35 Animals That Live in Forests (Explained with Pictures)

Animals that live in forests are as follows:

• Rabbits
• Foxes
• Antelope
• Bengal Tigers
• Lizards
• Langur
• Marten
• Macaw
• Okapi
• Orangutans
• Panda
• Puma
• Badgers
• Chimpanzee
• Coyotes
• Deer
• Elk
• Grizzly Bear
• Gorillas
• Hare
• Hedgehogs
• Hornbill
• Hyena
• Kangaroos
• Koalas
• Lynx
• Raccoons
• Red Squirrels
• Ravens
• Baboons
• Snakes
• Salamanders
• Boar
• Wolves
• African forest elephant

These are all the animals that live in forests, but we will discuss a few of them.

1- Antelope

Scientific name: Artiodactyla
Class: Mammal
Scope: Africa

Intro to Antelope

Antelope are animals that live mainly in African forests, but some species in the Middle East and Asia. Some of them live in deserts and some in deep forests. They travel in a group of about 5 to 10 animals. There are around 91 species of antelope, and most of them live in Africa.

Appearance of Antelope

Antelope are also known for their beauty, charm, and their speed, and they are so smart. They have beautiful golden hair. Antelope have well-mature senses, which help them to detect predators from a long distance, so they have much time to run away even from the fastest predators. A male antelope can measure up to 178cm and weigh around 950kg; an adult antelope can be measured up to 24cm with 1.5kg of weight.

Food Cycle of Antelope

They are herbivores; some feed on insects, small mammals, and birds. And some of them eat bushes, shrubs, twigs, leaves, and small trees. Although, they are the food sources for other animals like lions, leopards, cheetahs, tigers, pythons, and hyenas.

2- Bengal Tigers

Scientific name: Panthera tigris tigris
Class: Mammal
Scope: India

Intro to Bengal Tigers

Bengal tigers are countless of every sub-species, and they are found in the Indian, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal forests. Their estimated population in 2018 was recorded as 2603-3346. In 2015, the population in Bhutan was 90, and in 2022, the estimated population in Bangladesh was 300-500 individuals. Today, 103 Bengal tigers live in Bhutan, and around 2,500 are royal Bengal tigers worldwide.

Appearance of Bengal Tigers

Bengal tigers are yellow or light orange, with stripes dark brown to black, orange tail, and other interior parts white. Normally, they are 90-110 cm in height and weigh between 130-170 kg.

Special Abilities

They are powerful late-night hunters. They travel long distances to hunt animals like buffalo, wild pigs, deer, and other large mammals. These tigers wait for their prey until they reach near them and then attack their victims very quickly.

Food Cycle of Bengal Tigers

They eat a variety of large and small animals. They also prey on young elephants. Their normal diet includes large mammals weighing 15 to 20 kg. And some other large-bodied animals like pigs, cows, horses, buffalos, moose, and goats.

3- Coyotes

Scientific name: Canis latrans
Class: Mammal
Scope: Canada and US

Intro to Coyotes

Coyotes are known as one of the most adjustable doggies in the world. They can be found in woodlands, sagebrush, prairies, deserts, subalpine forests, alpine meadows, and temperate rainforests. They can be found all over North America, from Eastern Alaska to New England and South to Mexico and Panama.

Appearance of Coyotes

They have white fur on their lower part, greyish brown to yellowish brown fur on the top, a narrow muzzle, and large triangular ears on top of their heads. They have black noses, long bushy tails, and yellow eyes. Coyotes are 60 cm to the shoulder, weigh about 9-23 kg, and are about 1-1.3 meters long.

Food Cycle of Coyotes

Coyotes are carnivores, but they also eat vegetables. They feed on many things, such as insects, rodents, amphibians, deer, elk, moose, sparrows, and toads. They eat apples, blueberries, blackberries, carrots, watermelons, pears, and peanuts as fruits and vegetables.

