Animals in Spanish: A Practical Guide to 100+ Animal Names

Learning how to say animal names in Spanish is a great starting point for anyone exploring a new language. Whether you’re a teacher looking to bring more vocabulary into the classroom or a just beginning your Spanish journey, these animal names will offer an engaging way to connect with the language.

In this guide, we’ve put together a list of over 100 animals in Spanish, grouped by category—plus, a couple of effective ways to make this new vocabulary stick!

Why Learn Animal Names in Spanish?

Animals show up everywhere in early language learning: children’s books, songs, games, and even science lessons. They’re concrete, visual, and often tied to students’ interests, making them an ideal vocabulary set to reinforce.

For Spanish learners, knowing animal names opens the door to basic sentence building, storytelling, and real-world conversations like visiting the zoo, describing pets, or talking about nature.

Plus, Spanish is a phonetic language, which means most animal names are pronounced just like they’re spelled. Once you know the rules, it’s easy to get the hang of it.

List of Animals in Spanish (By Category)

Ready to dive in? Below you’ll find a categorized list of 120 animals in Spanish, each with its English translation. Whether you’re teaching vocabulary or brushing up yourself, this list makes a handy reference.

1. Farm Animals (Animales de granja)

la vaca – cow
el cerdo – pig
el caballo – horse
la gallina – hen
el gallo – rooster
el pato – duck
la oveja – sheep
la cabra – goat
el burro – donkey
el toro – bull
el ganso – goose
el pavo – turkey
la mula – mule
el ratón – mouse
el conejo – rabbit
el perro pastor – sheepdog
el gato – cat
la paloma – dove
el pollito – chick
la vaca lechera – dairy cow

2. Jungle and Wild Animals (Animales salvajes)

el león – lion
el tigre – tiger
el elefante – elephant
el mono – monkey
el oso – bear
el gorila – gorilla
la jirafa – giraffe
la cebra – zebra
el rinoceronte – rhinoceros
el hipopótamo – hippopotamus
el jaguar – jaguar
el perezoso – sloth
la anaconda – anaconda
el chimpancé – chimpanzee
la pantera – panther
el cocodrilo – crocodile
la serpiente – snake
el búfalo – buffalo
el lobo – wolf
el camaleón – chameleon

3. Pets (Mascotas)

el perro – dog
el gato – cat
el pez dorado – goldfish
el hámster – hamster
el conejo – rabbit
la tortuga – turtle
el periquito – parakeet
el loro – parrot
el ratón – mouse
el erizo – hedgehog
la cobaya – guinea pig
el gato persa – Persian cat
el pastor alemán – German shepherd
el dálmata – Dalmatian
el gato siamés – Siamese cat
el pez beta – betta fish
el bulldog – bulldog
la iguana – iguana
el canario – canary
el chihuahua – chihuahua

4. Ocean Animals (Animales marinos)

el pez – fish
el delfín – dolphin
la ballena – whale
el tiburón – shark
el pulpo – octopus
el calamar – squid
la foca – seal
la estrella de mar – starfish
el cangrejo – crab
el camarón – shrimp
la anguila – eel
el caballito de mar – seahorse
la medusa – jellyfish
la tortuga marina – sea turtle
el pez payaso – clownfish
el pez globo – pufferfish
la orca – orca
el león marino – sea lion
el atún – tuna
el pez espada – swordfish

5. Birds (Aves)

el pájaro – bird
el águila – eagle
el búho – owl
el halcón – hawk
la paloma – dove
el loro – parrot
el flamenco – flamingo
el pingüino – penguin
el colibrí – hummingbird
el tucán – toucan
el cuervo – crow
el canario – canary
el pato – duck
la gallina – hen
el gallo – rooster
el faisán – pheasant
el avestruz – ostrich
la grulla – crane
el petirrojo – robin
el ganso – goose

6. Insects & Small Creatures (Insectos y bichos pequeños)

la hormiga – ant
la mariposa – butterfly
la araña – spider
la abeja – bee
el escarabajo – beetle
la libélula – dragonfly
la avispa – wasp
la cucaracha – cockroach
el grillo – cricket
el saltamontes – grasshopper
la mosca – fly
el mosquito – mosquito
la oruga – caterpillar
el ciempiés – centipede
el milpiés – millipede
el escorpión – scorpion
el bicho bola – pill bug
el caracol – snail
la lombriz – worm
el pulgón – aphid

Pro Tips for Teaching or Learning Spanish Animal Vocabulary

Learning the Spanish names of animals can be as fun as it is educational. Here are a few ideas to take it beyond simple memorization:

• Incorporate Music and Movement: Try classics like Los Pollitos Dicen or Un Elefante Se Balanceaba to teach common animal names with rhythm.
• Use Sorting or Memory Games: Have students match Spanish names to animal pictures or sort them into habitats (farm, jungle, ocean, etc.).
• Create Animal Profiles: Students can draw or write simple sentences about their favorite animal: El perro es grande. Vive en la casa.
• Read Bilingual Storybooks: Look for stories where animals are the main characters—these often use repetitive language and context clues to help with comprehension.
• Label the Classroom: If you’re in an elementary setting, label stuffed animals or posters with their Spanish names.

Spanish Grammar Tips: A Quick Refresher

A few things to keep in mind as you teach or learn animal names:

1. Gendered Nouns

Spanish nouns have gender. Most animals follow standard gender rules:

• el perro (male dog), la perra (female dog)
• el gato (male cat), la gata (female cat)

Some animals don’t change form, even if the gender is known:

• el cocodrilo = crocodile (male or female)

2. Plural Forms

Most plurals are formed by adding -s or -es:

• el pato → los patos
• el pez → los peces (irregular)

3. Capitalization

Unlike English, Spanish does not capitalize animal names unless they’re at the beginning of a sentence.

Classroom Activities for Spanish Animal Vocabulary

Want to make the most of your animal list? Here are a few low-prep activities perfect for classrooms:

• Bingo: Use animal names as your word bank for a round of Spanish bingo!
• Animal Charades: Act out animals while others guess the name in Spanish.
• Habitat Match: Give students a list of animals and have them place each one in the correct habitat.
• Draw and Label: Have students draw their favorite animals and label them in Spanish with a sentence.
• Scavenger Hunt: Send students on a “digital” scavenger hunt to find images of 10 animals from the list and present them in Spanish.

Practice Makes Progress

Animal names are just the beginning, but they open up tons of opportunities for speaking, listening, and making cultural connections in Spanish class. Whether you’re using these words in games, songs, or sentences, they’re a powerful vocabulary set to build student confidence and engagement.