Young ones of animals is one of those topics that turns up in Class 1 and Class 2 English and GK again and again: “A cow has a ____.” Children love it because baby animals are cute, and parents sometimes get stuck because the names are odd. Why is a baby goat a kid, and a baby kangaroo a joey?
Print-ready worksheets for this topic
Opposites and Rhyming Words Worksheets PDF – Word Families & Vocabulary for Ages 5–8 (37 Pages) – A4 PDF, instant download. ₹79 ₹149
This guide gives you a full list of 40 animals and their young ones, a simple way to remember them in groups, a 20-question practice quiz with answers and a matching game you can play at the dining table. Everything here is free to copy into a notebook or onto a whiteboard.
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Quick answer: The most common young ones of animals for Class 1 are:
- cow – calf, goat – kid, sheep – lamb, horse – foal
- dog – puppy, cat – kitten, lion – cub, tiger – cub
- hen – chick, duck – duckling, frog – tadpole, butterfly – caterpillar
- Learn them in families: the calf family, the cub family and the foal family make it much easier.
Young ones of animals for Class 1: start with 12
Do not hand a six-year-old 40 names on day one. Start with the 12 in the quick answer box. Most Class 1 children already know puppy and kitten, so they only need to learn a few new words. Say each pair aloud with an action: “The cow says moo, and her baby is a calf.” Then ask your child to say it back.
Once these 12 feel easy, add the rest of the list in small groups of five, two or three times a week. If your child is also learning about animals in EVS, our animals worksheet for Class 1 covers wild, pet and farm animals, food and body coverings, so you can link the two topics.
Animals and their young ones: the full list of 40
The table groups the names so children can see the pattern. Many big animals have a calf, many wild cats and bears have a cub, and the horse family has a foal.
| Animal | Young one | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Cow | Calf | Calf family |
| Buffalo | Calf | Calf family |
| Elephant | Calf | Calf family |
| Camel | Calf | Calf family |
| Giraffe | Calf | Calf family |
| Whale | Calf | Calf family |
| Lion | Cub | Cub family |
| Tiger | Cub | Cub family |
| Leopard | Cub | Cub family |
| Bear | Cub | Cub family |
| Panda | Cub | Cub family |
| Fox | Cub | Cub family |
| Wolf | Cub | Cub family |
| Horse | Foal | Foal family |
| Donkey | Foal | Foal family |
| Zebra | Foal | Foal family |
| Dog | Puppy | Pets |
| Cat | Kitten | Pets |
| Rabbit | Kit (also called a bunny) | Pets |
| Goat | Kid | Farm |
| Sheep | Lamb | Farm |
| Pig | Piglet | Farm |
| Hen | Chick | Birds |
| Duck | Duckling | Birds |
| Goose | Gosling | Birds |
| Swan | Cygnet | Birds |
| Owl | Owlet | Birds |
| Eagle | Eaglet | Birds |
| Peacock / peahen | Peachick | Birds |
| Pigeon | Squab | Birds |
| Deer | Fawn | Wild |
| Kangaroo | Joey | Wild |
| Koala | Joey | Wild |
| Hare | Leveret | Wild |
| Seal | Pup | Wild |
| Mouse | Pup | Small animals |
| Frog | Tadpole | Changes shape |
| Butterfly | Caterpillar | Changes shape |
| Fish | Fry | Water |
| Spider | Spiderling | Small animals |
Memory tricks that work
- The -ling and -let endings mean “little”. Duck becomes duckling, goose becomes gosling, spider becomes spiderling, pig becomes piglet, owl becomes owlet. Point out the ending and children start guessing correctly.
- Calf for the big ones. If the animal is very large (elephant, camel, giraffe, whale), the answer is often calf.
- Cub for the hunters. Lions, tigers, leopards, bears and foxes all have cubs.
- Two that change shape. A tadpole does not look like a frog and a caterpillar does not look like a butterfly. Children find this fascinating, so draw the life cycle as four simple boxes.
- Joey is the odd one. Kangaroos and koalas both carry a joey in a pouch. A child who remembers “pouch” remembers “joey”.
Baby animals names list: what Class 2 children add
Class 2 worksheets often go one step further and mix young ones with other animal words. A child might be asked for the young one, the sound and the home in one row. Here is a short combined table for the animals that appear most often:
| Animal | Young one | Sound | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cow | Calf | moos | shed |
| Dog | Puppy | barks | kennel |
| Horse | Foal | neighs | stable |
| Lion | Cub | roars | den |
| Hen | Chick | clucks | coop |
| Bird | Chick | chirps | nest |
For the full lists, see our guides to homes of animals and animal sounds for kids.
