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

## Is a koala a bear?
No. The koala is a marsupial, a pouched mammal, and is not related to bears. The nickname 'koala bear' comes from its bear-like face and ears, but its closest living relatives are wombats.

## What do koalas eat?
Koalas eat almost nothing but eucalyptus leaves. They favour around 30 species out of more than 600 eucalypts and have a specialised gut that detoxifies and ferments the tough, low-energy foliage.

## Where do koalas live?
Koalas are found only in Australia, in eucalyptus forests and woodlands across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

## Are koalas endangered?
Globally the IUCN lists the koala as Vulnerable. In 2022, the populations in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were listed as Endangered under Australian federal law due to steep declines in the species' northern range.

## Why are koala populations declining?
The main causes are habitat clearing and fragmentation, drought and extreme heat, disease such as chlamydia and koala retrovirus, vehicle strikes, dog attacks, and severe bushfires that destroy eucalyptus habitat.

## What is a baby koala called?
A baby koala is called a joey. It is born tiny and undeveloped after a gestation of about 33 to 35 days, then continues developing in its mother's pouch for roughly six to seven months.


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

## One-line answer
A kangaroo is a large hopping marsupial native to Australia and the world's biggest marsupial, carrying its young, called a joey, in a pouch; the main kangaroo species are widespread and assessed as Least Concern.

## Introduction
Kangaroos are large, hopping marsupials found only in Australia and are the biggest marsupials alive today. The name is usually applied to the four largest species in the family Macropodidae: the red kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, western grey kangaroo, and antilopine kangaroo. These plant-eaters travel by powerful two-footed hops, balance on a thick muscular tail, and raise tiny, jellybean-sized young called joeys inside a forward-opening pouch. Most kangaroo species are abundant and listed as Least Concern, but they sit at the centre of ongoing debates about welfare, commercial harvesting, and government-managed culling.

## Takeaway
Kangaroos are marsupials found only in Australia and are the largest living marsupials.

## Takeaway
The term usually refers to four big species: red, eastern grey, western grey, and antilopine kangaroos.

## Takeaway
They move by hopping on two hind legs, using a muscular tail for balance, and can briefly exceed 70 km/h.

## Takeaway
Females raise a tiny joey in a pouch; after birth the joey nurses and grows in the pouch for around eight to nine months.

## Takeaway
Most kangaroo species are common and listed as Least Concern, though the black wallaroo is Near Threatened, so status varies across the wider group.

## Takeaway
Kangaroos are not threatened with extinction, but commercial harvesting and government culling raise ongoing animal-welfare questions.

## What is a kangaroo?
A kangaroo is a hopping marsupial mammal in the family Macropodidae, a name meaning "big foot." In everyday use the word kangaroo describes the four largest members of the family: the red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), and the antilopine kangaroo (Osphranter antilopinus). Around fifty smaller relatives, including wallabies, wallaroos, and tree-kangaroos, belong to the same family. The red kangaroo is the largest of all, with big males standing up to about two metres tall and weighing roughly ninety kilograms. As marsupials, kangaroos give birth to extremely undeveloped young that complete their early growth attached to a teat inside the mother's pouch.

## How kangaroos hop, eat, and live
Kangaroos are built for energy-efficient hopping. Long elastic tendons in their hind legs store and release energy like springs, letting them cover ground cheaply at cruising speeds of about 20 to 25 km/h and reach more than 70 km/h in short sprints. The thick tail acts as a fifth limb for balance and, when moving slowly, as a prop. They are grazers, feeding mainly on grasses and other low plants, and can survive long dry spells by being active in the cooler parts of the day. Kangaroos are social and gather in groups known as mobs, which can number ten or more animals and offer extra eyes to watch for danger.


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

## The pouch, the joey, and reproduction
A newborn kangaroo is blind, hairless, and smaller than a grape after a gestation of only about a month. Guided by instinct, it climbs through the mother's fur into the pouch, latches onto a teat, and continues developing there for roughly eight to nine months before making its first short trips outside. Many female kangaroos can also pause the development of a tiny embryo until conditions improve or the current joey leaves the pouch, an adaptation called embryonic diapause that helps them breed efficiently in a harsh, unpredictable climate. A young kangaroo is called a joey, and even after it leaves the pouch it may keep returning to nurse for some time.

## Conservation, welfare, and the culling debate
Unlike many smaller macropods, the large kangaroo species have generally thrived alongside farming and remain widespread and abundant; the red and grey kangaroos are all assessed as Least Concern. Because their numbers can be very high, several Australian states run regulated commercial harvests and government-approved population-control programs, and kangaroos are sometimes culled to protect crops, pasture, and habitat. These practices are legal and managed, but they are also the subject of serious animal-welfare discussion, particularly around humane killing methods and the fate of dependent joeys. Drought, bushfire, vehicle collisions, and habitat change also affect local populations, so management aims to balance healthy ecosystems with humane treatment.

## WARN work
The World Animal Rescue Network does not fund hands-on kangaroo projects. Kangaroos live only in Australia, which is outside WARN's current funded countries. At this launch stage we are honest about that scope: this guide is educational and search-focused content that supports WARN's broader mission of global wildlife awareness and accurate, welfare-minded information. It is not a claim that WARN runs or funds kangaroo conservation or rescue work in Australia.

## Donation hook
Kangaroos are not part of WARN's funded work, but the habitats and wildlife they depend on face pressure worldwide. If this guide helped you, please consider supporting WARN's habitat protection efforts, which fund real on-the-ground work in the countries where the network currently operates.


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

## Are kangaroos endangered?
No. The four large kangaroo species are widespread and abundant and are all assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Across the wider family of around fifty macropods the picture varies, and a few relatives such as the black wallaroo are Near Threatened, but the familiar kangaroos are not at risk of extinction.

## Where do kangaroos live?
Kangaroos are native only to Australia, where they are found across grasslands, open woodlands, savanna, and arid inland country. Different species favour different habitats, from the dry interior preferred by red kangaroos to the wetter forests and woodlands used by grey kangaroos.

## What is a baby kangaroo called?
A baby kangaroo is called a joey. It is born tiny, blind, and undeveloped, then crawls into the mother's pouch and grows there for about eight to nine months before venturing out and eventually leaving the pouch for good.

## How fast can a kangaroo hop?
Red kangaroos cruise comfortably at around 20 to 25 km/h and can hit short bursts faster than 70 km/h. Their long hind tendons store and release energy like springs, making hopping a remarkably efficient way to travel.

## What is the largest kangaroo?
The red kangaroo is the largest kangaroo and the biggest marsupial alive today. Large males can stand up to about two metres tall and weigh roughly ninety kilograms (around 200 pounds).

## Why are kangaroos culled in Australia?
Because the big kangaroo species are so numerous, several Australian states run regulated commercial harvests and government-approved control programs to limit damage to crops, pasture, and habitat. These programs are legal and managed, but they raise ongoing animal-welfare concerns, especially about humane methods and dependent joeys.


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

## One-line answer
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the fastest land animal, reaching roughly 100-120 km/h (about 60-75 mph) in short bursts, and is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with the Asiatic cheetah in Iran listed as Critically Endangered.

## Introduction
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the world's fastest land animal, built for explosive bursts of speed across open grassland. With a lean frame, a long muscular tail for balance, and a flexible spine, it can accelerate faster than most sports cars to chase down gazelles and other small ungulates. Once widespread across Africa and southwest Asia, the cheetah has lost most of its historic range and is now classified as Vulnerable, with only a few thousand mature individuals remaining in the wild. The Asiatic cheetah, surviving only in Iran, is among the rarest cats on the planet and is Critically Endangered. This guide covers the cheetah's speed, biology, diet, conservation status, and the threats it faces.

## Takeaway
The cheetah is the fastest land animal, sprinting at roughly 100-120 km/h (about 60-75 mph) in short bursts of a few hundred metres.

## Takeaway
It is built for speed: a lightweight body, long legs, a flexible spine, semi-retractable claws for grip, and a long tail that acts as a rudder.

## Takeaway
Globally the cheetah is listed as Vulnerable, with around 6,500 mature individuals estimated in the wild.

## Takeaway
The Asiatic cheetah survives only in Iran, where fewer than 50 are thought to remain, making it Critically Endangered.

## Takeaway
Main threats include habitat loss, conflict with farmers, loss of prey, illegal cub trafficking, and high cub mortality.

## Takeaway
Cheetahs are listed on CITES Appendix I, the highest level of international trade protection.

## How fast is a cheetah and how does it hunt?
The cheetah is the fastest land animal, capable of roughly 100-120 km/h (about 60-75 mph) in short bursts, with the highest reliably recorded speed around 104 km/h (65 mph). It can accelerate from a standstill to top speed in just a few seconds, but sustains a full sprint only for a few hundred metres before overheating. Everything about its anatomy serves the chase: a small head, deep chest, long thin legs, an extremely flexible spine that lengthens each stride, blunt semi-retractable claws that grip like running spikes, and a long tail used as a counterbalance for sharp turns. Cheetahs hunt by day, relying on eyesight to spot prey, then stalk close before unleashing a high-speed dash and tripping the animal with a swipe of the paw.


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

## What does a cheetah eat and how does it live?
Cheetahs are carnivores that target small to medium ungulates, typically prey weighing 20-60 kg such as gazelles, impala, and springbok, along with hares and the young of larger species. Because they are lighter than lions and leopards, cheetahs often lose their kills to these stronger competitors and to hyenas, so they eat quickly after a hunt. Females are largely solitary and raise cubs alone, while males sometimes form small bonded groups called coalitions, often brothers, that defend a territory together. Cubs are born blind and helpless after a gestation of about three months, with litters commonly of three to four, though cub mortality in the wild is very high.

