Animal Baby Names

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Animal Baby Names banner

Babies are always cute, but baby animals might be even cuter in comparison. Seeing an infant member of almost any species appears to be able to soften even the most hardhearted of us. Proof of this can be seen in everyday life; We love to take photos of our little pets at home, we enjoy sharing memes about young creatures and we always take the chance to watch funny animal videos on YouTube.

However, not everyone knows the correct names to use when referring to these animals. While they might be familiar with the animal itself, they often don’t know the word that is used to indicate that the animal is a baby as opposed to a fully grown adult.

There are many easy examples such as kittens and puppies, but what terms do we use when talking about a baby eagle, rhinoceros, skunk or spider?

Find out here by checking the list below:

antelope calf
badger cub
bear cub
beaver kit
bobcat kitten
buffalo calf
camel calf
caribou fawn
cat kitten
cattle calf
chicken chick
cougar kitten
coyote puppy
deer fawn
dog puppy / pup / whelp
duck duckling
eagle eaglet
eel elver
elephant calf
elk calf
ferret kit
fish fry
fox cub / kit
frog tadpole
giraffe calf
goat kid
goose gosling
hare leveret
hartebeest calf
hawk chick / eyas
horse foal / colt / filly
kangaroo joey
leopard cub
lion cub
mink kit
owl owlet
peafowl peachick
pheasant chick
pig piglet/ porkling / gilt
pigeon squab / squeaker
pike pickerel
possum joey
rabbit kitten
rat pup
rhinoceros calf
roedeer kid
salmon parr / smolt
seal calf / pup
sheep lamb
skunk kitten
spider spiderling
swan cygnet
tiger cub
toad tadpole
wallaby joey
walrus cub
weasel kit
whale calf
wolf cub / pup / whelp
zebra foal

We hope you enjoyed this list. Let us in the comment section if you have any favourites, or if you know of any baby animal names that have been left out.


Sources

  • OxfordWords blog, ‘What do you call a baby owl and other baby animals?’. Available here [accessed on 19/02/18].

Written by

Liam Kennedy – Schuman Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament. Graduate of Journalism with a Language (French) at Dublin Institute of Technology. Completed a Masters in Translation Studies at University College Cork.