Young ones of animals worksheet: 20-question quiz with answers
Read the questions aloud for Class 1, or copy them into a notebook for Class 2 children to write. Cover the answers with a strip of paper.
- The young one of a cow is a ______. Answer: calf
- The young one of a goat is a ______. Answer: kid
- The young one of a dog is a ______. Answer: puppy
- The young one of a cat is a ______. Answer: kitten
- The young one of a hen is a ______. Answer: chick
- The young one of a lion is a ______. Answer: cub
- The young one of a horse is a ______. Answer: foal
- The young one of a sheep is a ______. Answer: lamb
- The young one of a frog is a ______. Answer: tadpole
- The young one of a duck is a ______. Answer: duckling
- The young one of an elephant is a ______. Answer: calf
- The young one of a deer is a ______. Answer: fawn
- The young one of a pig is a ______. Answer: piglet
- The young one of a kangaroo is a ______. Answer: joey
- The young one of a butterfly is a ______. Answer: caterpillar
- The young one of a bear is a ______. Answer: cub
- The young one of an owl is an ______. Answer: owlet
- The young one of a swan is a ______. Answer: cygnet
- True or false: the young one of a tiger is a kitten. Answer: false, it is a cub
- Which two animals in this quiz have a young one called a calf? Answer: cow and elephant
A score of 15 or more out of 20 is a great result for Class 1. If your child gets fewer, look at which group caused trouble (usually the birds) and practise only that group the next day.
Prefer ready-to-print pages?
Opposites and Rhyming Words Worksheets PDF – Word Families & Vocabulary for Ages 5–8 (37 Pages) – A4 PDF, instant download. ₹79 ₹149
Matching game: animals and their young ones
This takes ten minutes to make and children ask for it again and again.
- Cut 24 small cards from old cardboard or thick paper.
- On 12 cards write an animal name (or draw it). On the other 12 write its young one.
- Shuffle and lay all 24 cards face down in rows.
- Players take turns turning over two cards. If they match (cow and calf), the player keeps them and has another turn. If not, turn them back over.
- The player with the most pairs at the end wins.
Classroom version: give half the class animal cards and half the class young-one cards. Children walk around and find their partner, then the pair says their sentence together: “A sheep has a lamb.”
Three-minute version for busy evenings: say an animal and clap twice; your child must say the young one before the second clap. Swap roles so your child asks you.
Common mistakes to watch for
- Using “baby” for everything. “Baby cow” is not wrong in everyday talk, but school worksheets want calf.
- Kid and kitten mix-ups. Kid is a goat, kitten is a cat. Say “cat and kitten start with the same k sound” to help.
- Spelling. Watch for puppy (two p in the middle), kitten (two t) and calf (silent l).
- Plurals. One calf, two calves. One cub, two cubs. This links nicely to work on one and many.
Printable practice in the opposites and rhyming words pack
If you would like this topic on a ready-made page, our Opposites and Rhyming Words Worksheets PDF (37 pages, ages 5–8) has a vocabulary section with a young ones of animals page, plus pages on sounds animals make and homes of animals. The rest of the pack covers picture opposites, an opposites crossword, 10 rhyme families, a rhyming word search, one and many, action words, describing words and word webs, with three pages of answer keys and a 4-week tracker. It prints in black and white on A4.
Get the Opposites and Rhyming Words Pack – ₹79
Want to see the style first? Try the free opposites and rhyming words sample. For more quick-fire GK practice, our Class 1 GK questions include animal questions too, and you can browse all our English worksheets.
Download the Opposites and Rhyming Words PDF – ₹79
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Frequently asked questions
What are the young ones of animals called?
Each animal has its own word. Common examples are cow and calf, goat and kid, dog and puppy, cat and kitten, lion and cub, horse and foal, hen and chick, and frog and tadpole.
How many young ones of animals should a Class 1 child know?
There is no fixed number, but many Class 1 worksheets use about 10 to 15 common pairs. Start with 12 and add more in small groups once those feel easy.
Which animals have a young one called a calf?
The cow, buffalo, elephant, camel, giraffe and whale all have young ones called calves.
What is the young one of a kangaroo?
The young one of a kangaroo is called a joey. A koala’s young one is also called a joey.
How can I help my child remember animal baby names?
Teach them in groups such as the calf family and the cub family, point out endings like -ling and -let that mean little, and play a quick matching card game a few times a week.
