Science & Nature
Test your knowledge of Endangered Species of the World with a free trivia word search from thewordfind.com. Read each clue, work out the answer, then find it hidden in the letter grid — every puzzle is freshly generated, so no two plays are ever quite the same. Don't know an answer? Tap the hint button in-game to reveal the first letter, or just scan the grid — every answer is hiding in there somewhere. Between the clues and the full answer key below, this topic doubles as a quick study guide — good for a trivia night, a classroom quiz, or just picking up something new about Endangered Species of the World along the way.
Play This Puzzle →A few sample clues
This colorful-billed seabird nests in burrows along cold northern coastlines and is declining due to warming seas.
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A bright orange species of this amphibian, once found only in Costa Rica's cloud forests, hasn't been seen since 1989.
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Hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1800s, this shaggy plains mammal has since made a slow comeback.
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A burrowing Australian marsupial, one critically endangered species of this animal is known as the northern hairy-nosed kind.
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A European species of this snake-like fish migrates thousands of miles to spawn in the Sargasso Sea.
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All 95 questions in this topic, with answers — use it to study, or just browse. Every actual play of the puzzle only pulls a random handful of these into one game, so knowing them all here won't spoil which ones show up or where they're hidden in the grid. Play it here.
This slow-moving South American mammal spends most of its life hanging upside down in trees.
SLOTHThe fastest land animal, this spotted cat has an isolated, critically endangered Asian population in Iran.
CHEETAHA carnivorous Tasmanian marsupial, notorious for its shrieking calls, has been devastated by a contagious facial tumor disease.
DEVILThis orange-haired great ape, found only on Borneo and Sumatra, is losing habitat to palm oil plantations.
ORANGUTANThis Arctic whale is famous for the long, spiraled tusk that grows from its upper jaw.
NARWHALA wild species of this shaggy, high-altitude bovine roams the Tibetan Plateau and is threatened.
YAKThis flightless, nocturnal bird with nostrils at the tip of its beak is a national symbol of New Zealand.
KIWIA crocodile-tailed species of this small amphibian lives in mountain pools of southern China and is threatened by collecting.
NEWTA bald-headed species of this large wading bird is endangered across parts of South and Southeast Asia.
STORKThis fish swims upright and is one of the few animals in which males, not females, carry the developing young.
SEAHORSEThis reddish-brown forest antelope has white stripes and spiral horns; a mountain subspecies is critically endangered in Kenya.
BONGOCovered in tough keratin scales, this ant-eating mammal is the world's most trafficked wild animal.
PANGOLINA relative of the manatee, this marine mammal grazes on seagrass in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific.
DUGONGThis antelope with a distinctive bulbous nose roams the steppes of Central Asia.
SAIGAA hammer-headed species of this cartilaginous fish is heavily overfished for its fins.
SHARKThe world's smallest and most endangered porpoise survives only in Mexico's Gulf of California.
VAQUITAThis egg-laying Australian mammal has a duck-like bill and venomous spurs on its hind legs.
PLATYPUSThe largest living lemur, this Madagascar primate is known for its loud, haunting song.
INDRIThis small South American monkey includes the golden lion species, famous for its fiery mane-like fur.
TAMARINA vividly blue species of this large parrot, the inspiration for the animated film Rio, vanished from the wild around 2000.
MACAWThe largest cat in the Americas, this powerful rosette-patterned predator ranges from Mexico to Argentina.
JAGUARThe world's largest primate, this African great ape includes several critically endangered species and subspecies.
GORILLAA day-active, brightly colored species of this small lizard is endemic to and endangered on Madagascar.
GECKOThis tufted-eared wild cat has an Iberian species that was once the world's most endangered feline.
LYNXThis tree-dwelling Australian marsupial feeds almost exclusively on eucalyptus leaves.
KOALAGiant species of this slow-moving reptile on the Galapagos Islands can live well over 100 years.
TORTOISEThis ancient reptile, found only in New Zealand, is the last survivor of an order that predates the dinosaurs.
TUATARAThis big cat, the largest of all cats, has orange fur with black stripes and is endangered across its Asian range.
TIGERThe largest land-dwelling member of the weasel family, this fierce carnivore roams northern forests and tundra.
WOLVERINENorth America's largest flying bird, a Californian species of this scavenger was once reduced to just 27 individuals.
CONDORA golden species of this small amphibian from Panama is believed extinct in the wild due to a deadly fungal disease.
FROGRelated to the giraffe, this striped-legged forest mammal is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
OKAPIA tree-dwelling, brightly colored species of this shelled mollusk from Hawaii has nearly vanished due to an invasive predator.
SNAILThis Mexican salamander never loses its larval gills and can regrow entire lost limbs.
AXOLOTLThis critically endangered sea turtle is prized, tragically, for the beautiful patterning of its shell.
HAWKSBILLA wild population of this fish, once abundant in California's rivers, has crashed due to dams and habitat loss.
SALMONThis prehistoric-looking Amazonian bird has clawed wings as a chick and a digestive system like a cow's.
HOATZINThis ancient, bony-plated fish produces the eggs used for caviar and is critically endangered across the Caspian Sea basin.
STURGEONA slender, fast-running species of this antelope from the Arabian Peninsula is critically endangered due to habitat loss.
GAZELLEA number of freshwater species of this small, lobster-like crustacean are endangered due to pollution and invasive competitors.
