most familiar dabbling duck — measures about 50–65 cm in body length and weighs 0.7–1.6 kg. Diving ducks and sea ducks can be larger and heavier. All share a broad flat bill, webbed feet and waterproof plumage that lets them feed at the surface or underwater depending on the species.


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

## One-line answer
A goose is a large, social grazing waterfowl in the family Anatidae, split mainly into grey and white geese (Anser) and black geese (Branta). Bigger than ducks, geese feed on grass, form lifelong pair bonds and migrate long distances in energy-saving V-formations.

## Introduction
A goose is a large, social waterfowl in the family Anatidae, grouped chiefly into the grey and white geese (genus Anser) and the black geese (genus Branta). Bigger than ducks but smaller than swans, geese are built for grazing: they crop grasses, sedges and crops with a strong, serrated bill and spend much of their time walking on land. Many species are powerfully migratory, travelling in the famous V-shaped skeins that save energy and keep the flock together. Geese form strong, long-lasting pair bonds and raise broods of downy goslings. The greylag goose (Anser anser) is the ancestor of most domestic breeds, while the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a familiar park resident across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

## Takeaway
Geese are large grazing waterfowl, classed mainly in the grey/white genus Anser and the black genus Branta within the duck family Anatidae.

## Takeaway
They fly in V-shaped formations that conserve energy and help the flock stay in contact during long migrations.

## Takeaway
Geese are largely herbivorous grazers, cropping grass, leaves, grain and aquatic plants, though they take some small invertebrates too.

## Takeaway
Most pair for life and defend territory only during the short nesting season, when they raise downy goslings.

## Takeaway
The greylag goose is the wild ancestor of most domestic goose breeds, kept by people for thousands of years.

## Takeaway
Common species such as the greylag and Canada goose are listed as Least Concern, and resident Canada geese are often treated as urban pests.

## What does a goose look like, and how is it different from a duck or swan?
Geese are medium-to-large waterfowl that sit between ducks and swans in size. A greylag goose measures roughly 74-91 cm long with a wingspan of about 147-180 cm, while a large Canada goose can reach 75-110 cm with a wingspan up to around 185 cm. They have long necks (though shorter than a swan's), heavy bodies, broad wings and webbed feet, and a stout, deep-based bill with serrated edges suited to gripping and cropping vegetation. Compared with ducks, geese are bigger, longer-necked and spend far more time grazing on land; both sexes usually share similar plumage, unlike the bright drakes of many ducks. Plumage varies by group: Anser geese tend to be grey-brown or white with pink or orange bills and legs, while Branta geese, such as the Canada and barnacle goose, are boldly patterned in black, white and grey. Swans, by contrast, are larger again, with very long necks and almost always all-white or all-black adult plumage.


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

## Why do geese fly in a V-formation?
The V, or skein, is one of the most recognisable sights in the bird world, and it is a feat of aerodynamics. As each goose flaps, its wingtips shed swirling vortices of air; birds flying slightly behind and to the side can ride the rising part of that wake, gaining lift and reducing the effort needed to stay aloft. By trailing one another in a staggered line, the flock as a whole saves energy on long journeys. The formation also aids communication and lets every bird keep its flock-mates in view, which matters when migrations can span continents. Geese share the demanding lead position and rotate through it, and much of a migration is actually spent resting at traditional stopover sites, where birds refuel and build fat reserves before the next leg. Young geese learn these routes and stopovers from their parents, so migratory knowledge is passed down the generations rather than being purely instinctive.

## What do geese eat and how do they live?
Geese are primarily herbivores and dedicated grazers. They feed chiefly on grasses, sedges, leaves, roots, aquatic plants and agricultural grain such as wheat, corn and rice, using the serrated edges of their bills to tear and crop vegetation. Some species also take small quantities of insects, molluscs, crustaceans and occasionally tiny fish, especially when feeding goslings that need protein to grow. Socially, geese are strongly bonded: most are monogamous and stay together as pairs throughout the year, becoming territorial mainly during the short nesting season. They nest on the ground near water, and both parents help guard the brood of goslings, which can walk and feed themselves soon after hatching. Outside the breeding season geese gather in large, noisy flocks, and a group has many traditional names: a gaggle on the ground, and a skein, team or wedge in flight. Their loud honking calls help coordinate these flocks and warn of danger.

## Are geese endangered, or are some a nuisance?
Most familiar geese are not threatened. Widespread species such as the greylag goose and the Canada goose are assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with large, often increasing populations. In fact, the opposite problem is more common in towns and cities: non-migratory Canada geese, which stay put where winters are mild and predators few, are widely regarded as pests. Their droppings foul parks and waterways, they graze and trample crops and amenity grass, they can be noisily aggressive when nesting, and they readily beg for food. Management can involve hazing, egg treatment to limit breeding, and culling. Not every goose is so secure, though. Some species and local populations face pressure from habitat loss, drainage of wetlands, hunting and disturbance, and a few island or specialist geese have small ranges. The broad pattern is that adaptable, generalist geese thrive alongside people, while more specialised wetland species depend on the health of the marshes, estuaries and tundra they need.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network (WARN) does not run field projects specifically for wild geese, which range mainly outside the countries where our partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand and value the wildlife around them. The threats that affect vulnerable wetland geese, above all the loss and drainage of wetlands, also harm many of the animals WARN does help to protect.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you see geese a little differently, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education and animal-protection work going.


