53 animal riddles with answers
Animal riddles about pets, farm animals, wild animals, birds, sea creatures and bugs, most with a word trick to spot. The last set is harder, for older kids and adults.
Updated
Pets and farm animals
You take me for a walk, but I'm the one who decides where we stop. What am I?
easy
A dog.
Dogs stop to sniff almost everything along the way.
Put an S in front of my name, and I become a word that means "go away!" What am I?
easy
A cat.
S plus CAT makes SCAT, which people say to shoo an animal away.
Which word for an animal you keep at home is hiding in the word CARPET?
medium
PET.
CAR-PET: the last three letters spell PET.
People count me when they can't fall asleep, but I've never jumped a fence for them. What am I?
easy
A sheep.
Picturing sheep jumping over a fence and counting them is an old trick for falling asleep.
A baby goat and a young person share my name. What am I?
easy
A kid.
A young goat is called a kid, and so is a child.
I'm a baby cow, and I'm also the back of your leg, below the knee. What am I?
medium
A calf.
A young cow is a calf, and so is the muscle at the back of your lower leg.
Rearrange the letters of PARROT to get a word for a bird that hunts, like a hawk or an owl.
hard
RAPTOR.
PARROT and RAPTOR use the same six letters. Raptors are birds that hunt other animals.
I'm a mother sheep, and I sound exactly like the word for the person reading this. What am I?
medium
A ewe.
EWE sounds the same as YOU.
I'm a small pet that squeaks, and I'm also the thing you click beside a computer. What am I?
easy
A mouse.
A mouse is a small animal, and a computer mouse is the small device you move and click.
I'm a fish with whiskers, and I'm named after a pet that purrs. What am I?
medium
A catfish.
Catfish have long feelers around their mouths that look like a cat's whiskers.
Which farm animal is hiding in the word COWARD?
medium
A COW.
COW-ARD: the first three letters spell COW.
Which farm animal is hiding in the name of a bird you see in the city, the PIGEON?
medium
A PIG.
PIG-EON: the first three letters spell PIG.
Which bird is hiding in the words WHEN and THEN?
medium
A HEN.
W-HEN and T-HEN both end in HEN.
Wild animals
I have a pocket, but no pants, and I get around by hopping. What am I?
easy
A kangaroo.
A mother kangaroo carries her baby in a pouch on her belly.
People call me the king of the jungle, but I don't live in the jungle. What am I?
medium
A lion.
Most wild lions live on grasslands and open woodland, not in jungles.
Which small insect is hiding inside the name of the biggest animal on land?
medium
An ANT.
ELEPH-ANT: the last three letters spell ANT.
I take off my whole skin and leave it on the ground, then slide away in a brand-new one. What am I?
medium
A snake.
Snakes shed their old skin as they grow.
I'm a huge animal with antlers, and I sound like a fluffy chocolate dessert. What am I?
medium
A moose.
MOOSE sounds the same as MOUSSE.
I'm an animal in the woods, and I sound like the first word of a letter. What am I?
medium
A deer.
DEER sounds the same as DEAR, as in "Dear Grandma."
Take the B off BEAR, and you get something you hear with. What is it?
easy
An EAR.
BEAR without the B is EAR.
I'm a wild animal, and when you eat very fast, people say you do me to your food. What am I?
medium
A wolf.
To wolf down food means to eat it very quickly.
I'm a small animal that digs tunnels, and I'm also a little dark spot on your skin. What am I?
medium
A mole.
A mole is a digging animal, and a mole is also a small spot on the skin.
I live in Africa, and I sound like the opposite of old. What am I?
hard
A gnu.
The G in GNU is often silent, so it sounds like NEW.
Birds
Every night I call "who, who," but I never wait for an answer. What am I?
easy
An owl.
Many owls make a hooting call that sounds like "who."
I knock on wood all day, but I never want to come in. What am I?
easy
A woodpecker.
Woodpeckers tap on tree trunks with their beaks to find insects.
I'm a bird, and I'm also what you do when you gulp down your food. What am I?
medium
A swallow.
A swallow is a small bird, and to swallow is to gulp.
I'm a tall bird that wades in water, and I'm also a tall machine that lifts heavy loads at a building site. What am I?
medium
A crane.
