Free wildlife guides · Letter S
Animals That Start With S
Browse 63 animals that start with S in WARN’s free wildlife-guide library. Saiga Antelope, Salamander, Salmon, Saltwater Crocodile and 59 more each open a sourced guide. This is not a catalogue of every species whose English name begins with S.
- 63 sourced guides whose common name starts with S
- 14 in an IUCN threatened category on this letter
- Full A to Z of the library is /animals-a-z/ — this URL is one letter
In brief
This is WARN’s list of animals that start with S — 63 sourced wildlife guides from the saiga antelope to the swordfish. 14 of those guides sit in an IUCN threatened category (Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable). The list is WARN’s published library, not a census of every S-animal on Earth. WARN funds partners in 17 countries; overlap with a range is geography, not a letter grant.
By the WARN Research & Conservation TeamChecked against IUCN Red List & CITES sourcesLast updated
63
S guides
14
IUCN threatened on this letter
491
Guides in the full A to Z
26
Letters with WARN guides
Threatened counts follow each guide’s IUCN category (Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable). Group guides may use a status label when one badge would mislead. This is not a census of all animals.
Who should skip this
This is not the right page if you want
- A complete list of every animal on Earth that starts with S. WARN currently publishes 63 guides for this letter, not a zoological census.
- To look an animal up by any letter. That encyclopaedia is animals A to Z.
- To adopt a dog or cat into your home. WARN does not rehome pets — that is shelter directory.
- A named animal with photo updates. Symbolic adoption is symbolic adoption; monthly sponsorship is sponsor.
- To donate without browsing this letter. That is donate or appeals.
- Gift Aid or a UK charity receipt from WARN — that is registration status.
How to use the animals that start with S list
Stay on this page to scan WARN’s 63 wildlife guides whose common name starts with S. Confirm you want a sourced species guide, not a local pet. Then open a name, read the IUCN context, and give at donate if you also want to fund partner-led rescue.
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Confirm you want this letter
Stay here if you searched “animals that start with S” or need Saiga Antelope, Salamander, Salmon, Saltwater Crocodile and 59 more. If you wanted every letter, open animals A to Z. If you wanted a rescue shelter for dogs near you, stop and open shelter directory.
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Scan the named guides
The table lists each common name, scientific name and IUCN label from the guide. Counts are WARN guides, not species in nature.
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Open the sourced wildlife guide
Each name opens a wildlife guide with facts, IUCN context, habitat, threats and FAQs. Group guides say when one Red List badge would mislead.
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Give if you want to fund rescue
This letter page is an encyclopaedia, not a checkout. Use donate or pick an appeal that matches the animal you just read about. You do not get a named animal. Gift Aid is not available.
This letter versus A to Z
Use this URL for one letter. Use the A to Z to search the whole library. Use a species guide when you already have the name.
| Feature | This S page | Animals A to Z | Species guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best if you want | Names that start with S | The full library by any letter | Facts on one animal |
| How many listed | 63 WARN guides | 491 guides | One species (or group) |
| Checkout | No — use donate | Below the index | Sticky bar / appeal if one exists |
| Census of nature | No | No | No |
What animals start with S?
Animals that start with S, in WARN’s library, are Saiga Antelope, Salamander, Salmon, Saltwater Crocodile and 59 more. There are 63 sourced wildlife guides on this URL. The heading matches the search; the inventory matches the guides.
S is one of the busiest letters in this library (63 guides). That is because English common names cluster, not because WARN ran a special S project. Use the table to jump rather than scrolling a dumped worksheet.
Sorting uses the common name. Scientific names still appear in the table. Saiga Antelope is first on this letter because of English spelling, not because it is more important than Swordfish.
How many animals start with S?
WARN currently publishes 63 wildlife guides whose common name starts with S. 3 are listed as Critically Endangered. 14 sit in an IUCN threatened category.
Those numbers count WARN guides, not life on Earth. A group guide still occupies one slot. When WARN publishes another S-animal, the count on this page will move.
The A to Z hub at animals A to Z holds 491 guides across the alphabet. This letter is 63 of that library.
Is this every animal that starts with S?
No. This page indexes 63 WARN guides, not every species whose English name begins with S. Missing from the list means the guide is not published yet — not that the animal does not exist.
Search engines still send “list of animals that start with S” to pages like this. The honest answer is the count on the page. IUCN has assessed tens of thousands of animal species; this site publishes a curated, sourced subset.
For the full WARN index, use animals A to Z. For extinct animals WARN has covered, use extinct animals.
Does WARN rescue animals that start with S?
Not as a letter. Many of these guides are educational. WARN funds rescue and conservation partners across 17 countries. Each S-guide notes where WARN is, and is not, currently active.
A heading that implied every listed animal has a WARN field team would be a lie. Reading a guide is free either way. If you want to fund partner-led work, that is donate or appeals.