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

## What is the difference between a goose and a duck?
Geese and ducks are both in the family Anatidae, but geese are larger, with longer necks and heavier bodies. Geese are dedicated grazers that spend much of their time feeding on grass and crops on land, while many ducks feed more in water. In geese, both sexes usually look alike, unlike the often brightly coloured drakes among ducks.

## What is a male goose, a female goose and a baby goose called?
A male goose is called a gander, an adult female is simply called a goose, and a young goose is a gosling. Collectively the word geese is the plural. Goslings are covered in down and can walk, swim and feed themselves within a day or so of hatching, staying close to both parents, who help guard the brood until it can fly.

## Why do geese fly in a V-shape?
Flying in a V, or skein, saves energy. Each beating wing throws off swirling air, and birds positioned behind and to the side ride the rising part of that wake, gaining extra lift. The formation also helps the flock communicate and keep one another in sight on long migrations. Geese share and rotate through the tiring lead position at the point of the V.

## What do geese eat?
Geese are mainly herbivores and graze on grasses, sedges, leaves, roots and aquatic plants, as well as agricultural grain such as wheat, corn and rice. They use the serrated edges of their bills to crop vegetation. Some also take small amounts of insects, molluscs and other invertebrates, particularly when feeding fast-growing goslings that need extra protein.

## Are geese dangerous or aggressive?
Geese are not generally dangerous to people, but they can be aggressive, especially during the nesting season when defending a mate, nest or goslings. A defensive goose may hiss, lower its head, flap its wings and chase or nip an intruder. Such encounters are usually about warning you off rather than causing real harm. Keeping a respectful distance from nesting birds avoids most conflict.

## Where do geese live?
Geese are found across much of the world, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Grey and white geese (genus Anser) breed widely across Europe and Asia, while black geese (genus Branta), including the Canada goose, are strongly associated with North America. Geese favour wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, grasslands and farmland, and many now thrive in urban parks where food and safety are plentiful.

## How long do gooses live?
Gooses typically live Often 10-24 years in the wild (Canada goose). A goose is a large, social grazing waterfowl in the family Anatidae, split mainly into grey and white geese (Anser) and black geese (Branta). Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a goose?
A Goose is about About 74-110 cm, depending on species. A goose is a large, social grazing waterfowl in the family Anatidae, split mainly into grey and white geese (Anser) and black geese (Branta).


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/puffin): Atlantic Puffin — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A puffin is a small North Atlantic seabird of the auk family, best known as the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). Nicknamed the "sea parrot" for its large, colourful striped bill, it nests in clifftop burrows in summer and spends the winter alone far out at sea.

## Introduction
The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a small, stocky seabird of the auk family, instantly recognised by its black-and-white plumage and a large, brightly striped bill that has earned it the nickname "sea parrot". It breeds in dense colonies on cliffs and grassy islands around the North Atlantic, from Iceland and Norway to Britain, Ireland, Canada and Greenland, nesting in burrows it digs or borrows. Outside the breeding season it lives entirely at sea, where its colourful bill plates are shed to a duller grey. Superb at swimming and diving, the puffin "flies" underwater to catch small fish. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with European numbers in worrying decline.

## Takeaway
The Atlantic puffin is one of three puffin species worldwide, alongside the tufted puffin and horned puffin of the North Pacific.

## Takeaway
Its famous orange-and-grey bill is a breeding ornament: the bright outer plates are moulted away in winter, leaving a smaller, duller beak.

## Takeaway
Puffins nest in burrows on cliffs and offshore islands, laying a single egg and spending the rest of the year out at sea.

## Takeaway
They feed mainly on small shoaling fish such as sand eels, capelin and herring, diving and 'flying' underwater to catch them.

## Takeaway
The IUCN classes the species as Vulnerable, with European populations projected to fall sharply this century.

## Takeaway
Iceland holds roughly 60% of all Atlantic puffins, making the North Atlantic islands globally important strongholds.

## What does an Atlantic puffin look like?
The Atlantic puffin is a compact, rounded seabird about 28-30 cm long with a wingspan of roughly 47-63 cm, typically weighing between 400 and 650 grams depending on region. Its plumage is sharply patterned: glossy black above and across a broad collar, with clean white underparts and pale grey face discs. Short orange legs and webbed feet complete the look. The defining feature is the bill. In the breeding season it becomes large, flattened and vividly coloured — slate-grey at the base, then a band of yellow, and bright orange-red towards the tip — framed by fleshy yellow rosettes at the gape. This brilliant beak is essentially a seasonal ornament. After breeding, the outer horny plates are shed during a moult, leaving a smaller, narrower and far duller bill for the winter. Males and females look alike, though males average slightly larger. In flight, puffins beat their small wings furiously, reaching high speeds but appearing to whirr rather than glide.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/puffin): Atlantic Puffin — wildlife guide.

## Where do puffins live and breed?
Atlantic puffins are birds of the cold and temperate North Atlantic. They breed in colonies on coastal cliffs and offshore islands, choosing grassy slopes and turf where they can excavate or occupy burrows. Iceland is the single most important country, holding around 60% of the world population, with other major colonies in Norway, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Atlantic Canada, including Newfoundland. In Britain and Ireland, well-known colonies include the Farne Islands off Northumberland and Skomer Island off Wales, where birds return to land each spring. A pair typically reuses the same burrow year after year, digging a tunnel up to a metre or more long and lining a nest chamber at the end. Puffins are highly faithful both to their colony and to their partner. Once the breeding season ends in late summer, they abandon land entirely and disperse across the open ocean, spending the entire winter at sea, often hundreds of kilometres from any coast, before returning the following year.

