Miscellaneous Animals

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. (Gandhi)

This file includes Animal ABC List, hermit crabs, Fish, Frogs, Toads, Turtles and Snails, snakes, crocodiles, Rabbits and Squirrels, mice and miscellaneous.
Also see Wild Animals, Dragons and Dinosaurs, Insects, Birds, Pets, Farm Animals and Fishing.

Page Toppers

Animal House
Bless the Beasts and Children
(song by the Carpenters)
Busy as a Beaver
Clams Have Feelings, Too
(song by NOFX)
Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road
(song by Loudon Wainwright III)
Hickory, Dickory, Dock
(mouse and clock die-cuts)
Man or Mouse?
Party Animal
Pop Goes the Weasel
(old song)
Quiet as a mouse!
Rocky Racoon
(song by The Beatles)
Where the Buffalo Roam
Wild Thing

Quotes

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
Heart Attacks...God's revenge for eating His animal friends.
A mouse's favorite game is Hide and Squeak.
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse

Always Be Kind To Animals

Always be kind to animals,
Morning, noon, and night.
For animals have feelings, too,
And furthermore...they bite.

Baby Bat

The baby bat
Screamed out in fright,
"Turn on the dark,
I'm afraid of the light."

Mice

(Rose Fyleman)

I think mice are nice.

Their tails are long
Their faces small,
They haven't any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn't touch
And no one seems
To like them much.

But I think mice
Are nice

Three Blind Mice

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life,
As three blind mice?

The Yak

(Hilaire Belloc)

As a friend to the children commend me the Yak.
You will find it exactly the thing:
It will carry and fetch, you can ride on its back,
Or lead it about with a string.

The Tartar who dwells on the plains of Thibet
(A desolate region of snow)
Has for centuries made it a nursery pet,
And surely the Tartar should know!

Then tell you papa where the Yak can be got,
And if he is awfully rich
He will buy you the creature - or else he will not.
(I cannot be positive which.)

Field notes

(John R. Reed)

I hear his cry
And it takes all
The Science I
Can muster
Not to pick him up,
Warm him in my jacket,
Name him Rocky
And confine him
To an iron cage
For all his natural
Raccoon life.

Two river flow within
me,
So different
And so necessary.

To a racoon, six feet of wire fence is merely a jungle gym upon which it can work up an appetite before raiding the corn. (Roy Barette)

There is a cute story about raccoons in the Gardening file.

I learned my first lesson in responsibility the day I returned from school to find my guinea pigs missing. I rushed to ask my mother about them.
"I gave them away because you didn't take care of them."
"But I did take care of them!"
"Joni, I gave them away ten days ago!"

Hermit's House

(Gail Nettles and Kitty Ainsworth)

Hermit the crab
Had a cute little home,
He carried on his back
Wherever he did roam.

But one day he woke up
And his home was too small,
So he had to go shopping
In the underwater mall.

He found an empty shell
That comfortably would fit.
He moved right in -
His new home was a hit!

Scurry Scurry Hermit Crab

Scurry, scurry hermit crab
Look for food that you can grab.
Search for shells that fit just right,
Hide in them when it is night.
Scurry, scurry hermit crab,
Look for food that you can grab.

The Lady and the Crocodile

She sailed away on a bright and sunny day,
On the back of a crocodile,
You see said she he's as tame as he can be,
I'll ride him down the Nile,
The croc winked his eye as she waved a fond goodbye
Wearing a happy grin.
At the end of the ride,
The lady was inside,
And the smile was on the crocodile.

If You Should Meet A Crocodile

If you should meet a Crocodile
Don't take a stick and poke him;
Ignore the welcome in his smile,
Be careful not to stroke him.
For as he sleeps upon the Nile,
He thinner gets and thinner;
And whenever you meet a Crocodile
He's ready for his dinner.

The Lizard

The lizard is a timid thing
That cannot dance or fly or sing;
He hunts for bugs beneath the floor
And longs to be a dinosaur.

The Rattlesnake

As I was walking near the lake,
I met a little rattlesnake.
He ate so much jelly-cake,
It made his little belly ache.

Boa Constrictor

I’m being swallowed by a
boa constrictor,
I’m being swallowed by a
boa constrictor,
And I don’t like it very much.

