Animal studies are the entry point into biology for most students, because the questions start with something they already care about.
This section holds profiles of individual species and the concepts that connect them: how animals are grouped, how they are suited to where they live, and what happens when habitat disappears.
The two ideas that hold the section together
Classification. Animals are grouped by shared characteristics and shared ancestry, not by where they live or what they look like at a glance. A whale is a mammal and a shark is a fish, and the reason why is the whole point of the exercise.
Adaptation. A feature is an adaptation when it helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. Adaptations are not chosen, not designed on purpose by the animal, and not acquired within one lifetime.
That last sentence is worth saying to students directly. The most common misconception in the topic is that animals develop traits because they need them. They do not. Variation exists first, and the environment sorts it.
A note on species pages
Each species page names where the animal lives, what it eats, how it is classified, and its conservation status where that status is documented. Conservation status changes over time, so treat any figure as current to its stated source rather than permanent.
Where to go next
For grouping, start with animal classification. Species profiles include birds of prey, endangered orangutans, zebras and palomino horses. The wider section index is in science.