## Why is the cheetah endangered?
The cheetah has disappeared from the great majority of its historic range and now occupies only a fraction of it. The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable, with the global population estimated at around 6,500 mature individuals and declining. Key pressures include the loss and fragmentation of open habitat, declining wild prey, conflict with livestock farmers, vehicle collisions, and the illegal trafficking of cubs for the exotic pet trade. Because cheetahs range widely and live at low densities, much of the remaining population exists outside protected areas, which makes them especially exposed. The Asiatic cheetah subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), now confined to Iran's central drylands with fewer than 50 individuals, is Critically Endangered and at serious risk of extinction.

## WARN work
The cheetah lives outside the countries where the World Animal Rescue Network currently funds on-the-ground projects. WARN does not fund cheetah field work, and at our current launch stage we are honest about that scope. This guide is educational and search-focused content: it exists to build global awareness of an iconic, threatened species and to support WARN's broader mission of protecting wildlife and the habitats they depend on. The conservation challenges cheetahs face, including habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade, are the same forces WARN tackles in the regions where it does operate.

## Donation hook
The cheetah falls outside the regions WARN currently funds, but the threats it faces, habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade, are exactly what your support helps us fight where we do work. Backing WARN's habitat protection efforts strengthens a global mission to keep wild places intact for vulnerable species everywhere.


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

## How fast can a cheetah run?
A cheetah can reach roughly 100-120 km/h (about 60-75 mph) in short bursts, making it the fastest land animal. The highest reliably recorded speed is around 104 km/h (65 mph). It can only sustain a full sprint for a few hundred metres before it has to stop and cool down.

## Is the cheetah endangered?
The cheetah is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with about 6,500 mature individuals estimated worldwide and the population declining. The Asiatic cheetah, found only in Iran, is Critically Endangered, with fewer than 50 thought to remain.

## Where do cheetahs live?
Most wild cheetahs live in eastern and southern Africa, including countries such as Kenya and Tanzania, where they favour open grasslands and savannas. A tiny, separate population of Asiatic cheetahs survives in the arid landscapes of central Iran.

## What do cheetahs eat?
Cheetahs are carnivores that mainly hunt small to medium ungulates weighing about 20-60 kg, such as gazelles, impala, and springbok, plus hares and the young of larger animals. They hunt by day and rely on speed rather than strength to catch prey.

## What is a baby cheetah called?
A baby cheetah is called a cub. Litters usually contain three to four cubs, which are born blind and depend entirely on their mother. Cub mortality is high in the wild because of predators such as lions and hyenas.

## What is the difference between a cheetah and a leopard?
Cheetahs are slim and built for speed, with solid round spots and black tear-mark lines running from the eyes to the mouth. Leopards are more powerfully built, climb trees, and have rose-shaped markings called rosettes rather than solid spots. Cheetahs cannot fully retract their claws, while leopards can.


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

## One-line answer
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a large semi-aquatic African mammal listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with roughly 115,000-130,000 individuals remaining and a declining population driven by habitat loss and demand for its tooth ivory.

## Introduction
The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a massive, barrel-shaped mammal that spends its days submerged in African rivers and lakes and emerges at night to graze on grass. Despite a placid appearance, it is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous large animals to people in Africa, fiercely defending its water and young. Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, the hippo is squeezed by shrinking and drying wetlands, conflict with farmers, and demand for its large canine teeth, which are traded as a form of ivory. This guide explains where hippos live, how they behave, why they matter, and what threatens their future.

## Takeaway
Hippos are semi-aquatic: they rest in water by day to stay cool and protect their skin, then graze grass on land at night.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable, with an estimated 115,000-130,000 individuals and an overall declining trend.

## Takeaway
Hippos are highly territorial in water and account for many human deaths in Africa each year, making them genuinely dangerous to approach.

## Takeaway
Major threats are habitat loss from wetland drainage and drought, conflict with farmers, and trade in their large canine teeth as a substitute ivory.

## Takeaway
They are listed on CITES Appendix II, which regulates international trade in hippos and their parts.

## Takeaway
A single calf is born after about an eight-month gestation, often nursed and even born in the water.

## What is a hippopotamus and where does it live?
The common hippopotamus is a large, mostly hairless mammal in the family Hippopotamidae, distantly related to whales and dolphins. Adults can weigh well over a tonne, with bulls sometimes exceeding 1,500 kg. Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, swamps and seasonal wetlands across sub-Saharan Africa, including protected areas in Kenya and Tanzania. They need permanent water deep enough to submerge in and open grassland nearby for grazing. During the day they cluster in pods that can number from a handful to more than a hundred animals, surfacing to breathe roughly every few minutes.

## Behaviour: semi-aquatic life and why hippos are dangerous
Hippos spend up to sixteen hours a day in or near water, which keeps their sensitive skin from drying out and protects them from the heat. At dusk they leave the water and may walk several kilometres to graze, eating mainly grass. Bulls defend stretches of water and will charge boats, people or other animals that intrude, while cows are intensely protective of calves. Their enormous canine teeth, powerful jaws and surprising speed on land make encounters dangerous, and hippos are responsible for a significant number of human fatalities in Africa each year. They are best observed from a safe distance and never between a hippo and the water.


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

## Conservation status and threats
The IUCN classifies the hippopotamus as Vulnerable, citing an overall population decline. The clearest pressures are loss and degradation of wetland habitat through drainage, agriculture and drought, which can leave hippos stranded or in conflict with people. Hippos are also killed for their meat and for their large canine teeth, which are carved and traded as a form of ivory; this trade is regulated under CITES Appendix II. Because populations vary widely between countries, conservation depends on protecting water catchments, maintaining wildlife corridors, and curbing illegal hunting and trade.

## WARN work
This guide is educational reference content created to improve global public understanding of the hippopotamus and the wetland habitats it depends on. The hippopotamus lives in Africa and falls outside the countries where the World Animal Rescue Network currently funds hands-on rescue and care work, so WARN does not run or fund hippo projects at this launch stage. We publish accurate, searchable species guides like this one to support WARN's broader mission of raising awareness for threatened wildlife worldwide and to help readers connect to the conservation themes - habitat protection and the fight against wildlife trade - that WARN does support directly in its funded regions.

## Donation hook
Hippos depend on healthy rivers and wetlands - the same kind of habitats WARN works to protect in its funded regions. While WARN does not yet fund projects in Africa, your gift to Support Habitat Protection strengthens the wider effort to safeguard wild places and the species that rely on them.


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

## Is the hippopotamus endangered?
Not endangered, but threatened. The IUCN classifies the common hippopotamus as Vulnerable, one step below Endangered, with an estimated 115,000-130,000 individuals and a declining overall trend driven by habitat loss and hunting for meat and teeth.

## How many hippos are left in the world?
The IUCN estimates roughly 115,000 to 130,000 common hippos remain in the wild across sub-Saharan Africa. Numbers vary considerably between countries, with some populations stable and others falling.

## Are hippos dangerous to humans?
Yes. Hippos are highly territorial and aggressive in defending water and young, and they are considered among the most dangerous large animals to people in Africa, causing many human deaths each year. They can also move quickly on land despite their size.

## What do hippos eat?
Hippos are herbivores that feed almost entirely on grass. They leave the water at night and graze on land, consuming only small amounts of aquatic plants. An adult eats tens of kilograms of vegetation in a single night.

## Can hippos swim?
Hippos are semi-aquatic but do not truly swim. In deep water they move by pushing off the bottom and gliding, and they can stay submerged for several minutes, surfacing to breathe. Calves can even be born and nurse in the water.

## Why are hippos hunted?
Hippos are killed for their meat, in conflict with farmers, and for their large canine teeth, which are carved and traded as a substitute for elephant ivory. International trade in hippos and their parts is regulated under CITES Appendix II.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sea-turtle): Sea Turtle — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Sea turtles are a group of seven species of large, long-lived marine reptiles whose conservation status ranges from Least Concern to Critically Endangered, with most species threatened by fishing bycatch, egg poaching, plastic pollution and coastal development.

## Introduction
Sea turtles are air-breathing marine reptiles that have crossed the world's oceans for more than 100 million years. The seven living species fall into two families: the hard-shelled Cheloniidae (green, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, Kemp's ridley and olive ridley) and the leathery-shelled Dermochelyidae, represented only by the giant leatherback. They migrate thousands of kilometres between feeding grounds and the very beaches where they hatched, returning decades later to nest. Today their survival is shaped almost entirely by human pressure: accidental capture in fishing gear, egg poaching, plastic pollution and coastal light that disorients hatchlings. Several species nest on beaches inside WARN partner countries, where protecting eggs and reducing bycatch can change a population's future.

## Takeaway
There are seven living sea turtle species, split between the hard-shelled Cheloniidae and the single leathery-shelled leatherback in Dermochelyidae.

## Takeaway
Conservation status varies sharply: the hawksbill and Kemp's ridley are Critically Endangered, the loggerhead is Endangered, the leatherback and olive ridley are Vulnerable, the green turtle was reassessed to Least Concern in 2025, and the flatback is Data Deficient.

## Takeaway
Accidental capture in fishing gear (bycatch) is the single largest threat to sea turtles globally.

## Takeaway
Egg poaching, plastic pollution, hunting and artificial beach lighting that disorients hatchlings add further pressure.

## Takeaway
All seven species are listed on CITES Appendix I, banning commercial international trade.

## Takeaway
Major nesting beaches lie in WARN partner countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil, where protection efforts directly affect survival.