Oh no, he swallowed by toe.
Oh gee, he’s up to my knee.
Oh fiddle, he’s up to my middle,
Oh heck, he’s up to my neck.
Oh dread, he swallowed my (slurp-swallow)

Fish, Frogs, Toads, Turtles and Snails

Page Toppers

The Frog Days of Summer
Froggie Went a Courting
(song by Doc Watson)
I toad you so!
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Something's Fishy
"Toad"ally Awesome
"Toad"ally Cute
You Make My Heart Leap (frog stickers)

Quotes

Frogs are smart; they eat the things that bug them.
There is a natural hootchy-kootchy motion to a goldfish. (Walt Disney)
Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do not die in sport but in earnest.
The toad has indeed no superior as a destroyer of noxious insects, and he possesses no bad habits and is entirely inoffensive himself, every owner of a garden should treat him with utmost hospitality. (Celia Thaxter)
A wart to the wise - don't kiss a toad.

green frogs

(Ed Higgins)

from midsummer
on
deep down
between
the lettuce
plants and
beneath the
cool shade
of bush beans
green frogs
squat against
the damp
earth

smaller than
a thumbnail
at first and
striped in fine
gold on
either side
like a drum
major's trousers
from the top

of bulged
eyelids
to where
a tail
once was

they grow
quickly,
eating bugs
I suspect,
so I never
dust poison
on
the beans
or lettuce -
I may never
decide to
kiss one
but I'm not
about
to risk
the life
of any prince.

A Green Frog

Said the little green frog as he sat on a log
Nobody really likes me
A duck came along
And said, "You are wrong."
And gobbled him up for tea.

Sammy Snail

Sammy snail is slowly moving
See him slide across the grass
He leaves a silver path behind him
We all know when he has passed.

Sammy snail is never worried
Though he wanders far and wide
For on his back his house he carries
And when he's tired he pops inside.

The Little Turtle

There was a little turtle,
He lived in a box
He swam in a puddle
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito,
He snapped at a flea,
He snapped at a minnow,
He snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito,
He caught the flea,
He caught the minnow,
But he didn't catch me.

Tidy Turtle

My turtle is a tidy boy!
When he's tired of play
He folds himself up carefully
And puts himself away.

Goldfish

Pretty little goldfish
Never can talk.
All it does is wiggle
When it tries to walk.

Rabbits and Squirrels

Page Toppers

Snow Bunny
Some Bunny Loves You
Something Squirrelly About This!
A Squirrel's Tale (or Tail?)
You're No Bunny Til Some Bunny Loves You
You're some bunny special

Rabbits Habits

(Gerry Krueger)

Rabbits have a habit of coming for breakfast
and staying for lunch.
Now there's one leaf
instead of a bunch.

Rabbit

(Tom Robinson)

I'd like to run like a rabbit in hops
With occasional intermediate stops.
He is so cute when he lifts his ears
And looks around to see what he hears.

The Snowman and the Bunny

A chubby little snowman had a carrot nose.
Along came a bunny and what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny, looking for his lunch,
Ate that little snowman's nose -
Nibble, Nibble, Crunch!

My New Rabbit

(Elizabeth Gould)

We brought him home, I was so pleased,
We made a rabbit hutch,
I give him oats, I talk to him,
I love him very much.

Now when I talk to Rover dog,
He answers me "Bow-wow!"
And when I talk to Pussy-cat,
She purrs and says "Mee-ow!"

But Bunny never says a word,
Just twinkles with his nose,
And what that rabbit thinks about,
Why! no one ever knows.

My Mother says the fairies must
Have put on him a spell,
They told him all their secrets, then
They whispered, "Pray don't tell."

So Bunny sits there looking wise,
And twinkling with his nose,
And never, never, never tells
A single thing he knows.

The Squirrel

These are the brown leaves fluttering down
This is the tall tree bare and brown
This is the squirrel with eyes so bright
Hunting for nuts with all his might
This is the hole where day by day
Nut after nut he stores away
When winter comes with its cold and storm
He'll sleep curled up all snug and warm

The Squirrel

Whisky frisky,
Hippity hop
Up he goes
To the top!

Whirly twirly,
Round and round
Down he scampers
To the ground.

Furly, curly,
What a tail!
Tall as a feather,
Broad as a sail!

Where's his supper?
In the shell,
Snap, cracky,
Out it fell.

