Big cats, whales, bats and primates — photo, status and three facts a spin.
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VulnerablePhoto: GinaFranchi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Panthera leo
The lion is a big cat that roams the grasslands of Africa and the forests of India. Known for its powerful build and striking mane, the lion is a symbol of strength and courage in the wild.
This random mammal generator covers the group most people picture when they hear the word "animal" — big cats, bears, primates, whales, bats, rodents and hoofed animals — with a photograph, scientific name, conservation status and three facts for each.
Mammals are a comparatively small group, around sixty-five hundred species against eleven thousand birds and far more fish, but they are the best known, and the pool here leans towards species people can recognise.
Conservation status is worth watching as you spin: mammals include a high share of threatened species, and the Red List badge on each card shows where that animal stands.
A sample of the 341 mammals in this generator. Press the button above for a random one.
Lion
Panthera leo
Tiger
Panthera tigris
Wolf
Canis lupus
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Wild boar
Sus scrofa
Polar bear
Ursus maritimus
Red fox
Vulpes vulpes
Hippo
Hippopotamus amphibius
Brown bear
Ursus arctos
Snow leopard
Panthera uncia
Water buffalo
Bubalus bubalis
Jaguar
Panthera onca
Moose
Alces alces
Koala
Phascolarctos cinereus
Cougar
Puma concolor
European badger
Meles meles
Least weasel
Mustela nivalis
House mouse
Mus musculus
Walrus
Odobenus rosmarus
Platypus
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Orca
Orcinus orca
Eurasian lynx
Lynx lynx
Red panda
Ailurus fulgens
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
I put this on the board every Monday and the class has to write six sentences about whatever animal comes up. The photo does most of the work — they argue about it before I have finished reading the name out.
Maya Ellison
Year 4 teacher
I use the ocean filter to stock a coastline in about thirty seconds. Getting the conservation status and the habitat alongside the name means I can describe the thing properly instead of inventing details.
Daniel Weiss
Tabletop game master
Daily drawing prompts. Most animal randomisers just give you a word, which is useless when you need reference — here I get a photograph I can actually work from, and it keeps handing me species I would never have picked.
Priya Raman
Illustrator
The bird generator is my flashcard deck now. I cover the name, look at the photo and try to call it before scrolling. Two hundred-odd species is enough that it stays hard.
Tomas Lindqvist
Birder
My six-year-old asks for "one more animal" about forty times a night. The facts are short enough that she remembers them and repeats them at dinner, which was not something I expected from a random button.
Elise Moreau
Parent