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.

An adder is the name given to the common European viper. These snakes are venomous.

Airedale terriers are originally from Yorkshire in England, and are one of the largest terriers. They have a very wirey coat and shed very little, especially if they are kept well groomed. Airedales were originally bred to hunt otters, but today are used as a police dog or as a pet. They are strong-willed, stubborn, and can be difficult to train.

Albatrosses are large sea birds. The great albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird. Albatrosses can glide for very long distances. They eat squid and fish that they dive into the water to catch.

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.

Sea anemones are closely related to coral and jellyfish. They eat small sea creatures and small fish that drift past them into their tentacles. The tentacles have poison in them, and the anemone stings them to kill them before it eats them.
Sea anemones spend most of their lives stuck to the same rock or other surface, but can unstick themselves and swim to a new rock if conditions aren't good for them, such as if their rock dries out for too long or something is trying to eat or damage the anemone.
Sea anemones can reproduce in the usual way by releasing eggs and sperm, but they can also reproduce by budding off new anemones or by splitting themselves in half to form a new anemone.

The anhinga is a long-necked water bird that looks similar to a heron. It lives around freshwater wetlands and slow-moving rivers, especially in warmer parts of the Americas and beyond. They dive to spear fish with their sharp beak.

An ant is a small, common insect found all over the world. They live in organised colonies that are mostly workers, with one queen.

Antechinus, or marsupial mouse, is a tiny marsupial that lives in Australia. They look a bit like a tiny mouse or shrew and have a soft, brown or gray coat. They hunt insects and small animals at night.