Simple Online Photographic Dictionary

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.

Photo by MontageMan

An alligator is a very large reptile, found in China and America. They are related to crocodiles but are generally darker in colour and have a broader snout. Alligators live in fresh water.

Photo by Hdport

The alpaca is a kind of domestic animal bred for its wool, the same reason people keep sheep. Alpacas are related to llamas and camels but are a lot smaller than both. Alpacas come in lots of different colours, such as black, white and lots of different shades of brown.

Photo by Aaron_M

The anteater is an animal that, as its name suggests, eats mainly ants and termites. They have a long, sticky tongue that they flick into ant nests. There are four different types of anteater, the anteater in the picture is the giant anteater. They are related to sloths. Giant anteaters can grow up to 1.8 metres long, including their tail. Baby anteaters ride on their mother's back.

Photo by GoemonH

Antelope is a word used for any one of a large group of animals that are related to goats, sheep and cows. Many antelopes look like deer but are actually not closely related - antelopes keep their horns through their lifetime and deer shed their horns every year.

The antelope in the picture is an eland.

Photo by Lip Kee

Armadillos are small mammals with a leathery armor shell. They are related to the anteater and sloth. They are native to the Americas.

Armadillos are very good at digging. They dig for grubs and insects, and dig themselves dens to live in.

Photo by Leppyone

There are lots of different kinds of baboon. They are a kind of monkey. They live in Africa, on the ground, not in trees. Baboons have long muzzles like dogs, tails, and male baboons often have a mane.

Baboons eat mostly plants, fruit and insects, but will also eat fish and small animals.

Photo by Lip Kee

The bactrian camel is different to the dromedary camel because it has two humps instead of one. There are a lot less bactrian camels, and there are very few wild ones left.

Photo by Kapungo

Badgers are related to weasels, otters, wolverines and ferrets. They eat small animals and sometimes insects. Badgers come from Europe. They are excellent diggers, and make themselves burrows called setts.

A male badger is a boar, a female badger is a sow and a baby badger is a cub. The collective name for a group of badgers is a cete.

Photo by Whiskymac

A bat is a flying animal (not a bird). Its arms have evolved into wings. Most bats eat fruit or insects. Bats usually travel around at night and sleep during the day. They hang upside down by their feet in trees or on the ceiling of caves.

Photo by Charliejb