This list includes 48 Mammals that start with B, from “Bactrian camel” to “Bushbuck”. Many are widely known mammals used for study, conservation, and education worldwide.
Mammals that start with B are species whose common English names begin with the letter B. The Bactrian camel, for example, has long shaped human cultures across Central Asia.
Below you’ll find the table with Common name, Scientific name, Order, and Habitat.
Common name: The widely used English name for each species, so you can quickly recognize animals in casual or educational contexts.
Scientific name: The accepted Latin binomial provides exact species identity and helps you find authoritative information.
Order: The taxonomic order shows broad biological relationships, helping you compare traits and evolutionary patterns.
Habitat: Short habitat tags (forest, desert, marine, urban, etc.) indicate where the species typically lives and aids planning.
Taxonomy follows current scientific consensus and accepted common names. Extinct species are noted explicitly when included, but this list prioritizes living species.
Last updated: October 29, 2025.
Mammals that start with B
| Common name | Scientific name | Order | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baird’s beaked whale | Berardius bairdii | Cetacea | North Pacific |
| Baird’s tapir | Tapirus bairdii | Perissodactyla | Central America |
| Bactrian camel | Camelus bactrianus | Artiodactyla | Central Asia |
| Baikal seal | Pusa sibirica | Carnivora | Lake Baikal, Russia |
| Bald uakari | Cacajao calvus | Primates | Amazon Basin |
| Banded mongoose | Mungos mungo | Carnivora | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Banded palm civet | Hemigalus derbyanus | Carnivora | Southeast Asia |
| Banteng | Bos javanicus | Artiodactyla | Southeast Asia |
| Barbary macaque | Macaca sylvanus | Primates | North Africa, Gibraltar |
| Barbary sheep | Ammotragus lervia | Artiodactyla | North Africa |
| Bearded pig | Sus barbatus | Artiodactyla | Borneo, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula |
| Beaver | Castor canadensis | Rodentia | North America |
| Bearded seal | Erignathus barbatus | Carnivora | Arctic seas |
| Beisa oryx | Oryx beisa | Artiodactyla | Horn of Africa |
| Bengal tiger | Panthera tigris tigris | Carnivora | India, Bangladesh, Nepal |
| Bilby | Macrotis lagotis | Peramelemorphia | Australia |
| Binturong | Arctictis binturong | Carnivora | Southeast Asia |
| Black bear | Ursus americanus | Carnivora | North America |
| Black-footed cat | Felis nigripes | Carnivora | Southern Africa |
| Black-footed ferret | Mustela nigripes | Carnivora | North America |
| Black howler | Alouatta caraya | Primates | South America |
| Black lemur | Eulemur macaco | Primates | Madagascar |
| Black rat | Rattus rattus | Rodentia | Global (introduced) |
| Black rhinoceros | Diceros bicornis | Perissodactyla | Africa |
| Black-tailed deer | Odocoileus hemionus columbianus | Artiodactyla | Pacific Northwest, North America |
| Black-tailed jackrabbit | Lepus californicus | Lagomorpha | Western North America |
| Black-tailed prairie dog | Cynomys ludovicianus | Rodentia | North American grasslands |
| Black-tufted marmoset | Callithrix penicillata | Primates | Brazil |
| Blackbuck | Antilope cervicapra | Artiodactyla | Indian subcontinent |
| Blue duiker | Philantomba monticola | Artiodactyla | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Blue monkey | Cercopithecus mitis | Primates | Central, East Africa |
| Blue whale | Balaenoptera musculus | Cetacea | Global oceans |
| Blue wildebeest | Connochaetes taurinus | Artiodactyla | Africa |
| Bonobo | Pan paniscus | Primates | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Bontebok | Damaliscus pygargus pygargus | Artiodactyla | South Africa |
| Bongo | Tragelaphus eurycerus | Artiodactyla | Central, West Africa |
| Bornean orangutan | Pongo pygmaeus | Primates | Borneo |
| Bowhead whale | Balaena mysticetus | Cetacea | Arctic seas |
| Bottlenose dolphin | Tursiops truncatus | Cetacea | Global warm-temperate seas |
| Brown bear | Ursus arctos | Carnivora | Eurasia, North America |
| Brown hyena | Parahyaena brunnea | Carnivora | Southern Africa |
| Brown rat | Rattus norvegicus | Rodentia | Global (introduced) |
| Brown-throated sloth | Bradypus variegatus | Pilosa | Central, South America |
| Brush-tailed possum | Trichosurus vulpecula | Diprotodontia | Australia, introduced New Zealand |
| Bushbuck | Tragelaphus scriptus | Artiodactyla | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Bush dog | Speothos venaticus | Carnivora | Central, South America |
| Bryde’s whale | Balaenoptera brydei | Cetacea | Tropical, subtropical oceans |
| Brazilian tapir | Tapirus terrestris | Perissodactyla | Amazon Basin, South America |
Descriptions
Baird’s beaked whale
Deep-diving beaked whale up to about 12 m, feeds on squid and fish, very elusive.