A crane is a long-legged bird, and the lifting machine is named after it.
I'm a bird that paddles on ponds, and I'm also what you do when a ball flies at your head. What am I?
easy
A duck.
A duck is a water bird, and to duck is to bend down quickly.
I'm a bird that flies underwater but never in the sky. What am I?
medium
A penguin.
Penguins can't fly in the air, but they flap their wings to swim fast.
People call me bald, but my head is covered in white feathers. What am I?
medium
A bald eagle.
A bald eagle isn't bald at all: its head is covered in white feathers.
I'm a black bird, and I'm also what a rooster does at sunrise. What am I?
easy
A crow.
A crow is a black bird, and a rooster's call at dawn is also called a crow.
Sea and pond animals
I'm called a jelly and a fish, but I'm neither one. What am I?
medium
A jellyfish.
A jellyfish is not a fish and not a jelly. It's a soft sea animal with no bones.
I'm a horse that nobody can ride, and in my family the dads carry the babies. What am I?
easy
A seahorse.
A seahorse is a small fish with a head shaped like a horse's, and the fathers carry the eggs in a pouch.
I'm a flat fish, and I'm also the bottom of your shoe. What am I?
medium
A sole.
A sole is a flat fish that lives on the sea floor, and the sole of a shoe is the part that touches the ground.
I'm a sea animal with flippers, and I'm also what you do to close an envelope. What am I?
easy
A seal.
A seal is a sea animal, and to seal an envelope is to close it.
I live in a shell in the sea, and I sound like what grows when you lift heavy things. What am I?
hard
A mussel.
MUSSEL sounds the same as MUSCLE.
When your voice goes croaky, people say you have one of me stuck in your throat. What am I?
medium
A frog.
Having a frog in your throat means your voice sounds hoarse or croaky for a while.
Take two letters off the front of SHARK, and you get the boat Noah built. What is it?
medium
The ARK.
SHARK without the S and the H is ARK.
Bugs
I have a light on my tail, but I've never needed batteries. What am I?
easy
A firefly.
Fireflies make their own light at the end of their bodies.
My name says "lady," but about half of us are boys. What am I?
medium
A ladybug.
Ladybugs can be male or female, whatever their name says.
My name says I'm a dragon, but I can't breathe fire, and I'm small enough to land on your finger. What am I?
easy
A dragonfly.
A dragonfly is an insect with a long body and four see-through wings. It hunts smaller insects, but it's no dragon.
My first half goes on toast. My second half buzzes around your picnic. Together I have colorful wings. What am I?
easy
A butterfly.
BUTTER and FLY make BUTTERFLY.
Which insect is hiding in the word MOTHER?
medium
A MOTH.
MOTH-ER: the first four letters spell MOTH.
I'm a small crawling creature, and I'm also what your little brother does when he won't leave you alone. What am I?
easy
A bug.
A bug is a small insect, and to bug someone is to annoy them.
I'm a tiny jumping pest, and I sound like a word that means to run away. What am I?
medium
A flea.
FLEA sounds the same as FLEE.
Harder animal riddles
I'm a black-and-white animal, and I'm also a word for pestering someone until they give in. What am I?
hard
A badger.
To badger someone is to keep asking until they give in.
I'm a fish, and I'm also a word for complaining about small things. What am I?
hard
A carp.
A carp is a fish, and to carp is to keep complaining.
I'm a big furry animal, and I'm also a word that means to put up with something. What am I?
hard
A bear.
To bear something means to put up with it, as in "I can't bear the noise."
I'm a sweater with a high, folded collar, and I'm named after an animal that pulls its head into its shell. What am I?
hard
A turtleneck.
A turtleneck's collar covers your neck, a bit like a turtle tucked into its shell.
Take the first letter off GOAT, and you get a grain used to make porridge. What is it?
medium
OAT.
GOAT without the G is OAT.
Which animal is hiding in the word PIRATE?
medium
A RAT.
PI-RAT-E: the middle letters spell RAT.
Which animal is hiding in both GRAPE and PAPER?
medium
An APE.
GR-APE and P-APE-R both have APE inside.
Which animal is hiding in both FEEL and PEEL?
medium
An EEL.
F-EEL and P-EEL both end in EEL.
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.