Animals that start with A

The aardvark is from Africa. It is a very good digger and sleeps during the day and comes out at night to dig. Aardvarks are distantly related to elephants. Aardvarks eat ants and termites. Aardvarks are extremely primitive in their makeup and could be called a living fossil.

The Abyssinian is an ancient breed of cat of uncertain origin, from either Egypt or Ethiopia. It is slim, lithe, and has a distinctive flecked (ticked) brown coat, large ears, and a long tail. They are active, intelligent, curious cats. They make good pets, but need constant attention or they get bored and unhappy. They are excellent hunters, so this needs to be taken into consideration if you live near a wildlife reserve and want an Abyssinian as a pet.

Afghan hounds are a large, slim dog with a long, silky coat that gives them a very distinctive appearance. They are a very old breed from the mountains of Afghanistan, developed to find hares and gazelles. They are an independant dog, and are not easily trained. Even when trained, they aren't always obedient and will ignore commands they don't feel like obeying.

Akitas are large dogs originally from Japan, and are descended from one of the oldest dog breeds. The breed is currently split into two - the American Akita and the Akita Inu. The American breed is larger, and a lot more colours are allowed. Akitas are a friendly, playful dog that needs lots of exercise. They can be boisterous around children, and can also be dominant so they need to be well-trained.

An alien is someone or something from another place that doesn't belong here. An alien might be a person from another country, or they might be a creature from another planet.