Hey, all you party animals! Look no further for a fun, family-friendly activity learning about animals that start with P! We’ve got a great list of Animals That Start With P for you to share with your kids and get their imaginations going!
One of the things I love most about being a mom is seeing my kids’ interests shine. My daughter loves to paint watercolors of animals in their natural habitats. My oldest sons love to pick two animals and discuss which one would win in battle. My youngest son will follow me around the house while I do chores, chatting my ear off about the latest animal fact he’s read.
The common theme is always animals. There is something mysterious and exciting about digging into the animal kingdom and seeing what you come up with.
Animals are a great springboard for all kinds of activities! You can do animal trivia nights, go on an adventure to the zoo, or play Animal Charades. Family members of all ages will have a great time getting in on the action.
Start reading below for some animal facts to share with your family today!
For more animal fun, be sure to check out our Animals that Start with T and our Animals that Start with M.
Common Animals That Start With P
Join in on the fun with these facts about common animals that start with the letter P!
Panther
The stealthy black panther stalks their prey from above. Panthers can climb tall trees and often follow their prey for quite a distance before pouncing on them from higher branches. They can land a jump from over 20 feet high without getting hurt! Their black coats help them blend into the foliage, especially at night when it’s most active.
Peacock
Did you know that peacocks, with their long, beautiful tail feathers, are all male? A female is called a “peahen;” you can tell the difference by the lack of bright colors and long tail feathers. Peacocks use their tail feathers for a very important reason: to attract and impress the ladies! The peacock will dance around with their feathers upright for others to see when they’re ready to mate.
Penguins
Most animals have physical characteristics that help protect them against predators. The penguins have two! When swimming, their black backs blend in with the dark water to prevent an aerial attack. Their white bellies blend in with the sky, which prevents them from being attacked from below. It looks like evolution has thought of everything when it comes to protecting these arctic birds from predators!
Pig
No list of P animals would be complete without Pigs! From farm animals to emotional support animals to wild beasts, pigs have many talents. Pigs are very smart. In fact, they have the same IQ as an average three-year-old human child! If you were to try to train a dog and a pig at the same time, the pig would catch on to tricks faster than the dog. Pigs have even learned how to play video games, just like primates!
Pink Flamingo
Do you know what gives flamingos their beautiful pink feathers? Here’s a hint: these birds are what they eat! Pink flamingos feast on brine shrimp, which have pigments (carotenoids) that tint flamingo feathers pink. Flamingos mate with one bird at a time and work together to keep their large egg safe from harm. They build nests that look like mud mountains to protect the egg and keep it warm until it’s ready to hatch!
Piranha
With sharp teeth that are perfect for tearing meat into small bites, piranhas are terrifying freshwater fish. Although people once thought that piranhas actively hunted humans, the truth is that they will usually leave people alone if they have a full belly. Still, you wouldn’t want to tempt a school of piranhas by swimming too close!
Polar Bear
Even though polar bears appear white, their skin is jet black. Their fur is translucent, which means that it allows light to reflect around it. Polar bears have excellent senses, especially their sense of smell. They can sniff a seal’s scent over 6 miles away! They will look for a hole in the ice near where a seal is swimming and wait for the seal to come up for a breath of air. Then, they attack!
Porcupine
One porcupine has over 30,000 sharp quills sticking out of their skin! When a predator gets close to the porcupine, they run the risk of the quills falling off and poking them. Because quills are barbed, they are very hard to remove. Sometimes all a porcupine will need to do is shake its tail for a potential threat to turn and run away!
Python
Pythons are strong snakes that use brute force to capture their prey. They will wrap around their dinner and constrict (squeeze) until it dies and can be swallowed whole. Some pythons are large enough to eat an adult human whole! Although it is very rare, there are stories of people in Indonesia who have been found in the belly of a giant python.
Pets That Start With The Letter P
No list would be complete without our favorite pets that start with the letter P! Is yours on the list? Let us know below!
- Paint horse
- Painted Turtle
- Palomino horse
- Papillon
- Parrot
- Pekingese
- Persian cat
- Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen
- Pitbull
- Plymouth Rock chicken
- Pointer
- Polish chicken
- Pomeranian
- Poodle
- Pot-bellied pig
- Pug
- Pyrenean mountain dog
- Pygmy goat
Zoo Animals That Start With The Letter P
There are many zoo animals that start with the letter P! Before you go on your next trip, check out this list and make sure to stop by their exhibits! How many can you find on your zoo trip?
