Animals word search word list

76 words, hand-picked to fit a 15×15 grid. Free to use in any puzzle you make, including ones you sell. One thing to know if you build grids by hand: DEER sits inside REINDEER — never put both in the same puzzle, or the shorter one is found twice. The generator keeps them apart automatically.

The button opens the free generator with this theme selected. It draws 15 words per puzzle and can make hundreds of different puzzles from this list without repeating a set — a 100-puzzle book comes to 124 pages at 6 × 9.

The list

• Alligator
• Antelope
• Armadillo
• Baboon
• Badger
• Bear
• Beaver
• Bison
• Buffalo
• Camel
• Cheetah
• Chimpanzee
• Cougar
• Coyote
• Deer
• Dolphin
• Donkey
• Elephant
• Elk
• Ferret
• Flamingo
• Fox
• Gazelle
• Giraffe
• Goat
• Gorilla
• Hamster
• Hedgehog
• Hippo
• Horse
• Hyena
• Iguana
• Jaguar
• Kangaroo
• Koala
• Lemur
• Leopard
• Lion
• Llama
• Lynx
• Meerkat
• Mongoose
• Monkey
• Moose
• Mouse
• Narwhal
• Ocelot
• Octopus
• Orangutan
• Otter
• Panda
• Panther
• Parrot
• Pelican
• Penguin
• Platypus
• Porcupine
• Rabbit
• Raccoon
• Reindeer
• Rhino
• Seal
• Sheep
• Skunk
• Sloth
• Squirrel
• Tiger
• Toucan
• Turtle
• Walrus
• Weasel
• Whale
• Wolf
• Wombat
• Yak
• Zebra

Copy freely. One per line or comma-separated pastes straight into the generator's "Your own list" box if you want to add or remove words.

Crossword clues for every word

The same list with a plain-language clue for each word — written for the crossword type, and free to use in a grid you build yourself. Copy the lines as they are (word — clue) into the generator's own-list box and it makes the crossword for you.

• Alligator — Toothy reptile of the Florida swamps
• Antelope — Swift horned grazer of the African plains
• Armadillo — Mammal in a jointed bony shell
• Baboon — Large monkey with a dog-like face
• Badger — Striped-faced burrower with a bad temper
• Bear — Big furry animal that sleeps through winter
• Beaver — Dam-building rodent with a flat tail
• Bison — Shaggy North American plains grazer
• Buffalo — Water-loving relative of the ox
• Camel — Desert beast with one hump or two
• Cheetah — Fastest land animal
• Chimpanzee — Our closest ape relative
• Cougar — Mountain lion
• Coyote — Wild dog known for its howl
• Deer — Antlered forest grazer
• Dolphin — Playful, clicking sea mammal
• Donkey — Long-eared beast of burden
• Elephant — Largest land animal, with a trunk
• Elk — Large deer with sweeping antlers
• Ferret — Slim, curious pet related to the weasel
• Flamingo — Pink bird that stands on one leg
• Fox — Red, bushy-tailed cunning one
• Gazelle — Graceful antelope that bounds
• Giraffe — Tallest animal, with a spotted neck
• Goat — Bearded climber that eats almost anything
• Gorilla — Largest of the great apes
• Hamster — Pocket-sized pet with cheek pouches
• Hedgehog — Small nocturnal animal covered in spines
• Hippo — River-dwelling heavyweight, for short
• Horse — Animal ridden with a saddle
• Hyena — Scavenger with a laughing cry
• Iguana — Large green lizard
• Jaguar — Spotted big cat of the Americas
• Kangaroo — Bounding marsupial with a pouch
• Koala — Sleepy eucalyptus eater
• Lemur — Big-eyed primate of Madagascar
• Leopard — Spotted cat that drags prey up trees
• Lion — King of the jungle
• Llama — Woolly Andean pack animal
• Lynx — Tufted-eared wild cat
• Meerkat — Upright-standing desert lookout
• Mongoose — Small carnivore that fights snakes
• Monkey — Tree-swinging primate with a tail
• Moose — Largest deer, with broad flat antlers
• Mouse — Tiny rodent a cat chases
• Narwhal — Whale with a single long tusk
• Ocelot — Small spotted wild cat
• Octopus — Eight-armed sea creature
• Orangutan — Red-haired ape of Borneo
• Otter — Playful swimmer that floats on its back
• Panda — Black-and-white bamboo eater
• Panther — Black big cat
• Parrot — Colourful bird that can mimic speech
• Pelican — Sea bird with a pouch under its beak
• Penguin — Flightless bird in a black-and-white suit
• Platypus — Egg-laying mammal with a duck bill
• Porcupine — Rodent bristling with quills
• Rabbit — Long-eared hopper
• Raccoon — Masked night-time raider of bins
• Reindeer — Antlered animal that pulls a famous sleigh
• Rhino — Thick-skinned charger with a nose horn, for short
• Seal — Whiskered swimmer that barks
• Sheep — Woolly flock animal
• Skunk — Black-and-white animal with a foul spray
• Sloth — Slowest tree-dweller
• Squirrel — Bushy-tailed nut hoarder
• Tiger — Striped big cat
• Toucan — Tropical bird with an enormous beak
• Turtle — Reptile that carries its home
• Walrus — Tusked, whiskered Arctic heavyweight
• Weasel — Slim, sly hunter
• Whale — Largest animal in the sea
• Wolf — Pack hunter that howls at the moon
• Wombat — Stocky Australian burrower
• Yak — Long-haired ox of the Himalayas
• Zebra — Striped horse of the savanna

A puzzle made from it

Medium difficulty: across, down and diagonals, nothing backwards. Every word appears exactly once — the generator checks the finished grid rather than assuming. Solutions are in the book, not on this page.