## What do puffins eat and how do they raise their young?
Puffins are pursuit-diving predators that feed almost exclusively on small fish. Favoured prey includes sand eels, herring, capelin and sprats, supplemented by some zooplankton. A puffin swims fast underwater using its wings for propulsion and its feet to steer, reaching considerable depths and staying submerged for up to a minute. Its specialised bill and backward-pointing spines on the tongue and palate let it hold several small fish crosswise at once, so a parent can carry a full beak-load back to the burrow without dropping its catch. Each pair lays a single white egg, which both adults incubate. The chick, known as a 'puffling', is fed in the safety of its burrow until it is ready to leave, when it departs alone at night and makes its own way to the sea. Puffins are long-lived birds that do not begin breeding until they are four or five years old, a slow life history that makes colonies sensitive to poor breeding seasons and adult losses.

## Why are puffin numbers falling?
Despite a large global population, the Atlantic puffin is classified as Vulnerable because of steep, sustained declines in its European stronghold, where most of the world's birds breed. The IUCN notes that the European population is projected to fall by roughly half or more across the first two-thirds of this century. The core problem is food. Puffins depend on small shoaling fish, especially sand eels, and warming seas and shifting ocean conditions are reducing the availability and quality of this prey near many colonies. When parents cannot find enough fish, chicks starve in the burrow and breeding fails. Climate change drives much of this disruption, but puffins also face pressures from severe storms, marine pollution and oil spills, fishing that competes for the same fish stocks, and introduced predators such as rats on once-safe islands. Because puffins are slow to mature and rear just one chick a year, populations recover only slowly, so several poor seasons in a row can cause lasting decline.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for Atlantic puffins, which breed far from the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand the wildlife that shares our planet. The threats that drive puffins towards decline — habitat disturbance, pollution and a changing climate — are the same pressures that affect the animals WARN does protect.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your love of wildlife, supporting WARN's educational and rescue work helps protect animals facing these very same threats.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/puffin): Atlantic Puffin — wildlife guide.

## Is a puffin a penguin?
No. Puffins and penguins are not closely related and live in different hemispheres. Puffins are seabirds of the auk family from the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and they can fly. Penguins are a separate group of flightless birds found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. The resemblance is superficial — both have black-and-white plumage and dive for fish, an example of similar lifestyles producing similar looks.

## How many types of puffin are there?
There are three puffin species. The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) lives across the North Atlantic, while the tufted puffin and the horned puffin are both North Pacific birds. The tufted puffin is darker with long golden head plumes in summer, and the horned puffin most closely resembles the Atlantic puffin but has a small fleshy 'horn' above each eye. All three nest in colonies and dive for fish.

## Why is the puffin's beak so colourful?
The puffin's bright orange, yellow and grey bill is a breeding ornament, used in courtship and display. It is at its most colourful during the spring and summer breeding season. Afterwards the outer horny plates of the bill are shed in a moult, leaving a smaller, duller beak for winter at sea. Studies have also shown puffin bills can fluoresce under ultraviolet light, hinting at signals we cannot easily see.

## Where can I see puffins in the UK?
Atlantic puffins breed at several well-known British and Irish colonies during spring and summer, roughly April to August. Famous sites include the Farne Islands off Northumberland and Skomer Island off the Welsh coast, along with colonies in Scotland and on coastal cliffs elsewhere. Outside this season puffins live far out at sea and are very hard to spot from land, so summer is by far the best time to watch them.

## How long do puffins live?
Atlantic puffins are long-lived seabirds. They do not start breeding until they are about four or five years old, and many individuals go on to live for well over a decade, with ringed birds recorded surviving into their twenties and beyond. This slow life history, combined with raising just one chick a year, means populations grow slowly and are sensitive to years of poor breeding or high adult mortality.

## What do atlantic puffins eat?
Atlantic Puffins eat Small fish: sand eels, herring, capelin, sprats.

## Where do atlantic puffins live?
Atlantic Puffins live in North Atlantic coasts and open ocean.

## Are atlantic puffins dangerous?
Atlantic Puffins are not generally dangerous to people. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How big is an atlantic puffin?
An Atlantic Puffin is about About 28-30 cm. Conservation status: Vulnerable.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
An opossum (Didelphis virginiana, the Virginia opossum) is North America's only native marsupial — a cat-sized, pouched mammal with a pointed snout, grasping prehensile tail and grey-white fur. It is famous for "playing dead", eating ticks and pests, and resisting many snake venoms.

## Introduction
The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is North America's only native marsupial — a cat-sized pouched mammal more closely related to kangaroos than to rats. Famous for "playing possum", a long grasping tail and an opportunistic appetite, it ranges from Central America across much of the United States and into southern Canada. Females carry tiny, undeveloped young in a fur-lined pouch, then on their backs once they outgrow it. Opossums are quiet, mostly solitary night-foragers that thrive in woodland, farmland and increasingly in towns and gardens. Often misunderstood, they are gentle, beneficial neighbours that eat ticks, slugs, carrion and pests, and they are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Takeaway
The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial native to North America, carrying its young in a pouch like its distant kangaroo relatives.

