A-Z Animals believes that if people are educated about the natural world they will better care for the earth and all species that occupy it. We aim to educate, entertain, amuse, and inform readers with incredible content about animals, weather events, plants, and local news that is relevant to you.
We hold ourselves to the highest standards of careful research and accuracy so that all readers can trust the material found here represents the most modern understanding of a given species ranging from scientific name to diet, habitat, and more. We also present an animal’s conservation status whenever possible so that readers can take action to protect a species.
Our Team
A-Z Animals is brought to life by a team 50+ of animal-loving experts, editors, and dedicated writers. Meet some of them below!
A-Z Animals Owners
Jeremy Phillips
Jeremy Phillips is a Founding Partner and CEO of Flywheel Publishing, which owns A-Z Animals. Jeremy focuses on digital marketing and data insights. He’s proud to be building a platform that brings joy to over 2 million daily readers, consistent & reliable income to content creators, and brand safe content for advertisers. In his free time, Jeremy manages hundreds of acres of conserved land, improving the natural habitat of dozens of species, helping to prevent wildfires and ensuring the enjoyment for the next generation.
Michael Gurtzweiler
Michael is a founding partner of Flywheel Publishing leading the company's technology strategy and infrastructure. With over 20 years of software engineering and leadership experience, including serving as VP of Engineering at The Motley Fool, Michael brings deep expertise in scaling digital platforms and building high-performing technology teams. At Flywheel, he oversees the technical operations powering a portfolio of websites that reach millions of readers daily, focusing on site performance, infrastructure reliability, and creating tools that empower content creators. When he's not optimizing server response times, Michael can be found bowling or out biking and attempting to convince his family that his home definitely needs more Pinball machines.
Eric Bleeker
Eric Bleeker is a founding partner of Flywheel Publishing. He has more than 15 years of experience in the online publishing space. In these roles, Eric has served as a managing editor of sites with small teams to the largest digital publishers. Eric's specialties are digital marketing, growth strategies, and working with content creators. An avid writer himself, Eric's work has been read by tens of millions in categories like technology and investing. However, he also has a passion for all things in nature. Eric has a 13 year old Boxer mix named Sophie. Since childhood he's been fascinated by all five surviving rhinoceros species. His number one conservation cause is saving the Sumatran rhino. The population of the species is now estimated at less than 80 individuals.
Austin S.
Growing up in rural New England on a small scale farm gave me a lifelong passion for animals. I love learning about new wild animal species, habitats, animal evolutions, dogs, cats, and more. I've always been surrounded by pets and believe the best dog and best cat products are important to keeping our animals happy and healthy. It's my mission to help you learn more about wild animals, and how to care for your pets better with carefully reviewed products.
A-Z Animals Editorial team
Ashley Haugen
Ashley Haugen is the editor of A-Z Animals. She's a lifelong animal lover with an affinity for dogs, cows and chickens. When she's not immersed in A-Z-Animals.com (her favorite editorial job of her 25-year career), she can be found on the hiking trails of Middle Tennessee or hanging out with her family, both human and furry.
Danielle M. Antonetti
Danielle M. Antonetti is an assistant editor at A-Z Animals. She uses opportunities—big and small—to make the (editorial) difference on everything that crosses her desk. Danielle earned her B.A. in English from Texas State University. Home is a small town in Western Montana, where she lives with her husband, their daughter, and their two dogs.
Isabella Rosario
Isabella Rosario is an associate editor at A-Z Animals. Isabella holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Iowa, which she earned in 2019. She lives in Iowa and enjoys going for walks in her neighborhood.
Christian Drerup
Christian is an Editor at A-Z Animals. She once raised an orphaned squirrel named Itchy (who was successfully released into the wild!) and currently parents a Golden Doodle named Pizzly Bear. She likes horror movies, kitty cats, psychology books, and swimming in the ocean!
Retha Lombard
Retha is an editor for A-Z-Animals, with a special interest in marine and prehistoric life. Retha has been editing articles and researching about animals for 5 years now. She holds a Bachelor's (Honors in Zoology) degree from the Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), which she obtained in 1985. She also bred ornamental fish for 10 years quite successfully. When not busy on the site, Retha enjoys going to the beach with her grandchildren, and working and playing in the garden with her dogs.
