No. A dolphin is a mammal: it breathes air through a blowhole, is warm-blooded and feeds its young milk. It is in the default list with the other aquatic and land mammals.

Which animal in this puzzle is a bird?

The falcon is the only bird. The other nine default words, tiger, elephant, giraffe, dolphin, zebra, panda, koala, otter and rabbit, are mammals.

Can I make a farm animal word search?

Yes. Clear the word box, type words such as cow, pig, sheep, horse, goat and chicken, and press Generate puzzle. You can print it with an answer key.

What is the longest animal in the challenge puzzle?

Hippopotamus, with 12 letters. It needs a grid at least 12 squares wide, and the challenge puzzle uses 15 x 15.

Free · No sign-up · 24 ready-made topics

Animal Word Search

A ready-made animal word search with 10 words, from tiger to rabbit, plus two fixed printable puzzles: an easy zoo puzzle for young children and a 15 x 15 challenge with 16 harder animals.

Words (one per line, or comma separated)

Or start from a topic:

Grid size

Difficulty

Puzzle title

Subtitle (optional)

Two printable animal puzzles

These two puzzles are fixed: the grid is the same every time, so you can print identical sheets for a class or a party. Each has a word list, a Show answers button, a Print button and a printable answer key. Download both as a PDF (with answer keys)

Animal Word Search 1: Zoo Favorites

Easy 10 x 10 grid · 8 words · 4 to 4 letters

A 10 x 10 puzzle for beginners. Eight short words, hidden across, down and diagonally down to the right only.

Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

KSEABYWOETODCFUPOTGKOPFIYFLIONIBFRCBFDADINUUOSMNTUOHOFBGEIACGADDEERABKFSYKHEBDLKZSBEARTONOGSHKSIBIDB

BEARDEERDUCKFROGGOATLIONSEALWOLF

Animal Word Search 1: Zoo Favorites: answer key

KSEABYWOETODCFUPOTGKOPFIYFLIONIBFRCBFDADINUUOSMNTUOHOFBGEIACGADDEERABKFSYKHEBDLKZSBEARTONOGSHKSIBIDB

BEAR: row 9, column 3, across to the right
DEER: row 7, column 4, across to the right
DUCK: row 4, column 10, down
FROG: row 3, column 3, diagonally down and to the right
GOAT: row 2, column 9, down
LION: row 3, column 7, across to the right
SEAL: row 5, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
WOLF: row 1, column 7, down

Animal Word Search 2: Animal Challenge

Hard 15 x 15 grid · 16 words · 7 to 12 letters · 13 hidden backwards or upwards

A 15 x 15 puzzle with sixteen longer words, hidden in every direction, including backwards and up.

Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

EZDLSMALLIROGELTPHEULERRIUQSEFHRELMNCSFWFROZHAOORAGNAKCFPENQTLEPTPGSSTABKAEEAIMOLOOMRNBNPEEFGEPAKRDIAAAMDHFOEOTUECRTRDILCUHRPYGCIUMUQHXABEKPPIOGAPBMCTCPGAIUPNDIRIUFEHIDTHSAIAIZHNLFHFETTRLHMOTAPEVUEHIOLERMXSTBHNDAMAODENIREVLOW

ARMADILLOBUFFALOCHEETAHCHIMPANZEEGORILLAHEDGEHOGHIPPOPOTAMUSKANGAROOLEOPARDMEERKATORANGUTANPLATYPUSPORCUPINERHINOCEROSSQUIRRELWOLVERINE