## Takeaway
"Playing possum" is an involuntary, fear-induced faint — not a clever trick — during which the animal may appear and even smell dead.

## Takeaway
Opossums are valuable neighbours: they eat ticks, slugs, snails, insects, carrion, rodents and fallen fruit, helping keep gardens tidy.

## Takeaway
They show natural resistance to the venom of many North American pit vipers, including rattlesnakes and copperheads.

## Takeaway
Their prehensile tail and opposable rear "thumbs" make them nimble climbers, though adults rarely hang by the tail for long.

## Takeaway
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species is widespread, adaptable and expanding its range northward.

## What is an opossum, and is it the same as a possum?
An opossum is a marsupial — a mammal that gives birth to tiny, embryonic young that finish developing in a pouch — and the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only species native to North America. In everyday North American speech it is almost always shortened to "possum", so the two words usually mean the same animal. Strictly, though, the true possums are an entirely separate group of marsupials found in Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands; they are only distantly related. About the size of a domestic cat, the Virginia opossum has coarse greyish-white fur, a pale pointed face, naked black ears, a long pink snout and a distinctive scaly, nearly hairless prehensile tail. Its hind feet bear an opposable, clawless "thumb" that helps it grip branches. With around 50 teeth, it has more than any other land mammal in North America, which it bares in a wide, hissing gape when threatened — usually pure bluff from an animal that would rather flee or faint than fight.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## Why do opossums 'play dead'?
"Playing possum" is the behaviour that gives the animal its reputation, but it is not a calculated ruse. When an opossum is badly frightened and cannot escape, it can drop into an involuntary, comatose-like state — a reflex similar to fainting — that can last from minutes to a few hours. The animal keels over, its eyes glaze, its tongue lolls, its breathing and heart rate slow, and glands near the tail release a foul, decay-scented fluid. To a predator expecting live, struggling prey, the opossum convincingly seems like an unappetising corpse. Because it is a reflex rather than a decision, the opossum cannot simply choose to "wake up" and snap out of it on cue. More often, a startled opossum will first try to bluff its way out: it gapes to show its many teeth, hisses, drools and growls. Only when this bluster fails does the faint kick in. The strategy works well enough that this slow, mild-mannered animal has persisted for tens of millions of years.

## What do opossums eat, and are they good for the garden?
Opossums are true omnivores and enthusiastic opportunists, eating almost anything they can find. Their menu includes insects, slugs, snails, worms, beetles, small rodents, frogs, eggs, carrion, fallen fruit, nuts and the contents of unsecured compost or bins. This scavenging habit makes them useful clean-up crew in gardens, smallholdings and woodland, removing rotting matter and garden pests that many people would rather not see. Opossums are widely noted for eating ticks they encounter while grooming, which can help reduce local tick numbers, although the scale of this benefit varies. They also have a strong natural resistance to the venom of many North American pit vipers, such as rattlesnakes and copperheads, thanks to compounds in their blood — a trait that has drawn scientific interest. Because they are immune or highly resistant to rabies far more often than most mammals (their low body temperature is thought to play a role), encounters with opossums carry comparatively little disease risk. The kindest response to a garden visitor is simply to secure rubbish and let it move on.

## How do opossums raise their young?
As marsupials, opossums have an extraordinary early life. After a gestation of only about 13 days, a female gives birth to a litter of bee-sized, blind, hairless newborns — sometimes more than a dozen. Each must crawl unaided through the mother's fur to reach her pouch, latch onto one of the available teats, and continue developing there for weeks. Only those that secure a teat survive, so litter size is effectively limited by the pouch. As the young, called joeys, grow too large for the pouch, they ride clinging to the mother's back as she forages. They become independent within a few months. Opossums live fast and die young: they reach breeding age within a year and rarely survive much beyond one or two years in the wild, falling prey to vehicles, owls, foxes, dogs and cold winters that can frostbite their thin ears and tail. High reproductive output offsets these short, hazardous lives, helping keep populations stable and even expanding their range northward.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for the Virginia opossum, which lives across the Americas — outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission to help people understand and live alongside wildlife. The threats opossums face — vehicle collisions, habitat loss, persecution from misunderstanding, and harsh weather — are the same pressures that bear down on the animals WARN does protect, so accurate, compassionate information about every species supports that wider goal.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you see the humble opossum a little more kindly, you can help fund free wildlife education and the hands-on rescue work it supports.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## Are opossums dangerous to humans or pets?
Opossums are generally harmless and prefer to avoid confrontation. When cornered they may hiss, bare their teeth, drool or faint, but they rarely bite and are not aggressive. They very seldom carry rabies, partly because of their low body temperature, so disease risk is low. They can defend themselves if grabbed, so it is best to give any opossum space and never handle a wild one.

## Do opossums really eat thousands of ticks?
Opossums do eat ticks they pick up while grooming their fur, and this can help reduce ticks in an area. However, widely repeated claims that a single opossum eliminates thousands of ticks per week come from one small study and are likely overstated. The honest picture is that opossums are tidy groomers that consume some ticks, making them modestly helpful neighbours rather than miracle tick-vacuums.

## Where do opossums live and what habitat do they prefer?
Virginia opossums range from Central America through Mexico and across much of the United States into southern Canada, and their range has been spreading northward. They are highly adaptable and live in woodlands, farmland, scrub, wetlands and increasingly in towns, suburbs and gardens. They favour areas near water with plenty of cover, and shelter in tree hollows, burrows dug by other animals, brush piles, sheds and other quiet, sheltered spots.

