These 40 animal riddles are all 'what animal am I?' puzzles, with clues that are real animal facts kids can check in a book or on a trip to the zoo. They are grouped into farm and pet animals, wild animals, and sea and sky animals. Each has two hints and a hidden answer.
Cows, cats, hens and other animals that kids may meet on a farm or at home.
I live on a farm and eat grass. I say moo. What am I?
I have four legs and a tail that swishes.
Farmers get milk from me.
A cow
Why it works: A cow lives on a farm, eats grass and says moo.
Did you guess it?
I have a woolly coat that farmers cut off in spring. I say baa. What am I?
My coat is made into yarn.
My baby is called a lamb.
A sheep
Why it works: Sheep grow thick wool that is cut off each year, and they say baa.
Did you guess it?
I am a pet with whiskers. I purr when I am happy and I chase string. What am I?
I nap in the sun and wash my paws.
I say meow.
A cat
Why it works: Cats have whiskers and purr when they are content.
Did you guess it?
I wag my tail when I am happy. I have a strong sense of smell. What am I?
Many families keep me as a pet.
I bark and love going on walks.
A dog
Why it works: Dogs wag their tails and have a nose that is much better than ours.
Did you guess it?
I am a farm bird. I peck at seeds and I lay eggs. What am I?
I live in a coop.
My babies are called chicks.
A hen
Why it works: A hen is a female chicken and lays eggs.
Did you guess it?
I am a pink farm animal. I roll in mud to stay cool. What am I?
I have a curly tail and a snout.
I say oink.
A pig
Why it works: Pigs cannot sweat much, so they roll in mud to cool off.
Did you guess it?
I am a small orange pet who lives in a bowl. I breathe underwater using gills. What am I?
I swim round and round.
My name has a shiny yellow metal in it.
A goldfish
Why it works: Goldfish live in water and use gills to breathe.
Did you guess it?
I am a farm animal that you can ride. I eat hay and run on four hooves. What am I?
I have a long mane and a tail.
My baby is called a foal.
A horse
Why it works: Horses eat hay, run on hooves and can carry riders.
Did you guess it?
I am a pet with long ears and a twitchy nose. My front teeth never stop growing. What am I?
I hop and love carrots.
I chew hay to keep my teeth worn down.
A rabbit
Why it works: A rabbit's front teeth keep growing, so chewing keeps them short.
Did you guess it?
I am a farm bird with a long neck. I honk loudly when strangers come close. What am I?
I swim in ponds and fly in a V shape.
I am bigger than a duck.
A goose
Why it works: Geese are loud farm birds that honk when strangers come near.
Did you guess it?
I am a small pet who stuffs food into my cheeks. I am busy at night and I run on a wheel. What am I?
I am tiny and furry with a short tail.
My cheek pouches can stretch a lot.
A hamster
Why it works: Hamsters store food in their cheek pouches and are most active at night.
Did you guess it?
I am a farm animal with a small beard. I love to climb hills and rocks. What am I?
I say maa and have horns.
Farmers make cheese from my milk, and my babies are called kids.
A goat
Why it works: Goats are good climbers and have a tuft of fur like a beard.
Did you guess it?
I carry my home on my back. Some of my kind live for more than a hundred years. What am I?
My shell is part of my body.
I walk slowly on land.
A tortoise
Why it works: Tortoises can live for over a hundred years and carry their shell wherever they go.
Did you guess it?
Big cats, giants of the grasslands and forest animals, with true facts as clues.
I am a huge animal who spends my days in African rivers to stay cool. My name means river horse. What am I?
I am gray and heavier than a car.
My short name begins with hip.
A hippo
Why it works: Hippopotamus comes from Greek words meaning river horse, and hippos stay in water to keep cool.
Did you guess it?
I have a long trunk and big flappy ears. I am the largest animal that walks on land. What am I?
I use my trunk to drink and to pick things up.
I am gray, and my ears help me stay cool.
