vocabulario B1# los animales salvajes

Esta es una lista sencilla pero completa, que incluye los principales animales salvajes en inglés. Algunos no son muy comunes en español pero sí en países de habla inglesa como mapache o canguro y por eso los he incluido.

No te recomiendo en ningún caso ir más allá y tratar de memorizar una lista interminable de animales en inglés que nunca usas en español.

wild animals

birds

There are many animals that can fly and our skies are full of life. Some flying animals are birds and others are insects or even mammals.

The bat is the only mammal that flies and like owls, they are nocturnal animals. Bats are scary for many people because of Dracula stories. Crows are black and some people also find them frightening. In popular stories, crows or cravens are the messengers of bad news.

Eagles are the predators of the sky and they are also the symbol of the USA. The fly very high and can also reach high speed when they nosedive.

Pigeons like living in cities and there are many of them. Sometimes, they are even a plague. Pigeons or doves are also the symbol of peace. Seagulls live next to the sea because they eat fish. Nowadays, we can see many seagulls living in harbors.

Flamingos are very special birds because they are pink. They like living next to fresh water. Ostriches live in Africa and are the biggest bird although they cannot fly. Many people think that when ostriches are afraid they bury their head in the sand but it is not true.

Many people like butterflies because they are colorful and cute. Sadly, butterflies only live for a few days or weeks.

	eagle		águila
	crow		cuervo
	owl		búho
	pigeon		paloma
	seagull		gaviota
	flamingo		flamenco
	ostrich		avestruz
	bat		murciélago
	butterfly		mariposa

sea animals

There are many animals which live in the sea or underwater. After all, «there’s plenty of fish in the sea».

Fish are the most common and there are thousands of different species. Many people like diving to enjoy marine life. The best places to dive or do scuba diving are the coral reefs.

Many sea creatures don’t have a skeleton and look very different to other animals like jellyfish, squids and octopuses. Jellyfish are very important to the sea because they clean it but they can also be very dangerous for swimmers.

Octopuses have eight legs or tentacles and range in size from very small to enormous. Squids can also be very big and they are known for releasing ink when they feel threatened.

The largest animal alive is the whale but they are very peaceful animals. They eat a lot of krill every day. Whale watching is a very popular activity when you are on holidays by the sea.

Dolphins are very popular and they are usually listed as many children’s favorite animal. They are also very intelligent and skillful.

Sharks are the predators of the sea and many people are scared of being attacked by a shark when they are swimming in the sea, especially in places like South Africa and Australia.

Sharks usually eat seals and sea lions, which are mammals and although they can live under the sea, they need to go outside to breath. Seals can also be very funny and they are very popular in aquatic park shows around the world.

Penguins are birds which don’t fly and live half their lives underwater. They are so special! They only live in the South Pole.

	fish		pez
	jellyfish		medusa
	octopus		pulpo
	squid		calamar
	shark		tiburón
	whale		ballena
	dolphin		delfín
	seal		foca
	penguin		pingüino

insects

Insects or bugs are very small animals that live everywhere. There are thousands of species of insects but most people don’t like any of them because they can be dangerous or painful for humans and other animals when they sting or bite.

The ant is the most common insect and they live together in huge colonies with thousands of ants in each. They are very hardworking and their social structure is very complex, almost human-like.

Spiders are not insects although they look very similar. Some spiders are venomous and can be lethal. They are usually the least liked animals.

Flies and mosquitos can be very annoying. Flies are not lethal but they can be very numerous in the summer, especially in hot climates. Only female mosquitoes sting and take blood. They do it because they need it to make their eggs.

Wasps and bees can be easily confused because they look very similar although they are very different animals. Wasps are yellow and black. Bees are orange and black and they are the ones to produce delicious honey.    

Worms and caterpillars are very similar and they are not considered insects. They don’t have feet so they crawl on their bodies. They can live underground, underwater or on trees.

	spider		araña
	fly		mosca
	mosquito		mosquito
	bee		abeja
	wasp		avispa
	ant		hormiga
	worm		gusano
	caterpillar		oruga

reptiles and amphibians

Reptiles are cold-blooded animals which have scales instead of skin or fur. They are hardly ever among people’s favorite animals, perhaps because some of them can be dangerous for human beings, like snakes.

Crocodiles are the largest reptiles and they live in tropical rivers all around the world. Some people think they are scary but they were loved in Ancient Egypt.

Lizards are very common everywhere in the world and they can be of neutral colors like in Europe but they can also be colorful like in South America.

Amphibians are animals that live no earth but also underwater, like frogs. Only a few people have amphibians as pets but the most popular one is turtles. They say that turtles are slow and can live man years.

	turtle		tortuga
	frog		rana
	crocodile		cocodrilo
	snake		serpiente
	lizard		lagarto

forest animals

We can find many animals living in forests all over the world. Some are small like rats and squirrels. Raccoons only live in North America but everybody knows about them because they usually appear in films and TV shows.

Boars are like pigs but with fangs and can be very dangerous. They are also known as wild pigs.

Wolves and foxes are forest predators. They are quite similar but foxes are smaller. Wolves live in packs and they howl to the moon at night.

Deer are very noble animals and they look very beautiful too. Male deer fight with their horns during the mating season.

Bears are the biggest animals in the forest and they live all around the world. Most species of bears spend the winter sleeping in a cave, what is known as hibernate.

	rat		rata
	squirrel		ardilla
	raccoon		mapache
	boar		jabalí
	wolf		lobo
	fox		zorro
	bear		oso
	deer		ciervo

big mammals

There are many wild animals that have Africa as their home. Since Africa is a huge continent, there are animals in every climate. Camels live in the desert and can survive with very little water.

On the other hand, hippos love water and they spend most of the day having a bath. That’s why they live in tropical Africa, where it rains very often.

Most African animals live in the savannah, like rhinos, elephants and lions. Also hyenas and cheetahs. Lions, hyenas and cheetahs are predators and they hunt herbivores for food. Only female lions hunt while male lions protect their territory.

Lions and hyenas usually fight for the same territory and they don’t like each other very much. Hyenas are smaller than lions and they are known for their peculiar laugh. The cheetah is the fastest animal and they can reach up to 120 kph during short runs.

Giraffes are very popular animals because of their long, long neck. However long their neck is, they have just seven neck bones as most mammals do.

Zebras like living in herds. Their black and white stripped fur is very characteristic and very famous. Buffaloes live in herds too. They migrate every year, covering thousands of kilometers. Other breeds of buffaloes live in North America and Asia.

The elephant is the biggest land animal. They are very intelligent and they have very good memory, too. There are also elephants in Asia, but they are smaller. Elephants are so heavy they cannot jump.

Tigers also live in Asia, especially in India. Their fur is stripped and very beautiful. Along lion, tigers are considered the big felines of the animal kingdom.

Kangaroos live neither in Africa nor in Asia. They are indigenous to Australia. They can jump very high. Male kangaroos box each other to compete for the right to reproduce.

	hippo		hipopótamo
	rhino		rinoceronte
	camel		camello
	zebra		cebra
	cheetah		guepardo
	giraffe		jirafa
	elephant		elefante
	lion		león
	hyena		hiena
	buffalo		búfalo
	tiger		tigre
	kangaroo		canguro