## The seven species and how they differ
Six sea turtle species belong to the hard-shelled family Cheloniidae: the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), flatback (Natator depressus), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea). The seventh, the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), is the sole member of Dermochelyidae and the largest of all, reaching well over 1.8 metres and 600 kilograms with a flexible, ridged carapace rather than a bony shell. Diets and habitats differ by species: greens graze seagrass and algae as adults, hawksbills feed on sponges among coral reefs, leatherbacks specialise in jellyfish, and ridleys and loggerheads take crabs, molluscs and other invertebrates. The Kemp's ridley is the rarest and most range-restricted, nesting mainly in the western Gulf of Mexico, while the flatback is confined to the Australian continental shelf.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sea-turtle): Sea Turtle — wildlife guide.

## Why most sea turtles are threatened
The greatest single danger is bycatch: turtles drown or are injured when caught in trawls, gillnets and longlines set for other catch. On nesting beaches, eggs are dug up for food or sale, and females and juveniles are still hunted for meat and for hawksbill shell. Plastic pollution is lethal because floating bags and film resemble jellyfish, and ingested debris blocks the gut. Coastal development brings artificial light that draws hatchlings away from the sea toward roads and predators, while rising sand temperatures from a warming climate skew hatchling sex ratios toward females. Because turtles take decades to mature and return to specific beaches to nest, populations recover slowly and a single damaged nesting site can set a population back for years.

## Signs of recovery where protection works
Sea turtles show that sustained protection pays off. In October 2025 the IUCN reassessed the green turtle from Endangered to Least Concern after global nesting numbers rose by more than a quarter since the 1970s, driven by decades of beach protection, egg-collection bans and bycatch-reduction measures in countries including Mexico and Brazil. The downlisting applies to the species as a whole; several regional subpopulations, such as those in the Indian Ocean, remain threatened and still need active management. The lesson is consistent across species: guarding nesting beaches, removing turtles from fishing gear and keeping hatchling corridors dark can move a population from decline toward growth.

## WARN work
Several sea turtle species nest and forage along the coasts of WARN partner countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Pakistan. As a launch-stage network, WARN channels supporter funding to vetted local partners on these coasts to protect nesting beaches, relocate or guard vulnerable clutches from poaching, free turtles caught in fishing gear, and reduce hatchling-disorienting light near key beaches. This work is modest and partner-led at this early scale, and we report honestly on what each contribution makes possible rather than overstating reach.

## Donation hook
Your gift helps WARN partners on nesting coasts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and beyond guard turtle eggs from poachers, free turtles tangled in fishing gear, and keep hatchling beaches dark so the next generation reaches the sea.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sea-turtle): Sea Turtle — wildlife guide.

## How many species of sea turtle are there?
There are seven living species: the green, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, Kemp's ridley and olive ridley (family Cheloniidae) plus the leatherback (family Dermochelyidae).

## Are sea turtles endangered?
It depends on the species. The hawksbill and Kemp's ridley are Critically Endangered and the loggerhead is Endangered, while the leatherback and olive ridley are Vulnerable. The green turtle was reassessed to Least Concern in 2025, and the flatback is listed as Data Deficient.

## What is the biggest threat to sea turtles?
Accidental capture in fishing gear, known as bycatch, is the largest global threat. Egg poaching, hunting, plastic pollution and artificial coastal lighting that disorients hatchlings are also major dangers.

## What is the largest sea turtle?
The leatherback is the largest, reaching more than 1.8 metres in length and weighing up to about 640 kilograms. It is the only sea turtle without a hard bony shell.

## How long do sea turtles live?
Sea turtles are long-lived and many are thought to live well beyond 70 years in the wild, though exact lifespans are hard to measure and most species take decades to reach breeding age.

## Why do so few baby sea turtles survive?
Hatchlings face heavy predation from birds, crabs and fish, plus hazards such as disorienting lights and ocean debris. Estimates suggest only about one in a thousand reaches adulthood, which is why protecting nests and hatchlings matters so much.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/saltwater-crocodile): Saltwater Crocodile — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the world's largest living reptile, found in the estuaries and mangroves of Southeast Asia and Australasia; it is listed as Least Concern globally by the IUCN, though some local populations remain depleted.

## Introduction
The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the biggest reptile alive today and one of the planet's most formidable apex predators. Equally at home in brackish estuaries, mangrove channels and the open sea, it ranges from the coasts of eastern India through Southeast Asia to northern Australia and the western Pacific. While the species is listed globally as Least Concern thanks to large, well-managed populations in places like Australia, many local populations across Southeast Asia have been thinned by decades of hunting, egg collection, and the loss of nesting habitat. In WARN partner countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, the saltwater crocodile sits at the heart of a delicate balance between healthy wetlands, human safety, and coastal livelihoods.

## Takeaway
Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptiles, with big males reaching over 6 metres and roughly a tonne in weight.

## Takeaway
They thrive in salty and brackish water, using mangroves, estuaries and open coastlines, and can travel long distances by sea.

## Takeaway
Globally the species is Least Concern (IUCN, assessed 2020), but local populations in parts of Southeast Asia are reduced and need protection.

## Takeaway
As ambush apex predators they regulate prey populations and keep estuary and wetland ecosystems in balance.

## Takeaway
Females build mound nests of vegetation and guard their eggs and hatchlings, with nest temperature determining the sex of the young.

## Takeaway
Human–crocodile conflict is a major challenge, making safety education and habitat management essential for both people and crocodiles.

## Where saltwater crocodiles live
Saltwater crocodiles occupy a vast range stretching from the eastern coast of India, through the rivers, estuaries and mangrove forests of Southeast Asia, across the islands of Indonesia and Malaysia, and on to northern Australia and the western Pacific. Despite their name, they are not confined to the sea: they move freely between freshwater rivers, brackish tidal channels and saltwater coasts, and individuals have been recorded crossing open ocean between islands. This flexibility once made them one of the most widespread crocodilians on Earth, but it also means they frequently share waterways with fishing communities and coastal villages.

## The largest reptile on Earth
No living reptile grows larger than a mature male saltwater crocodile. The biggest verified individuals exceed 6 metres in length and can approach 1,000 kilograms, with females considerably smaller. Their power comes from a heavily muscled tail, an armored hide, and one of the strongest bite forces measured in any animal. As ambush hunters, they lie motionless near the water's edge and explode forward to seize prey ranging from fish, crabs and birds to deer, wild boar and other large animals. This raw capability is exactly why coexistence with people requires careful management rather than fear alone.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/saltwater-crocodile): Saltwater Crocodile — wildlife guide.

## Conservation status and local pressures
On the global IUCN Red List the saltwater crocodile is classified as Least Concern, reflecting large and recovering populations in well-managed regions such as northern Australia. That single label, however, hides a more uneven reality. Across much of Southeast Asia, including parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, populations were heavily reduced by historic skin hunting, egg and hatchling collection, and the steady loss of mangrove and wetland nesting habitat. Trade is regulated under CITES, with most wild populations on Appendix I and managed populations in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea on Appendix II. Protecting nesting beaches and intact estuaries is the key to keeping local populations healthy.

## Living alongside a giant predator
In the WARN partner countries where saltwater crocodiles occur, the central conservation question is coexistence. Fishers, farmers and families often use the same rivers and shorelines that crocodiles rely on, and attacks, though rare relative to the number of encounters, can be severe. Effective solutions combine community safety education, well-placed warning signage and barriers, the safe relocation of dangerous individuals, and the protection of breeding habitat so crocodiles have wild space away from people. When this balance works, both communities and crocodiles benefit, and healthy wetlands continue to support fisheries, storm protection and biodiversity.

## WARN work
In WARN network partner countries including Indonesia and Malaysia, the World Animal Rescue Network is building early-stage support for saltwater crocodile coexistence: backing local partners working on nesting-beach and mangrove protection, safe response and relocation of crocodiles caught in conflict situations, and community safety education along high-risk waterways. This work is at launch-stage scale, focused on strengthening on-the-ground partners rather than running large field programs directly, so that both coastal communities and the wetlands these crocodiles depend on can thrive.

## Donation hook
Healthy estuaries and mangroves keep saltwater crocodiles, coastal wildlife and local communities safe. Support habitat protection in WARN partner countries to help our partners safeguard nesting grounds and reduce human–crocodile conflict.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/saltwater-crocodile): Saltwater Crocodile — wildlife guide.

## How big is a saltwater crocodile?
Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptiles. Large males commonly reach 4 to 5 metres and the biggest verified individuals exceed 6 metres, weighing close to 1,000 kilograms. Females are much smaller, usually around 2.5 to 3 metres.

## Are saltwater crocodiles endangered?
Globally the saltwater crocodile is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, because some populations, especially in northern Australia, are large and well managed. However, certain local populations across Southeast Asia remain depleted and still need active protection.

## Where do saltwater crocodiles live?
They live in estuaries, mangroves, tidal rivers and coastal waters from eastern India through Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Malaysia, and on to northern Australia and the western Pacific. They move easily between fresh, brackish and salt water.

## What do saltwater crocodiles eat?
They are apex predators that ambush almost any animal entering their territory. Their diet includes fish, crabs and other crustaceans, birds, reptiles, and mammals such as wild pigs and deer, with larger crocodiles able to tackle larger prey.

## How long do saltwater crocodiles live?
Saltwater crocodiles are long-lived, typically reaching about 70 years in the wild, and some individuals are thought to live even longer.