You do not get a named saiga antelope from a gift. Entry-tier gifts pool across the programme.
How are animals that start with S sourced?
Each guide’s facts are checked against the sources on that page — IUCN Red List and CITES where status and trade listings apply. This letter page does not invent counts the guides do not support.
Do not treat a letter heading as an IUCN assessment. The assessment lives on the species page. Editorial standards, corrections and AI disclosure live at editorial standards.
Markdown twins of this letter sit at animals that start with s.md for answer engines.
Animals that start with S
63 WARN guides whose common name starts with S. The IUCN label is copied from the guide — not a letter-wide badge.
| Common name | Scientific name | IUCN status |
|---|---|---|
| Saiga Antelope | Saiga tatarica (Linnaeus, 1766) — family Bovidae | Near Threatened — recovered from Critically Endangered (2023); still vulnerable to mass die-offs |
| Salamander | Salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758) | Near Threatened |
| Salmon | Salmo salar (Linnaeus, 1758) | Least Concern globally (IUCN, 2018) — Endangered in parts of range |
| Saltwater Crocodile | Crocodylus porosus | Least Concern globally (IUCN, 2021) — locally depleted in parts of Southeast Asia |
| Sand Cat | Felis margarita (Harrison, 1968) — family Felidae | Least Concern — poorly known and difficult to survey in desert habitat |
| Sawfish | Family Pristidae — five species, including Pristis pristis and Pristis pectinata | Critically Endangered — among the most threatened marine fish on Earth |
| Scorpion | Order Scorpiones — roughly 2,500 described species in about 22 families | Order page — most species unassessed; several cave and island endemics are threatened |
| Sea Lion | Family Otariidae — ~16 species of eared seals (sea lions and fur seals) | Varies by species (Least Concern to Endangered) |
| Sea Otter | Enhydra lutris (Linnaeus, 1758) | Endangered |
| Sea Slug | Clade Nudibranchia — over 3,000 described species in order Nudibranchia | Not Evaluated as a group — shell-less molluscs; some steal chloroplasts or stinging cells from prey |
| Sea Snake | Subfamily Hydrophiinae — roughly 70 species of fully marine elapid snakes | Group page — most species unassessed; some face bycatch and habitat degradation |
| Sea Turtle | Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae (superfamily Chelonioidea) | Varies by species (Vulnerable to Critically Endangered) |
| Sea Urchin | Class Echinoidea — over 950 described species in regular and irregular forms | Class page — some species Least Concern; others threatened by overfishing; red sea urchin exceptionally long-lived |
| Seagull (Gull) | Family Laridae | Varies by species; most Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Seahorse | Genus Hippocampus — ~46 recognised species | Varies by species (Vulnerable to Endangered) |
| Seal | Family Phocidae — ~19 species of true (earless) seals worldwide | Varies by species (Least Concern to Endangered) |
| Secretary Bird | Sagittarius serpentarius (Miller, 1779) — family Sagittariidae | Endangered |
| Serval | Leptailurus serval | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Shark | Selachimorpha (superorder); e.g. great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) | Varies by species (Least Concern to Critically Endangered) |
| Sheep | Ovis aries (Linnaeus, 1758) — domestic sheep; wild mouflon ancestor | Domesticated — wild mouflon (Ovis gmelini) Near Threatened |
| Shoebill | Balaeniceps rex | Vulnerable (IUCN, 2018) |
| Shrew | Soricidae | Varies by species; most Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Siamang | Symphalangus syndactylus (Illiger, 1811) — family Hylobatidae | Endangered — loud duets and throat sacs on forests being cleared for plantations |
| Sifaka | Genus Propithecus — nine recognised species | Varies by species — several Critically Endangered, others Vulnerable or Endangered |
| Silkworm | Bombyx mori (Linnaeus, 1758) — family Bombycidae; domesticated from the wild silk moth Bombyx mandarina | Domesticated — Not Evaluated; cannot survive without human husbandry |
| Skink | Family Scincidae (Gray, 1825) — over 1,700 species | Varies by species — several island endemics Critically Endangered |
| Skunk | Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk); Family Mephitidae | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Sloth | Bradypus & Choloepus spp. | Mixed across species: most Least Concern; maned sloth Endangered; pygmy three-toed sloth Critically Endangered |
| Sloth Bear | Melursus ursinus (Cuvier, 1793) | Vulnerable |
| Slow Loris | Nycticebus spp. (and Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus, the pygmy slow loris, since 2022) | Threatened (Vulnerable–Critically Endangered) |
| Slow Worm | Anguis fragilis | Least Concern (IUCN); legally protected in the UK |
| Slug | Shell-reduced gastropods — class Gastropoda; many families and independent origins | Group page — shell loss evolved repeatedly; some island snails are Critically Endangered while common slugs are widespread |
