Animals that contain L — 59 detailed entries

Below are animals that contain the letter L anywhere in the name. Each of the 59 animals below opens to a full profile.

Table of contents 59 entries

List of Animals That Contain L

Alligator

Alligator (genus, two species)

A large freshwater reptilian predator native to the southeastern United States and a small enclave in eastern China — distinct from crocodiles in habitat, snout shape, and temperament.

Alpaca

Vicugna pacos

A small South American camelid bred for fine wool — domesticated by Andean civilizations 6,000+ years ago, now a global niche livestock animal whose fleece rivals cashmere for softness.

Antelope

Antilopinae and Bovidae (subfamilies; not a single species)

A diverse group of fast, lightweight horned ungulates spanning over 90 species across Africa, Asia, and the Americas — many of the world's fastest land mammals.

Armadillo

Dasypus novemcinctus

A small American mammal armored in bony plates, the only mammal that gives birth to identical quadruplets and one of the few wild carriers of leprosy.

The Mexican salamander that never grows up — an aquatic salamander that retains its larval features throughout adult life (a condition called neoteny), keeping its external gills as feathery plumes; it can regenerate entire limbs, spinal cord segments, and even parts of the heart and brain; critically endangered in the wild but kept by millions as a pet.

Buffalo

Syncerus caffer (Cape); Bubalus bubalis (water); Bison bison (American "buffalo")

A general name for several large bovines — the African Cape buffalo (one of the most dangerous animals in Africa), the Asian water buffalo (essential to rice farming), and the American "buffalo" (actually a bison).

Camel

Camelus dromedarius (one hump); Camelus bactrianus (two humps)

A large hump-backed desert mammal capable of going days without water — central to desert civilizations from Arabia to the Sahara, with two hump-counts (one and two) representing distinct species.

Caracal

Caracal caracal

A sleek, medium-sized wild cat of Africa and Asia with extraordinary tufted black ears and the most impressive leaping ability of any cat its size — capable of batting down multiple birds from a flock simultaneously.

Chameleon

Chamaeleo chamaeleon (European chameleon); Furcifer pardalis (panther chameleon) and others

The famous colour-changing lizard — chameleons change colour not primarily for camouflage but to communicate mood, temperature regulation, and social status; they have independently rotating eyes that provide 360-degree vision, a tongue that launches at 13 km/h to catch insects, and feet designed like tongs for gripping branches.

Clouded Leopard

Neofelis nebulosa

A secretive mid-sized cat of Southeast Asian forests with extraordinarily large canine teeth relative to its skull and the ability to descend trees headfirst — its cloud-like coat pattern gives it its name.

Colobus Monkey

Colobus guereza (black-and-white colobus)

The striking leaf-eating monkey of African forest — the black-and-white colobus is one of Africa's most visually dramatic primates, with jet-black fur contrasting with white facial frame, a long white mantle over the shoulders, and a white-tipped tail; colobus monkeys eat mainly mature leaves that other primates avoid, relying on a specialised sacculated stomach to ferment and detoxify the leaf material.

Crocodile

Crocodylus (genus, multiple species)

A large semi-aquatic reptilian predator that has changed remarkably little in 200 million years — the world's most powerful biting jaw and an apex predator of tropical rivers and estuaries.

Dhole

Cuon alpinus

Asia's wild dog — a highly social, pack-hunting canid of South and Southeast Asian forests that kills prey far larger than itself through cooperative strategy; dholes can drive tigers and leopards from their kills, communicate with extraordinary calls including whistles and clucks, and their packs may number over 30 individuals.

Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

A highly intelligent marine mammal found in oceans worldwide, famous for its sophisticated social behavior, problem-solving ability, and signature whistle communication.

Eagle

Aquila chrysaetos (golden); Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald — see Birds entry)

A general name for the largest birds of prey in the family Accipitridae — including the bald, golden, harpy, and Philippine eagles — apex predators with extraordinary vision and as many cultural symbolic meanings as cultures themselves.

Elephant

Loxodonta africana

The largest living land animal, recognizable by its long trunk and tusks, and remarkable for its complex social structures and matriarchal herds.

Elephant Seal

Mirounga angustirostris (northern); Mirounga leonina (southern)

A massive marine mammal with males weighing 4 tons and sporting an inflatable trunk-like proboscis — one of the deepest-diving mammals on Earth, capable of submerging to 1,500 m for two-hour dives.

Elk

Cervus canadensis

A large deer of North America and East Asia — second only to moose among living deer in size, with massive antlers grown anew every year by males.