## How long do opossums live?
Virginia opossums live fast and die young. In the wild they typically survive only about one to two years, facing heavy losses from vehicles, predators such as owls and foxes, dogs and harsh winter cold that can frostbite their ears and tail. In captivity, free of these dangers, they may reach around four years. Their short lifespan is offset by breeding early and producing large litters.

## Why do opossums hang by their tails?
Opossums have a prehensile tail that can grip and coil around branches, helping them balance and climb. Young opossums can briefly hang from their tails, which is the source of the popular image, but adults are too heavy to dangle for long and use the tail mainly as a stabilising fifth limb and to carry bundles of nesting material. So the classic upside-down hanging pose is more a brief young-animal feat than an everyday adult habit.

## What do virginia opossums eat?
Virginia Opossums eat Omnivore — insects, carrion, fruit, small animals.

## How big is a virginia opossum?
A Virginia Opossum is about About the size of a domestic cat. Conservation status: Least Concern.


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

## One-line answer
A groundhog (Marmota monax) is a large North American ground squirrel, or marmot, in the squirrel family. A stout, powerful burrower and true hibernator weighing up to about 6 kilograms, it lives across the eastern United States and Canada and is famous for Groundhog Day.

## Introduction
The groundhog (Marmota monax), also called the woodchuck or whistle-pig, is a large ground squirrel native to North America. Despite its earthbound, burrowing life, it belongs to the marmot group within the squirrel family, Sciuridae. Groundhogs are stout, short-legged rodents built for digging, and they are among the few true hibernators in the rodent world, sleeping away the coldest months in deep underground dens. Widespread across the eastern United States, much of Canada and into Alaska, the groundhog is a familiar sight in meadows, field edges and gardens. It is best known worldwide as the animal at the heart of the Groundhog Day weather tradition, held each 2 February.

## Takeaway
The groundhog is a marmot, a large ground-dwelling squirrel, not a separate kind of animal from woodchucks; the two names refer to the same species.

## Takeaway
It is a true hibernator, dropping its body temperature to near freezing and its heart rate to a handful of beats per minute through winter.

## Takeaway
Powerful claws and stocky limbs make it an expert digger, moving large volumes of soil to build multi-entrance burrows.

## Takeaway
Groundhogs are almost entirely herbivorous, eating grasses and garden plants and fattening rapidly before winter.

## Takeaway
The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, common and widespread across North America.

## Takeaway
Each 2 February, a groundhog stars in the Groundhog Day folk tradition predicting the arrival of spring.

## What is a groundhog and where does it live?
The groundhog is one of around fifteen marmot species and the only one widely adapted to lowland life rather than mountains. Stocky and powerfully built, an adult measures roughly 42 to 69 centimetres in body length with a short, bushy tail, and weighs between about 2 and 6 kilograms, with the heaviest individuals reaching peak mass just before winter. Its coarse fur is typically grizzled brown, and short, strong limbs end in curved claws suited to digging. Groundhogs range across eastern North America, from the eastern and central United States through much of Canada and into Alaska. They favour open and edge habitats: meadows, pastures, woodland margins, hedgerows, road verges and increasingly suburban gardens and parks. This adaptability to human-altered landscapes is one reason the species remains so common. Each groundhog centres its life on a burrow system, rarely straying far from a den entrance, and will rear up on its hind legs to scan for danger, whistling a sharp alarm call that earns it the nickname whistle-pig.


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

## How do groundhogs hibernate?
Groundhogs are among the few mammals that are true, deep hibernators, distinct from animals that merely sleep more in winter. From roughly October until February, March or April, depending on latitude, a groundhog retreats to a separate winter chamber below the frost line and enters a profound state of torpor. Its body temperature falls dramatically, dropping to as low as about 2 degrees Celsius, close to the temperature of the surrounding soil. Its heart rate slows from a normal pace to just 4 to 10 beats per minute, and breathing may drop to a single breath every six minutes. To survive this fast, the groundhog spends late summer and autumn eating voraciously, sometimes nearly doubling its weight, then slowly burns those fat reserves through winter, emerging in spring having lost up to half its body mass. This extreme physiology is so striking that groundhogs have become important research subjects for understanding metabolism, body-temperature regulation and the biology of hibernation.

## Why are groundhogs such good diggers, and what do they eat?
Digging defines the groundhog's life. Using strong forelimbs and claws, a single animal can excavate a burrow system with two to five entrances and tunnels that, in the longest recorded cases, stretch around seven metres, complete with separate chambers for nesting, hibernating and toileting. These burrows shelter the groundhog from predators and weather and, once abandoned, provide homes for other wildlife such as foxes, rabbits and amphibians, while the churned soil helps aerate and mix the earth. The downside, from a human view, is that burrows can undermine field edges and gardens. Groundhogs are essentially herbivorous, feeding on grasses, clover, dandelions, plantains and a wide range of leafy plants, along with garden vegetables, fruit and occasionally crops, which is why they are often regarded as pests by growers. An adult may eat more than half a kilogram of vegetation in a single day during the feeding season, fuel for the long winter fast ahead.