Animal Word Search 2: Animal Challenge: answer key

ARMADILLO: row 7, column 13, diagonally down and to the left
BUFFALO: row 10, column 2, up
CHEETAH: row 9, column 1, up
CHIMPANZEE: row 10, column 14, up
GORILLA: row 1, column 13, across to the left
HEDGEHOG: row 14, column 3, up
HIPPOPOTAMUS: row 12, column 5, up
KANGAROO: row 4, column 9, across to the left
LEOPARD: row 1, column 15, diagonally down and to the left
MEERKAT: row 6, column 4, down
ORANGUTAN: row 14, column 5, diagonally up and to the right
PLATYPUS: row 5, column 6, down
PORCUPINE: row 5, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
RHINOCEROS: row 14, column 8, up
SQUIRREL: row 2, column 13, across to the left
WOLVERINE: row 15, column 15, across to the left

About this animal word search

Animals are the most common first theme for a word search, because almost every child already has a favorite and knows how most of the names are spelled. The default list is a deliberate mix: tiger, elephant, giraffe and zebra are the animals people picture at a zoo, panda, koala and otter are picture-book favorites, a dolphin lives in the sea and a falcon is a bird of prey.

That variety gives you something to teach with. Ask children to sort the ten words by how the animal lives, for example land or water, plant eater or meat eater. Older students can sort by classification: nine of the ten words are mammals and one, the falcon, is a bird. The challenge puzzle adds animals from other parts of the world, such as the platypus, the armadillo and the wolverine, which makes a good starting point for a map or habitat project.

If you want a different animal theme, replace the words with farm animals, pets or the animals of one continent. A 12 x 12 grid holds almost any animal name, even hippopotamus, which has 12 letters. For birds, insects, reptiles and sea creatures there are separate pages with their own word lists and printable puzzles.

Word notes

Tiger: the largest of the big cats, with a striped coat; wild tigers live in Asia.
Elephant: the largest living land animal.
Giraffe: the tallest living land animal, found in Africa.
Dolphin: an aquatic mammal, not a fish: it breathes air and feeds its young milk.
Koala: a tree-living marsupial from Australia, sometimes wrongly called a koala bear.
Otter: a semi-aquatic, meat-eating mammal.
Falcon: a bird of prey, the only bird among the ten words.

Vocabulary tip

All ten words are one-word names. Two-word animals, such as polar bear or sea lion, are joined together in a word search (POLARBEAR), so tell children before they start or stick to one-word names.

Difficulty guide

Generator (default list). The 10 words run from 5 letters (tiger, zebra, panda, koala and otter) to 8 letters (elephant), 5.9 letters on average and 59 letters in all, which fills about 30% of the default 14 x 14 grid. On the default Medium setting, words can run in five directions. Choose Easy for across, down and diagonal-right only, or Hard to add backwards and upwards.
Easy puzzle. 8 words of 4 to 4 letters in a 10 x 10 grid, with nothing hidden backwards or upwards.
Challenge puzzle. 16 words of 7 to 12 letters in a 15 x 15 grid, with 13 of them hidden backwards or upwards. In the challenge puzzle, hippopotamus (12 letters) and rhinoceros (10) are the longest words, and kangaroo and chimpanzee have double letters that are easy to miscount.

Ways to use it

Ask children to put the ten words into a table: mammal or bird, wild or pet, land or water.
Give each guest an animal card at a party; they find the word first, then act the animal out for the others.
To use your own list, edit the words in the box at the top of the page and press Generate puzzle, or press New layout, same words for a fresh grid. Print it with Show answers ticked to add a separate answer page.

Is a dolphin a fish?: No. A dolphin is a mammal: it breathes air through a blowhole, is warm-blooded and feeds its young milk. It is in the default list with the other aquatic and land mammals.
Which animal in this puzzle is a bird?: The falcon is the only bird. The other nine default words, tiger, elephant, giraffe, dolphin, zebra, panda, koala, otter and rabbit, are mammals.
Can I make a farm animal word search?: Yes. Clear the word box, type words such as cow, pig, sheep, horse, goat and chicken, and press Generate puzzle. You can print it with an answer key.
What is the longest animal in the challenge puzzle?: Hippopotamus, with 12 letters. It needs a grid at least 12 squares wide, and the challenge puzzle uses 15 x 15.