Galago

Galago senegalensis (and related species)

The bush baby of African nights — small, doe-eyed primates with enormous forward-facing eyes for night vision, vast membranous ears that fold flat when resting, and extraordinary leaping ability; galagos can jump up to 2.25 metres in a single spring using powerful back legs; their plaintive cry in the African night sounds disconcertingly like a crying human infant, giving rise to the name bush baby.

Gazelle

Gazella (genus)

A swift, slender African and Asian antelope — about a dozen species ranging across savannas, deserts, and open grasslands, prized prey for cheetahs and lions, and a model of running efficiency.

Gelada

Theropithecus gelada

Ethiopia's grass-eating monkey — the only primate that feeds primarily on grass, living in the high Simien Mountains in bands of hundreds that graze like sheep; males have a dramatic hourglass-shaped bare red chest patch that flushes brighter during excitement and serves as a substitute for the rump displays used by other primates.

Gorilla

Gorilla beringei (eastern); Gorilla gorilla (western)

The largest living primate — gentle vegetarian forest dwellers of Central Africa, organized in family groups led by silverback males, with tragic conservation crises across all four subspecies.

Jackal

Canis aureus

A medium-sized canid of Africa and Asia — a highly adaptable scavenger and hunter that forms monogamous lifetime pairs and cooperatively raises young, serving an essential ecological role as a cleanup crew.

Jellyfish

Scyphozoa, Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, Staurozoa (classes)

A diverse group of marine cnidarians with translucent bodies and stinging tentacles — among Earth's oldest animals, with body plans essentially unchanged for 500+ million years and increasingly abundant in warming oceans.

Koala

Phascolarctos cinereus

A slow, eucalyptus-eating Australian marsupial with thick fur and a specialized digestive system, often called a "bear" but unrelated to true bears.

Lemur

Lemuriformes (infraorder)

A primate family endemic to Madagascar — over 100 species evolved in isolation for 60+ million years, ranging from the tiny mouse lemur to the dramatic ringtailed lemur, all critically threatened by deforestation.

Leopard

Panthera pardus

The most adaptable big cat — found from African savannas to Russian taiga to urban Mumbai — with rosette-spotted fur, a powerful bite, and remarkable ability to haul prey twice its weight up trees.

Lion

Panthera leo

A large social cat and the only big cat that lives in groups, the lioness does most of the hunting while the maned male defends territory and pride.

Llama

Lama glama

A South American camelid domesticated for cargo, wool, and meat by Andean civilizations — sure-footed at extreme altitudes, with a tendency to spit at threats and a deep cultural place in Inca religion.

Lobster

Homarus americanus (American); Homarus gammarus (European)

A large marine crustacean — once a poor person's food in colonial New England, now an iconic luxury seafood and the foundation of major Maritime fisheries on both sides of the North Atlantic.

Lynx

Lynx (genus)

A large, snow-adapted wild cat with characteristic ear tufts and short tail — four species spread across the northern hemisphere, with populations recovering from near-extinction in some regions.

Mandrill

Mandrillus sphinx

The world's largest monkey and the most colourful mammal — males develop electric blue and red facial colouring and a brilliantly coloured rump; despite their fearsome appearance, mandrills are omnivorous and live in enormous groups called hordes.

Maned Wolf

Chrysocyon brachyurus

The giraffe-legged wolf of South American grasslands — an unmistakable canid with improbably long legs, reddish-orange fur, a black mane, and large ears; the maned wolf is not closely related to wolves or foxes, being the sole member of its genus; it is an omnivore that eats more fruit than meat, and the wolf-apple (lobeira fruit) forms a large part of its diet.

Mole

Talpidae (family)

A small underground mammal with paddle-like front feet for digging — found across most of the northern hemisphere, dug-into-the-ground specialists with extraordinarily refined sense of touch and a near-permanent underground existence.

Mussel

Mytilus (genus, marine); Unionidae (freshwater)

A bivalve mollusk attached to rocks and ropes by tough byssal threads — an ecologically critical filter feeder, a major sustainable seafood, and an emerging water quality indicator.

Narwhal

Monodon monoceros

An Arctic whale with a single long spiraled tusk — actually a tooth — that gives it the popular name "unicorn of the sea," found only in the high Arctic.

Nilgai

Boselaphus tragocamelus

The largest Asian antelope — the nilgai (or blue bull) is a horse-sized bovid with a distinctively horse-like gait and a sloping back; males are slate-blue with a white patch on the throat, white ear spots, and short conical horns; females are tawny-brown and hornless; the nilgai is the most common large wild mammal of the Indian plains, coexisting with agriculture and often raiding crops.

Pangolin

Manis spp. / Phataginus spp. / Smutsia spp.