## What is Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day, observed on 2 February, is a North American folk tradition with roots in older European weather customs tied to Candlemas. According to the lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter will follow; if the day is cloudy and it casts no shadow, spring will arrive early. The most famous participant is a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, though several towns across the United States and Canada hold their own ceremonies. In reality the date falls in the middle of the groundhog's hibernation period, and the prediction has no meteorological value, a groundhog roused in early February would normally return underground. The tradition is best understood as cultural celebration and seasonal folklore rather than science, but it has made this otherwise unassuming rodent one of the most recognised wild mammals in the world.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field conservation projects specifically for the groundhog, which is a common, Least Concern species living outside the countries where WARN's partners work partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand and value wildlife. The broader threats that touch all wild animals, especially habitat loss and the steady conversion of meadows and field edges, are the same pressures that endanger the species WARN does protect in its partner regions.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you see a familiar burrowing neighbour in a new light, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education growing.


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

## Is a groundhog the same as a woodchuck?
Yes. Groundhog and woodchuck are two common names for exactly the same species, Marmota monax. Other regional names include whistle-pig and land-beaver. The name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood or chucking; it derives from an Indigenous word that English speakers reshaped. So the old tongue-twister about how much wood a woodchuck could chuck is pure wordplay, not biology.

## Are groundhogs rodents or related to squirrels?
Groundhogs are rodents and, more specifically, members of the squirrel family, Sciuridae. They belong to the marmot group, which means they are essentially large, ground-dwelling squirrels. While tree squirrels are slim and arboreal, marmots like the groundhog are heavy-bodied and built for life on and under the ground, but the family relationship is close and genuine.

## Do groundhogs really hibernate?
Yes, groundhogs are true hibernators, among the deepest of any North American mammal. During winter their body temperature can fall to around 2 degrees Celsius and their heart rate slows to just 4 to 10 beats per minute. They survive on fat built up in autumn, neither eating nor drinking for months, and can lose up to half their body weight before emerging in spring.

## What do groundhogs eat?
Groundhogs are almost entirely herbivorous. They graze on grasses, clover, dandelions, plantains and many other leafy plants, and readily eat garden vegetables, fruit and farm crops, which is why gardeners often consider them pests. An adult can consume more than half a kilogram of vegetation in a day during the warm months, building the fat reserves it needs to survive its long winter hibernation.

## Are groundhogs dangerous to people or gardens?
Groundhogs are not aggressive towards people and will usually flee or retreat to their burrows when approached. They can damage gardens, crops and field edges by feeding on plants and digging extensive tunnels, and their burrows occasionally undermine structures or create holes in pasture. Like any wild mammal they can bite if cornered, so it is best to observe them at a distance and never handle them.

## How long do groundhogs live?
In the wild, groundhogs typically live only two to three years, with about six years being an upper limit, as predators, disease, harsh winters and road traffic take a heavy toll. Common predators include coyotes, foxes, bobcats, hawks and snakes, especially of the young. In protected captive conditions, free from those pressures, groundhogs have been recorded living to around fourteen years of age.

## Where do groundhogs live?
Groundhogs live in Eastern USA, much of Canada, into Alaska. A groundhog (Marmota monax) is a large North American ground squirrel, or marmot, in the squirrel family. A stout, powerful burrower and true hibernator weighing up to about 6 kilograms, it lives across the eastern United States and Canada and is famous for Groundhog Day.

## How big is a groundhog?
A Groundhog is about About 42-69 cm, plus a short tail. A groundhog (Marmota monax) is a large North American ground squirrel, or marmot, in the squirrel family.


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

## One-line answer
A camel is a large, hump-backed desert mammal of the genus Camelus. The one-humped dromedary and two-humped Bactrian are domesticated; the wild Bactrian camel is rare. Humps store fat, not water, and remarkable adaptations let camels endure extreme heat and long stretches without drinking.

## Introduction
A camel is a large, long-legged hoofed mammal superbly adapted to deserts and dry grasslands. There are three living species: the one-humped dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) and the two-humped domestic Bactrian (Camelus bactrianus), both kept by people for thousands of years, plus the rare wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) of the Gobi. Camels are famous for their humps, which store fat rather than water, and for an extraordinary suite of adaptations that let them survive scorching heat, dust storms and many days without drinking. Domesticated camels remain common worldwide, but their wild cousin is among the most endangered large mammals on Earth.

## Takeaway
Camels' humps store fat, not water; the fat fuels the body and yields water when metabolised.

## Takeaway
Three species exist: the one-humped dromedary, the two-humped domestic Bactrian, and the wild Bactrian camel.

## Takeaway
Domestic camels are abundant and not threatened, numbering around 14 million worldwide.

## Takeaway
The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is Critically Endangered, with only about 950 left in the Gobi region.

## Takeaway
Camels tolerate body-temperature swings, oval blood cells and big water intakes that would kill most mammals.

## Takeaway
People have relied on camels for transport, milk, meat and wool for thousands of years.

## Do camels store water in their humps?
No, this is the most enduring camel myth. A camel's hump is a reservoir of fatty tissue, not water. When food and water are scarce, the camel metabolises this fat for energy, and the chemical breakdown also releases some water as a by-product. A well-fed camel's hump stands plump and upright; as the fat is used up the hump shrinks and may flop to one side, recovering once the animal eats well again. The dromedary carries one hump and the Bactrian two. Camels do drink prodigiously when water is available, taking in up to around 140 litres in a single long session, but that water is absorbed into the bloodstream and tissues rather than stored in the hump. Their oval-shaped red blood cells keep flowing even when the animal is severely dehydrated and can swell dramatically on rehydration without bursting. Combined with concentrated urine, dry dung and the ability to tolerate large losses of body water, these traits let a dromedary go many days, sometimes more than a week, between drinks.


