334 Animal Riddles With Answers
Animal riddles are the reliable crowd-pleaser, especially with children, because the answer is always something a child can picture and often something they can imitate.
The collection runs from very easy ones about cats and dogs to harder riddles that depend on knowing something specific about how an animal lives. Every one has its answer here.
They pair well with a nature topic in a classroom: solve the riddle, then ask why that fact about the animal is true.
If you're stealing honey, be prepared to receive vengeance in this form.
Disturbing a beehive to steal honey risks getting stung by defensive bees.
What is it that has a power socket on one end and a corkscrew on the other?
A pig's snout, with its two round nostrils, resembles an electrical socket, while its curly tail looks like a corkscrew.
Small edible creature from the sea that is often served at restaurants.
Shrimp are small, popular seafood commonly served as a restaurant appetizer or entree.
His eyes were raging, that scraggly beast. His lips were bursting, with rows of angry teeth. Upon his back a razor was found. It was a fearsome battle we fought, my life – or his, one would be bought. And when we were through, and death chilled the air, we cut out his heart, and ate it with flair.
A wild boar has fierce eyes, sharp tusks bared like angry teeth, and a bristly "razor"-like ridge along its back, and after being hunted down in a dangerous fight, its meat -- including the heart -- was traditionally eaten as a trophy of the kill.
What has a horn but does not work?
A rhinoceros has a horn on its snout, but unlike a car horn, it doesn't "work" as a tool, playing on the double meaning of "horn."
Turkey day. What am I?
'Turkey day' is a common nickname for Thanksgiving, when roast turkey is the traditional main dish.
I am not very commonly found! Only in some rainforest! I have an odd number of toes! I'm very lazy and hang upside down! What am I?
The sloth lives almost exclusively in rainforests, has an unusually odd number of toes on some species, and famously hangs upside down while moving as little as possible.
What build its house with earthen string and ensnares its prey with a biting sting?
A spider spins earth-toned silk into its web and delivers a venomous bite to subdue trapped prey.
John Lennon sang about being this toothy creature.
John Lennon sang I Am the Walrus with The Beatles, referencing the tusked marine mammal.
A spent round or a slimy critter.
"Slug" is both a term for a spent bullet and the name of the slimy, shell-less garden mollusk.
What fish came first?
This is a play on words: "gold" suggests first place, as in a gold medal, making the "goldfish" the punny answer for the fish that "came first."
I am known for my natural tuxedo and marching. What am I?
A penguin's black-and-white plumage looks like a tuxedo, and colonies famously waddle in single-file marches.
What king can you make if you take the head of a lamb, the middle of a pig, the hind of a buffalo, and the tail of a dragon?
The mismatched animal parts are a whimsical way of describing a composite creature, and the source identifies the resulting "king of beasts" as a lion.
My first is in window but not in pane. My second's in road but not in lane. My third is in oval but not in round. My fourth is in hearing but not in sound. My whole is known as a sign of peace. And from noah's ark won quick release.
This charade spells D-O-V-E: D (window, not pane), O (road, not lane), V (oval, not round), E (hearing, not sound) -- a dove is the classic symbol of peace, famously released from Noah's Ark.
In a tree you'll find me moving slow as can be. My name is a sin but from them I am free. What am I?
A sloth is famous for moving painfully slowly through the trees, and though it shares its name with the sin of laziness, the animal itself is simply built that way, not morally guilty of anything.
It's small but larger than a bee, and agile as a flea. It humms but does not buzz, and it's not covered with fuzz. It is a small collector, of juicy flower nectar.
A hummingbird is bigger than a bee but still tiny and darts around nimbly, its rapid wingbeats make a humming (not buzzing) sound, it's feathered rather than fuzzy, and it feeds on flower nectar.
In the morning I sing on feathered wing. I soar through the air without a care. What am I?
A songbird greets the morning with its call and effortlessly takes flight on feathered wings.
It is a big and bulky mammal, and has a trunk just like a tree. Will store water in its nose, which is long and like a hose.
