organism, being - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently

ritual killing, sacrifice - the act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity

tracking, trailing - the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind

animal kingdom, Animalia, kingdom Animalia - taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct animals

critter - a regional term for creature (especially domestic animals)

creepy-crawly - an animal that creeps or crawls (such as worms or spiders or insects)

darter - a person or other animal that moves abruptly and rapidly; "squirrels are darters"

peeper - an animal that makes short high-pitched sounds

ectotherm, poikilotherm - an animal whose body temperature varies with the temperature of its surroundings; any animal except birds and mammals

range animal - any animal that lives and grazes in the grassy open land of western North America (especially horses, cattle, sheep)

vermin - any of various small animals or insects that are pests; e.g. cockroaches or rats

varment, varmint - any usually predatory wild animal considered undesirable; e.g. coyote

scavenger - any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying organic matter

work animal - an animal trained for and used for heavy labor

domestic animal - any of various domesticated animals

migrator - an animal (especially birds and fish) that travels between different habitats at particular times of the year

molter, moulter - an animal (especially birds and arthropods and reptiles) that periodically shed their outer layer (feathers or cuticle or skin or hair)

pet - a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement

stayer - a person or other animal having powers of endurance or perseverance; "the horse that won the race is a good stayer"

stunt - a creature (especially a whale) that has been prevented from attaining full growth

marine animal, marine creature, sea animal, sea creature - any of numerous animals inhabiting the sea including e.g. fishes and molluscs and many mammals

female - an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa)

male - an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova)

adult - any mature animal

young, offspring - any immature animal

pureblood, purebred, thoroughbred - a pedigreed animal of unmixed lineage; used especially of horses

giant - any creature of exceptional size

dead animal - an animal that is no longer alive

survivor - an animal that survives in spite of adversity; "only the fittest animals were survivors of the cold winters"

mutant - an animal that has undergone mutation

herbivore - any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants; "horses are herbivores"; "the sauropod dinosaurs were apparently herbivores"

insectivore - any organism that feeds mainly on insects

acrodont - an animal having teeth consolidated with the summit of the alveolar ridge without sockets

pleurodont - an animal having teeth consolidate with the inner surface of the alveolar ridge without sockets

microorganism - any organism of microscopic size

actinomycete - any bacteria (some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals) belonging to the order Actinomycetales

zooplankton - animal constituent of plankton; mainly small crustaceans and fish larvae

conceptus, fertilized egg, embryo - an animal organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation that in higher forms merge into fetal stages but in lower forms terminate in commencement of larval life

chordate - any animal of the phylum Chordata having a notochord or spinal column

invertebrate - any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification

metazoan - any animal of the subkingdom Metazoa; all animals except protozoans and sponges

omnivore - an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances

aggressor, assailant, assaulter, attacker - someone who attacks