Animals That Start With W

74 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 74 animals that start with W, 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.

W lists 74 animals, and mammals make up much of it: wolf, whale, walrus, wombat, weasel and warthog. Children often start with whale and wolf because both are big and easy to draw.

Compound names are common. The words wild, water and wood appear in wild boar, wild horse, water buffalo, water snake, wood duck and wood mouse. The walking stick and walking leaf are insects that hide by looking like plants. The whale shark is a fish, not a whale, which makes a good quiz question.

Animals starting with W: 74
Best known: wolf, whale
Longest name: woolly mammoth
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with W

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

wolf
whale
worm
wolverine
wasp
weasel
wren
wildcat
walrus
woodpecker
wallaby
water buffalo
white shark
wombat
wildebeest
warthog
whale shark
woodchuck
wild boar
woolly mammoth

All animals that start with W

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	wagtail	Old World bird having a very long tail that jerks up and down as it walks	bird
2	wahoo	large fast-moving predacious food and game fish; found worldwide	fish
3	walking leaf	tropical insect having a flattened leaflike body; common in southern Asia and the East Indies	insect
4	walking stick	any of various mostly tropical insects having long twiglike bodies	insect
5	wallaby	any of various small or medium-sized kangaroos; often brightly colored	mammal
6	walleye	pike-like freshwater perches	fish
7	walrus	either of two large northern marine mammals having ivory tusks and tough hide over thick blubber	mammal
8	warbler	a small active songbird	bird
9	warthog	African wild swine with warty protuberances on the face and large protruding tusks	mammal
10	wasp	social or solitary hymenopterans typically having a slender body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk and having...	insect
11	water beetle	any of numerous aquatic beetles usually having a smooth oval body and flattened hind legs for swimming	insect
12	water buffalo	an Asian buffalo that is often domesticated for use as a draft animal	mammal
13	water bug	a true bug: large aquatic bug adapted to living in or on the surface of water	insect
14	water deer	largest chevrotain; of marshy areas of west Africa	mammal
15	water flea	minute free-swimming freshwater copepod having a large median eye and pear-shaped body and long antennae used in...	crustacean
16	water rat	common large Eurasian vole	mammal
17	water scorpion	long-legged aquatic insect having the front legs fitted for seizing and holding prey and the abdomen extended by a long...	insect
18	water snake	any of various mostly harmless snakes that live in or near water	reptile
19	waterfowl	freshwater aquatic bird	bird
20	wax moth	moth whose larvae live in and feed on bee honeycombs	insect
21	weasel	small carnivorous mammal with short legs and elongated body and neck	mammal
22	weaver	finch-like African and Asian colonial birds noted for their elaborately woven nests	bird
23	weevil	any of several families of mostly small beetles that feed on plants and plant products	insect
24	western toad	of a great variety of habitats from southern Alaska to Baja California west of the Rockies	amphibian
25	whale	any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head	mammal
26	whale shark	large spotted shark of warm surface waters worldwide; resembles a whale and feeds chiefly on plankton	fish
27	wheel bug	large predatory North American bug that sucks the blood of other insects	insect
28	whip scorpion	nonvenomous arachnid that resembles a scorpion and that has a long thin tail without a stinger	spider or scorpion
29	whip snake	any of several small fast-moving snakes with long whiplike tails	reptile
30	whistling swan	North American subspecies of tundra swan having a soft whistling note	bird
31	white admiral	Eurasian butterfly with brown wings and white markings	insect
32	white marlin	small marlin (to 180 pounds) of western Atlantic	fish
33	white pelican	large American pelican; white with black wing feathers	bird
34	white perch	small silvery food and game fish of eastern United States streams	fish
35	white shark	large aggressive shark widespread in warm seas; known to attack humans	fish
36	white sturgeon	food and game fish of marine and fresh waters of northwestern coast of North America	fish
37	white whale	small northern whale that is white when adult	mammal
38	whitefish	silvery herring-like freshwater food fish of cold lakes of the northern hemisphere	fish
39	whitetail	common North American deer; tail has a white underside	mammal
40	whiting	found off Atlantic coast of North America	fish
41	whooping crane	rare North American crane having black-and-white plumage and a trumpeting call	bird
42	wild boar	Old World wild swine having a narrow body and prominent tusks from which most domestic swine come	mammal
43	wild dog	any of various undomesticated mammals of the family Canidae that are thought to resemble domestic dogs as distinguished...	mammal
44	wild horse	undomesticated or feral domestic horse	mammal
45	wildcat	any small or medium-sized cat resembling the domestic cat and living in the wild	mammal
46	wildebeest	large African antelope having a head with horns like an ox and a long tufted tail	mammal
47	willet	large North American shorebird of eastern and Gulf Coasts	bird
48	winkle	edible marine gastropod	mollusc
49	winter wren	small wren of coniferous forests of northern hemisphere	bird
50	wolf	any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs	mammal
51	wolf fish	large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic fins	fish
52	wolf spider	ground spider that hunts its prey instead of using a web	spider or scorpion
53	wolverine	musteline mammal of northern Eurasia	mammal
54	wombat	burrowing herbivorous Australian marsupials about the size of a badger	mammal
55	wood ant	reddish-brown European ant typically living in anthills in woodlands	insect
56	wood duck	showy North American duck that nests in hollow trees	bird
57	wood frog	wide-ranging light-brown frog of moist North American woodlands especially spruce	amphibian
58	wood mouse	any of various New World woodland mice	mammal
59	wood pigeon	Eurasian pigeon with white patches on wings and neck	bird
60	wood rat	any of various small short-tailed rodents of the northern hemisphere having soft fur grey above and white below with...	mammal
61	wood tick	common tick that can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia	spider or scorpion
62	woodchuck	reddish brown North American marmot	mammal
63	woodcock	game bird of the sandpiper family that resembles a snipe	bird
64	woodpecker	bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for...	bird
65	woolly bear	caterpillar of numerous moths characterized by a dense coat of woolly hairs	other
66	woolly mammoth	very hairy mammoth common in colder portions of the northern hemisphere	mammal
67	woolly monkey	large monkeys with dark skin and woolly fur of the Amazon and Orinoco basins	mammal
68	worker bee	sterile bee specialized to collect food and maintain the hive	insect
69	worm	any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and...	worm
70	worm lizard	a lizard of the genus Amphisbaena	reptile
71	worm snake	small reddish wormlike snake of eastern United States	reptile
72	wrasse	chiefly tropical marine fishes with fleshy lips and powerful teeth; usually brightly colored	fish
73	wren	any of several small active brown birds of the northern hemisphere with short upright tails; they feed on insects	bird
74	wren-tit	small brown bird of California resembling a wren	bird