Baird’s tapir
Large forest browser up to 300 kg with a short trunk; endangered due to habitat loss.
Bactrian camel
Two-humped domesticated camel, extremely cold- and desert-adapted, used for transport and wool.
Baikal seal
Small freshwater seal endemic to Lake Baikal, dives under ice to feed on fish.
Bald uakari
Short-tailed monkey with a bright red bald face and short coat, frugivore in flooded forests.
Banded mongoose
Small social predator living in groups, digs for insects, rodents and eggs.
Banded palm civet
Nocturnal civet with distinct bands, forest-floor omnivore feeding on fruit and small animals.
Banteng
Wild cattle with a hump and white rump patch, endangered from hunting and hybridization.
Barbary macaque
Tailless macaque living in troops, omnivorous and one of few wild macaques outside Asia.
Barbary sheep
Goat-antelope of arid mountains with curved horns, adapted to rocky slopes.
Bearded pig
Forest pig with distinctive facial beard, omnivorous forager of roots and fruit.
Beaver
Large semi-aquatic rodent that builds dams and lodges, a major ecosystem engineer.
Bearded seal
Large earless seal with long whiskers, forages on fish and invertebrates in deep waters.
Beisa oryx
Desert-adapted antelope with straight horns, grazes and browses in arid scrub.
Bengal tiger
Large striped tiger subspecies, apex predator of forests and grasslands, endangered.
Bilby
Nocturnal digging marsupial with long ears, eats insects and seeds, builds extensive burrows.
Binturong
Arboreal civet with prehensile tail and popcorn-like smell, omnivorous and nocturnal.
Black bear
Medium-sized omnivorous bear, excellent climber, coat varies from black to cinnamon.
Black-footed cat
Tiny nocturnal wild cat, skilled hunter of rodents and birds, one of Africa’s smallest felids.
Black-footed ferret
Nocturnal mustelid specialized on prairie dogs; once nearly extinct, now recovering via reintroductions.
Black howler
Loud howler monkey with deep calls; males often black, eats leaves and fruit.
Black lemur
Medium-sized lemur; males are black, females orange-brown, arboreal frugivore and folivore.
Black rat
Agile climbing rodent historically spread by ships; omnivorous and commensal with humans.
Black rhinoceros
Thick-skinned browser with hooked upper lip and two horns, critically endangered from poaching.
Black-tailed deer
Mule deer subspecies with a black-tipped tail; forest and coastal habitats.
Black-tailed jackrabbit
Large hare with long ears and a black-tipped tail, fast runner in open country.
Black-tailed prairie dog
Social burrowing rodent with complex colonies and alarm calls; ecosystem engineer.
Black-tufted marmoset
Small tree-dwelling monkey with ear tufts, omnivorous and common in disturbed forests.
Blackbuck
Graceful antelope with twisted horns; males darken with age, grazes open plains.
Blue duiker
Tiny secretive forest antelope, about 4–6 kg, browsers of fruits and leaves.
Blue monkey
Arboreal monkey with blue-gray fur and a long tail, eats fruit and leaves.
Blue whale
Largest animal ever, up to ~30 m, feeds on krill through baleen filtration.
Blue wildebeest
Migratory savanna antelope in large herds, grey-blue coat and curved horns.
Bonobo
Social, tool-using great ape closely related to chimpanzees; peaceful, frugivorous societies.
Bontebok
Grassland antelope with white face blaze and brown body; historically hunted, now conserved.
Bongo
Large reddish forest antelope with white stripes and spiral horns, shy and solitary.
Bornean orangutan
Arboreal great ape with orange fur, critically endangered due to deforestation and hunting.
Bowhead whale
Large Arctic baleen whale with bow-shaped skull, long-lived, feeds on zooplankton.
Bottlenose dolphin
Intelligent coastal dolphin up to ~4 m, highly social and often interacts with people.
Brown bear
Large omnivore including grizzly forms; eats plants, fish and mammals.
Brown hyena
Shaggy scavenging hyena with brown coat, feeds on carrion and small prey.
Brown rat
Widespread commensal rodent, highly adaptable omnivore common in human environments.
Brown-throated sloth
Three-toed sloth with brown throat, extremely slow arboreal folivore in rainforests.
Brush-tailed possum
Arboreal nocturnal marsupial with bushy tail, omnivorous and common in forests and towns.
Bushbuck
Medium-sized, spotted antelope of forest edges; males carry twisted horns.
Bush dog
Small short-legged canid that hunts in packs, eats rodents and peccaries.
Bryde’s whale
Medium-sized baleen whale of warm seas, feeds on fish and krill.
Brazilian tapir
Largest Amazonian land mammal with flexible snout, browsing on leaves and fruit.