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

## How do camels survive desert heat?
Camels are walking masterclasses in heat management. Rather than sweating constantly to stay at a fixed temperature, a camel lets its body temperature drift across the day, from around 34°C at dawn to about 40°C by late afternoon, only sweating once it passes that upper limit. This saves precious water. Thick hair on the back shades the skin while leaving the belly relatively bare so heat can escape, and camels often sit facing the sun to reduce the surface exposed to it. Long, double-rowed eyelashes and slit-like, closable nostrils keep out blowing sand, and a third eyelid sweeps the eye clear. Broad, two-toed feet spread under the animal's weight to stop it sinking into soft sand or snow. Tough lips and a leathery mouth let camels browse thorny, salty desert plants that other grazers avoid. Bactrian camels add a thick winter coat, shed in ragged clumps each spring, to survive the bitter cold of the Central Asian steppe and Gobi, showing how flexible the camel body plan can be.

## What is the difference between a dromedary and a Bactrian camel?
The quickest tell is the humps: the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) has one, while both Bactrian species (Camelus bactrianus and the wild Camelus ferus) have two. A handy memory aid is that a sideways 'D' has one bump and a sideways 'B' has two. The dromedary is the slender, short-coated camel of hot deserts such as the Sahara, Arabian Peninsula and South Asia, and it makes up roughly nine in ten of the world's camels. The Bactrian is stockier, with longer, shaggier hair suited to the cold deserts and mountains of Central Asia and Mongolia. Dromedaries no longer exist as a truly wild population, though large feral herds roam Australia after being introduced in the 1800s. Domestic Bactrians are kept across Central Asia, but their wild relative, Camelus ferus, is now recognised as a separate species and survives only in a few remote pockets of the Gobi. The two domestic species can interbreed and produce fertile hybrids, which has become a serious threat to the genetic integrity of the dwindling wild population.

## How long have people kept camels?
Camels are among the most important domestic animals of the arid world. Dromedaries were probably domesticated in the South Arabian or Somali region during the 3rd millennium BC, and Bactrian camels in Central Asia by around 2500 BC. For thousands of years they have carried people and goods across deserts that would defeat horses or oxen, earning the nickname 'ships of the desert', and they remain central to caravan trade, herding cultures and modern racing in many regions. Beyond transport, camels provide nutritious milk, meat, hair for textiles and dung for fuel, supporting communities where little else can be farmed. Today around 14 million domestic camels live across the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, the Middle East and South and Central Asia, and populations are generally stable or rising. This long partnership is exactly why the wild Bactrian camel matters so much: it is the last glimpse of the camel as a free-living wild animal, and the ancestor stock from which much of this resilience came.


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

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects specifically for camels, which live mainly outside the countries where WARN and its partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand the animals they share the planet with. The threats facing the wild Bactrian camel, habitat loss, fragmentation and pressure on scarce water and grazing, are the same forces that endanger many animals WARN does help protect, which is why public understanding matters.

## Donation hook
If you value clear, science-based wildlife guides like this, a small gift helps WARN keep caring for vulnerable animals and sharing free knowledge.


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

## Do camels really store water in their humps?
No. A camel's hump stores fat, not water. The fat acts as an energy reserve, and breaking it down releases a little water as a by-product. Camels survive long dry spells through other adaptations, drinking huge amounts when water is available, producing very concentrated urine and dry dung, and tolerating large losses of body water that would harm most mammals.

## How long can a camel go without water?
A camel can go for many days, sometimes well over a week, without drinking, even in heat, depending on conditions, workload and the moisture in its food. When it finally reaches water it may drink up to around 140 litres in one session. The water is absorbed into the bloodstream and tissues rather than stored in the hump, rapidly rehydrating the animal.

## What is the difference between a dromedary and a Bactrian camel?
The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) has one hump and lives in hot deserts such as the Sahara and Arabian Peninsula. Bactrian camels have two humps and a shaggier coat suited to the cold deserts of Central Asia. A useful tip: turn the letters on their side, 'D' has one bump, 'B' has two. Dromedaries make up about 90% of all camels.

## Are camels endangered?
Domestic camels are not endangered; around 14 million live worldwide and their numbers are stable. The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus), however, is Critically Endangered, with only about 950 left in remote parts of the Gobi in China and Mongolia. It faces habitat loss, hunting, competition for water and interbreeding with domestic camels, and is listed on CITES Appendix I.

## What do camels eat?
Camels are herbivores adapted to harsh, dry vegetation. They browse and graze on grasses, leaves, shrubs and thorny or salty desert plants that many other animals cannot eat, helped by tough lips and a leathery mouth. Like cattle they chew the cud, and they can extract a remarkable amount of moisture and nutrition from sparse, low-quality forage, allowing them to thrive where grazing is scarce.

## How long do camels live?
Camels are long-lived for large mammals, typically reaching around 40 to 50 years, with working and well-cared-for animals often living several decades. Females usually give birth to a single calf after a gestation of around 13 to 14 months, and calves can walk within hours of birth. This slow reproduction is one reason the small wild Bactrian camel population recovers so slowly.