Squirrel's Breakfast

A squirrel from his tree-house poked out his head
It's high time for my breakfast he happily said
So he ran down the tree trunk and pattered around
His bushy tail trailing, his nose to the ground
He looked here, he looked there, through the white snow
Till he found a nut, hidden below
And into his cheek he popped the nut with glee
Then Mr. Squirrel scampered back up the tree
If you look very sharply, maybe you'll spy
Mr. Squirrel at his door ever so high.

Animal ABC's

For lists relating to specific kinds of animals see the Animals section.

Jean Gifford started this list from the book Animalia by Graeme Baese. Several people added to it. For a list of obscure and extinct animals see the book Aardvarks Disembark by Ann Jonas.

A - aardvark, adder, alligator, anaconda, angelfish, ant, anteater, antelope, ape, arctic for, armadillo
B - baboon, badger, bald eagle, bat, bearded dragon, bears, beaver, bees, beetle, bighorn sheep, bird, bison, boa constrictor, boar, bobcat, bookworm (child reading?), buffalo, bugs, bunny, butterflies
C - camel, canary, cardinal, caribou, cat, capybara, caterpillar, centipede, chameleon, cheetah, chicken (child with chicken pox?), chimpanzee, chipmunk, cobra, colt, cow, coyote, crab, crayfish, cricket, crocodile, cubs
D - deer, dinosaur, dog, dolphin, donkey, dove, dragon, dragonfly, dromedary, duck
E - eagle, earthworm, Easter bunny, echidna, eel, eland, elephant, elk, emu
F - falcon, fawn, feline, Fennec fox, ferret, finch, firefly, fish, flamingo, flock, fly, flying squirrel, foal, fox, frog
G - garden snake, gazelle, gecko, gerbil, gibbon, Gila monster, giraffe, goat, goldfish, gopher, goose, gorilla, grasshopper, grizzly bear, Guinea pig
H - hamster, hare, hartebeest, hawk, hedgehog, hen, herd (of animals), hermit crab, heron, hippopotamus, hobby horse, hog, honey badger, horse, hummingbird, hyena
I - ibex, ibis, iguana, impala, inchworm, insect
J - jack rabbit, jackal, jaguar, jelly fish, jerboa
K - kangaroo, killdeer, killer whale, King Cobra, kingfisher, kitten, kiwi, koala, Komodo dragon, kookaburra
L - ladybug, lamb, lemming, lemur, leopard, lion, lizard, llama, lobster, lop-eared bunny, lorikeet, lynx
M - macaw, mallard, manatee, marmot, marsupial, meerkat, Mickey Mouse, mockingbird, mole, mongoose, monkey, moose, mosquito, mountain goat, mountain lion, mouse, mule, muskrat, mustang
N - narwhal, Nativity animals, newt, nightingale, Noah's Ark
O - ocelot, octopus, okapi, opossum, orangutan, orca, oriole, ostrich, otter, owl, ox
P - pachyderm, panda, panther, parakeet, parrot, partridge, peacock, pelican, penguin, pheasant, pig, pigeon, piranha, platypus, polar bear, pony, porcupine, porpoise, prairie dog, praying mantis, puffin, puppy, puma, python
Q - eQuus (horse), quacker (duck!), quadruped, quail, quarterhorse, quetzal (bird)
R - rabbit, raccoon, ram, rat, rattlesnake, reindeer, reptile, rhinoceros, roadrunner, robin, rocking horse
S - salamander, sand dollar, scorpion, sea horse, sea lion, seal, shark, sheep, shrew, skunk, snail, snake, sparrow, spider, spider monkey, spoonbill, springbok, squirrel, starfish, stingray, stork, swan, swallow
T - tadpole, tapir, tarantula, Teddy bear, tern, tiger, toad, tortoise, toucan, tree frog, turkey, turtle
U - umbrella bird, unicorn, (sea) urchin
V - vampire bat, veterinarian, vicuna, viper, vixen, vole, vulture
W - wallaby, walrus, warthog, wasp, weasel, whale, whooping crane, wildebeest, wolf, wolverine, woodpecker
X - eXoskeleton, foX, lynX, Xebu, xenops, xerophilous animal (i. e. camel), xerus (African ground squirrel), x-ray fish
Y - yak, yellowhammer, yellow jacket
Z - zebra, zebu, zoophilist (person who likes animals), zygodactyl bird (i.e. parrot)