## What is the difference between a saltwater crocodile and a Nile crocodile?
The saltwater crocodile is larger and more tolerant of salt water, ranging across Southeast Asia and Australasia, while the Nile crocodile lives in Africa's freshwater rivers and lakes. The saltwater species also has a broader snout and is generally the larger of the two.


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

## One-line answer
An owl is a nocturnal bird of prey in the order Strigiformes, made up of about 250 species across two families, distinguished by forward-facing eyes, near-silent flight and the ability to rotate its head up to 270 degrees.

## Introduction
Owls are an order of roughly 250 nocturnal birds of prey known for their forward-facing eyes, swivelling heads and near-silent flight. Split into two families, the typical owls (Strigidae) and the barn and bay owls (Tytonidae), they range from the sparrow-sized elf owl to the powerful Eurasian eagle-owl. They live on every continent except Antarctica, hunting rodents and other small animals across forests, grasslands, deserts and farmland. Most owl species are stable, but habitat loss, rodenticide poisoning and forest clearance have pushed more than a dozen toward extinction, making owls an important indicator of ecosystem health worldwide.

## Takeaway
Owls form the order Strigiformes, with around 250 species split between the typical owls (Strigidae) and the barn and bay owls (Tytonidae).

## Takeaway
They are found on every continent except Antarctica, occupying forests, deserts, grasslands and farmland.

## Takeaway
Specialised feathers with serrated and velvety edges let owls fly almost silently while hunting.

## Takeaway
Owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees, compensating for eyes that are fixed in their sockets.

## Takeaway
Most owls are nocturnal carnivores, eating rodents, insects, birds and other small animals, often swallowing prey whole and coughing up pellets.

## Takeaway
While many owl species are stable, rodenticides, habitat loss and deforestation threaten several, with around 13 species classed as endangered or critically endangered.

## What is an owl?
Owls are birds of prey that make up the order Strigiformes, comprising roughly 250 living species. They are divided into two families: the typical or true owls (Strigidae), which includes most species such as the great horned, snowy and scops owls, and the barn and bay owls (Tytonidae), recognised by their heart-shaped facial discs. Owls are characterised by large, forward-facing eyes set in a flat facial disc that channels sound to their ears, a hooked beak, sharp talons and feathers that camouflage them against bark and foliage. They range enormously in size, from the elf owl at about 13.5 cm and 31 grams to large eagle-owls reaching 71 cm in length with wingspans near 1.9 metres and weights of more than 4 kg.

## Silent flight and night vision
Owls are built for hunting in low light and near silence. The leading edge of the wing carries a comb-like serration that breaks up turbulent air, while velvety feather surfaces and a soft trailing fringe muffle the sound of flapping, allowing many species to approach prey unheard. Because their tubular eyes cannot move within the skull, owls turn their heads instead, rotating up to 270 degrees thanks to extra neck vertebrae and a blood-vessel system that keeps the brain supplied during the twist. Asymmetrically placed ear openings in some species let them pinpoint prey by sound alone, even under snow or leaf litter.


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

## Diet, breeding and life cycle
Owls are carnivores that feed mainly on small rodents, but their diet also includes insects, other birds, fish, reptiles and occasionally larger mammals. They typically swallow small prey whole and later regurgitate the indigestible fur and bones as compact pellets, which researchers study to learn what owls eat. Most species lay three to four rounded white eggs, which the female incubates for roughly a month using a bare brood patch. Chicks, called owlets, hatch blind and helpless and depend entirely on their parents before fledging. In the wild many owls live around 10 years, though larger species can survive much longer.

## Conservation: a varied picture
As a group, owls range from very common to critically endangered. Widespread species such as the barn owl are listed as Least Concern, while forest specialists like the spotted owl are Near Threatened due to logging of old-growth habitat. Several island and tropical species are in serious trouble, with roughly six classed as Critically Endangered and seven as Endangered by global assessors. The biggest pressures are habitat loss and deforestation, secondary poisoning from rodenticides eaten by their prey, road collisions and persecution. Because owls sit near the top of local food chains, declines often signal wider problems in the ecosystems they depend on.

## WARN work
The World Animal Rescue Network does not currently fund field projects specifically for owls. Owls are a globally distributed group, and at this launch stage WARN's hands-on rescue and rehabilitation work is concentrated in partner-network countries (its partner-network countries). We publish this guide as free educational and search content to raise awareness of owls, the threats they face from habitat loss and rodenticides, and the value of protecting the wild places they share with the species WARN does support. Supporting WARN helps fund habitat protection and wildlife welfare work that benefits many species; we are clear that this does not include dedicated owl programmes today.

## Donation hook
Owls remind us how fragile wild habitats can be. WARN does not yet run owl-specific projects, but your gift helps fund habitat protection and wildlife welfare in our focus countries, supporting the broader mission to keep wild places safe for the animals that depend on them.


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

## How many species of owl are there?
There are about 250 living owl species in the order Strigiformes, divided into two families: the typical owls (Strigidae) and the barn and bay owls (Tytonidae). Different authorities count between roughly 220 and 250 species.

## How far can an owl turn its head?
Owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees in either direction. They do this because their eyes are fixed in their sockets; extra neck vertebrae and a specialised blood supply let them twist without cutting off circulation to the brain.

## Why can owls fly silently?
Owls fly almost silently because of specialised wing feathers. A comb-like serration on the leading edge breaks up turbulent air, while velvety surfaces and a soft fringe on the trailing edge dampen the noise of flapping, letting them approach prey unheard.

## What do owls eat?
Owls are carnivores that mainly eat small rodents such as mice and voles, along with insects, other birds, fish and reptiles. They often swallow small prey whole and later cough up pellets of fur and bone.

## What is a baby owl called?
A baby owl is called an owlet, or sometimes a nestling. Owlets hatch blind and helpless and rely entirely on their parents for warmth and food before they fledge.

## What is a group of owls called?
A group of owls is most commonly called a parliament. The term draws on the owl's long association with wisdom; owls are usually solitary or live in pairs rather than large flocks.


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

## One-line answer
Deer are antlered, hoofed ruminant mammals of the family Cervidae, comprising about 50 species worldwide; most are Least Concern, but several, including Père David's deer (Extinct in the Wild) and the hog deer, are threatened.

## Introduction
Deer are hoofed, plant-eating mammals that make up the family Cervidae, with roughly 50 living species spread across nearly every continent except Antarctica and Australia (where some have been introduced). Their defining feature is antlers: bony structures that grow on the heads of males in almost every species, are shed each year, and regrow from scratch the following season. Deer range from the tiny Southern pudu, barely the size of a small dog, to the towering moose. While many familiar deer such as the white-tailed deer and red deer are abundant, the family also includes some of the world's most threatened mammals, making "deer" a single name covering very different conservation stories.

## Takeaway
Deer form the family Cervidae, with roughly 50 living species found across the Americas, Europe, Asia and North Africa, plus introduced populations elsewhere.

## Takeaway
Antlers are the family's signature trait: grown by males of almost all species (and by female reindeer), shed every year, then regrown, unlike the permanent horns of cattle or antelope.

## Takeaway
The Chinese water deer is the notable exception, growing tusk-like canine teeth instead of antlers.

## Takeaway
Deer are ruminants with a four-chambered stomach, browsing and grazing on leaves, shoots, grasses, fruit and bark.

## Takeaway
Conservation status varies widely: many deer are Least Concern, but Père David's deer is Extinct in the Wild and species such as the hog deer are Endangered.

## Takeaway
Sizes span an enormous range, from the cat-sized pudu to the moose, the largest living deer.

## What makes a deer a deer?
All deer belong to the family Cervidae within the order of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla), the same broad group as cattle, antelope and giraffes. The trait that sets cervids apart is the antler: a fast-growing bony structure that develops on the heads of males in nearly all species, is covered in a living skin called velvet while it grows, and is then shed and regrown on an annual cycle. This contrasts with the permanent, unbranched horns of bovids. Female reindeer (caribou) are unusual in growing antlers too, while the Chinese water deer grows none at all and instead bears protruding canine tusks. Deer are ruminants, digesting fibrous plant matter in a four-chambered stomach, and most have long legs built for running and leaping to escape predators.

## Diversity and where deer live
With about 50 species, deer are remarkably varied. The family is usually divided into two main groups: the Old World deer (such as red deer, sika, fallow and the muntjacs) and the New World deer (such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, brocket deer and the tiny pudus), along with reindeer and moose. Naturally they occur across North and South America, Europe, Asia and parts of North Africa, occupying forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains and tundra. Humans have introduced several species, including red deer and fallow deer, to regions such as Australia and New Zealand where deer are not native. This wide distribution and adaptability is one reason deer are among the most recognised wild mammals on Earth.


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

## Conservation: a family of contrasts
Because the deer family is so large, no single conservation label fits it. Many species are assessed by the IUCN as Least Concern and are widespread or even locally overabundant, with the white-tailed deer being a prime example. At the other end, Père David's deer is classified as Extinct in the Wild and survives only because captive herds, later reintroduced in China, prevented its total loss. The hog deer is listed as Endangered, and other cervids fall into Vulnerable or Near Threatened categories, while several remain Data Deficient. The main pressures are habitat loss, hunting and competition with livestock. Reading any claim about 'deer' therefore requires knowing which species is meant.

## WARN work
This guide is educational reference content created by the World Animal Rescue Network to support our broader mission of wildlife awareness and habitat protection. Deer are a globally distributed group, and at our current launch stage WARN does not fund dedicated deer programmes in any country; our funded field work is concentrated in partner-network countries (its partner-network countries). We share this page to answer common questions accurately and to connect readers with the conservation themes, especially habitat protection, that underpin the survival of deer and the wildlife that depends on the same landscapes.