## Where do camels live?
Camels live in North Africa & the Sahel, Arabian Peninsula & Middle East, South & Central Asia. A camel is a large, hump-backed desert mammal of the genus Camelus. The one-humped dromedary and two-humped Bactrian are domesticated; the wild Bactrian camel is rare.

## Are camels dangerous?
Camels are domesticated animals and are not dangerous to people in the wild-predator sense. A camel is a large, hump-backed desert mammal of the genus Camelus. The one-humped dromedary and two-humped Bactrian are domesticated; the wild Bactrian camel is rare. Usual risks are husbandry and handling, not unprovoked attacks.

## How big is a camel?
A Camel is about Around 1.8-2.1 m. A camel is a large, hump-backed desert mammal of the genus Camelus. The one-humped dromedary and two-humped Bactrian are domesticated; the wild Bactrian camel is rare.


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

## One-line answer
An armadillo is a small to medium New World mammal of the order Cingulata, protected by a distinctive shell of bony plates covered in leathery skin. Around 20 species live across the Americas, digging burrows and feeding mainly on insects, grubs and other invertebrates.

## Introduction
Armadillos are small to medium-sized mammals of the Americas, instantly recognised by the bony, leathery shell that armours their back, head and tail. Around 20 living species make up the order Cingulata, ranging from the tiny pink fairy armadillo to the giant armadillo. They are powerful diggers that feed mainly on insects, grubs and other invertebrates, using a long, sticky tongue to raid ant and termite nests. The familiar nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has spread north into the southern United States and is classed as Least Concern, while some specialised species, such as the giant armadillo, are far more threatened. Armadillos are the only mammals with a true bony shell.

## Takeaway
Armadillos are the only living mammals with a true shell of bony plates (osteoderms) covered by tough skin.

## Takeaway
There are around 20 species, all native to the Americas, from the tiny pink fairy armadillo to the dog-sized giant armadillo.

## Takeaway
The widespread nine-banded armadillo is Least Concern and has expanded north into the southern United States, but the giant armadillo is assessed as Vulnerable.

## Takeaway
Only the three-banded armadillos (Tolypeutes) can curl into a fully enclosed ball; most species rely on digging or fleeing to escape predators.

## Takeaway
The nine-banded armadillo almost always gives birth to four genetically identical quadruplets from a single fertilised egg.

## Takeaway
Armadillos eat mainly insects, grubs and other invertebrates and are valuable natural controllers of ants and termites.

## What does an armadillo's shell actually do?
The armadillo's most famous feature is its carapace, a layer of small bony plates called osteoderms set into the skin and overlaid with tough, leathery scales. Across the back this armour is divided into rigid shoulder and hip shields joined by a series of flexible bands, which is why several species are named for the number of bands they show, such as the nine-banded armadillo. The bands let the animal bend and move while still protecting the body, head and tail. Despite the popular image, most armadillos cannot roll into a ball: only the two three-banded species of the genus Tolypeutes can tuck head, tail and feet inside and close up into a near-perfect armoured sphere. For the rest, the shell is partial protection against thorns, predators' teeth and rough burrows, but their main defences are speed, sharp digging claws and the ability to dig themselves out of sight remarkably quickly. The soft underside is left unarmoured, so a threatened armadillo will often press its belly to the ground or wedge into a burrow.


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

## How many armadillo species are there and where do they live?
There are roughly 20 living armadillo species, all confined to the Americas. Diversity is highest in South America, especially around Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, but the group ranges from the southern United States down through Central and South America. The smallest is the pink fairy armadillo of Argentina, weighing only around 85 grams and measuring some 13 to 15 centimetres in total length; the largest is the giant armadillo, which can reach about 1.5 metres including the tail and weigh up to roughly 54 kilograms. The nine-banded armadillo is the most familiar and widespread species and the only one found in the United States, where it has steadily expanded its range northward into states such as Texas and Florida over the past century, helped by its adaptability and lack of natural predators in the north. Armadillos occupy a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, rainforest, scrub and semi-desert, generally favouring areas with loose soil suitable for digging the burrows in which they shelter and raise young.

## What do armadillos eat and how do they live?
Armadillos are mostly insectivorous, feeding on ants, termites, beetle larvae, grubs and other invertebrates, with some species, including the giant armadillo, specialising almost entirely on ants and termites. They locate prey largely by smell, then dig rapidly with strong forelimbs and claws and lap up insects with a long, sticky tongue. Many also take some plant matter, small vertebrates, eggs and carrion. Most species are solitary and largely nocturnal or crepuscular, spending the day in burrows they excavate themselves. Reproduction in the genus Dasypus is unusual: the nine-banded armadillo produces a single fertilised egg whose implantation is delayed by several months, after which it splits to yield four genetically identical offspring, a reliable case of polyembryony found in no other mammal genus. Armadillos also have an unusually low body temperature of around 34 degrees Celsius. This makes them one of the few animals besides humans able to harbour the bacterium that causes leprosy, and handling or eating wild armadillos carries a small risk of transmission.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects dedicated to armadillos, which live across the Americas rather than in the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, which aims to make accurate, well-sourced wildlife information freely available to everyone. The same pressures that threaten the more specialised armadillos, above all habitat loss and conversion of wild land, also harm the animals WARN does protect, so learning about one species helps support care for many.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you understand armadillos a little better, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education and hands-on animal care going.