An elephant's trunk works like a hose, able to draw up and store water before it sprays it, giving this massive mammal its signature feature.
Gown but not a priest; crown but not a king.
A rooster's red comb resembles a crown and its feathers can look like a flowing gown, even though it is neither royalty nor clergy.
A prickly house a little host contains; the pointed weapons keep back from pains, so he, unarmed, safe in his fort remains.
A hedgehog's body bristles with sharp spines that act as its "weapons," keeping predators at bay so the small, otherwise defenseless animal stays safe curled inside them.
What bird is always unhappy?
The word "blue" is slang for sad, making the bluebird the punny answer for a perpetually "unhappy" bird.
Agile on my feet, I drive dogs mad. I flick my tail when I'm angry and hum when I'm glad. What am I?
A cat's quick footwork, tail-flicking when annoyed, and purring when content also make it a favorite target for chasing dogs.
What scientists might call your pooch.
Canine is the scientific term for dogs, the family that includes your pet pooch.
The fans of the pied piper's smooth sound who are feared by elephants.
In the legend of the Pied Piper, his magical pipe music lured away the town's mice, and elephants are famously said to be afraid of mice.
I am partly blind but can still see. I have legs but only use them for sleeping. What am I?
Bats have poor eyesight but navigate using echolocation ('partly blind but can still see'), and they use their legs only to hang upside down while sleeping.
I am a type of animal that hang out in the mist. What am I?
The clue nods to Gorillas in the Mist, the famous account of mountain gorillas living in misty highland forests.
Even if my life is taken eight still remain.
A cat is said to have nine lives, so losing one to death still leaves eight remaining.
I wear a red robe, with staff in hand and a stone in my throat. Cut me and I weep red tears. What am I?
A cherry's shiny red skin resembles a robe, its stem a tiny staff, and its pit ('stone') sits lodged in its throat-like center; slicing it releases red 'tears' of juice.
You're gonna need a bigger boat to go after one of these toothy hunters.
"You're gonna need a bigger boat" is the famous line from Jaws, referencing sharks as toothy ocean hunters.
They are producers of pies and burgers and are great for tipping.
Cows provide the beef used in burgers and meat pies, and cattle can literally be "tipped" over while sleeping standing up, a reference to cow tipping.
It's like a forest without trees, like a jail you want to visit. Though the inmates did no wrong. You may freely walk along, they're put there so you can see them, just as long as you don't feed them.
A zoo has no trees like a real forest yet houses wild animals, and it functions like a "jail" people willingly visit, with signs asking visitors not to feed the animals.
I have legs but seldom walk; I backbite many but never talk; I seek places that can hide me because those that feed me cannot abide me.
A flea has legs but hops rather than walks, secretly bites ('backbites') its many hosts, and hides wherever it can since the animals it feeds on can't stand having it around.
I am a busy worker who is a water mammal. What am I?
A beaver constantly gnaws and builds, famously constructing dams, making it one of nature's hardest workers among water-dwelling mammals.
Looks like a hippo crossed with a unicorn.
A rhinoceros has a hippo's bulky, thick-skinned body along with a single horn like a unicorn.
A tasty reward given to well behaved dogs and kids.
Treat is the common word for a small reward given for good behavior, whether to a dog or a child.
I have three heads. Cut off one, I become stronger. Cut off two, I become ten. What am I?
'FOX' loses its head letter to become 'OX' (a stronger animal), and losing another head letter leaves just 'X,' the Roman numeral for ten.
I have no bones and no legs, but if you keep me warm, I will soon walk away. What am I?
A fertilized egg kept warm (incubated) eventually hatches into a chick, which can then walk away on its own.
A huge mythical animal said to resemble a whale.
The leviathan is a legendary sea monster from ancient texts often depicted as an enormous whale-like beast.
A celebrity under the sea.
A starfish carries star right in its name, making it the ocean's built-in celebrity.
A house has 4 walls. All of the walls are facing south, and a bear is circling the house. What color is the bear?
A house with all four walls facing south can only be located at the North Pole, where the only bears are white polar bears.