## Donation hook
Healthy forests, wetlands and grasslands are what keep deer and countless other animals alive. By supporting WARN's habitat protection work, you help safeguard the wild landscapes that wildlife depends on. Note that at our current launch stage WARN funds field projects across its partner network rather than dedicated deer programmes.


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

## How many species of deer are there?
There are roughly 50 living species in the deer family, Cervidae. Exact counts vary between about 47 and 55 depending on the taxonomic source and ongoing genetic research, but around 50 is the figure most commonly cited.

## Do deer really shed their antlers every year?
Yes. In almost all deer species the males grow a fresh set of antlers each year, carry them through the breeding season, then shed them and grow a new set the following year. Female reindeer also grow antlers, while the Chinese water deer grows none.

## What is a baby deer called?
A baby deer is usually called a fawn, especially in smaller species such as white-tailed and red deer. In larger species like moose, elk and reindeer, the young are often called calves.

## What is a group of deer called?
A group of deer is most commonly called a herd. Other collective nouns used historically include a 'mob' or, for some species, a 'bevy' or 'drove'.

## What do deer eat?
Deer are herbivores and ruminants. They browse and graze on leaves, twigs, shoots, grasses, herbs, fruit, nuts and bark, digesting this fibrous material in a four-chambered stomach. The exact diet depends on the species and season.

## Are deer endangered?
It depends on the species. Many deer, such as the white-tailed deer, are assessed as Least Concern and are abundant. However, several are threatened: Père David's deer is Extinct in the Wild, the hog deer is Endangered, and others are Vulnerable or Near Threatened.


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

## One-line answer
Rabbits are small herbivorous mammals of the family Leporidae (over 70 species); most are common, but a few wild species such as the riverine and volcano rabbits are Critically Endangered or Endangered, and pet and farmed rabbits raise real welfare concerns.

## Introduction
Rabbits are small, long-eared herbivorous mammals in the family Leporidae, part of the order Lagomorpha. The group spans more than 70 species across about 11 genera, ranging from the abundant European rabbit, the ancestor of every domestic and farmed breed, to rare wild specialists found on a single mountainside. Famous for rapid breeding, near-360-degree vision, and a social burrow life, rabbits live on every continent except Antarctica, mostly through human introduction. Yet "rabbit" is not one conservation story: while many cottontails and the European rabbit remain common, a handful of wild species such as the riverine rabbit and the volcano rabbit are sliding toward extinction. This guide separates the everyday pet from the imperilled wild, and explains the welfare and habitat issues behind both.

## Takeaway
"Rabbit" covers 70+ species in the family Leporidae, not a single animal, and conservation status ranges from Least Concern to Critically Endangered.

## Takeaway
The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the wild ancestor of all domestic and farmed breeds.

## Takeaway
Rabbits are prolific breeders: a gestation of roughly 28-31 days and litters of 1-12 kits mean populations rebound fast.

## Takeaway
Young are called kits (or kittens), females are does, and males are bucks; a group is a colony, nest or warren.

## Takeaway
Some wild species are in serious trouble; the riverine rabbit is Critically Endangered with only around 150-200 mature adults left.

## Takeaway
Pet and farmed rabbits face welfare risks from poor housing, isolation and unsuitable diet, and are widely abandoned after impulse adoption.

## One name, many species
The family Leporidae contains more than 70 living species grouped into roughly 11 genera. The most widespread are Oryctolagus (the single European rabbit species) and Sylvilagus (the 17 or so North and South American cottontails). Others are far more restricted: the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus), the red rock-hares (Pronolagus) of Africa, the Amami rabbit of Japan, the hispid hare of South Asia, and the striped rabbits of Southeast Asia. Rabbits are distinguished from rodents by having a second, small pair of upper incisors tucked behind the front teeth, a hallmark of the order Lagomorpha. Their eyes sit high and wide on the head, giving close to 360-degree vision to watch for predators while grazing.

## Built to breed and to flee
Rabbits are classic prey animals, and their biology reflects it. Gestation lasts only about 28 to 31 days, litters run from 1 to 12 kits, and females can conceive again almost immediately, so a single pair can found a large colony in a season. Kits are born blind and hairless in a fur-lined nest. To escape predators, the European rabbit can sprint in bursts of up to roughly 35 mph (about 56 km/h), zig-zagging toward the safety of its warren, a network of connected burrows shared by a social group. Rabbits are strict herbivores, eating grass and leafy vegetation, and they re-ingest soft night droppings to extract more nutrients, a process called caecotrophy.


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

## The wild species at risk
While pet shops overflow with rabbits, several wild species are vanishing. The riverine rabbit of South Africa's Karoo is Critically Endangered, with recent estimates of only about 157 to 207 mature individuals, threatened by the loss of the riverside scrub it depends on. Mexico's volcano rabbit, one of the world's smallest, is Endangered, clinging to grassy pine slopes around volcanoes near Mexico City. Across the family, the IUCN lists roughly one species as Critically Endangered, nine as Endangered and eight as Vulnerable, driven mainly by habitat loss, agriculture and hunting. Even the European rabbit, abundant where introduced, has declined in its native Iberia, where it is a keystone prey for the Iberian lynx.

## Pets, farms and welfare
Domestic rabbits descend entirely from the European rabbit and are among the most popular companion animals, yet they are also among the most misunderstood. They are social, intelligent and long-lived, reaching 8 to 12 years or more with good care, but are frequently confined to small hutches, kept alone, fed unsuitable pellet-only diets, or surrendered when novelty fades. Rabbits are also farmed in large numbers for meat and fur, where intensive cage systems raise significant welfare concerns. Responsible care means companionship, space to hop and stand upright, a hay-based diet, and never releasing pet rabbits into the wild, where they cannot survive or may disrupt local ecosystems.

## WARN work
This is an educational guide, and it is important to be clear about scope. The World Animal Rescue Network's funded rescue and welfare programmes are at launch stage and currently concentrated in a network of partner countries. Rabbits are a globally distributed group, and WARN does not fund dedicated rabbit-specific projects. We publish this guide to support our broader mission of global animal-welfare awareness and accurate, accessible species information, and to point readers toward the closest relevant work we do support: protecting wild habitats that threatened species, including imperilled wild rabbits, depend on.

## Donation hook
Rabbits remind us that protecting wildlife starts with protecting the places they live. WARN's rescue work is still at launch stage across its partner network and does not yet fund rabbit-specific projects, but you can support the habitat protection that gives threatened species a future. Back our Habitat Protection appeal to help safeguard the wild spaces that vulnerable animals depend on.


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

## How many species of rabbit are there?
There are more than 70 living species in the rabbit family, Leporidae, divided into about 11 genera. This count includes well-known groups such as cottontails and the European rabbit, but excludes hares, which belong to the separate genus Lepus.

## What is a baby rabbit called?
A baby rabbit is called a kit, short for kitten. An adult female is a doe and an adult male is a buck. A group of rabbits is usually called a colony, a nest, or a warren.

## How fast can a rabbit run?
A wild European rabbit can reach short-burst speeds of around 35 mph (about 56 km/h), using sharp zig-zag turns to escape predators. Most pet rabbits are far slower, typically managing only single-digit speeds in mph.

## How long do rabbits live?
Wild rabbits often live only 1 to 5 years because of predation, but well-cared-for domestic rabbits commonly live 8 to 12 years, and some reach into their teens.

## Are any rabbits endangered?
Yes. While many rabbit species are common, several wild ones are threatened. The riverine rabbit of South Africa is Critically Endangered with only around 150 to 200 mature adults left, and Mexico's volcano rabbit is Endangered.

## What do rabbits eat?
Rabbits are strict herbivores. In the wild they graze on grass and leafy plants, and pet rabbits should eat mostly hay supplemented with leafy greens. They also re-ingest soft night droppings to absorb more nutrients from their food.


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

## One-line answer
A squirrel is a small-to-medium rodent in the family Sciuridae, a group of more than 280 species worldwide that includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels and gliding flying squirrels; most are common and Least Concern, though some island species are endangered.

## Introduction
Squirrels make up the family Sciuridae, one of the most widespread mammal families on Earth, with roughly 280 to 285 species spread across about 58 genera. The family is usually split into three broad lifestyles: tree squirrels, ground squirrels (which include chipmunks, marmots and prairie dogs), and flying squirrels that glide between trees on a flap of skin. They are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia, in habitats ranging from tropical rainforest to arctic tundra and city parks. Most squirrels are common and listed as Least Concern, but a number of island, high-elevation and forest-restricted species are threatened, and a few, such as the Hon Khoai squirrel of Vietnam and the Namdapha flying squirrel of India, are Critically Endangered.

## Takeaway
Squirrels are rodents in the family Sciuridae, with roughly 280–285 species across about 58 genera found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.

## Takeaway
The family covers three broad groups: tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks, marmots and prairie dogs), and flying squirrels that glide rather than truly fly.

## Takeaway
Sizes span from the tiny African pygmy squirrel at about 10 cm to giant flying squirrels over a metre long including the tail.

## Takeaway
Diet is mainly seeds and nuts, but squirrels also eat fruit, fungi, buds, insects and occasionally small vertebrates; they cannot digest cellulose.

## Takeaway
Most squirrel species are listed as Least Concern, but island, high-elevation and forest-restricted species can be Endangered or Critically Endangered.

## Takeaway
Habitat loss, deforestation and competition from introduced species are the main pressures on the threatened members of the family.

