Game

Wild Guess

Where in the world does it live in the wild today? See an animal, drop a pin on the globe, and score up to 5,000 points for landing in its native range.

Loading the globe…

How to play

  1. Look at the animal. In Expert mode, you only get the photo.
  2. Spin and zoom the globe, then tap where you think it lives in the wild.
  3. Press Guess to see its native range, how far off you were, and a fact about it.
  4. Five animals make a game. Share your Daily Challenge score and come back tomorrow for a new set.

Want to learn the ranges first? Every animal has a page in our animal directory, and our Learn Center explains what terms like “Endangered” mean.

Common questions

  • How do you play Wild Guess?

    You see a photo of an animal, then spin the globe and drop a pin where you think it lives in the wild. Press Guess to reveal its native range and your score. A game is five animals.

  • How is Wild Guess scored?

    A pin anywhere inside the animal's native range scores the full 5,000 points. Outside it, your score falls with distance from the nearest edge of the range: about 4,000 points at 500 km and about 2,000 at 2,000 km. The best possible game is 25,000.

  • What is the Daily Challenge?

    Everyone gets the same five animals each day, with a new set at midnight U.S. Eastern time. Play it once, share your result, and keep your streak going. Classic mode gives you a fresh random five whenever you like.

  • What counts as an animal's native range?

    Where the species lives naturally in the wild today, not where it first evolved, and not places people have introduced it. On the globe, ranges are shaded by state, province or country, so they are a simplified version of the species' true range: a coastal bird may light up a whole state, for example.

  • Can I see these animals in the U.S.?

    Yes. Every animal in Wild Guess lives at one or more U.S. zoos. After each round, follow the link to its page to see which zoos keep it.

Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain). Map tiles: OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles, OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos are credited on each round.