Most people love to use me. You make me glide through the air. Even your dog loves me. What am I?
A frisbee is a disc people throw to glide through the air, a favorite game to play with dogs too.
I sleep by day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to aid my flight. What am I?
A bat is a nocturnal flying mammal, unlike birds, it has wings of skin rather than feathers.
Dark, feathery, and popular in Baltimore and fantasy books.
Ravens are dark black birds, the namesake of Baltimore's NFL team and Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem, plus common fantasy-novel imagery.
The alphabet goes from A to Z. What goes from Z to A?
The word 'zebra' itself starts with Z and ends with A -- going from Z to A, unlike the alphabet which goes A to Z.
Though desert men once called me God, today men call me mad. For I wag my tail when I am angry. And growl when I am glad.
Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats as gods, and unlike dogs, cats famously wag their tails when annoyed and purr or growl in ways that seem reversed from typical pet behavior.
When I'm metal or wood, I help you get home. When I'm flesh and I'm blood. In the darkness I roam.
A baseball 'bat' (metal or wood) helps a batter get to home base, while a living bat (flesh and blood) is a nocturnal flying mammal that roams in darkness.
Those with eyes bigger than their stomach will definitely leave the restaurant with one of them. It is named after a house pet as well.
Ordering more food than you can finish means leaving with a 'doggy bag' of leftovers, a container named after dogs.
He calls in the morning, the day to renew, if his owner gets hungry, he'll be turned to stew. What is he?
A rooster crows at dawn to greet the new day, but if food runs short, the farmer might end up cooking him for dinner.
Long slim and slender. Dark as homemade thunder. Keen eyes and peaked nose. Scares the Devil wherever it goes.
A snake is long, slender, and dark, with a pointed head and sharp gaze, and is traditionally seen as an unsettling, ominous creature.
Known as a great deceiver, it is evil's incarnation, once used for veneration, the root of all procreation. All you can do is shiver, when it begins to slither.
The snake is cast here as a deceptive, evil figure from mythology (the Garden of Eden serpent) yet also an ancient symbol of fertility and worship elsewhere - and its slither alone can send shivers down your spine.
I have two eyes in the front and a lot of eyes on my tail. What am I?
A peacock displays a spectacular fan of 'eye'-patterned feathers on its tail, in addition to its two real eyes.
Cute hares that hop and deliver eggs at Easter are called by this nickname.
The Easter Bunny is the affectionate nickname for the egg-delivering rabbit of Easter tradition.
What grows up while growing down?
A young goose matures ('grows up') while also growing its soft 'down' feathers -- a play on the two meanings of 'down.'
What bird can lift the heaviest weight?
This is a pun: a 'crane' is both a bird and the heavy construction machine used to lift enormous weights.
My first master has four legs, my second master has two. My first I serve in life, my second I serve in death. Tough I am, yet soft beside. Against ladies cheeks I often reside.
Fur serves the four-legged animal while it's alive and serves its two-legged human owner after the animal's death, worn as a soft coat or collar brushing against a lady's cheek.
I am a sound made by felines when petted. What am I?
Cats produce a low, rumbling purr specifically when they're relaxed and being petted.
I can wake you up in the morning but I require no electricity or winding. What am I?
A rooster crows at dawn to wake everyone up, needing no batteries or winding, unlike a mechanical alarm clock.
It's black and every time it speaks it says its name.
A crow is black, and its call ('caw') sounds like it's saying its own name.
I am an insect, half of my name is another insect. I am similar to the name of a famous band. What am I?
A beetle is an insect whose name contains 'bee' (another insect) and closely resembles the name of the famous band The Beatles.
It can be in a hat, or out of the bag. If you see it you'll be smitten, 'cause it's fluffy like a mitten.
This plays on 'The Cat in the Hat' and the idiom 'let the cat out of the bag,' and cats are famously soft and fluffy.
I have a tail. I can fly. I'm covered in colorful feathers. I can whistle and I can talk.
Parrots have tails, can fly, display colorful feathers, and are famous for mimicking whistles and human speech.
They swim around in schools or pods and they are related to whales.
