Zoo Scavenger Hunt Printable

A list that fits any zoo, with nothing to touch.

Zoo Scavenger Hunt Printable

  1. A trunkElephant. The trunk is the nose and the upper lip joined into one.
  2. A comb and wattlesChicken. The comb is the fleshy crest on the head, and the wattles hang below the beak. Both are more prominent on a rooster.
  3. An animal whose sign says desertRead the habitat line. Sand on the enclosure floor is a hint.
  4. QuillsPorcupine. The quills are modified hairs, and a porcupine cannot shoot them.
  5. A plant with a name labelRead the label for the plant's name and where it grows wild.
  6. An animal eatingSay what the food is to score it.
  7. A horse's height given in handsSome stables post it on the stall. One hand is 4 inches, measured at the withers, where the neck meets the back.
  8. A sign asking visitors not to feed the animalsFind it, then follow it for the rest of the hunt.
  9. A tail with rings all the way downA red panda or a ring-tailed lemur. Count the rings if the tail holds still.
  10. An animal lying in mudPig. Pigs have few working sweat glands, so they wallow in mud or water to cool down.
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Tip: the space bar makes new ones.

Zoo Scavenger Hunt Printable: how it works

This zoo scavenger hunt printable holds 145 finds that fit any zoo: coats, body parts, behaviour, kinds of animal, home ranges and signs, plus 25 for the farm and petting zoo. Ten are dealt when the page opens. Under each find is a spotting hint, and 102 add a fact checked against the animal's Wikipedia article.

Match the list to your zoo

Open the zoo's own map first. Press New finds, Lock each line the zoo can supply and Swap any animal it does not keep: not every zoo has an okapi or a Komodo dragon. Feature finds such as webbed feet or an animal fast asleep fit anywhere. Deal 10 for a short visit and 20 for a full day. This is a free zoo scavenger hunt printable, so press Print once per team.

Look, never touch

Every find is scored by seeing it. Nobody touches an animal, feeds one, taps on glass or leaves the path, and children stay with their adult. A team claims a find only when every member has seen it. The note under each line settles arguments: a giraffe's patches are not spots. For zoo scavenger hunt ideas that stretch older children, press Where it comes from and ask for proof from the range map on the sign.

Tips

  • For an animal scavenger hunt printable at a farm park, press Farm and petting zoo: 25 finds, from a goat's beard to a turkey's snood.
  • The printed sheet has no tick boxes, so bring a pencil and cross out each line.
  • Lock two easy finds, such as An animal eating, for when small legs get tired.

Questions and answers

Will this list fit my zoo?

Yes, because most finds name a feature, not a species. Webbed feet, a forked tongue and a sign with a range map turn up at almost any zoo. A few finds point to one animal, such as the giant anteater or the red panda, and Swap replaces those.

Where do the animal facts come from?

Each fact was checked on 18 September 2026 against the English Wikipedia article for that animal, 50 articles in all. 102 of the 145 notes carry one, such as the seven bones in a giraffe's neck. Anything an article did not state plainly was left out, which is why no note gives the length of an anteater's tongue.

How do we score it without a race?

Give one point per find, and a bonus point when a child can repeat the fact under it. Teams walk, stay together and meet at a set time. In the petting zoo, the last find is the hand-washing station on the way out.

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All 145 finds

Coats and patterns 20

  • A big cat with stripes Tiger. Every tiger's stripes are its own. Look for the white spot on the back of each ear.
  • A bird with a dark back and a white front Penguin. The two-tone coat is camouflage in the water, from above and from below.
  • A cat whose spots are rings with a dot inside Jaguar. The ring-shaped marks are called rosettes, and a jaguar's often have a small spot in the middle.
  • A cat with dark tear lines running from its eyes to its mouth Cheetah. Its spots are solid black, with no ring around them.
  • A coat with spots that is not on a cat A deer, a bird, a frog or a fish. Giraffe patches do not count as spots.
  • A cross marked on an animal's back Donkey. Most donkeys have a stripe down the back and another across the shoulders, and together they make a cross.
  • A dark tuft at the end of a tail Lion. The tail ends in a dark, hairy tuft.
  • A lizard that can change colour Chameleon. The colour change is mostly for signalling and for temperature.
  • A male and a female that look different A lion and a lioness are the quick answer: only the male grows a mane. A peacock and a peahen also count.
  • A patchwork coat on the tallest animal in the zoo Giraffe, the tallest living land animal.
  • A pink bird Flamingo. The pink comes from pigments called carotenoids in its food.
  • A small frog in a colour that says stay away Poison dart frog. The bright skin warns predators. Frogs bred in captivity lack significant toxins.
  • A tail with rings all the way down A red panda or a ring-tailed lemur. Count the rings if the tail holds still.
  • A white bear Polar bear. The skin under the fur is black, and the long outer hairs are hollow with no pigment in them.
  • A woolly coat Sheep. A young sheep is a lamb, a female is a ewe and a male is a ram.
  • An animal that is one colour from nose to tail No stripes, spots or patches anywhere. Check the legs and the tail tip before you claim it.
  • An animal that matches its branch, rock or sand The reptile house is the place to look. Count it only when the whole team has spotted the animal.
  • An animal with black and white stripes Zebra. No two zebras wear the same stripe pattern, so try to tell two of them apart.
  • An animal with green growing in its fur Sloth. Green algae live in the fur.
  • Feathers with eyespots Peacock. The long train grows from the feathers that cover the tail, not from the tail itself. The female is a peahen.

