Animal Riddles
Hi! I am Ollie. Welcome to Riddle Kingdom!
Every riddle here is also a level in the Kingdom. Solve them on the map, keep your lives, earn stars and raise a landmark with each one. Good luck, and have fun!
PLAY
Every answer here is a creature. Some clues are obvious, some are sneaky, and a few will make you laugh. Each riddle is labeled by difficulty, and every reveal adds a true fun fact about the animal. Kids do great with these, but adults miss plenty too.
Browse all the puzzles on this page ▾
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1. I carry my house on my back and I am never in a hurry. What am I? Easy
Show answer
A snail.
Carrying a house on its back names the snail, which can sleep for up to three years.
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2. I have a trunk but I am not a car, and big ears but I am not listening. What am I? Easy
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An elephant.
The trunk and big ears point to an elephant, the only animal that cannot jump.
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3. What key can open a banana? Easy
Need a hint?
Say the animal's name slowly.
Show answer
A monkey.
The word play on mon-key names the monkey, some of which use tools to crack nuts.
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4. I wear a tuxedo every day, but I cannot fly and I love the cold. What am I? Easy
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A penguin.
A cold-loving tuxedo bird is a penguin, whose black and white coat helps hide it in the water.
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5. I change my colors to match my mood and my surroundings. What am I? Easy
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A chameleon.
Changing colors gives away the chameleon, whose eyes move in two directions at once.
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6. I have a king's name but I live in the jungle, not a castle. My roar is my crown. What am I? Easy
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A lion.
A king with a roaring crown is the lion, whose roar can be heard five miles away.
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7. I sleep all winter in a cave, and I love honey more than anything. What am I? Easy
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A bear.
Winter sleep and honey love name the bear, which can smell food from miles away.
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8. I have eight arms but no hands, and I squirt ink but never write. What am I? Easy
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An octopus.
Eight arms and ink name the octopus, which has three hearts and blue blood.
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9. My neck is longer than my legs, and I eat leaves no one else can reach. What am I? Easy
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A giraffe.
The long neck reaching high leaves points to a giraffe, whose tongue can be 50 cm long.
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10. I hop with my baby in my front pocket. What am I? Easy
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A kangaroo.
A baby in a front pocket names the kangaroo, which cannot walk backward.
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11. I am black and white and I only eat bamboo. What am I? Easy
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A panda.
Black, white, and bamboo name the panda, which eats for up to 12 hours a day.
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12. I wake the farm at sunrise without an alarm clock. What am I? Easy
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A rooster.
Waking the farm at sunrise names the rooster, which greets the dawn with its crow.
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13. I am a cat with stripes I can never take off. What am I? Easy
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A tiger.
A striped cat is the tiger, whose stripes are also on its skin, not just its fur.
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14. I make honey and I hum, but I am not a machine. What am I? Easy
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A bee.
Honey and humming name the bee, which communicates directions with a waggle dance.
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15. I start life in the water with a tail, then grow legs and hop away. What am I? Easy
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A frog.
A tail turning into legs names the frog, which can breathe through its skin.
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16. I spin a trap that is thinner than hair but stronger than it looks. What am I? Easy
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A spider.
Spinning a strong thin trap names the spider, whose silk is stronger than steel by weight.
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17. I say the same thing you say, and I have feathers. What am I? Easy
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A parrot.
Repeating your words with feathers names the parrot, which can live over 50 years.
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18. I am a slow-moving animal that spends almost my whole life hanging in trees. What am I? Easy
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A sloth.
Slow and always in trees names the sloth, which can hold its breath a long time underwater.
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19. I give wool but I am not a store. I say baa when you pass my field. What am I? Easy
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A sheep.
Wool and a baa name the sheep, which has nearly 360 degree vision to spot danger.
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20. I have humps for storing energy and I can cross a desert without a drink. What am I? Easy
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A camel.
Humps and desert travel name the camel, whose humps store fat, not water.
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21. I wear my stripes like a barcode, and no two of us match. What am I? Easy
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A zebra.
Barcode stripes with no two alike name the zebra, whose stripes may help confuse biting flies.