A-Z Animals Contributing Authors
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is a writer at A-Z-Animals.com primarily covering octopuses, animal intelligence, and environmentalism. She has over 8 years of experience in science journalism with a master's degree in Science Communication from Imperial College London. She is also writing a book about the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus. Kenna is based in Colorado and loves to do crosswords in her free time.
August Croft
August Croft is a writer at A-Z Animals where their primary focus is on astrology, symbolism, and gardening. August has been writing a variety of content for over 4 years and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theater from Southern Oregon University, which they earned in 2014. They are currently working toward a professional certification in astrology and chart reading. A resident of Oregon, August enjoys playwriting, craft beer, and cooking seasonal recipes for their friends and high school sweetheart.
Beth Wegerer
Beth W. is a writer at A-Z Animals where her main focus is on marine life. Beth holds a Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University and is also a certified Professional Association of Diving Instructors open water scuba instructor. She taught scuba diving in the Caribbean for 5 years. A resident of Washington State, Beth enjoys scuba diving, hiking in the Cascade mountains, and spending time with her 4 cats and 2 dogs.
Brooks Mathews
Brooks Mathews is an Education Writer for A-Z Animals, designing animal based unit plans that include lesson plans, activity sheets, craft/project ideas and more! She is an elementary teacher of eight years with a Bachelors degree from the University of South Carolina and a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education from Arizona State University. She resides in Nashville, TN with her husband of eight years, their son, Grady and their Golden Retriever!
Jenna Bratcher
Jenna Bratcher is a storyteller at heart, with a portfolio that spans lifestyle features, celebrity interviews, and everything in between. Her work has appeared on platforms like Every, PEOPLE.com, StyleBlueprint, Sports Fuels Life, and History-Computer. She has a soft spot for sharp grammar, thoughtful interviews, and content that resonates. With five dogs running her household and a lifelong love for animals, writing for A-Z Animals is a perfect fit.
Drew Wood
Drew is a college professor and freelance writer who graduated from the University of Virginia. His travels have taken him to 25 countries and 44 states, where he has enjoyed learning about wildlife in a wide range of environments. In addition to his love of animals, he enjoys scary movies, landscaping, strategy games, and philosophical discussions over a cup of coffee. He is also an emotional support human to a neurotic Spanish Water Dog and a hyperactive Chihuahua mix.
Hannah Ward
Hannah is a writer at A-Z animals where her primary focus is on reptiles, marine life, mammals, and geography. Hannah has been writing and researching animals for four years alongside running her family farm. A resident of the UK, Hannah loves riding horses and creating short stories.
Jennifer Geer
Jennifer Geer is a writer at A-Z Animals where her primary focus is on animals, news topics, travel, and weather. Jennifer holds a Master's Degree from the University of Tulsa, and she has been researching and writing about news topics and animals for over four years. A resident of Illinois, Jennifer enjoys hiking, gardening, and caring for her three pugs.
Johanna Kennelly Ullman
Johanna is a writer for A-Z-Animals.com, covering mammals, birds, marine life, and more. She has years of experience working with animals, personally and as a volunteer. Johanna holds a Master’s degree in Communication. She resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, two children, and a lively homestead filled with animals.
Justin Zipprich
Justin Zipprich is a writer at A-Z Animals, where his primary focus is travel, state facts, pets, and mammals. Justin has been writing and editing animal content for over 7 years, though he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Instructional Technology from Western Illinois University, which he earned in 2005. As a resident of Texas, he loves discovering local animals and spending time with his wife and two kids.
Kathryn Koehler
Kathryn Koehler is a writer at A-Z-Animals where her focus is on unusual animals, places, and events. Kat has over 20 years of experience as a professional writer and educator. She holds a master's degree from Vanderbilt University. When she is not writing for A-Z-Animals, Kat enjoys puttering in her garden, baking deliciously healthful treats for her family, and playing with her two rescue mutts, Popcorn and Scooter. She resides in Tennessee.