A scaly nocturnal mammal that looks like an animated artichoke — the world's most heavily trafficked wild mammal, with all eight species under severe poaching pressure for traditional medicine markets.

Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

An egg-laying, beaver-tailed, duck-billed, otter-furred Australian mammal — among the oddest animals on Earth, with venomous spurs, electroreception, and one of evolution's most surprising survivors.

Quetzal

Pharomachrus mocinno

Central America's most spectacular bird — the resplendent quetzal's emerald green tail feathers can reach 65 cm and were considered more valuable than gold by the Maya and Aztec civilisations; it is the national bird of Guatemala, depicted on the flag and currency, and remains a symbol of freedom as it refuses to survive long in captivity.

Quoll

Dasyurus maculatus

A spotted carnivorous marsupial from Australia and New Guinea — a fierce predator relative to its size, critically threatened by foxes, cats, and cane toads, and one of Australia's most important native predators.

Salamander

Caudata (order)

A diverse order of amphibians with elongated bodies and tails — about 700 species worldwide, capable of regenerating limbs, organs, and even portions of the brain.

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus (California); Otariidae family

An eared seal — distinguishable from true seals by external ear flaps and front-flipper-driven swimming — with vocal "barking" colonies on rocky coasts and a long history of training for circuses, naval programs, and aquariums.

Seal

Phoca vitulina (harbor seal); also Phocidae family broadly

A semiaquatic marine mammal with streamlined body and flippers — the harbor seal of temperate coasts, with vocal "songs" of underwater communication, and life cycles split between sea hunting and land breeding.

Serval

Leptailurus serval

Africa's most successful small wild cat — a tall, long-legged cat with enormous ears and a spotted coat, capable of leaping 3 metres into the air to bat down birds in flight; it has the highest hunting success rate of any wild cat, catching prey on more than half of all attempts.

Sloth

Bradypus variegatus (brown-throated sloth)

A slow-moving, tree-hanging mammal native to Central and South American rainforests, so sluggish that algae grows on its fur — providing camouflage and a small ecosystem.

Sloth Bear

Melursus ursinus

A shaggy, long-snouted bear of the Indian subcontinent — specialised as a termite and ant eater, with long curved claws for tearing open mounds, a mobile lower lip and long tongue for extracting insects, and the ability to close its nostrils to keep out dust; the sloth bear's noisy sucking sounds as it vacuums up termites can be heard from 100 metres away.

Snow Leopard

Panthera uncia

The ghost of the mountains — a large cat of the high Himalayas and Central Asian ranges, rarely seen by humans; it has the longest tail relative to body size of any cat, which it wraps around itself like a scarf for warmth, and is known for its haunting, otherworldly call that sounds nothing like a roar.

Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis (Eastern grey); Sciurus vulgaris (Eurasian red); many species

A small bushy-tailed rodent of trees and parks — among the most successful suburban-adapted mammals, with hoarding behavior that accidentally plants countless trees each year.

Tasmanian Devil

Sarcophilus harrisii

The world's largest carnivorous marsupial — a stocky, jet-black scavenger and hunter from Tasmania, famous for its bone-crushing bite, spine-chilling screams, and its battle against a contagious facial tumour disease.

Turtle

Testudines (order)

An ancient reptile order with a protective bony shell — over 350 species ranging from tiny musk turtles to massive sea turtles, with some species living over 150 years.

Wallaby

Macropus and Wallabia genera

A small to medium kangaroo relative — there's no clear biological distinction between kangaroo and wallaby; "wallaby" generally means smaller species — found across Australia, New Guinea, and as introduced populations in New Zealand, Britain, and Hawaii.

Walrus

Odobenus rosmarus

A massive Arctic marine mammal with iconic tusks — pinniped giant of the polar seas, weighing up to 2 tons, equipped with sensory whiskers that find clams in dark seabed mud.

Weasel

Mustela (genus, multiple species)

A small, slender, and ferociously efficient carnivore — capable of killing prey larger than itself, with seasonal coat color changes from brown to white in cold climates, distributed across most of the Northern Hemisphere.

Whale

Cetacea (infraorder); Balaenoptera musculus (blue whale, largest)

The largest animals ever to live on Earth — ocean-dwelling mammals descended from hoofed land ancestors, with the blue whale's heart the size of a small car and the sperm whale's brain the largest ever.

Wild Boar

Sus scrofa

The ancestor of the domestic pig — a powerfully built, tusked omnivore with coarse grey-black bristles that has recolonised much of Europe and Asia; a major game animal, agricultural pest, and ecological engineer whose rooting transforms forest floors.

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