Dolphins travel in groups called pods or schools and belong to the same order of marine mammals as whales.
My first is twice in apple but not once in tart. My second is in liver but not in heart. My third is in giant and also in ghost. Whole I'm best when I am toast.
P appears twice in "apple" but not in "tart"; I appears in "liver" but not "heart"; G appears in both "giant" and "ghost"; together they spell PIG, whose meat (bacon) is a classic toast topping.
It is worldwide, but once only a spider could weave one.
The "World Wide Web" shares its name with a spider's web, which only spiders could once weave before the internet existed.
What has no arms, hands, or legs but moves the earth?
Earthworms have no limbs at all, yet by burrowing they constantly turn over and aerate the soil, effectively "moving the earth."
Stolen from a cow, I'm placed in a vat. My flavor gets stronger the longer I've sat. What am I?
Cheese is made from milk taken from a cow, aged in a vat, and its flavor intensifies the longer it's left to mature.
To you, rude would I never be, though I flag my tongue for all to see.
A panting dog hangs its tongue out constantly, which would be rude in a person but is completely normal, friendly behavior for a dog.
A nutcracker up in a tree.
A squirrel uses its strong teeth to crack open nuts while perched in tree branches.
According to kids' entertainment, these reptiles are gifted at martial arts and surfer-dude slang.
This references the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, martial-arts fighting turtles known for surfer-style catchphrases like "cowabunga."
A colourful bird that talks.
Parrots are famous for their vivid, colorful feathers and their ability to mimic human speech.
What wears a coat in the winter and pants in the summer?
A dog's fur coat is thickest in winter, and in summer it 'pants' (breathes heavily) to cool off -- a play on the word 'pants'.
I am gold and can be black and white, I'm a symbol for a nation, when freedom took flight. What am I?
The eagle is the national symbol of the United States (associated with freedom), and its coloring includes golden-brown feathers along with black and white markings; describing it as simply "gold" is a slight stretch.
Hard iron on horse. Cow's hide on man.
A horseshoe is iron fitted to a horse's hoof, while a leather shoe made from cowhide covers a person's foot.
He's big, old and fluffy, and looking rather scruffy. He always needs a shave. It's best to just avoid him, and leave him in his cave.
An old, shaggy bear with an unkempt coat that never gets 'shaved' is best left alone in its den - approaching one is a risk few would take.
I am a food made from the pressed curds of milk. I come in American, swiss, sharp and many other flavors. What am I?
Cheese is made by pressing milk curds and comes in many varieties, including American, Swiss, and sharp cheddar.
In all the world, none can compare, to this tiny weaver, his deadly cloth so silky and fair.
A spider is an unmatched weaver, spinning fine silk into a web that is deadly for whatever gets caught in it.
What is the only animal without the ability to fly but still does?
Humans have no natural wings, yet through airplanes, people are the only species that manages to fly anyway.
In the fields a frightful thing. Watch it and you will find, it has a pitchfork in the front, and a broom back behind.
A bull's sharp horns look like a pitchfork up front, while its tufted tail sweeps like a broom behind.
My treasures are golden and guarded by thousands amongst a maze no man can enter. What am I?
A beehive stores golden honey, is defended by thousands of bees, and its honeycomb structure forms a maze too small for a person to enter.
It's voice is like a burp, will swallow with a slurp, you'll never hear it chirp. Kiss it with a wince, might turn into a prince.
A frog croaks with a burp-like sound, catches food with a quick slurp of its tongue, and stars in the fairy tale where kissing one can supposedly turn it into a prince.
It is probably the most laid-back member of the animal kingdom.
The sloth is famous for being extremely slow-moving and relaxed, making it the poster child for "laid-back."
I carry my home on my back. I am not rich, but I leave silver in my track. What am I?
A snail carries its shell (its home) on its back and leaves a shimmering, silvery slime trail wherever it crawls.
What creature starts yellow inside and white outside, then becomes its first five before becoming the whole?
It starts as an egg (yellow yolk inside, white surrounding it), hatches into a "chick" (the first five letters of "chicken"), and finally grows into a full chicken.