- Pacific Walrus
- Pademelon
- Palawan Peacock-Pheasant
- Pangolin
- Patagonian Mara
- Patas Monkey
- Peccary
- Pelican
- Pere David’s Deer
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pheasant
- Philippine deer
- Pied Tamarin
- Pika
- Pigeon
- Plains Zebra
- Possum
- Poison Dart Frog
- Pronghorn
- Puffin
- Puma
- Pygmy Hippopotamus
- Pygmy Marmoset
Uncommon Animals That Start With The Letter P
Here are even more animals that start with the letter P. Can you think of any that we forgot? Let us know, so we can add them to the list!
- Pacific halibut
- Pacific herring
- Pacific lamprey
- Pacific salmon
- Pacific saury
- Pacific spiny lumpsucker
- Pacific viperfish
- Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
- Paddlefish
- Paddock sheep
- Padua goose
- Painted comber
- Painted frogfish
- Painted greenling
- Painted sweetlips
- Palometa
- Pampanito
- Panga
- Panther grouper
- Paper nautilus
- Parrotfish
- Pasque sole
- Patagonian toothfish
- Peacock flounder
- Peacock rockcod
- Pearl danio
- Pearl perch
- Pearlfish
- Peking duck
- Pelagic cod
- Pelagic thresher shark
- Pelican eel
- Pencil urchin
- Pencilfish
- Penguin fish
- Pennant coralfish
- Peppered moray
- Perch
- Percheron horse
- Peruvian horse mackerel
- Petrale sole
- Pharaoh cuttlefish
- Philippine Tarsier
- Pied Avocet
- Pigeon guillemot
- Pigeye shark
- Pike conger
- Pike eel
- Pike Fish
- Pikeblenny
- Piked dogfish
- Pilchard
- Pilot fish
- Pine Marten
- Pink Fairy Armadillo
- Pink River Dolphin
- Pink salmon
- Pink whipray
- Pink-tailed Worm Lizard
- Pipefish
- Plant omnivorous jellyfish
- Pirate perch
- Pitbull shark
- Plaice
- Plainfin midshipman
- Planktonic copepod
- Platessa
- Platypus
- Plumed seahorse
- Pocket shark
- Polka-dot ribbonfish
- Polled Hereford cattle
- Pomfret
- Pompano
- Pond Skater
- Pool Frog
- Porbeagle shark
- Porcupinefish
- Porpoise
- Portuguese dogfish
- Pouting
- Powder blue surgeonfish
- Prawn
- Prickleback
- Prickly sea cucumber
- Prickly shark
- Prince Barracuda
- Prionace glauca
- Pristella tetra
- Pristidactylus argyropleuron
- Proboscis Monkey
- Pseudochromis diadema
- Pseudocrenilabrus philander
- Pseudogastromyzon myersi
- Pseudohemiodon apithanos
- Pseudotropheus crabro
- Psittacofulvimarinae
- Pufferfish
- Pughead pipefish
- Puma ribbonfish
- Purpleback flying squid
- Purplemouth moray
- Purple-spotted bigeye
- Puss Moth
- Pygmy killer whale
- Purple Emperor Butterfly
- Pygmy shark
- Pygmy Slow Loris
- Pyjama cardinalfish
- Pyrosome
There you have it! A huge list of animals that begin with P to learn and to have fun exploring with the kids. Did we forget an animal? Be sure to add any other animals that start with P to the list!
Do you want to learn about other interesting animals? Be sure to check out our other lists of animals!
- Awesome Animals that Start with A
- 230 Curious Animals That Start With C
- 115 Exciting Animals That Start With E
- 184 Intriguing Animals that Start with G
- 128 Fascinating Animals That Begin with J
- 187 Amazing Animals that Begin with K
- 249 Interesting Animals That Begin with L
- 163 Marvelous Animals that Start with M
- 373 Spectacular Animals that Start with S
- 155 Terrific Animals that Start with T
- 98 Wonderful Animals that Start with W
- 24 X-cellent Animals That Start With X
- 32 Fantastic Animals That Start With Y
Michele Tripple is a renowned author and expert in the fields of parenting, relationships, and personal development. With her degree in marriage and family studies, her experience as a Family Life Educator, and over a decade of experience as a professional writer, Michele has authored books that provide practical advice and insights into improving family dynamics and personal growth. Her work is celebrated for its blend of research-driven information and relatable, real-world applications. Michele has been a keynote speaker at conferences and has contributed to numerous publications and media outlets, solidifying her reputation as an authoritative voice in her field and helping families build relationships.