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22. I am small and gray, cats chase me, and I squeak instead of speak. What am I? Easy
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A mouse.
Small, gray, and squeaking names the mouse, whose teeth never stop growing.
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23. I hoot at night and turn my head almost all the way around. What am I? Easy
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An owl.
Hooting and a turning head name the owl, which can rotate its head about 270 degrees.
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24. I swim like a fish but I breathe like you, and I chat with clicks and whistles too. What am I? Easy
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A dolphin.
Swimming but breathing air with clicks names the dolphin, which sleeps with half its brain awake.
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25. I have no arms and no legs, yet I can climb and swim, and I leave my old skin behind. What am I? Easy
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A snake.
No limbs but climbing, swimming, and shedding name the snake, which smells with its tongue.
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26. I am orange and clever with a big bushy tail, and every henhouse is afraid of my name. What am I? Easy
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A fox.
Orange, clever, with a bushy tail names the fox, which uses over 40 different sounds to talk.
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27. Do not startle me or you will be sorry, because I spray a smell you cannot outrun. What am I? Easy
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A skunk.
An unbeatable warning spray names the skunk, whose smell can be detected up to a mile away.
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28. What animal always keeps time? Medium
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A watchdog.
The watchdog pun works because a watch keeps time, and dogs can learn over 100 words.
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29. What do you call a fish without an eye? Medium
Need a hint?
Take the letter that sounds like eye out of the word.
Show answer
A fsh.
Take the eye out of fish and you get fsh, a playful spelling joke, not a real animal.
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30. I build dams with my teeth and my flat tail slaps the water. What am I? Medium
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A beaver.
Dam building and a flat tail name the beaver, whose front teeth never stop growing.
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31. I have a hundred teeth in a long green smile, and I cry when I eat, or so they say. What am I? Medium
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A crocodile.
A hundred teeth and crocodile tears name the crocodile, which cannot chew its food.
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32. I sleep hanging upside down and I see with my ears. What am I? Medium
Need a hint?
I use sound to find my way in the dark.
Show answer
A bat.
Hanging upside down and seeing with ears names the bat, which finds prey using echolocation.
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33. What do you call a sleeping bull? Medium
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A bulldozer.
A sleeping bull is a bull-dozer, a pun on dozing, since dozing means napping.
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34. I have a horn but I never honk, and my skin is thick as armor. What am I? Medium
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A rhinoceros.
A horn and armor skin name the rhinoceros, whose horn is made of the same stuff as hair.
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35. I deliver messages without a phone, and I always find my way home. What am I? Medium
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A homing pigeon.
Carrying messages and finding home names the homing pigeon, which navigates using Earth's magnetic field.
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36. I have a mask on my face and I wash my food in the river. What am I? Medium
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A raccoon.
A face mask and food washing name the raccoon, whose front paws are very sensitive to touch.
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37. I am covered in sharp needles, but I am an animal, not a cactus. What am I? Medium
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A porcupine.
Sharp needles on an animal name the porcupine, whose quills can number around 30,000.
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38. I am the biggest animal that has ever lived, and I sing in the deep. What am I? Medium
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A blue whale.
The biggest animal singing in the deep is the blue whale, whose heart is as big as a small car.
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39. I run fast, I cannot fly, and people say I hide my head in the sand. What am I? Medium
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An ostrich.
A fast flightless bird said to hide its head is the ostrich, which lays the largest eggs of any bird.
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40. I light up summer nights with my tiny lantern. What am I? Medium
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A firefly.
A tiny lantern on summer nights names the firefly, which glows using a chemical called luciferin.
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41. I am a dog's favorite thing to bury and dig up again. What am I? Medium
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A bone.
A dog's favorite thing to bury is a bone, and dogs bury them to save food for later.
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42. I begin as a crawling eater of leaves, then I nap in a silk bag and wake up with wings. What am I? Medium
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A butterfly.
Leaf eater to silk bag to wings names the butterfly, which tastes with its feet.
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43. I knock on wood all day long, but I never wait for anyone to answer the door. What am I? Medium
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A woodpecker.
