Mammals

Every mammal, from a tiny shrew to the enormous blue whale, shares a few defining traits: mothers feed their young on milk, and all mammals have hair or fur at some point in their lives. Mammals are warm-blooded, keeping a steady body temperature whether they live in icy Arctic seas or hot deserts. That flexibility has helped them spread into nearly every habitat, with bats taking to the air, whales and dolphins to the oceans, and moles burrowing underground. Most give birth to live young, though the platypus and echidnas lay eggs.

This section brings together wild and familiar mammals alike. Learn about night flyers in our bats section, follow wild canids from wolves to the clever fox, or explore the lives of big cats like tigers and lions. Pet owners will find guides on cats, dogs, rabbits and rodents, while farm animals, bears, hippos and squirrels round out a collection full of facts on diet, behavior, habitat and family life.