Animals That Start With K

30 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 30 animals that start with K, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

K has 30 animals, and many of them are linked to Australia and New Zealand. The kangaroo, koala, kookaburra, kiwi and kakapo all come from that part of the world, which makes a neat geography link.

The word king appears again and again: king penguin, king cobra, king crab, king salmon and king vulture. The killer whale is actually the largest member of the dolphin family. Younger children usually know kangaroo and koala first, while the kinkajou, a rainforest mammal, is a fun name to say aloud.

Animals starting with K: 30
Best known: kite, kangaroo
Longest name: kangaroo mouse
Most are: birds

Best-known animals that start with K

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

kite
kangaroo
kiwi
koala
kingfisher
krill
kestrel
king penguin
kookaburra
king cobra
kakapo
katydid
killer whale
kinkajou
koi
komodo dragon

All animals that start with K

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	kakapo	large flightless nocturnal parrot of New Zealand	other
2	kangaroo	any of several herbivorous leaping marsupials of Australia and New Guinea having large powerful hind legs and a long...	mammal
3	kangaroo mouse	small silky-haired pouched rodent; similar to but smaller than kangaroo rats	mammal
4	kangaroo rat	any of various leaping rodents of desert regions of North America and Mexico; largest members of the family Heteromyidae	mammal
5	katydid	green insect related to grasshoppers with long antennae	insect
6	kea	large brownish-green New Zealand parrot	bird
7	kestrel	small North American falcon	bird
8	killer whale	large black and white toothed whale, also called orca	mammal
9	king cobra	large cobra of southeastern Asia and the East Indies; the largest venomous snake; sometimes placed in genus Naja	reptile
10	king crab	large marine arthropod of the Atlantic coast of North America having a domed carapace that is shaped like a horseshoe...	crustacean
11	king mackerel	large mackerel with long pointed snout; important food and game fish of the eastern Atlantic coast southward to Brazil	fish
12	king penguin	large penguin on islands bordering the Antarctic Circle	bird
13	king salmon	large Pacific salmon valued as food; adults die after spawning	fish
14	king snake	any of numerous nonvenomous North American constrictors; feed on other snakes and small mammals	reptile
15	king vulture	large black-and-white vulture of South America and Central America	bird
16	kingfish	large edible mackerel of temperate United States coastal Atlantic waters	fish
17	kingfisher	nonpasserine large-headed bird with a short tail and long sharp bill	bird
18	kinkajou	rainforest mammal with a long gripping tail	mammal
19	kissing bug	large bloodsucking bug	insect
20	kit fox	small grey fox of the plains of western North America	mammal
21	kite	any of several small graceful hawks of the family Accipitridae having long pointed wings and feeding on insects and...	bird
22	kiwi	nocturnal flightless bird of New Zealand having a long neck and stout legs	bird
23	knot	a sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere	bird
24	koala	sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupial with grey furry ears and coat; feeds on eucalyptus leaves and bark	mammal
25	kob	an orange-brown antelope of southeast Africa	mammal
26	koi	colorful ornamental carp kept in garden ponds	other
27	komodo dragon	the world's largest lizard, from Indonesian islands	reptile
28	kookaburra	Australian kingfisher having a loud cackling cry	bird
29	krill	shrimp-like planktonic crustaceans; major source of food for e.g. baleen whales	crustacean
30	kudu	either of two spiral-horned antelopes of the African bush	mammal

Mammals that start with K

kangaroo
koala
killer whale
kinkajou
kit fox
kudu
kob
kangaroo mouse
kangaroo rat

Birds that start with K

kite
kiwi
kingfisher
kestrel
king penguin
kookaburra
knot
kea
king vulture

Fish that start with K

king salmon
kingfish
king mackerel

Reptiles that start with K

king cobra
komodo dragon
king snake

Insects that start with K

katydid
kissing bug

Crustaceans that start with K

krill
king crab

Other animals that start with K

kakapo
koi

Questions people ask

How many animals start with K?

This list has 30 animals starting with K, from well-known ones like kite, kangaroo, kiwi to rarer kinds.

What animals start with K?

Well-known examples are kite, kangaroo, kiwi, koala, kingfisher, krill, kestrel, king penguin.

What mammals start with K?

kangaroo, koala, killer whale, kinkajou, kit fox.

What birds start with K?

kite, kiwi, kingfisher, kestrel, king penguin.

What fish start with K?

king salmon, kingfish, king mackerel.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

See every letter on one page: animals A to Z