How to Play Animal Locator

Overview

Animal Locator is a wildlife geography game. Each round, an animal photo and a habitat clue appear on screen. Your job is to find the country where that species primarily lives on an interactive world map — before the 25-second timer runs out.

The pool of 55 animals spans five continents and four animal classes — mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Species range from the iconic (Giant Panda, Polar Bear, Kangaroo) to the surprising (Axolotl, Saiga Antelope, Proboscis Monkey). 10 are drawn at random each session, so the game stays fresh.

Step-by-step guide

1. 1
   Choose solo or multiplayer

   Tap Solo to play alone, or Multiplayer to face a real opponent. Both players draw the same 10 animals from the same random seed — so the result is decided purely by wildlife knowledge.
2. 2
   Read the animal card and hint

   An animal photo appears alongside its name, type (Mammal, Bird, Reptile…) and a short geographic hint. The hint describes the habitat or range without naming the country — use it to narrow things down.
3. 3
   Find the country on the map

   An interactive world map is displayed. You have 25 seconds to locate the animal's primary home country. Zoom in with the scroll wheel or pinch gesture to find smaller nations. Pan by dragging.
4. 4
   Preview before confirming

   Hover over any territory (desktop) to see its name and flag before clicking. On mobile, tap a country once to preview it in the bottom bar, then tap Confirm to lock in your answer.
5. 5
   Click to submit your answer

   Click the country you think is correct. The map immediately highlights the right country in green — and your chosen country in red if you were wrong. One correct click scores 100 points.
6. 6
   Repeat for all 10 rounds

   A new animal appears each round. The 10 animals are drawn randomly from a pool of 55 species across mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians — so every session is different.

Scoring

Tips to score higher

• Read the hint carefully before touching the map — it always contains a geographic or ecological clue that narrows the continent, if not the country.
• The animal's type badge (Mammal, Bird, Reptile…) combined with the hint is often enough to pin down the region. Reptiles are rarely found in Arctic climates, for example.
• Several species are endemic to islands — New Zealand, Madagascar, Indonesia — that are easy to overlook. Zoom in on island chains when the hint suggests isolation.
• Think about endemism: animals described as existing "nowhere else on Earth" or found on a "single island" are pinned to very specific countries.
• In multiplayer, speed matters as much as accuracy — both players score 100 for the correct country, so answering faster gives you a psychological edge heading into the next round.