Body parts 41

  • A beak that works upside down Flamingo. It feeds with its head upside down and filters food from the water.
  • A bird's foot with only two toes Ostrich. Wait for one to lift a foot.
  • A comb and wattles Chicken. The comb is the fleshy crest on the head, and the wattles hang below the beak. Both are more prominent on a rooster.
  • A curved beak built for cracking Parrot. Look at the feet too: two toes point forward and two point back.
  • A dark tongue reaching for leaves Giraffe. The tongue is black and about 45 cm long.
  • A flat snout made for digging Pig. The snout digs in the soil for food and is a sharp sense organ.
  • A foot with four hoofed toes Pig. The two large middle toes carry most of the weight.
  • A foot with three toes Rhinoceros: three toes on every foot. A sloth's back feet also have three, and so do an emu's.
  • A forked tongue Snake or Komodo dragon. The flicking tongue collects scents for a sense organ called Jacobson's organ.
  • A hoof made of a single toe Horse or pony. A horse stands on one toe on each foot. So does a zebra.
  • A horn on a nose Rhinoceros. The horn is made of keratin, the same material as hair and fingernails.
  • A hump, or two Camel. One hump is a dromedary and two is a Bactrian camel. The hump stores fat, not water.
  • A long snout with no teeth in it Giant anteater. It has no teeth at all, and it walks on the knuckles of its front feet.
  • A mammal with wings Bat. Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight.
  • A mane A male lion, or a zebra, whose mane stands straight up.
  • A pupil shaped like a letterbox slot Goat or sheep. Look at the eye from the side: the pupil is a horizontal slit.
  • A shell Tortoise. It pulls its head straight back into the shell. Most tortoise species can live 80 to 150 years.
  • A snood Turkey. The snood is the fleshy part on top of the beak. The wattle hangs under it.
  • A snout shaped like a U Alligator. A crocodile's snout is closer to a V. With its mouth shut, an alligator shows only its upper teeth.
  • A tail curled round a branch A chameleon's tail can grip. Any other animal you catch holding on by its tail counts too.
  • A tail used as a fifth leg Kangaroo. Watch one move slowly: the tail props it up while the back legs swing forward.
  • A trunk Elephant. The trunk is the nose and the upper lip joined into one.
  • An animal with a beard Goat. Male and female goats can both have beards.
  • An animal with a pouch Kangaroo or koala. Both are marsupials, and a young kangaroo is a joey.
  • An animal with no eyelids Snake. A clear scale covers each eye, so a snake never blinks.
  • Antlers Deer or reindeer. Antlers are bone, and they are shed and regrown every year. Reindeer are the only deer whose females grow them too.
  • Ears big enough to use as fans Elephant. Flapping the ears gets rid of heat. African elephants have larger ears than Asian elephants.
  • Ears shaped like bananas Llama. The long ears curve inward. It is larger than an alpaca, with a longer head.
  • Eyelashes long enough to see from the fence Camel. It also has nostrils that can close and a third eyelid.
  • Eyes that point two ways at once Chameleon. Each eye moves on its own.
  • Eyes, ears and nostrils all on top of the head Hippopotamus. It can sink almost out of sight and still see, hear and breathe.
  • Flippers Penguin or sea lion. A penguin's flippers are its wings.
  • Horns that curl Sheep, goats and some antelope. A horn is a bone core inside a keratin sheath, and it is usually not shed.
  • The longest ears in the petting zoo Rabbit or donkey. A rabbit's ears help it control its body heat as well as hear.
  • The longest neck in the zoo Giraffe. The neck has only seven bones, the usual number for a mammal.
  • Quills Porcupine. The quills are modified hairs, and a porcupine cannot shoot them.
  • Short, blunt horns covered in skin Giraffe. They are called ossicones.
  • Small ear flaps on a swimmer Sea lion. It has ear flaps you can see, and it can walk on all fours.
  • Tusks An elephant's tusks are its upper incisor teeth, and they keep growing at about 17 cm a year.
  • Webbed feet Ducks are the easy answer. For a harder one find the capybara, whose feet are slightly webbed.
  • Whiskers Cats, otters and sea lions are good places to look.