## What is a squirrel?
A squirrel is a rodent in the family Sciuridae. The family is large and varied, with about 280 to 285 living species grouped into roughly 58 genera and five subfamilies. Despite the differences in size and lifestyle, squirrels share a recognisable body plan: a slender frame, large eyes, strong hind legs for leaping, sharp curved claws for gripping bark, and in most species a long bushy tail used for balance, signalling and warmth. The family is traditionally divided into tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels, though all three are close relatives within the same family rather than separate groups.

## Where squirrels live and how they behave
Squirrels are found almost everywhere there are trees or open ground, on every continent except Antarctica and Australia, from tropical forests and deserts to mountains, farmland and urban parks. Tree squirrels nest in leafy dreys or tree cavities and are active by day. Ground squirrels dig burrow systems and many enter deep hibernation through cold winters. Flying squirrels are mostly nocturnal and glide between trees on a membrane stretched between their limbs. Many species are famous for caching food, burying or hoarding nuts and seeds to survive lean seasons, a habit that helps disperse tree seeds and shape forests.


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

## Diet, breeding and lifespan
Squirrels are largely plant eaters, favouring seeds, nuts, fruit, buds and fungi, and supplementing this with insects, eggs and occasionally small animals; like other rodents they cannot digest cellulose, so leaves are a poor food source. Gestation is short, typically three to six weeks, and litters of helpless, hairless young, usually called kits or kittens, are born in a nest. The young are weaned over several weeks and most reach breeding age within their first year. In the wild squirrels commonly live five to ten years, while protected captive animals can reach 10 to 20 years.

## Conservation across the family
Because Sciuridae is so large, conservation status varies widely from species to species. The majority of squirrels, including familiar tree squirrels like the eastern gray squirrel, are assessed as Least Concern and remain common; the eastern gray squirrel is even considered invasive in parts of Europe. The risk is concentrated in species with small or isolated ranges. The Hon Khoai squirrel, endemic to a tiny island group off southern Vietnam, and the Namdapha flying squirrel, known from a single specimen in northeast India, are both Critically Endangered. Deforestation, habitat fragmentation, hunting and introduced competitors are the principal threats to vulnerable members of the family.

## WARN work
This guide is educational reference content, part of the World Animal Rescue Network's wider mission to build global awareness of wildlife and the habitats they depend on. Squirrels as a worldwide family fall outside WARN's current funded field programmes, which at this launch stage focus on partner-network countries: its partner-network countries. We do not run or fund squirrel-specific projects, and we do not claim to. What this page can honestly do is help people understand the family, explain why forest-dependent and island species are at risk, and point readers toward the nearest relevant WARN work: protecting the forest and woodland habitats that squirrels and countless other animals share.

## Donation hook
Squirrels are a worldwide family, and WARN does not fund squirrel-specific projects. But the forests and woodlands many species depend on are exactly the habitats our broader work aims to protect. Supporting WARN's habitat protection helps safeguard the wild places that wildlife everywhere relies on.


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

## How many species of squirrel are there?
There are roughly 280 to 285 living squirrel species in the family Sciuridae, organised into about 58 genera and five subfamilies, including tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels.

## What is a baby squirrel called?
Baby squirrels are usually called kits or kittens. They are born hairless and helpless, and depend on their mother in the nest for several weeks before they are weaned.

## What is a group of squirrels called?
A group of squirrels is called a scurry, and the nest a tree squirrel builds is called a drey. Most squirrels are not highly social, though many ground squirrels live in colonies.

## What do squirrels eat?
Squirrels mainly eat seeds, nuts, fruit, buds and fungi, and will also take insects, eggs and occasionally small vertebrates. They cannot digest cellulose, so leaves provide little nutrition.

## Can flying squirrels actually fly?
No. Flying squirrels glide rather than fly. They stretch a membrane of skin called the patagium between their front and back limbs and use it like a parachute to coast from tree to tree.

## Are squirrels endangered?
Most squirrel species are common and listed as Least Concern. However, some species with small or island ranges are threatened, and a few, such as the Hon Khoai squirrel and the Namdapha flying squirrel, are Critically Endangered.


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

## One-line answer
An octopus is a soft-bodied, eight-armed marine mollusc in the order Octopoda (about 300 species) that is highly intelligent and has three hearts and blue, copper-based blood.

## Introduction
The octopus is a soft-bodied, eight-armed mollusc belonging to the order Octopoda, which includes roughly 300 known species found in oceans worldwide. From the tiny Octopus wolfi, smaller than a coin, to the giant Pacific octopus with an arm span approaching five metres, octopuses are renowned for their problem-solving intelligence, rapid colour-changing camouflage, and unusual biology: three hearts and copper-based blue blood. Most live short lives of one to a few years, with females famously guarding their eggs until they hatch and then dying. Although many octopus species are abundant, growing commercial fishing pressure and controversial proposals to farm octopuses have raised both conservation and animal-welfare concerns.

## Takeaway
Octopuses make up the order Octopoda, with roughly 300 described species in oceans across the globe.

## Takeaway
They have three hearts and blue blood, which carries oxygen using the copper-rich protein haemocyanin instead of iron-based haemoglobin.

## Takeaway
Octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates, capable of problem-solving, tool use, and both short- and long-term memory.

## Takeaway
Specialised skin cells let them change colour and texture in seconds for camouflage and communication.

## Takeaway
Most octopuses are short-lived; females typically guard a single clutch of eggs and die soon after the young hatch.

## Takeaway
Many species are currently abundant, but rising fishing pressure and proposed octopus farming raise conservation and welfare concerns.

## What is an octopus?
An octopus is a cephalopod mollusc in the order Octopoda, a group of around 300 species related to squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. The body has a rounded mantle housing the organs and eight muscular arms lined with sensitive, gripping suckers. Unlike squid, octopuses have no internal shell or rigid skeleton, so apart from a hard, parrot-like beak they are almost entirely soft, allowing them to squeeze through gaps barely wider than that beak. They live everywhere from shallow tide pools and coral reefs to the deep sea, and most are bottom-dwelling hunters that shelter in crevices and dens.

## Three hearts, blue blood, and remarkable camouflage
Octopuses have three hearts: two branchial hearts pump blood through the gills to pick up oxygen, while a single systemic heart circulates it around the body. Their blood is blue because it uses haemocyanin, a copper-based protein, to transport oxygen efficiently in cold, low-oxygen water. Their skin contains layers of specialised cells, including pigment-filled chromatophores, that let them shift colour, pattern, and even texture almost instantly to blend into their surroundings, startle predators, or signal to other octopuses.

## Intelligence and short, dramatic lives
Octopuses are widely regarded as the most intelligent invertebrates. They solve puzzles, open containers, navigate mazes, use coconut shells and rocks as shelter and tools, and show distinct individual behaviour. Much of their nervous system is distributed through their arms, which can sense and react semi-independently. Yet their lives are brief. After mating, a female lays and tirelessly tends her eggs, often forgoing food, and dies once they hatch as tiny planktonic young called paralarvae. Males also die shortly after mating, making most octopuses semelparous, reproducing only once.


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

## Conservation, fishing, and farming
The order Octopoda has not been assessed as a whole, and conservation status varies by species; widespread species such as the common octopus are listed as Least Concern, while many lesser-known and deep-sea species remain Data Deficient. Global octopus catches have run into hundreds of thousands of tonnes, and intensifying demand has driven proposals to farm octopuses commercially. Because octopuses are intelligent, largely solitary, carnivorous animals, intensive farming raises serious animal-welfare and sustainability questions, and protecting healthy ocean habitats remains central to their long-term future.

## WARN work
The World Animal Rescue Network does not currently fund octopus-specific projects. At its launch stage, WARN directs hands-on funding to wildlife and animal-welfare work in partner-network countries, and octopuses are a globally distributed marine group that falls outside that funded scope. This guide is published as educational and search-focused content that supports WARN's broader mission of raising awareness for animals and the habitats they depend on. Where readers want to help, the most honest connection is supporting protection of the wild habitats that ocean and coastal wildlife rely on, rather than any claim of direct octopus rescue work.

## Donation hook
Octopuses depend on healthy seas, reefs, and coastlines. While WARN does not run octopus-specific projects, supporting habitat protection helps safeguard the wild places that ocean and coastal wildlife need to thrive.


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

## How many species of octopus are there?
There are roughly 300 known species in the order Octopoda, ranging from the coin-sized Octopus wolfi to the giant Pacific octopus.

## Why does an octopus have three hearts and blue blood?
Two of its hearts pump blood through the gills to collect oxygen, and a third circulates it around the body. The blood is blue because it carries oxygen using haemocyanin, a copper-based protein that works well in cold, low-oxygen seawater.

## Are octopuses intelligent?
Yes. Octopuses are considered the most intelligent invertebrates, able to solve puzzles, open jars, use tools such as coconut shells, and remember solutions, with much of their processing distributed through their eight arms.

## How long do octopuses live?
Most octopuses are short-lived, typically surviving from about six months to four years depending on the species. Females usually die soon after their eggs hatch.

## What is the difference between an octopus and a squid?
An octopus has eight suckered arms, a soft body with no internal shell, and usually lives on the seafloor. A squid has eight arms plus two longer feeding tentacles, an internal stiff structure called a pen, fins, and generally lives in open water.

## What is a baby octopus called and what is a group of octopuses called?
A newly hatched octopus is called a paralarva. There is no formal scientific term for a group, but octopuses are sometimes informally called a consortium, though they are mostly solitary.


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

## One-line answer
A frog is a tailless amphibian of the order Anura, a group of over 7,700 species worldwide that begins life as an aquatic tadpole and is widely used as a bioindicator of environmental health.