Knocking on wood all day names the woodpecker, whose skull cushions its brain from the pounding.
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44. I bury nuts and forget where I hid them, so I plant more trees than any gardener. What am I? Medium
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A squirrel.
Burying and forgetting nuts names the squirrel, which can smell food buried under snow.
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45. I open a fan of a hundred eyes, yet not a single one of them can see. What am I? Medium
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A peacock.
A fan of eyes that cannot see names the peacock, whose tail feathers can be over five feet long.
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46. I stand on one pink leg and I turn the food I eat into my own color. What am I? Medium
Show answer
A flamingo.
One pink leg and food-colored feathers name the flamingo, which is pink from the shrimp it eats.
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47. I lose my teeth every week, but a new row always grows in, and I rule wherever I swim. What am I? Medium
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A shark.
Weekly new teeth and ruling the water name the shark, which existed before the dinosaurs.
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48. I am smaller than your fingernail, yet I can carry many times my own weight, and I never work alone. What am I? Medium
Show answer
An ant.
Tiny but strong and never alone names the ant, which can lift many times its own body weight.
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49. I glide through the sea and crawl on the sand, and I wear a shield I can never take off. What am I? Medium
Show answer
A sea turtle.
Gliding, crawling, and wearing a shield name the sea turtle, which can live over 80 years.
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50. My wings beat so fast that you hear me hum, and I am the only bird that can fly backward. What am I? Medium
Show answer
A hummingbird.
Humming wings and backward flight name the hummingbird, whose heart beats over 1,000 times a minute.
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51. What animal can jump higher than a house? Hard
Need a hint?
Read the question again. It is a trick.
Show answer
Any animal. Houses cannot jump.
The trick answer is any animal, because houses cannot jump at all.
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52. Why do cows wear bells? Hard
Need a hint?
A horn can also be something you honk.
Show answer
Because their horns don't work.
Cows wear bells because their horns do not work, a joke on horns as instruments.
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53. What is a cat's favorite color? Hard
Show answer
Purr-ple.
A cat's favorite color is purr-ple, a pun on the purr a happy cat makes.
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54. Where do fish keep their money? Hard
Need a hint?
A river has two of these on its sides.
Show answer
In the riverbank.
Fish keep money in the riverbank, a pun on a bank being both a shore and a place for money.
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55. I am a horse that never gallops, and in my family it is the father who carries the babies. What am I? Hard
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A seahorse.
A horse of the sea where dads carry babies is the seahorse, in which the father gives birth.
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56. Why do oysters never share their pearls with anyone? Hard
Show answer
Because they are shellfish.
Oysters never share pearls because they are shellfish, a pun on selfish.
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57. I hold hands with my friends while we sleep so the current cannot pull us apart. What am I? Medium
Show answer
An otter.
Holding hands while sleeping names the sea otter, which links paws so it does not drift away.
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58. I nap in a eucalyptus tree for most of the day, and my baby rides along on my back. What am I? Medium
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A koala.
Napping in a eucalyptus tree names the koala, which can sleep up to twenty hours a day.
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59. I have two long tusks and a bushy mustache, and I flop onto the ice like a giant pillow. What am I? Medium
Show answer
A walrus.
Long tusks and whiskers on the ice name the walrus, whose tusks can grow to three feet long.
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60. Why don't elephants ever use computers? Hard
Show answer
They are scared of the mouse.
Elephants avoid computers because of the mouse, a joke since elephants are said to fear mice.
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61. What do you call a fish that wears a bowtie? Hard
Show answer
Sofishticated.
A fish in a bowtie is sofishticated, a pun on the word sophisticated.
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62. What do you get if you cross a snake with a pie? Hard
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A pie-thon.
Crossing a snake with a pie gives a pie-thon, a pun on the word python.
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63. Why are frogs always so cheerful? Hard
Show answer
They eat whatever bugs them.
Frogs stay cheerful because they eat whatever bugs them, a pun on bugs as insects and annoyances.
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64. Where do sheep go to get a haircut? Hard
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The baa-baa shop.
Sheep get haircuts at the baa-baa shop, a pun on barber shop and the sound sheep make.
