How it works
This Spanish animals word search is free and printable. It hides 16 animals, such as Gato, Mariposa and Tortuga, in a 15 by 15 grid, each beside a line for its English name. Eight lists sort 174 animals by kind.
Read the full guide
Pick the animals your unit covers
Under the puzzle, Start from a list is a menu of twelve lists. Eight hold 17 to 31 animals each: Pets, Farm, Forest and Mountain, Zoo, Sea and River, Birds, Insects and Small Creatures, Reptiles and Amphibians. Short Words holds 49 names of 3 to 5 letters, such as Oso and Rana. For animal names in English, print the animal word search.
Quiz el and la with the clues
In More options, tick Show clues, not words. Each clue gives the English name, then the article and a blank: "the cow: la ___" hides Vaca. Águila is the trap. It is feminine but takes el, because it starts with a stressed a, and the plural goes back to las águilas.
- Ñ is a grid letter of its own, in Araña, Cigüeña and Piraña. Accented vowels print plain, so Murciélago hides as MURCIELAGO.
- Names spelled the same in English, such as Panda, Iguana and Mosquito, get a describing clue, so no clue gives its answer away.
- Words With an Accent or Ñ holds 40 animals. After the puzzle, pupils copy each one and circle the marked letter.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between pez and pescado?
Pez is a fish alive in the water, so it is the word on this list. Pescado is a fish that has been caught, or fish served as food.
Why do some animals have two Spanish names here?
Spanish has two everyday words for them. Escorpión and Alacrán both mean scorpion, Serpiente and Culebra both mean snake, and Oca is the name for a goose used mostly in Spain, beside Ganso. The clue for the second word of each pair says so.
Do la jirafa and el búho change for a male or female animal?
No. Jirafa and Ballena keep la, and Búho and Cocodrilo keep el, whichever the animal is. Pets and farm animals often have two forms instead, such as Gato and Gata; this list prints Gato.
How was the Spanish checked?
In October 2026 every spelling, accent and gender was read in the Real Academia Española's dictionary, in archived copies, and in English Wiktionary. Names vary by country: for the armadillo, Wiktionary lists Mulita in Argentina and Cachicamo in Venezuela. Use the names your class knows.