An elephant
Why it works: An elephant is the biggest land animal and uses its trunk like a hand.
Did you guess it?
I am a big cat. The males of my kind have a thick mane, and I roar. What am I?
People call me the king of the jungle.
I live in a group called a pride.
A lion
Why it works: A male lion has a thick mane and lions live in groups called prides.
Did you guess it?
I look like a horse in a pajama set of black and white stripes. What am I?
I live in grasslands in Africa.
No two of me have exactly the same pattern of stripes.
A zebra
Why it works: A zebra's stripes are like fingerprints, different on every animal.
Did you guess it?
I am a big brown furry animal who spends much of winter asleep in a den. What am I?
I love honey and fish.
My baby is called a cub.
A bear
Why it works: Many bears sleep in a den through the cold winter.
Did you guess it?
I live in Australia. I hop on strong back legs and carry my baby in a pouch. What am I?
My baby is called a joey.
Big males can stand as tall as a grown-up.
A kangaroo
Why it works: Kangaroos hop on powerful back legs and keep their young in a pouch.
Did you guess it?
I have black and orange stripes. I am one of the biggest cats in the world. What am I?
Every one of me has a different pattern of stripes.
I live in forests in Asia.
A tiger
Why it works: Tigers are among the largest living cats, and no two have the same stripes.
Did you guess it?
I am the fastest runner on land. I have black spots and dark lines on my face like tears. What am I?
I live in Africa.
I chase gazelles across the grasslands.
A cheetah
Why it works: A cheetah is the fastest land animal and has tear marks on its face.
Did you guess it?
I am a big white animal who lives near the North Pole. My skin under my fur is black. What am I?
I swim well and hunt on the ice.
I am the biggest kind of bear.
A polar bear
Why it works: Polar bears have black skin under white-looking fur.
Did you guess it?
I am a black and white bear who eats bamboo for most of the day. What am I?
I live in the mountains of China.
I spend many hours of each day chewing.
A giant panda
Why it works: A giant panda spends many hours a day eating bamboo.
Did you guess it?
I am small and spiny. I roll into a ball when I am scared. What am I?
I snuffle in gardens at night, eating insects and worms.
I sleep through winter.
A hedgehog
Why it works: A hedgehog rolls into a ball so that its spines point outward.
Did you guess it?
I have thick gray skin and a horn on my nose. I live in Africa or Asia. What am I?
I am huge and heavy.
My name starts with the sound 'rye'.
A rhinoceros
Why it works: A rhinoceros has thick skin and one or two horns on its nose.
Did you guess it?
I move very slowly and often hang upside down from branches. What am I?
I live in rainforests in Central and South America.
I sleep a lot and have long curved claws.
A sloth
Why it works: A sloth moves slowly and often hangs from branches.
Did you guess it?
I look like a big dog and howl to call to my pack. What am I?
Dogs and I are related.
I live in forests and cold places.
A wolf
Why it works: Wolves live in packs and howl to talk to each other.
Did you guess it?
Swimmers, fliers and tiny creatures from ponds, oceans and gardens.
I am a big water bird. My beak has a stretchy pouch for scooping up fish. What am I?
I live near coasts and lakes.
Water drains from the stretchy bag under my beak before I swallow my catch.
A pelican
Why it works: A pelican has a stretchy pouch under its beak for catching fish.
Did you guess it?
I hoot at night. My big eyes face forward and I can turn my head far around. What am I?
I hunt while many animals sleep.
People call me wise.
An owl
Why it works: An owl has big forward-facing eyes and can turn its head almost all the way around.
Did you guess it?
I am a pink bird who often stands on one leg. I get my color from what I eat. What am I?
I wade in shallow lakes.
Tiny shrimp and algae in my food make my feathers pink.
A flamingo
Why it works: A flamingo turns pink from the natural colors in the shrimp and algae it eats.
Did you guess it?
