Examples of Mammals From Around the World

Updated January 25, 2021
mammals around the world
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    mammals around the world
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    epic_fail / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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What do squirrels, narwhals, cougars, and humans have in common? They’re all mammals, and no matter where you are in the world, they are an important part of their ecosystems. Take a quick trip around the globe to find mammal examples from all over the world.

Mammals in Africa

Many African mammals live in the desert and savanna biomes found on the continent. They fall in different levels of the food chains in their ecosystems and range from predator to prey. You’ll find an amazing variety of animals in nearly every part of Africa.

impala mammal from Africa
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    impala mammal from Africa
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    KenCanning / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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Examples of mammals in Africa include:

  • aardvark
  • African clawless otter
  • African elephant
  • African wild dog
  • antelope
  • baboon
  • Barbary macaque
  • black rhinoceros
  • brown fur seal
  • bushbaby
  • cheetah
  • chimpanzee
  • gazelle
  • giraffe
  • hippopotamus
  • honey badger
  • impala
  • lowland gorilla
  • meerkat
  • mongoose
  • spot-nosed monkey
  • warthog
  • wildebeest
  • zebra

Mammals in Antarctica

You may think that Antarctica is so cold that no mammal could live there. But you’d be wrong! Mammals like polar bears and walruses live on the other side of the world at the North Pole, but there are many land and sea mammals who call Antarctica home alongside Antarctic penguins.

fur seal mammal Antarctica
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    fur seal mammal Antarctica
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    mzphoto11 / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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They include:

  • Atlantic fur seal
  • blue whale
  • bottlenose whale
  • elephant seal
  • hourglass dolphin
  • humpback whale
  • leopard seal
  • orca whale

Mammals in Asia

Asia is an enormous continent filled with a rich variety of wildlife. Mammals that live in Asia range from tiny to enormous, and they are all important members of their own habitats.

yak mammal Asia
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    yak mammal Asia
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    xia yuan / Moment / Getty
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Asian mammals include:

  • Afghan hedgehog
  • Alpine musk deer
  • Asian elephant
  • Asian tapir
  • Bactrian camel
  • Beluga whale
  • dwarf hamster
  • elk
  • giant panda
  • humpback dolphin
  • Japanese badger
  • mousedeer
  • rhinoceros
  • red deer
  • bottlenose dolphin
  • Siberian lynx
  • tiger
  • water buffalo
  • yak
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Mammals in Australia

Australia is the only continent that’s also an island – and an entire country! There are many mammals native to this island continent, including grassland, desert and coastal mammals.

sugar glider mammal Australia
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    sugar glider mammal Australia
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    pigphoto / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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Examples of Australian mammals are:

  • Australian dingo
  • Australian sea lion
  • bandicoot
  • black flying fox
  • duck-billed platypus
  • kangaroo
  • koala
  • long-eared bat
  • sperm whale
  • spinner dolphin
  • sugar glider
  • swamp rat
  • Tasmanian Devil
  • wallaby
  • wombat

Mammals in Europe

Europe has lots of different biomes, including forests and grasslands, where mammals make their homes. They range in size from the tiny dormouse to the European bison. Many of these mammals are unique to Europe, while others have cousins in other parts of the world.

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wolverine mammal Europe
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    wolverine mammal Europe
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    Mats Lindberg / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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Other mammals in Europe include:

  • beaver
  • chipmunk
  • crested porcupine
  • dormouse
  • European hedgehog
  • European jackal
  • European polecat
  • fruit bat
  • grey wolf
  • hamster
  • hare
  • marmot
  • mole
  • porpoise
  • red squirrel
  • reindeer
  • shrew
  • vole
  • white whale
  • wolverine

Mammals in North America

North America has a variety of biomes and a variety of mammals only found there. These unique mammals live in the sky, on the ground and in the oceans surrounding the large continent. Most of these mammals are native to North America, while others came over with European explorers and settlers.

manatee mammal North America
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    manatee mammal North America
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    Colors and shapes of underwater world / Moment / Getty
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They include:

  • American bison
  • armadillo
  • black bear
  • bobcat
  • bighorn sheep
  • California chipmunk
  • capybara
  • coyote
  • flying squirrel
  • gopher
  • gray squirrel
  • harbor seal
  • horse
  • island fox
  • jackrabbit
  • kangaroo rat
  • manatee
  • moose
  • mountain lion
  • North American beaver
  • opossum
  • prairie dog
  • pronghorn
  • raccoon
  • river otter
  • striped skunk
  • vampire bat
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Mammals in South America

The mountain ranges in South America allow many different types of mammals to thrive. South America also contains the Amazon river and rainforest, which include the largest variety of wildlife on earth. You’ll find freshwater mammals, flying mammals, mountain-dwelling mammals, and many more on one amazing continent.

giant anteater mammal South America
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    giant anteater mammal South America
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    Matthias Graben / Getty
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Examples of mammals from South America are:

  • alpaca
  • Bolivian river dolphin
  • Brazilian porcupine
  • Brazilian brown bat
  • capuchin
  • chinchilla
  • giant anteater
  • grass mouse
  • howler monkey
  • lemur
  • leopard
  • llama
  • marmoset
  • pilot whale
  • sloth
  • spiny rat
  • South American sea lion
  • squirrel monkey
  • tamarin

Defining Mammals

Now that you’ve seen examples of mammals from every continent, it may seem like they have very little in common. Some mammals are small and vulnerable, while others are the apex predators of their food chains. But actually, there are some characteristics shared by all mammals, no matter their habitat or ecosystem. You’ll find that even orca whales and fruit bats have a lot in common!

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Mammals in Context

Mammals can be found on every continent on Earth. However, they are not the only members of kingdom Animalia. Learn more about mammals and other living things with these examples of kingdoms in the biological world. You can put these and other animals in context with all living things with a helpful explanation of biological taxonomy.