It is a cat but not a kitty, you'll never catch on in a city. Its fangs are huge and so its claws, a death machine with paws and jaws. In its own way a royal fellow, striped with black and clothed in yellow.
A tiger is a wild, giant cat with massive fangs and claws, its black-striped, tawny-yellow coat marking it as one of nature's most formidable predators.
Face with a tree, skin like the sea. A great beast I am. Yet vermin frightens me.
An elephant's trunk looks like a tree, its wrinkled hide resembles rippling water, and despite its size it is famously said to fear tiny mice.
It has plenty of backbone but doesn't have a leg. It peels like an orange but it comes from an egg.
A snake has a long spine but no legs, sheds its skin like peeling fruit, and hatches from an egg.
While I did live, I food did give, which many one did daily eat. Now being dead, you see they tread me under feet about the street.
A cow provides milk while alive, and after death its hide is tanned into leather that becomes shoes -- literally tread underfoot on the street.
With no hammer or any kind of tool I build my house so quickly. What am I?
A spider spins its web -- its "house" -- using only silk from its own body, with no tools, and can do it remarkably fast.
I am a activity dogs are very good at when a ball is thrown. What am I?
Chasing down and retrieving a thrown ball is exactly the game called fetch.
I hop around and deliver eggs at Easter. What am I?
The Easter Bunny is the folklore character depicted hopping around hiding and delivering decorated eggs at Easter.
My parents are singers, and while my father has red hair I am pale and completely bald.
The singing parents are a rooster with a red comb and a hen, and their egg is smooth, pale, and bald compared to a feathered chick.
A reaction to being spooked that takes its name from waterfowl.
"Goosebumps" gets its name from the small bumps on a plucked goose's skin, which resemble the skin's reaction to fear or cold.
Holding two swords and eight spears. Dressed in a cow-leather tunic. He peeks through a hole in the door.
A crab's two large claws are the 'swords,' its eight legs the 'spears,' and its tough shell the 'leather tunic,' while its stalked eyes 'peek' out from its burrow.
It sat upon a willow tree, and sang softly unto me. Easing my pain and sorrow with its song. I wished to fly, but tarried long. And in my suffering, the willow was like a cool clear spring. What was it that helped me so? To spend my time in my woe.
A bird perched in the willow tree sang a soothing song that comforted the narrator through their grief, offering companionship in a lonely, sorrowful time.
He is not the skinniest of felines.
"Fat cat" both literally describes a heavyset feline and slangily describes a wealthy businessperson -- a pun on "skinniest."
A horrid monster hides from the day, with many legs and many eyes. With silver chains it catches prey. And eats it all before it dies. Yet in every cottage does it stay. And every castle beneath the sky.
A spider hides in dark corners, has eight legs and multiple eyes, spins silvery silk webs to trap prey, and can be found in humble cottages and grand castles alike.
What has armor but is not a knight, snaps but is not a twig, and is always at home even on the move?
A turtle's hard shell is its armor, its jaws can snap shut, and it always carries its home shell wherever it travels.
Golden treasure I contain, guarded by hundreds and thousands. Stored in a labyrinth where no man walks, yet men come often to seize my gold. By smoke I am overcome and robbed, then left to build my treasure anew.
A beehive hides its golden honey in a maze-like comb no human built, guarded by thousands of bees, and beekeepers use smoke to subdue the colony before harvesting its treasure.
Stealthy as a shadow in the dead of night, cunning but affectionate if given a bite. Never owned but often loved. At my sport considered cruel, but that's because you never know me at all.
Cats prowl silently at night, can be loving despite their independent streak, and though famously never truly "owned" by humans, they're beloved companions -- their hunting instincts just get an unfair reputation for cruelty.
What is that which, while it lives, constantly changes its habit, that is buried before it is dead, and whose tomb is valued wherever it is found?
A silkworm constantly changes form through metamorphosis, wraps itself alive inside a cocoon (its 'tomb'), and that cocoon's silk is prized wherever it is found.
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