Celebrate World Wildlife Day with a word search of animals from across the globe.

While your kids (or students) look for each animal name, you can tell them fun facts about each one:
Mongoose
- A mongoose can run up to 20 miles per hour.
- Ancient Egyptians considered the mongoose a sacred animal.
- Many species of mongoose are becoming extinct due to habitat loss.
- There are over 30 species of mongoose in the world.
Learn more about the mongoose here.
Elephant
- Elephants are the worlds largest animal.
- There are three species of elephant: African Savanna (Bush), African Forest and Asian.
- An elephants trunk has around 150,000 muscle units.
- 90% of the African Elephant population is gone. The Asian Elephant population is also under threat.
Learn more about elephants here.
Wolf
- Wolf partners usually late for life
- Wolf pups are born blind and deaf
- Wolves are important in keeping the ecosystem balanced
- Wolves can move as fast as 36 to 38 miles per hour over when capturing prey
Learn more about wolves here.
Ibis
- The Australian white ibis is nicknamed “tip turkey” and “bin chicken” thanks to its increasing presence in the urban environment and its habit of rummaging in garbage
- Water pollution, with pesticides, unregulated hunting, and habitat destruction are the major threats for ibises.
- There are 28 species of ibis in the world
- The ibis is an omnivore
Learn more about the ibis here.
Iguana
- There are 35 known species of iguanas.
- Iguanas have 80-120 teeth at any given time.
- Iguanas are one of the most endangered animals in the world due to habitat loss and predators.
- The green iguana is capable of surviving a 40 ft fall!
Learn more about iguanas here.
Peacock
- Chicks have all of their feathers when they hatch and are capable of flight roughly one week after that!
- The male is a peacock and the female is a peahen, both are peafowl.
- The green peacock is classified as an endangered species. The Congo peafowl is listed as vulnerable. Over hunting and destruction of habitat have contributed to their declining numbers.
- There are three species of peacock, which are part of the pheasant family.
Learn more about the peafowl here.
Lion
- Two subspecies of lions are African and Asiatic.
- A lion’s mane gets darker as it grows older.
- Lions will hunt during storms so their prey cannot hear them.
- There are fewer lions in the wild than elephants.
Learn more about lions here.
Buffalo
- Water buffalo are indigenous to South Asia and Cape buffalo are found in Africa.
- Buffalo are often confused with bison, which are found in North America and parts of Europe.
- The record horn length of a water Buffalo is just under 6.6 feet!
Learn more about the buffalo here.
Zebra
- There are three species of zebra: the Grévy’s zebra, the plains zebra, and the mountain zebra
- The largest threats to zebras are human activities, such as hunting and habitat loss.
- Zebras can communicate with each other through ear positions and facial expressions.
- A male zebra is called a stallion.
Learn more about the zebra here.
Polar Bear
- Polar bears are marine mammals.
- The skin of a polar bear is black.
- Polar bears evolved from brown bears as recently as 150,000 years ago.
- A polar bear can swim up to 6mph.
Learn more about polar bears here.
Shark
- Scientists believe scientists sharks first appeared in the ocean around 455 million years ago.
- Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean.
- Sharks can sense electromagnetic fields and temperature shifts in the ocean.
- Shark skin feels like sandpaper.
Learn more about sharks here.
Otter
- There are 13 species of otter.
- Otters are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.
- A male sea otter can weigh up to 90 lbs.
- California sea otters were hunted to near extinction a century ago because of their fur.
Learn more about otters here.
Which wildlife animal fact surprised you the most? Which animal is your favorite?
A thing about my printables:
This word search fits an 8.5×11 piece of paper. The file contains the word search and its key. If you’d like to use this for yourself, feel free to download it and print a few out. But please….
- This printable is for PERSONAL USE ONLY
- You MAY NOT resell, redistribute, or claim the original as your own
- If you post this on the internet, please give credit to this blog, Muddy Boots and Diamonds, and link back to this specific post so others can obtain the resource.
- I’d love to see how you incorporated this word search into your playtime or lesson plans! Feel free to tag me (Twitter: @bootsndiamonds or IG: @muddybootsndiamonds) when sharing your photos!
Click here to download your own copy of the World Wildlife Day Word Search.








If you enjoyed this World Wildlife Day word search, please check out my other free printables here!