Riddles About Animals

Press the button for one riddle about a pet, a farm animal or a wild one, then tap Show answer.

  1. Why is a good joke like a good cat?
All 37

How it works

These riddles about animals are 37 old riddles about dogs, cats, cows, pigs, eagles, fleas, frogs and ants. Each answer stays hidden until you tap Show answer, so everyone can guess first.

Read the full guide

Pets, farm and wild

Pets has 13 riddles, such as the little dog's tail that is farthest from the bark. Farm animals has 10, from the rooster on the fence to the cows that are dun before you milk them. Wild animals and bugs has 17, with four about ants.

Where they come from

Every riddle is in The Handbook of Conundrums (1915), free to read at Project Gutenberg. We told each one again in plain words and kept its answer; the brackets give the word it sounds like.

Tips
  • Try the four ant riddles as a round: once someone guesses infant, the rest come quickly.

Questions and answers

Where are the animal riddles and answers printed?

In the full list below the tool: all 37 riddles, each with its answer beside it. On the card the answer stays covered until you tap Show answer.

Which animal riddles are best for young kids?

"What has four legs and flies?" (two canaries) and "Why do little birds in a nest always agree?" (for fear of falling out) need no hard words. The ant riddles suit readers who know words like infant and tenant.

Are there more animal riddles on the site?

Yes. The funny riddles page has an Animals chip of its own, and the main riddle page has the hedgehog, the squirrel and the mole. None of them repeats a riddle from this page.

All 37 riddles

Pets 13

  • Plant a puppy, and what comes up? Dogwood (dog would).
  • What has four legs and flies? Two canaries.
  • What is the difference between a cat and a comma? A cat has claws at the end of its paws; a comma is a pause at the end of a clause.
  • What shape is a parrot that has flown away? A polygon (Polly gone).
  • When is a black dog not a black dog? When it is a greyhound.
  • Why does a cat sleep better in summer? Summer brings a cat-a-pillow (caterpillar).
  • Why is a dog like a person who is four feet ten? It stands over four feet.
  • Why is a dog like a tree? Both have a bark.
  • Why is a dog with a sore paw like a child doing sums? It puts down three and carries one.
  • Why is a good joke like a good cat? It needs paws (pause).
  • Why is a little dog's tail like the heart of a tree? It is the part farthest from the bark.
  • Why is a mouse like hay? The cat'll eat it (cattle eat it).
  • Why is a puppy like a doll? It is a pup-pet (puppet).

Farm animals 9

  • What is most like a horse's foot? A mare's foot.
  • What is the best way to double a flock of sheep? Fold them. A fold is also a pen for sheep.
  • What is the difference between a duck with one wing and a duck with two? Just a difference of a pinion (opinion).
  • What is the most important part of a horse? The mane (main) part.
  • Why are pigs so clever? They nose (know) everything.
  • Why is a rooster on a fence like a coin? Its head is on one side and its tail on the other.
  • Why is a turkey always in fashion? It always turns up well dressed.
  • Why should you always pick white cows? It is no use milking the ones that are dun (done) before you start.
  • Why would a compliment from a chicken be rude? It would be in fowl (foul) language.

Wild animals and bugs 15

  • What is the difference between a butterfly and a volcano? Lava comes out of a crater; the creature comes out of a larva.
  • What would a bear want in a fabric shop? Muslin (muzzlin').
  • When does a leopard change its spots? When it moves from one spot to another.
  • When does an eagle become a carpenter? When it soars (saws) over the woods.
  • When is a wall like a fish? When it is scaled.
  • Which ant is full of joy? Jubilant.
  • Which ant is the youngest? An infant.
  • Which ant notices everything? Observant.
  • Which ant rents its home? A tenant.
  • Which game do frogs play, besides leapfrog? Croaky (croquet).
  • Why do little birds in a nest always agree? For fear of falling out.
  • Why is a flea like a long winter? It makes a backward spring.
  • Why is a spider good at writing letters? It drops a line by every post.
  • Why is a water lily like a whale? Both come to the surface to blow.
  • Why would an owl be cross if you called it a pheasant? You would be making game of it.
How this list was compiled

Traditional riddles found in 1 public domain books on Project Gutenberg: The Handbook of Conundrums (Edith B. Ordway, 1915) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32898. Book texts fetched from https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/<id>/pg<id>.txt on 2026-09-24, and a script found the key words of every riddle and answer in one passage of its cited book (the line number is kept in x.line). Every riddle and answer was then told again in plain words for this page. Every answer is about an animal. None is on this site's riddle-generator page (which already has the hedgehog, squirrel, mole, watchdog and more) or on another page of the riddles set, which has its own animal puns on funny-riddles-with-answers. Licence: public domain sources (Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/permission.html); the wording of each riddle and answer is own work