Mammals that start with W

wolf
whale
wolverine
weasel
wildcat
walrus
wallaby
water buffalo
wombat
wildebeest
warthog
woodchuck
wild boar
woolly mammoth
wild dog
wild horse
wood mouse
water rat
wood rat
water deer
white whale
whitetail
woolly monkey

Birds that start with W

wren
woodpecker
weaver
waterfowl
woodcock
warbler
wood duck
willet
wood pigeon
wagtail
whistling swan
whooping crane
winter wren
wren-tit
white pelican

Fish that start with W

white shark
whale shark
whiting
wolf fish
whitefish
wahoo
walleye
wrasse
white sturgeon
white perch
white marlin

Reptiles that start with W

water snake
whip snake
worm snake
worm lizard

Amphibians that start with W

wood frog
western toad

Insects that start with W

wasp
walking stick
weevil
walking leaf
water bug
wheel bug
worker bee
white admiral
wood ant
water beetle
wax moth
water scorpion

Spiders and scorpions that start with W

wolf spider
wood tick
whip scorpion

Filter all 74 animals that start with W

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Questions people ask

How many animals start with W?

This list has 74 animals starting with W, from well-known ones like wolf, whale, worm to rarer kinds.

What animals start with W?

Well-known examples are wolf, whale, worm, wolverine, wasp, weasel, wren, wildcat.

What mammals start with W?

wolf, whale, wolverine, weasel, wildcat.

What birds start with W?

wren, woodpecker, weaver, waterfowl, woodcock.

What fish start with W?

white shark, whale shark, whiting, wolf fish, whitefish.

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