I walk sideways on the beach. I have two pincers and a hard shell. What am I?
I scuttle over rocks and sand.
I have ten legs, counting my claws.
A crab
Why it works: Crabs move sideways and have pincers and ten legs.
Did you guess it?
I am not a fish. I breathe air through a blowhole, I have a pointed snout, and I leap out of the sea. What am I?
I talk to others with clicks and whistles.
I live in a group called a pod, and I feed my babies milk.
A dolphin
Why it works: A dolphin is a mammal that breathes air through a blowhole.
Did you guess it?
I have eight arms and three hearts. I have no bones in my body. What am I?
I can squeeze through tiny gaps.
I can squirt dark ink to hide.
An octopus
Why it works: An octopus has eight arms, three hearts and a soft body with no bones.
Did you guess it?
I start as an egg, then I am a hungry caterpillar, then I wrap in a chrysalis, and then I flutter out. What am I?
I sip nectar from flowers.
My four wings are covered in tiny scales.
A butterfly
Why it works: A butterfly goes through four stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult.
Did you guess it?
I am a small red insect with black spots. Gardeners like me because I eat the pests that nibble their plants. What am I?
I have six legs and a round, shiny shell.
Look for me on leaves where tiny aphids gather.
A ladybug
Why it works: A ladybug is a red beetle with black spots that eats garden pests.
Did you guess it?
I am the biggest animal that has ever lived. I breathe air and I eat tiny krill. What am I?
I am a mammal, not a fish, and I am longer than a school bus.
A color is the first word of my name.
A blue whale
Why it works: A blue whale is the largest animal known, and it eats tiny shrimp-like krill.
Did you guess it?
I am a fish whose skeleton is made of bendy cartilage, not bone. I have a fin on my back. What am I?
I have rows of teeth and grow new ones.
A fin on my back sticks out of the water.
A shark
Why it works: A shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, the same bendy stuff as your ears.
Did you guess it?
I have no brain, no bones and no heart. I drift in the sea and my body is mostly water. What am I?
I am not really a fish.
I have a soft body and long tentacles.
A jellyfish
Why it works: A jellyfish has no brain, heart or bones and is mostly water.
Did you guess it?
I am a tiny bird. I can hover in one place and even fly backward. My wings beat very fast. What am I?
I sip sugary nectar from flowers.
My name comes from the sound of my wings.
A hummingbird
Why it works: A hummingbird hovers and can fly backward, and its wings hum as they beat.
Did you guess it?
I am a small fish with a head like a horse. The dad carries the babies in a pouch. What am I?
I curl my tail around plants.
My name has the name of a farm animal in it.
A seahorse
Why it works: A male seahorse carries the eggs in a pouch until the babies hatch.
Did you guess it?
No riddles match both filters. Try another age or difficulty.
After each answer, read the 'why' line and ask the child what other facts they know about that animal.
Pair a riddle with a picture book or a photo so kids can check the clue for themselves.
Play 'what animal am I' by letting a child pick an animal and give the first clue.
Sort the printed cards by group and have the class find real photos for each answer.
For younger kids, read the first hint straight away and make the animal sound together.
Yes. Every clue is a fact about a real animal, such as a cheetah being the fastest runner on land or an octopus having three hearts. Kids can check any clue in a library book or on a nature website.
Start with the farm and pet group and the first riddles of each group. They use short clues, familiar noises and animals that small children know, and the answers can be acted out with sounds.
Print the cards without answers and let each team pick a card to read aloud. Use the hints if the class is stuck, and ask the group to find one more fact about the animal after each reveal.
It is a guessing game where the riddle speaks as the animal, such as 'I am the fastest runner on land'. The clues describe how it looks, moves, eats or sounds, and the child names the animal.
Yes. Rhino is short for rhinoceros and hippo is short for hippopotamus, so either word is right. A tortoise is a turtle that lives on land, so a child who says turtle is close: ask whether it lives on land or in water.