CRAYFISHThis black-and-white bear from China survives almost entirely on bamboo.
PANDAAn endangered marine species of this playful, web-footed mammal lives along the Pacific coast.
OTTERA migratory species of this orange-and-black insect faces population collapse from habitat loss along its migration route.
BUTTERFLYThis wild mountain goat with long, curved horns includes a Pyrenean species that went extinct in the year 2000.
IBEXThis intelligent great ape, humanity's closest living relative, is endangered across equatorial Africa.
CHIMPFreshwater species of this filter-feeding, hinge-shelled mollusk are among the most endangered animals in North America.
MUSSELOne of the world's smallest monkeys, a pygmy species of this primate can fit in a human hand.
MARMOSETThis small, tree-climbing wild cat of Central and South America can rotate its ankles nearly 180 degrees to climb down headfirst.
MARGAYPoached heavily for its horn, this thick-skinned African and Asian mammal comes in white and black varieties.
RHINOThis long-eared, burrowing Australian marsupial has become a native Easter mascot in its home country.
BILBYNorth America's only native species of this weasel relative nearly went extinct before a captive breeding program saved it.
FERRETA tall, white North American species of this wading bird was down to about 20 birds in the 1940s.
CRANEA pink-colored species of this large lizard is found only on one volcano on the Galapagos island of Isabela.
IGUANAThis small, striped Australian marsupial feeds almost entirely on termites and now survives in only a few tiny pockets.
NUMBATA pygmy, blue-tongued species of this burrowing lizard was thought extinct for over 30 years before its 1992 rediscovery in Australia.
SKINKThis pale, twisted-horned antelope is adapted to life in the Sahara Desert and is critically endangered in the wild.
ADDAXAlso called the Asiatic wild dog, this reddish, pack-hunting canine is endangered across South and Southeast Asia.
DHOLEThis ray relative has a long, tooth-lined snout and is among the most threatened groups of ocean fish.
SAWFISHA diamondback species of this brackish-water turtle lives along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
TERRAPINSometimes called a 'bearcat,' this shaggy Southeast Asian mammal smells oddly like buttered popcorn.
BINTURONGThis small, tailless ape swings through Southeast Asian forests using its long arms.
GIBBONThis spotted big cat has a critically endangered subspecies found only on the Indonesian island of Java.
LEOPARDNicknamed the 'Asian unicorn,' this rarely seen forest bovine was only discovered by scientists in 1992.
SAOLARusty-patched populations of this fuzzy, black-and-yellow pollinating insect have declined sharply in North America.
BUMBLEBEEOnce thought extinct, this flightless New Zealand bird was rediscovered alive in 1948.
TAKAHECovered in bony plates, this burrowing mammal includes a vulnerable giant species from South America.
ARMADILLOThis tiny nocturnal primate has enormous eyes and is found on islands in Southeast Asia.
TARSIERA red-coated species of this canine predator is critically endangered and found only in a small part of the southeastern U.S.
WOLFThe largest land animal, this African and Asian giant is threatened by poaching for its ivory tusks.
ELEPHANTThis giant, wing-like ray filter-feeds on plankton and can have a wingspan of over 20 feet.
MANTACovered in spines like a hedgehog, this egg-laying Australian mammal uses a long sticky tongue to eat ants.
ECHIDNAThis desert antelope with long, straight horns went extinct in the wild before being reintroduced from zoo populations.
ORYXMadagascar's largest predator, this cat-like carnivore hunts lemurs in the island's forests.
FOSSAThe world's largest monkey, this colorful African primate has a vividly striped blue and red face.
MANDRILLSeveral species of this scavenging bird collapsed in numbers across South Asia after a veterinary drug poisoned their food.
VULTUREThis nocturnal Madagascar primate uses a long, thin middle finger to fish grubs out of tree bark.
AYEAYEThis slow-moving, plant-eating marine mammal is sometimes called a 'sea cow.'
MANATEEA Chinese '_ _ _ _ _ _'-fish, a long-snouted river giant related to the sturgeon, was declared extinct in 2019.
PADDLEA '_ _ _ _ _' sea turtle, named for the color of its body fat rather than its shell, nests on tropical beaches worldwide.
GREENThe world's largest living lizard is named for the Indonesian island where it is found.
KOMODOLight pollution and habitat loss threaten many species of this glowing, bioluminescent beetle.
FIREFLYThis long, thin-snouted crocodile relative from South Asia is critically endangered in the wild.
GHARIALThis huge seabird, famed for its long wingspan, is threatened by longline fishing and plastic pollution.
ALBATROSSThis flightless, nocturnal New Zealand parrot is one of the rarest birds on Earth.
KAKAPOThis large wild goat, known for its corkscrew-shaped horns, lives in the mountains of Central and South Asia.
MARKHORA small, striped relative of the hyena, this insect-eating African mammal feeds almost exclusively on termites.
AARDWOLFOne of the world's largest and most powerful eagles, this raptor is named for a mythical winged monster.
HARPYA spotted, cat-sized marsupial predator of Australia and New Guinea, several species of this animal are declining fast.
QUOLLThis ancient, spiral-shelled relative of squid and octopus survives largely unchanged after millions of years.
NAUTILUSRising ocean temperatures cause this colonial marine organism to expel its algae and turn white, a process called bleaching.
CORAL