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65. What do you call a rabbit that has fleas? Hard
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Bugs Bunny.
A rabbit with fleas is Bugs Bunny, a pun on the cartoon rabbit and having bugs.
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66. What do you call a baby kangaroo that never leaves the couch? Hard
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A pouch potato.
A lazy joey is a pouch potato, a pun on couch potato and a kangaroo's pouch.
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67. Why did the chicken cross the playground? Hard
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To get to the other slide.
The chicken crossed the playground to get to the other slide, a twist on the other side.
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68. What do you call a fly that has lost its wings? Hard
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A walk.
A fly with no wings is a walk, since it can no longer fly anywhere.
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69. What do you call two spiders who just got married? Hard
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Newlywebs.
Two spiders who just married are newlywebs, a pun on newlyweds and a spider's web.
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70. What do you call a snail sailing on a ship? Hard
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A snailor.
A snail on a ship is a snailor, a pun on the word sailor.
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71. I am a whale with one long spiraled tusk, so old sailors thought I was a unicorn of the sea. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A narwhal.
A whale with a spiral tusk is the narwhal, whose tusk is really a long tooth that can grow nine feet.
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72. I am a salamander that never grows up, and I can regrow my legs, my tail, and even parts of my heart. What am I? Hard
Show answer
An axolotl.
A salamander that stays young is the axolotl, which keeps its gills and can regrow lost body parts.
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73. My whole body is covered in scales like armor and I roll into a ball when danger comes, but I am a mammal, not a reptile. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A pangolin.
A scaly mammal that curls into a ball is the pangolin, the only mammal fully covered in scales.
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74. My face looks like a horse, my legs are striped like a zebra, yet my closest cousin is the giraffe. What am I? Hard
Show answer
An okapi.
A horse-shaped animal with zebra legs is the okapi, the giraffe's only living relative.
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75. I live in the river and I can shock you like a battery, though I am not truly an eel at all. What am I? Hard
Show answer
An electric eel.
A river fish that shocks like a battery is the electric eel, which can deliver a jolt near 600 volts.
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76. I throw a punch so fast underwater that I can crack glass, and I see colors no human eye can. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A mantis shrimp.
A creature that punches fast enough to crack glass is the mantis shrimp, which sees light no human eye can.
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77. I am a small, fierce marsupial with a screech in the night and the strongest bite for my size. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A Tasmanian devil.
A fierce screeching marsupial is the Tasmanian devil, which has one of the strongest bites for its size.
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78. I am a mammal, yet I lay eggs like a bird, I have a bill like a duck and a tail like a beaver, and I hunt with my eyes shut. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A platypus.
An egg-laying mammal that hunts with its eyes closed is the platypus, which finds prey by sensing tiny electric signals in the water.
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79. I am smaller than a grain of sand, yet I have survived the freezing, airless vacuum of outer space. What am I? Hard
Show answer
A tardigrade.
The tiny survivor also called a water bear is the tardigrade, which lived through direct exposure to open space in a 2007 experiment.
Animal riddles for kids
Snails, owls, and other creatures kids can name from one or two clues. Great for reading aloud.
Guess the animal riddles with answers
Every answer is a creature. Fur, shells, horns, and feathers all get their turn.
Sneaky animal riddles that stump adults
A few clues sound like one animal and point at another. Grownups miss more than they admit.
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FAQ about Animal Riddles
Are these animal riddles for kids or adults?
Both. Kids love guessing the creatures, and the sneakier clues catch plenty of adults. It plays well as a family round.
What kinds of animals appear in the riddles?
Everything from snails and owls to rhinos. Each riddle describes a real animal through its looks or habits.
How do you write an animal riddle?
Pick an animal, then list two or three of its most recognizable traits in the animal's own voice, saving the strongest clue for last. A snail says it carries its house on its back and is never in a hurry. Rhyme is optional.
If these creature clues were a hit, keep the guessing going with our What Am I riddles for kids and families, where every answer is a fun mystery to unravel. Ready for a new kind of challenge? Stretch your thinking with our collection of brain teasers and clever puzzles to play.