4- Elk

Scientific name: Cervus canadensis
Class: Mammal
Scope: Western North America

Intro to Elk

At one time, elks were found in North America. Still, they were wiped out and taken to other locations in western North America and mountainous landscapes in Wyoming National Elk Refuge and Yellowstone National park. However, they favor woodlands for living in clear cuts, wide-open mountains, and coniferous hardwood forests and also prefer to live in dense forests.

Appearance of Elk

Elk look dark brown in winter and tan in summer. They have long, thin legs, and their neck, head, legs, and belly are pitch dark than the back and sides. They also have long ears and long heads. Size bull elk is about 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh about 700 to 1100 pounds. The female elk weigh around 500 to 600 pounds with an average size of 4.5 feet at the shoulder.

Food Cycle of Elk

Elks are herbivores, meaning they only feed on vegetables, so they mostly feed on grass, tree bark, and forbs. From the attestation, it has been proved that they often eat bones and antlers, so from this case, we can consider elk omnivores. Other elk food includes bluegrass, wheatgrass, dandelions, willow, violets, birch twigs, heather, bird bones, aspen twigs, goslings, white clover, and acorns.

5- Gorillas

Scientific name: Gorilla
Class: Mammal
Scope: Central Africa

Intro to Gorilla

Generally, gorillas live in tropical lowland Central Africa. Some species (1,500-3,500) are found in the montane rainforest, and some in bamboo forests ( 2,500-3,000). They mainly live within 5 to 10 family groups. They can be depicted as dangerous and aggressive, and they become gentle giants when feeling threatened, they become aggressive.

Appearance of Gorilla

Gorillas are giant mammals with large chests, shoulders, and large hands, and their forearms are much shorter than their upper arms. Their face color is black, with small eyes and prominent nostrils, and they don’t have hair. Male gorillas are two times heavier than females. They have a height of 1.7 meters and weigh 135-220 kg. Adult female height is about 1.5 meters, and weight is 70-90 kg.

Food Cycle of Gorilla

Gorillas have a vegetarian diet, including stems, fruits, and bamboo shoots. In comparison, western lowland gorillas feed on termites and insects. They also eat fruits like bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, and berries.

Animals That Don’t Have Tails

6- Fox

Scientific name: Vulpes vulpes
Class: Mammal
Scope: Worldwide

Intro to Fox

Fox lives in North America, Europe, Asia, North Africa, and Australia. Around 12 species of fox are in the entire world. They frequently live at the edges of forests. Foxes can make 40 different sounds. Fox is active when searching the food at night. They don’t threaten humans, but they are wild animals and doubtful and can turn into the wild at any time, so we must be careful about this.

Appearance of Fox

They have reddish-brown fur, a bushy white chest, a pointed nose, and ears. They are medium-sized dogs. As they are small mammals, so they weigh 1.5 lbs. Red foxes are normally 90-105 cm long and 40 cm tall at the shoulder.

Food Cycle of Fox

Foxes are skilled hunters and mostly prey on rabbits, rodents, birds, frogs, and earthworms. They also eat fruits like blueberries, grapes, plums, cherries, raspberries, mulberries, apples, and acorns.

Animals That only Eat Plants

7- Deer

Scientific name: Cervidae
Class: Mammal
Scope: Worldwide

Intro to Deer

Deer are found in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Nothern Africa, and they live mainly in forests and other areas like deserts, tundra, and swamp mountainsides. There are almost 43 species of deer. The male deer are called bucks, and the females as does. They have a great sense of hearing and smell, and they have a unique way of communication. Deers are one of the most beautiful wild creatures in the world.

Appearance of Deer

Deers who have white tails are large mammals. They are reddish brown in summer and dull gray brown in winter. They have a total length of around 6 feet and a height of 3 feet at the shoulder. Males weigh about 120-160 pounds, and females weigh 80-120 pounds.

Food Cycle of Deer

Deer eat various vegetables, crops, acorns, grass, and nuts. A deer needs 6 to 8 percent green foliage to stay healthier. They also eat fruits like pears, apples, strawberries, and plums.