What it is doing 25

  • A bird preening It runs its feathers through its beak, one at a time.
  • A bird standing on one leg Flamingo. Why they do it is still not fully understood.
  • A bird that turns its head to look straight behind Owl. Its eyes are fixed in their sockets, so it turns its head instead, up to 270 degrees.
  • A bird with its head under water and its tail in the air Duck. Dabbling ducks up-end to feed without diving.
  • A young animal beside an adult Compare the two: size, coat and how close the young one stays.
  • An animal being brushed, fed or led by a keeper Watch from the rail. Ask before you join in.
  • An animal carrying its young On its back, under its belly or in a pouch.
  • An animal chewing with no food in front of it A cow or a goat chewing the cud: food brought back up from the stomach for a second chew. A cow's stomach has four compartments.
  • An animal climbing Up a tree, a rope, a rock or the mesh.
  • An animal covering itself in mud or dust Elephants take mud baths, then blow dust over themselves with the trunk. It protects the skin from sunburn and insect bites.
  • An animal drinking Water troughs, pools and drippers are the places to watch.
  • An animal eating Say what the food is to score it.
  • An animal fast asleep A lion is a safe bet: lions are inactive for about 20 hours a day. A koala sleeps up to 20 hours.
  • An animal grooming itself or a friend Licking, scratching, picking through fur or combing feathers all count.
  • An animal hanging upside down Sloth or bat. Bats roost that way.
  • An animal holding its food in one foot Parrot. Most parrots can handle food with their feet.
  • An animal lying in mud Pig. Pigs have few working sweat glands, so they wallow in mud or water to cool down.
  • An animal lying in the sun or under a heat lamp Reptiles under a lamp count.
  • An animal standing guard while the others dig Meerkat. Some stand sentry on their back legs while the rest look for food.
  • An animal stretching or yawning A big cat waking from a nap is the one to watch. Count the teeth you can see.
  • An animal swimming under water A window below the water line helps: penguins, sea lions or otters.
  • An animal swinging along by its arms Gibbon. Swinging from branch to branch is called brachiation.
  • An animal with only part of it showing A tail out of a log, ears over the grass, a nose at a burrow. Name the animal from the part.
  • An animal you hear before you see Follow the sound. A pair of gibbons can be heard up to 1 km away.
  • Two different species sharing one enclosure Read both signs to be sure they are different species.

Kinds of animal 20

  • A bird that cannot fly Ostrich, emu or penguin. The ostrich is the tallest and heaviest living bird.
  • A cat that is not a lion or a tiger Cheetah, jaguar, leopard, lynx or a small wild cat.
  • A mongoose Meerkat. It is a small mongoose from southern Africa, and a group is called a mob or a pack.
  • A relative of whales that stands on four legs Hippopotamus. Its closest living relatives are whales and dolphins.
  • A reptile Snake, lizard, tortoise or alligator.
  • A wild animal that does not belong to the zoo A sparrow, a pigeon, a squirrel or a duck that flew in for the free food.
  • An amphibian Frogs are the usual answer. Check the small tanks in the reptile house.
  • An animal people call a bear that is not one Koala. It is a marsupial. The red panda is a good second answer: it is not closely related to the giant panda.
  • An animal that is awake at night Most owls and most bats are nocturnal. Look for a darkened night house on the map.
  • An animal that looks like a rodent and is not Rabbit. Rabbits are lagomorphs, and all of their teeth keep growing.
  • An ape, which means no tail Gibbon, orangutan, gorilla or chimpanzee. If it has a tail, it is not an ape.
  • An endangered animal Read the signs for the word Endangered. Tigers and red pandas are both listed that way.
  • An insect or a spider A butterfly house or an insect house counts. So does an ant on the path.
  • The animal that lays the biggest egg Ostrich, which lays the largest eggs of any living bird. Look for an egg on display near the enclosure.
  • The fastest land animal Cheetah.
  • The giraffe's closest living relative Okapi. Not every zoo keeps one, so swap this find if the map does not show it.
  • The largest bear Polar bear, the largest living bear and the largest land carnivore.
  • The largest land animal Elephant.
  • The largest lizard alive Komodo dragon. It comes from a few islands in Indonesia.
  • The largest rodent in the zoo Capybara, the largest living rodent. A porcupine is a rodent too.