| Snail | Class Gastropoda (shelled members) — tens of thousands of land, freshwater and marine species | Group page — includes some of the most extinction-prone animals on record |
| Snake | Suborder Serpentes — ~3,900 species across most continents except Antarctica | Varies by species (Least Concern to Critically Endangered) |
| Snapping Turtle | Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758) and Macrochelys temminckii (Troost, 1835) | Common snapping turtle Least Concern; alligator snapping turtle Vulnerable |
| Snow Leopard | Panthera uncia | Vulnerable (downlisted from Endangered in 2017) — but fewer than 3,400 mature adults remain |
| Snowy Owl | Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758) — family Strigidae | Vulnerable — reassessed in 2017 after population estimates were revised sharply downward |
| Sparrow | Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Least Concern (IUCN, 2018) — steep decline in parts of Europe |
| Spectacled Bear | Tremarctos ornatus (F. Cuvier, 1825) | Vulnerable |
| Spectral Tarsier | Tarsius tarsier (Erxleben, 1777) — family Tarsiidae | Vulnerable — forest loss on Sulawesi |
| Sperm Whale | Physeter macrocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Spider | Order Araneae — over 50,000 described species in more than 120 families | Order page — most species unassessed; a few narrow-range cave and island species are threatened |
| Spider Monkey | Ateles (Geoffroy, 1806) — family Atelidae, seven species | Threatened (Vulnerable–Critically Endangered, varies by species) |
| Spotted Cuscus | Spilocuscus maculatus (É. Geoffroy, 1803) — family Phalangeridae | Least Concern — but hunted across much of New Guinea lowland forest |
| Squid | Order Teuthida | Varies; most Least Concern / Not Evaluated |
| Squirrel | Sciuridae | Varies by species (most Least Concern; some island and high-elevation species Endangered to Critically Endangered) |
| Stag Beetle | Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758) — family Lucanidae | Near Threatened in Europe — Britain's largest beetle and a dead-wood specialist |
| Starfish (Sea Star) | Class Asteroidea | Varies; most Not Evaluated (some, e.g. the sunflower sea star, Critically Endangered) |
| Stick Insect | Order Phasmatodea — over 3,000 described species; masters of plant mimicry | Order page — most species unassessed; island endemics among the most threatened insects |
| Stingray | Order Myliobatiformes | Varies by species; many threatened by overfishing |
| Stoat | Mustela erminea (Linnaeus, 1758) — family Mustelidae | Least Concern — widespread; white winter coat prized as ermine fur |
| Stork | Family Ciconiidae — 19 species in 6 genera | Family page — status ranges from Least Concern to Endangered by species |
| Street Dog | Canis lupus familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) | Domesticated — Not Evaluated (IUCN) |
| Sturgeon | Family Acipenseridae | Varies by species — majority Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
| Sugar Glider | Petaurus breviceps (Waterhouse, 1839) — family Petauridae | Least Concern — widespread in Australia; heavily traded as exotic pet outside native range |
| Sumatran Rhino | Dicerorhinus sumatrensis | Critically Endangered — fewer than ~50 left |
| Sun Bear | Helarctos malayanus (Raffles, 1821) | Vulnerable |
| Sunda Clouded Leopard | Neofelis diardi (Cuvier, 1823) — family Felidae | Vulnerable — separate species since 2006; longest canines relative to skull among living cats |
| Superb Bird-of-Paradise | Lophorina superba (Pennant, 1781) — family Paradisaeidae; species complex | Least Concern — the 'superb' name now covers several split species |
| Swallow | Hirundo rustica (Linnaeus, 1758) — family Hirundinidae | Least Concern — widespread migrant; long-term declines linked to farmland and insect loss |
| Swan | Cygnus | Most species Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Swift | Apus apus (Linnaeus, 1758) — family Apodidae | Least Concern globally — Amber-listed in Britain; screaming parties over rooftops |
| Swordfish | Xiphias gladius (Linnaeus, 1758) | Least Concern (IUCN, 2021) — overfished in parts of range |
Letter encyclopaedia
Animals That Start With S: frequently asked questions
What animals start with S?
How many animals start with S?
Is this a complete list of animals that start with S?
Are animals that start with S endangered?
Does WARN work with every animal that starts with S?
How do I open an animal that starts with S?
Where is the full animals A to Z?
Can I adopt an animal that starts with S?
Are the facts on this S list sourced?
Is a gift after reading animals that start with S Gift Aid eligible?
Should I post parcels to help animals that start with S?
Why is this list sorted by common name?
How do I donate after reading animals that start with S?
What is the difference between this page and a species guide?
Sources and references
- IUCN Red List — Extinction-risk categories on each wildlife guide
- CITES — International trade listings cited on relevant guides
- WARN animals A to Z — Full alphabetical index of the same library
- WARN editorial standards — Sourcing hierarchy, corrections and AI disclosure