8- Grizzly Bears

Scientific name: Ursus arctos horribilis
Class: Mammal
Scope: North America, Asia, and Europe

Intro to Grizzly Bear

These are animals that live in the forests of Alaska, Montana, Washington, southern Colorado, and western Canada. They are adjustable in the forest, wet, grass, and coastal areas. Grizzly bears are so strong, even stronger than humans, up to 2 to 5 times.

Appearance of Grizzly Bear

Grizzly bears are in two colors, white and dark brown. They have large bodies and sturdy legs, rounded little ears, bushy hairs, short tails, and plantigrade paws with nonretractile claws. If we talk about their size, which varies from 315 kg and upward, male grizzly bears are much heavier than females. They weigh around 200 to 300 kgs, and a huge female grizzly bear can weigh around 110 to 160 kgs.

Food Cycle of Grizzly Bear

They eat vegetarian and grassy food foods mostly because they are omnivores they diet includes heavy roots, grasses, and forbs, and they also eat fruits like blueberries, huckleberries, and other fruits. When they are on the hunt, they prey on fish like salmons, rodents, moose, elk, carrion, squirrels, and deer.

9- Hare

Scientific name: Lepus
Class: Mammal
Scope: Africa, Eurasia, and North America

Intro to Hare

There are 30 species of hare all over the world. They live in swampy areas, coniferous forests, vast fields, and tundra. They also look like rabbits. The difference is that rabbits give birth in close areas, like holes or tunnel-like areas, but hares give birth in open areas or fields.

Appearance of Hare

Hares have long ears, big eyes, small snouts, and round bodies. They are enhanced with white, gray, black, reddish-orange, and tan colors. Their body length is 60 to 75 cm, and they weigh about 3 to 5 kg. As previously discussed, they have long ears ranging from 9.4 to 11.0 cm.

Food Cycle of Hare

As herbivores, they mainly feed on herbs, twigs, barks, buds, and grass. They also eat fruits like apples, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, mango, and mandarines.

10- Hedgehogs

Scientific name: Erinaceinae
Class: Mammal
Scope: Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Central Asia

Intro to Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs live in woodland areas, suburban habitats, and hedgerows. They also build their nests for living. Hedgehogs are great sleepers. They sleep around 18 hours a day. They have poor eyesight when searching for food at night. Hedgehogs use their sense of hearing and smell.

Appearance of Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are small mammals and have cone-shaped faces and short legs. And their bodies are wrapped with porcupine-like quills, and their color is white, brown, or black. Their face, neck, and belly are covered with rough hairs. If you think they are small mammals, they are weak but have stronger legs and big feet with five toes. Their size varies from 4 to 12 inches, weighing around 5 to 56 ounces.

Food Cycle of Hedgehogs

Hedgehog’s special food is beetles, earthworms, millipedes, slugs, and snails. They also feed on fruits like apples, bananas, berries, and melons. Vegetables like tomatoes, green beans, cooked squash, and vegetables they don’t like are potatoes, carrots, and corn.

11- Hornbill

Scientific name: Bucerotidae
Class: Bird
Scope: Southeast Asia

Intro to Hornbill

The other animals named Hornbills mainly live in forests of Southeast Asia in Bhutan, Nepal, southwest China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. There are 60 species of Hornbill in the world. This bird can fly up to 18 miles per hour.

Appearance of Hornbill

They have a large head, thin neck, large tail, and extended wings. They have brown or black feathers with dark white markings. The smaller tockus species or Hornbill varies from 40 cm in size and 160 cm to the greater Buceros bicornis hornbill, weighing around 2 to 4 kg.

Food Cyle of Hornbill

The fruits are a favorite food of Hornbills, and they have been seen eating animals like snakes, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, lizards, and other insects. Around 70% of the food they eat fat-rich and sugar-rich fruits.