## Introduction
Frogs are tailless amphibians in the order Anura, a group of more than 7,700 living species spread across nearly every continent and habitat except Antarctica. They range from frogs smaller than a fingernail to giants weighing several kilograms, and almost all begin life as water-dwelling tadpoles before transforming into air-breathing adults. Their thin, permeable skin makes them exquisitely sensitive to pollution, disease, and a changing climate, which is why scientists treat frogs as bioindicators: living gauges of ecosystem health. That same sensitivity has placed amphibians at the center of one of the most severe wildlife declines on record, driven by habitat loss and the spread of chytrid fungus. This guide explains what frogs are, how they live, and why their fate matters far beyond the pond.

## Takeaway
Frogs form the order Anura, with more than 7,700 described species, making them by far the largest group of amphibians.

## Takeaway
Nearly all frogs hatch as tadpoles in water, then undergo metamorphosis into lunged, often land-going adults.

## Takeaway
Their permeable skin absorbs water, oxygen, and toxins, making frogs sensitive bioindicators of ecosystem health.

## Takeaway
Conservation status varies enormously by species, from Least Concern to Critically Endangered and recently extinct.

## Takeaway
Two of the biggest threats are habitat loss and chytridiomycosis, a fungal skin disease that has devastated populations worldwide.

## Takeaway
All toads are frogs: 'toad' usually refers to drier-skinned, warty species, especially the family Bufonidae, within Anura.

## What is a frog?
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura, a name meaning 'without a tail.' Adults are recognizable by their squat bodies, large eyes, and long, powerful hind legs built for jumping or swimming. The order is staggeringly diverse, with more than 7,700 species across roughly 59 families, from tiny rainforest frogs measuring under a centimeter to bulky species weighing more than 3 kilograms. Importantly, 'toad' is not a separate scientific category: all toads are frogs, with the word generally describing drier, warty, more terrestrial species, especially members of the family Bufonidae. Frogs live on every continent except Antarctica and occupy deserts, wetlands, forests, and high mountains alike.

## Life cycle and behavior
Most frogs reproduce by laying eggs in or near water. These hatch into tadpoles: fully aquatic larvae with tails and gills that typically graze on algae and plankton. Through metamorphosis, a tadpole grows legs, absorbs its tail, develops lungs, and emerges as an adult, which is usually carnivorous and feeds on insects and other small invertebrates. Reproductive strategies vary widely: some species carry eggs on their backs, brood young in vocal sacs, or skip the tadpole stage entirely with direct development. Male frogs are famous for their calls, produced by inflating vocal sacs to attract mates and defend territory, and many species are most active at night.


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

## Why frogs are bioindicators
A frog breathes and drinks partly through its skin, which is thin and highly permeable. This makes frogs unusually exposed to pollutants, pesticides, ultraviolet radiation, and pathogens in their environment. When frog populations crash or show deformities, it often signals broader problems in water quality or habitat, which is why ecologists describe amphibians as bioindicators or 'canaries in the coal mine.' Because frogs sit in the middle of food webs, eating vast numbers of insects and feeding birds, fish, and mammals in turn, their decline can ripple outward through entire ecosystems, affecting pest control and the species that depend on them.

## Conservation: a global decline
Amphibians are among the most threatened groups of animals on Earth. The most recent global assessments estimate that roughly two in five amphibian species are threatened with extinction, and more than 120 frog species are believed to have vanished since the 1980s. Two forces dominate: habitat destruction from agriculture, logging, and development, and chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium that attacks frog skin and has driven catastrophic die-offs across the Americas, Australia, and beyond. Climate change, pollution, invasive species, and the wildlife trade compound the pressure. Many species are now Critically Endangered, and conservation responds with habitat protection, disease research, captive-breeding programs, and reintroductions.

## WARN work
Frogs are a globally distributed group, and this guide is educational rather than a description of a funded field program. At its current launch stage, the World Animal Rescue Network directly funds hands-on work across its partner network, so we do not claim to run dedicated frog or amphibian projects worldwide. We publish this guide to raise awareness of the amphibian decline crisis and to support our broader mission of protecting wildlife and the habitats they share. The most honest connection between this page and our work is habitat: wetlands, forests, and clean freshwater that frogs depend on are the same ecosystems our habitat-protection efforts aim to safeguard.

## Donation hook
Frogs depend on healthy wetlands, forests, and clean freshwater, the very habitats our work aims to protect. While the World Animal Rescue Network does not yet fund dedicated frog projects, supporting our Habitat Protection appeal helps safeguard the ecosystems that countless species, amphibians included, rely on to survive.


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

## How many species of frogs are there?
There are more than 7,700 known species in the order Anura, spread across roughly 59 families. New frog species are still being described every year, so the total continues to rise.

## What is the difference between a frog and a toad?
Scientifically, all toads are frogs within the order Anura. 'Toad' is an informal term for species with drier, wartier skin and shorter legs that spend more time on land, especially members of the family Bufonidae. 'Frog' usually refers to smoother-skinned, more water-bound species.

## What is a baby frog called?
A baby frog is called a tadpole, sometimes also a polliwog. Tadpoles are aquatic, have tails and gills, and gradually transform into adult frogs through metamorphosis.

## What do frogs eat?
Adult frogs are generally carnivorous, eating insects, spiders, worms, and other small invertebrates. Some larger species also take small vertebrates. Tadpoles often feed on algae, plant matter, and plankton.

## Why are frogs important to the environment?
Frogs control insect populations, serve as prey for birds, fish, and mammals, and act as bioindicators. Because their permeable skin makes them sensitive to pollution and disease, declines in frog populations often signal wider problems in an ecosystem's health.

## Why are frog populations declining?
The main drivers are habitat loss and chytridiomycosis, a fungal skin disease that has caused mass die-offs worldwide. Climate change, pollution, invasive species, and the wildlife trade add further pressure, leaving roughly 41% of amphibian species threatened with extinction.


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

## One-line answer
Bats (order Chiroptera) are the only mammals capable of true flight, with around 1,400 species worldwide that mostly navigate by echolocation and provide vital pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal.

## Introduction
Bats make up the order Chiroptera, a remarkably diverse group of roughly 1,400 species found on every continent except Antarctica. They are the only mammals capable of true, sustained powered flight, and most navigate the dark using echolocation, sending out high-pitched calls and listening for the echoes that bounce back. Far from the villains of folklore, bats keep insect numbers in check, pollinate flowers, and scatter seeds that regrow forests. Yet many species are in trouble, squeezed by habitat loss, persecution, and the spread of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has devastated populations across North America.

## Takeaway
Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly, using wings formed from a thin membrane stretched over elongated finger bones.

## Takeaway
With around 1,400 species, bats account for roughly one in five of all mammal species on Earth.

## Takeaway
Most bats use echolocation, emitting calls and reading the returning echoes to hunt and navigate in darkness.

## Takeaway
Insect-eating bats can consume large quantities of pests each night, saving farmers significant crop losses.

## Takeaway
Fruit and nectar bats pollinate hundreds of plant species and disperse seeds that help regenerate forests.

## Takeaway
White-nose syndrome, habitat loss, and persecution have pushed many bat species toward decline or extinction.

## The only mammals that truly fly
Many animals glide, but bats are the only mammals that achieve genuine, flapping flight. Their wings are not feathered like a bird's; instead, a flexible skin membrane called the patagium stretches between greatly elongated finger bones, the body, and often the legs and tail. This design makes bats astonishingly agile, able to hover, turn sharply, and snatch insects mid-air. Body size spans a huge range, from tiny species weighing around two grams, among the smallest mammals alive, to large flying foxes with wingspans approaching 1.7 metres.

## Seeing with sound
Most bats hunt and move through the dark using echolocation. They produce rapid, high-frequency calls and interpret the echoes that bounce off surroundings, building a detailed sound picture of obstacles and prey. This sense is precise enough to detect an insect on the wing or a thin twig. Not all bats rely on it, however: many Old World fruit bats lean mainly on keen eyesight and a strong sense of smell to find ripe fruit and flowers.

## Nature's pest controllers and pollinators
Bats deliver ecosystem services worth billions to agriculture. Insect-eating species devour vast numbers of moths, beetles, and crop pests each night, reducing the need for pesticides. In tropical and desert regions, nectar-feeding bats pollinate plants including agave and many wild relatives of cultivated crops, while fruit bats disperse seeds across cleared land, jump-starting forest recovery. Plants pollinated or seeded by bats include those linked to bananas, mangoes, and cacao, the source of chocolate.


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

## Threats and conservation
Bat fortunes vary enormously by species, ranging from abundant and secure to critically endangered. A leading threat in North America is white-nose syndrome, a cold-loving fungus that rouses hibernating bats and burns their energy reserves; it has killed more than 90 percent of little brown, northern long-eared, and tri-colored bats in affected areas. Elsewhere, habitat destruction, wind-turbine collisions, disturbance of roosts, and killing driven by fear or myth all take a toll. Protecting caves, forests, and roost sites is central to keeping bat populations healthy.

## WARN work
Bats are a globally distributed group and fall outside the countries where the World Animal Rescue Network currently funds hands-on rescue work. WARN does not run or fund bat-specific projects, and this guide does not claim otherwise. At our launch stage, this page is educational content created to answer common questions accurately, support broader awareness of misunderstood wildlife, and strengthen the wider WARN mission. Where readers want to help, we point them toward the nearest relevant WARN focus: protecting the habitats that bats and countless other species depend on.

