Wildlife Nomads · Play · Daily Animal
Guess the Animal Game: A New Mystery Animal Every Day
One mystery animal a day and six guesses to find it. Each guess tells you how far away it lives and which way to go. Every miss unlocks a new clue.
By Cesar Medina, conservation biologist · 116 real animals from my world animal map
How to play the Guess the Animal game
Type any animal and pick it from the list. The game tells you how many kilometres its home is from the mystery animal’s home, with an arrow pointing the right way. Green ticks show when you share its group or its region.
You never start from zero: you see its group, its region and a blurry photo before your first guess. Not sure? Tap the guess box to browse every animal in that group. Miss, and a new clue unlocks. Find the animal in six guesses or fewer to keep your streak alive. Then share your score with friends and family, without spoiling the answer.
- 🦁From the startIts group, its region on the map and a very blurry photo.
- 💡Wild factAfter guess 1, a real fact with the name hidden.
- 🔤Its nameAfter guess 2, the first letter of each word and the length.
- 📍CountryAfter guess 3, the country where it lives.
- 🔡More lettersAfter guess 4, every other letter of its name.
- 👀Last chanceEach miss sharpens the photo. By guess 6 it is almost clear.
Test your animal knowledge
The mystery animals come from every corner of the animal kingdom: mammals, birds, reptiles, ocean giants and a few bugs. Some are easy, like the lion or the giant panda. Others are rare and a little obscure, so you’ll need quick thinking and every clue.
The answers range in conservation status, from Least Concern bobcats and kookaburras to the Critically Endangered vaquita. When you win, read its article to learn more about its habitat, diet and the threats it faces.
Love animal quizzes? Try my Name This Animal quiz, where you identify animals from close-up photos, or browse all my animal trivia quizzes.
Why I made a daily animal game
I wanted a small, fun reason to come back and learn one new animal every day. Each mystery animal is pinned to a real place on my world animal map, so every round also trains your geography.
When the round ends, you get a wild fact and a link to the full article. Five minutes a day adds up to more than a hundred animals by the end of the cycle.
All 116 animals in the game
Any of these could be tomorrow’s mystery animal. Tap one to learn interesting facts about it before you play.
Mammals 62
African forest elephantGabon
African savanna elephantBotswana
African wild dogZimbabwe
Amur leopardRussia
Andean bearPeru
Arabian leopardSaudi Arabia
Asian elephantIndia
Baird's tapirCosta Rica
Bengal tigerIndia
Black rhinoNamibia
Black-footed catSouth Africa
Black-footed ferretUSA
BobcatFlorida, USA
BonoboDR Congo
Bornean orangutanIndonesia
CheetahNamibia
ChimpanzeeUganda
Chinese pangolinChina
Clouded leopardThailand
Cotton-top tamarinColombia
CougarUSA
Crowned sifakaMadagascar
Ethiopian wolfEthiopia
Eurasian lynxSweden
Geoffroy's catArgentina
Giant anteaterBrazil
Giant otterPeru
Giant pandaChina
Golden lion tamarinBrazil
Greater bilbyAustralia
HippopotamusTanzania
HirolaKenya
JaguarBelize, Brazil
Javan leopardIndonesia
Javan rhinoIndonesia
KoalaAustralia
LionKenya
Lumholtz's tree-kangarooAustralia
Malayan tapirMalaysia
MandrillCameroon
Masai giraffeTanzania
Mountain gorillaRwanda
Mountain tapirEcuador
NumbatAustralia
OkapiDR Congo
Pallas's catMongolia
Persian leopardIran
Philippine pangolinPhilippines
PlatypusAustralia
Polar bearNorway
Proboscis monkeyMalaysia
Red kangarooAustralia
Red pandaNepal
Red wolfUSA
SiamangMalaysia
Siberian tigerRussia
Snow leopardNepal
Southern white rhinoSouth Africa
Sumatran orangutanIndonesia
Sumatran tigerIndonesia
Tasmanian devilAustralia
Western lowland gorillaGabon
Birds 15
African grey parrotGhana
African penguinSouth Africa
Bald eagleUSA
Bar-tailed godwitAustralia
California condorCalifornia, USA
Cape vultureSouth Africa
Gouldian finchAustralia
Harpy eaglePanama
Hyacinth macawBrazil
KakapoNew Zealand
Laughing kookaburraAustralia
North Island brown kiwiNew Zealand
Resplendent quetzalCosta Rica
Southern cassowaryAustralia
Whooping craneUSA
Reptiles and amphibians 11
Alligator snapping turtleUSA
AxolotlMexico
Geometric tortoiseSouth Africa
GharialIndia
Golden poison frogColombia
King cobraIndia
Komodo dragonIndonesia
Mexican beaded lizardMexico
Orinoco crocodileVenezuela
Saltwater crocodileAustralia
TuataraNew Zealand
Ocean animals 24
Amazon river dolphinBrazil
Australian box jellyfishAustralia
Basking sharkUnited Kingdom
BelugaCanada
Blue whaleSri Lanka
Blue-ringed octopusAustralia
Bowhead whaleCanada
DugongAustralia
Fin whaleFrance
Gray whaleMexico
Great hammerhead sharkEcuador
Great white sharkSouth Africa
Green sea turtleEgypt, Ecuador
Greenland sharkGreenland
Humpback whaleAustralia
NarwhalGreenland
New Zealand sea lionNew Zealand
OrcaIceland, Antarctica
Reef stonefishEgypt
Southern right whaleArgentina
Sperm whalePortugal
VaquitaMexico
Whale sharkAustralia, Mexico
Yangtze finless porpoiseChina
Insects and spiders 4
Brown recluse spiderUSA
Chilean recluse spiderChile
Monarch butterflyMexico
Sydney funnel-web spiderAustralia
More wild games and tools
Frequently asked questions
How does the daily animal game work?
Every day there is one mystery animal. You have six guesses. Each guess shows how far its home is from the mystery animal’s home, the direction to go and whether it belongs to the same group. Each wrong guess unlocks a new clue.
When does a new animal appear?
A new mystery animal appears every day at midnight, your local time. Everyone who plays on the same day gets the same animal.
Which animals can be the answer?
Any of the 116 animals on this page. They come from my world animal map, so each one is pinned to a real place where it lives.
Can I play more than once a day?
Yes. After today’s game, tap “Play a bonus round” for a random animal. Bonus rounds don’t change your streak.
Is the guess the animal game good for kids?
Yes. The clues are written for kids and adults alike, and the arrows teach compass directions. Younger players can team up with a parent and guess together.
Is the game good for classrooms?
Yes. It takes about five minutes and practises map reading, compass directions and animal groups. It works well as a short daily warm-up.
References
IUCN. (2026). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://www.iucnredlist.org
Natural Earth. (n.d.). Land, 1:110m [Data set]. https://www.naturalearthdata.com