Where it comes from 14

  • A bird that never meets a polar bear in the wild Penguin. Penguins live almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, and polar bears live in the Arctic.
  • A range map that includes the country you are standing in The map must shade your own country. Native animals count.
  • An animal at home in water and on land Capybara or hippopotamus. The capybara is semiaquatic, with slightly webbed feet.
  • An animal found on one island and nowhere else Lemur. Every kind of lemur comes from Madagascar.
  • An animal from Africa Giraffe, zebra or meerkat. The range map on the sign is the proof.
  • An animal from Asia Gibbon, red panda, Asian elephant or Komodo dragon.
  • An animal from Australia Kangaroo, koala or emu.
  • An animal from North America American alligator. The only other alligator species lives in China.
  • An animal from South America Capybara, llama or poison dart frog.
  • An animal from the Arctic Polar bear.
  • An animal from the Himalayas Red panda. It comes from the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China.
  • An animal whose sign says desert Read the habitat line. Sand on the enclosure floor is a hint.
  • An animal whose sign says grassland or savanna The big open paddocks are the place to start.
  • An animal whose sign says rainforest Read the habitat line on the sign. The warm, humid houses are the place to start.

Around the zoo 19

  • A bird that lands near you in a walk-through aviary Stand still and let the bird choose. Hands stay at your sides.
  • A chart to measure yourself against an animal A height chart, a wingspan painted on a wall or a jump marked on the ground.
  • A feeding time or keeper talk on the day's board Write down the time and the animal. Plan the route so you are there for it.
  • A hand-washing station Find it on the way in and use it on the way out of the petting area.
  • A horse's height given in hands Some stables post it on the stall. One hand is 4 inches, measured at the withers, where the neck meets the back.
  • A keeper at work Spot only. Keepers are busy, so wave and move on.
  • A plant with a name label Read the label for the plant's name and where it grows wild.
  • A sign about a conservation project Name the animal it helps and the country the project is in.
  • A sign asking visitors not to feed the animals Find it, then follow it for the rest of the hunt.
  • A sign that gives an animal's weight or height Work out how many of you it would take to match it.
  • A sign that says what the animal eats Read it out to the team, then look for that food in the enclosure.
  • A sign that shows a conservation status The Red List scale runs from Least Concern to Extinct. Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered are the three threatened levels.
  • A sign with a range map The shaded part shows where the animal lives in the wild.
  • A statue or sculpture of an animal Bronze, wood or a hedge cut to shape.
  • A window below the water line Stand back a step so smaller visitors can see too.
  • An animal's own name, not its species Some signs introduce the animals one by one, with a name and a birthday.
  • An animal's scientific name Look under the common name for two words in italics.
  • Animal footprints on the path Painted, pressed into the concrete or printed on a sign. Guess the animal before you read the label.
  • The zoo map A paper map or a map board. Find the You are here mark.

Farm and petting zoo 6

  • A camel relative with no hump Llama. It is a South American camelid. Llamas sometimes spit at each other to settle rank. A well-raised llama rarely spits at people.
  • A drake A male duck. The female is simply called a duck, or a hen.
  • A foal A horse or donkey less than a year old.
  • A jack or a jenny A male donkey is a jack and a female is a jenny. The call is a bray, and it can carry more than three kilometres.
  • A kid that is not a child A young goat is called a kid.
  • A rooster, a hen and a chick Find all three to score it. A young hen under a year old is a pullet.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by its editors in September 2026: 145 original finds for a zoo or farm park visit. Nothing was copied from another list. Every animal fact in a note was checked on 2026-09-18 against the English Wikipedia article for that animal, and each item that carries a fact lists the article in x.src. Articles used (all under https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/): Alligator, Antler, Ape, Bat, Camel, Capybara, Cattle, Chameleon, Cheetah, Chicken, Common_ostrich, Domestic_turkey, Donkey, Duck, Elephant, Emu, Flamingo, Giant_anteater, Gibbon, Giraffe, Goat, Hippopotamus, Horse, IUCN_Red_List, Jaguar, Kangaroo, Koala, Komodo_dragon, Lemur, Lion, Llama, Meerkat, Owl, Parrot, Peafowl, Penguin, Pig, Poison_dart_frog, Polar_bear, Porcupine, Rabbit, Red_panda, Rhinoceros, Sea_lion, Sheep, Sloth, Snake, Tiger, Tortoise, Zebra. The conservation levels follow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUCN_Red_List, checked 2026-09-18. Facts the articles did not state plainly were left out. Finds that need no fact (a sign, a map, an animal eating) carry no source. Every find is look-only: nothing to touch, feed, pick up or buy, and no tapping on glass. Difficulty levels are the editors' judgment. Licence: own work