12- Kangaroos

Scientific name: Macropodidae
Class: Mammal
Scope: Australia and Tasmania

Intro to Kangaroos

Kangaroos are animals that mostly live in the continent of Australia in forests and grasslands. There are four species of kangaroo named as the red kangaroo (scientific name: Macropus Rufus), the eastern gray kangaroo (scientific name: Macropus giganteus), the western gray kangaroo (scientific name: Macropus fuliginosus), and the last one is antilopine kangaroo (scientific name: Macropus antilopinus). Kangaroos have very strong eyesight and hearing.

Appearance of Kangaroos

Almost all kangaroos have short hairs, strong back legs, small forelimbs, large feet, and long tails. Their fur color is red, gray, dark, or light brown, but these colors depend upon specific species. Their size varies from 3-8 feet, and they weigh around 40 to 200 lbs.

Food Cycle of Kangaroos

Kangaroos mostly feed on grass, leaves, ferns, moss, and flowers. They also eat fruits and vegetables like bananas, apples, beets, carrots, broccoli, and raisins.

13- Koalas

Scientific name: Phascolarctos cinereus
Class: Mammal
Scope: Eastern Australia

Intro to Koalas

Koalas are animals that live in forests and are mainly found in Queensland, North Wales, Victoria, and some of South Australia. Today, the number of koalas is falling, and human development is the main reason behind it. Burning of trees, cutting wood, land cleaning, and many other human threats. Now only 100,000 total koalas are remaining in Australia.

Appearance of Koalas

They have large rounded heads, large furry ears, and large noses. Their fur color is gray-brown and white on the chest, and they have no fur on their nose and paws. Usually, the Southern koalas are larger than the Nothern koalas. The Southern koalas weigh around 15 to 29 pounds and Nothern koalas from 9 to 19 pounds. Their height is 2 to 3 feet.

Food Cycle of Koalas

Koalas feed mainly on gum leaves and other species of trees like lophostemon melaleuca, and corymbia. An adult koala consumes between 200 to 500 grams of leaves per day.

Animals That Live on Trees

14- Lynx

Scientific name: Lynx
Class: Mammal
Scope: Europe, Asia, and North America

Intro to Lynx

Lynx are animals that live in forests and they are medium-sized cats found in cold forests of Canada, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, and the Marine. There are four species of Lynx in the world. They are; the Canada lynx, Iberian Lynx, Eurasian Lynx, and the last one is the bobcat. Lynx have great eyesight and are wonderful forest and snow hunters even in the dark. They are very clever while hunting. They wait for their prey in beds of trees, and when it comes close, Lynx jump on them and eat them.

Appearance of Lynx

Lynx have long legs, bushy ears, hairy soles, and short heads. Their body color is normal brown to goldish and beige white, and they have white fur on their chest, bellies, and inside legs.

Food Cycle of Lynx

Lynx are carnivores, so they feed on small birds, rodents, deer, rabbits, hares, and foxes. We have discussed that they are excellent hunters so they can see a mouse from 200 feet away. Though, they favor eating snowshoe hare.

15- Lizards

Scientific name: Lacertilia
Class: Reptile
Scope: Worldwide

Intro to Lizards

Lizards are found in almost every continent of the world. Excluding cold areas and deep oceans, they live in all habitats. Around 4,675 lizard species worldwide; many live on the ground, and some live in trees. They hide behind the beds, cupboards, and other furniture in homes.

Appearance of Lizards

Lizards have scaly and dry skin. They have long tails, clawed feet, small heads, short necks, and four legs. However, they have weak tails. The size of an adult lizard is 2 cm to 3 meters and weighs about half a gram to 150 kg.

Food Cycle of Lizards

Most lizards are carnivores, so they eat ants, termites, cicadas, worms, snails, slugs, and even they eat other lizards. However, they avoid spiders, millipedes, fireflies, and scorpions. Fireflies have a toxin called lucibufagin, which is very dangerous to reptiles, so they avoid eating them.

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