## Donation hook
Bats fall outside WARN's current rescue countries, so we cannot claim to fund work for them directly. If this guide sparked your interest, the most relevant way to help is to support WARN's habitat protection efforts, which safeguard the forests, caves, and wild spaces that bats and countless other species rely on.


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

## Are bats the only mammals that can fly?
Yes. Bats are the only mammals capable of true, sustained powered flight. Animals like flying squirrels only glide; they cannot flap to stay airborne the way bats do.

## How many species of bats are there?
There are roughly 1,400 known bat species, making up about one in five of all mammal species on Earth. New species are still being described by scientists.

## Do all bats use echolocation?
Most bats use echolocation to navigate and hunt in the dark, but not all. Many Old World fruit bats rely mainly on excellent eyesight and smell instead of sound.

## Are bats blind?
No, the phrase 'blind as a bat' is a myth. All bats can see, and fruit bats in particular have very good vision. Echolocating species simply add sound to their senses for hunting in darkness.

## Why are bats important to humans?
Bats provide free pest control by eating crop-damaging insects, pollinate hundreds of plant species, and disperse seeds that regrow forests, services estimated to be worth billions to agriculture each year.

## What is killing so many bats?
In North America, white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that disturbs hibernating bats, has wiped out more than 90 percent of several species in affected areas. Habitat loss, wind turbines, and human persecution also threaten bats worldwide.


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

## One-line answer
A peacock is the male of the peafowl, a large ground-dwelling pheasant whose shimmering, eyespotted tail train is fanned out to attract mates; the Indian peafowl is Least Concern, but the green peafowl is Endangered.

## Introduction
The peacock is one of the most recognizable birds on Earth, famous for the male's enormous, jewel-toned tail train studded with eyespots. Strictly speaking, "peacock" refers only to the male; females are peahens, and together they are called peafowl. The word covers three distinct species: the Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) of South Asia, the green peafowl (Pavo muticus) of Southeast Asia, and the Congo peafowl (Afropavo congensis) of Central Africa. The Indian peafowl is by far the most widespread and well known, kept and admired around the world, while its two cousins are far rarer and under real pressure in the wild. This guide focuses on the Indian peafowl while keeping the wider peafowl picture in view.

## Takeaway
"Peacock" is the male; the female is a peahen, and "peafowl" covers both. Babies are peachicks.

## Takeaway
There are three peafowl species: Indian, green, and Congo. The Indian peafowl is the famous blue bird most people picture.

## Takeaway
The male's spectacular train is not its actual tail. It is made of elongated upper-tail covert feathers raised over the true tail during display.

## Takeaway
Conservation status varies sharply: the Indian peafowl is Least Concern, the green peafowl is Endangered, and the Congo peafowl is Near Threatened.

## Takeaway
Indian peafowl are native to South Asia and are the national bird of India, where they are culturally protected.

## Takeaway
They are omnivores, eating seeds, grains, berries, insects, and small reptiles, and roost in trees at night to avoid predators.

## What is a peacock, and what makes the train so famous?
A peacock is the male of the peafowl, a large member of the pheasant family. Its signature feature is the train: a fan of up to roughly 200 elongated covert feathers, each tipped with a colorful eyespot, or ocellus. These feathers are not the bird's true tail; the actual tail feathers sit beneath and prop the train upright during display. When courting, a male raises and quivers the train into a vast iridescent fan, the colors shifting with the angle of light because of microscopic structures in the feathers rather than pigment alone. Peahens are smaller and camouflaged in mottled brown, which helps them stay hidden while nesting on the ground. The train grows back each year after the breeding season and reaches full size when a male is several years old.


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

## Where peafowl live and what they eat
The Indian peafowl is native to South Asia, ranging across India, Sri Lanka, and neighboring areas, in forests, farmland edges, and scrub where open ground meets cover. It has also been introduced to parks and estates in many other countries. Green peafowl live in Southeast Asia, and the Congo peafowl is restricted to rainforests in Central Africa. Peafowl are omnivorous ground foragers, feeding on seeds, grains, fruits, flower parts, insects, worms, and small reptiles or amphibians; near villages they will also raid cultivated crops. They feed mostly at dawn and dusk and fly up into trees to roost at night, which protects them from ground predators.

## Breeding, peachicks, and behavior
During the breeding season males display to groups of peahens, and a female chooses a mate partly based on the quality of his train and display. The peahen alone builds a simple ground nest and lays a clutch of about 4 to 8 eggs, incubating them for roughly 28 days. The downy chicks, called peachicks, can walk and feed soon after hatching and follow their mother closely. Peafowl are loud, with a far-carrying call often heard before rain or at dawn. Although they spend most of their time on the ground, they are strong short-distance fliers, bursting upward to escape danger or reach a roost.

## Conservation: a tale of three species
Peafowl conservation cannot be summed up by a single label, because the three species face very different futures. The Indian peafowl is widespread and assessed as Least Concern, with a large and stable population, helped by cultural reverence and legal protection in India. The green peafowl, by contrast, has been listed as Endangered since 2009, with its population fragmented and declining due to hunting, egg collection, and habitat loss across Southeast Asia. The Congo peafowl is Near Threatened, with a relatively small population in the Congo Basin threatened by deforestation and bushmeat hunting. So while the peacock you are most likely to see is doing well, two of its relatives need active protection.

## WARN work
WARN does not currently fund field projects for peafowl. As a launch-stage network, our funded conservation work is concentrated in a network of partner countries, and the peacock falls outside that scope. We publish this guide as educational and search-optimized content that supports our broader mission of building global awareness of wildlife and the habitats animals depend on. We will not overstate our role: where peafowl populations such as the green peafowl are genuinely threatened, the most honest thing we can do today is help people understand the species accurately and direct support toward the habitat-protection work that underpins healthy ecosystems everywhere.

## Donation hook
Love the peacock's dazzling display? The wild places that birds like peafowl depend on are shrinking. While WARN does not yet fund peafowl projects directly, your gift to Support Habitat Protection helps safeguard the forests and ecosystems that wildlife everywhere needs to thrive.


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

## What is the difference between a peacock and a peahen?
A peacock is the male, with the large iridescent train and bright blue neck. A peahen is the female, which is smaller and mottled brown for camouflage and lacks the showy train. Together they are called peafowl.

## Are peacocks endangered?
It depends on the species. The Indian peafowl is Least Concern and common. The green peafowl is Endangered, and the Congo peafowl is Near Threatened, so two of the three peafowl species are of conservation concern.

## What is a baby peacock called?
A baby peafowl is called a peachick. Peachicks hatch covered in down and can walk and feed themselves within hours, following the peahen closely.

## What is a group of peacocks called?
A group of peafowl is most often called an ostentation or a muster, and sometimes a party or a pride. "Ostentation" is a fitting name given the male's flamboyant display.

## What do peacocks eat?
Peafowl are omnivores. They eat seeds, grains, fruits, berries, and flower parts along with insects, worms, and small reptiles or amphibians, and they will sometimes feed on cultivated crops near farmland.

## Can peacocks fly?
Yes. Although peafowl spend most of their time on the ground, they are capable short-distance fliers. They burst upward to escape predators and to reach the tree branches where they roost at night.


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

## One-line answer
Flamingos are a family (Phoenicopteridae) of six species of tall, filter-feeding wading birds whose pink colour comes from carotenoid pigments in the algae and small crustaceans they eat in saline and alkaline lakes.

## Introduction
Flamingos are tall, long-legged wading birds famous for their rosy-pink plumage and their habit of standing on one leg. The family Phoenicopteridae contains six living species spread across the Americas, Africa, southern Europe and Asia, from the Caribbean and the high Andes to the alkaline lakes of East Africa. They are specialised filter feeders, sweeping their downturned bills through shallow water to strain out algae, tiny crustaceans and other minute organisms. The carotenoid pigments in this diet are what turn their feathers pink. Several species are doing well, while others face shrinking habitat and are listed as Near Threatened or Vulnerable.

## Takeaway
Flamingos form one bird family, Phoenicopteridae, with six living species across three genera.

## Takeaway
Their iconic pink colour is not innate: it comes from carotenoid pigments in the algae and small crustaceans they eat.

## Takeaway
They are filter feeders, holding the bill upside down and using comb-like lamellae to strain food from water and mud.

## Takeaway
They specialise in harsh saline, alkaline and high-altitude lakes where few other birds can compete.

## Takeaway
Conservation status varies by species, from Least Concern (greater and American flamingos) to Vulnerable (Andean flamingo).

## Takeaway
Both parents incubate a single egg and feed the grey chick a protein-rich 'crop milk' produced in their digestive tract.

## Why are flamingos pink?
Flamingo chicks hatch grey, and adults would stay a dull whitish colour without the right diet. The pink to reddish hues come from carotenoid pigments, the same family of compounds that make carrots orange and tomatoes red. Flamingos take in these pigments by eating algae and pigment-rich invertebrates such as brine shrimp, then deposit the carotenoids in their feathers, skin and bill. Because colour reflects how much pigment a bird is getting, brighter plumage is a signal of good nutrition and health, and it plays a role in courtship. Captive flamingos that are not fed carotenoid-rich food gradually fade toward pale pink or white.

## Filter feeding and saline-lake life
Flamingos are among the few birds built to thrive in shallow saline, brackish and highly alkaline lakes. They feed with the head lowered and the bill held upside down in the water, pumping water in and out with the tongue. Fine comb-like plates called lamellae line the bill and trap algae, diatoms, tiny crustaceans, seeds and aquatic invertebrates while letting water and mud pass through. This specialised feeding lets large flocks exploit lakes that are too salty or caustic for most predators and competitors, which is one reason flamingos often gather in enormous numbers at just a handful of key sites.