Kellianne Matthews
Kellianne Matthews is a writer at A-Z Animals where her primary focus is on anthrozoology, conservation, human-animal relationships, and animal behavior. Kellianne has been researching and writing about animals and the environment for over ten years and has decades of hands-on experience working with a variety of species. She holds a Master’s Degree from Brigham Young University, which she earned in 2017. A resident of Utah, Kellianne enjoys sewing and design, animal rescue, volunteering with Arctic Rescue, and going on adventures with her husky.
Lianna Tedesco
Lianna is a feature writer at A-Z Animals, focusing primarily on marine life and animal behavior. She earned a degree in English Literature & Communications from St. Joseph's University, and has been writing for indie and lifestyle publications since 2018. When she's not exploring the animal world, she's usually lost in a book, writing fiction, gardening, or exploring New England with her partner.
Arnel Lawrence
Arnel is a driven nature and science writer, entomologist and avid researcher whose curiosity led her across a multitude of fields, from marine biology to agricultural science. Arnel uses science and creativity together to tell stories about nature in a way that people connect with it. Her background covers many topics, and she loves diving into nature's mysteries and sharing what she finds. Besides writing, Arnel runs her Instagram page @arnelslens, where she posts her own macrophotography, explores her curiosity about wildlife and talks about conservation and sustainability.
Sammi Caramela
Sammi is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering cats, nature, symbolism, and spirituality. Sammi is a published author and has been writing professionally for six+ years. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Writing Arts and double minors in Journalism and Psychology. A proud New Jersey resident, Sammi loves reading, traveling, and doing yoga with her little black cat, Poe.
Sonny Haugen
Sonny Haugen is a freelance writer attending university in Kyoto, Japan and studying political science. When not in school, Sonny enjoys spending their free time watching animals videos and spending time outdoors. Having grown up with dogs, birds, and chickens, Sonny enjoys writing about animals of all kinds.
Stephanie Manka
Stephanie Manka is a writer at A-Z Animals, where her primary focus is on wildlife, nature, and conservation. Stephanie holds a Ph.D. in biological sciences, where she specialized in the social behavior and genetics of African forest elephants. She has been working in the wildlife field since 2003 and writing about animals, her research, and nature for nearly 20 years. A current resident in the Chicago suburbs and an Illinois Master Naturalist, Stephanie enjoys exploring local biodiversity with her dogs, sharing her findings through YouTube and social media, and cooking delicious vegan food.
Sydni Ellis
Sydni Ellis is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in HuffPost, SheKnows, Romper, POPSUGAR, and other publications focused on lifestyle, entertainment, parenting, and wellness. She has a Master of Journalism from the University of North Texas and a Best Mama award from her three little boys (at least, that’s what she thinks the scribbled words on the card say). When she isn’t busy singing along to Disney movies and catching her husband up on the latest celebrity gossip, she can almost always be found with a good book and an iced coffee in hand.
Tad Malone
Tad Malone is a writer at A-Z-Animals.com primarily covering Mammals, Marine Life, and Insects. Tad has been writing and researching animals for 2 years and holds a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in English from Santa Clara University, which he earned in 2017. A resident of California, Tad enjoys painting, composing music, and hiking.
Trina Julian Edwards
Trina is a former instructional designer and curriculum writer turned author and editor. She has a doctorate in education from Northeastern University. An avid reader and a relentless researcher, no rabbit hole is too deep in her quest for information. The Edwards Family are well-known animal lovers with a reputation as the neighborhood kitten wranglers and cat rescuers. When she is not writing about, or rescuing, animals, Trina can be found watching otter videos on social media or ruining her hearing listening to extreme metal.
Our Pledge to You
A-Z Animals was founded on three guiding principles: accurate content you can trust, spreading knowledge on the animal kingdom, and giving back
A-Z Animals Team
Today, more than 30,000 species are threatened with extinction, and thousands would already be lost without tireless conservation efforts. Knowing that the first step toward conservation is spreading knowledge of the incredible animal species across our planet, A-Z Animals was founded in 2008 to offer an online encyclopedic resource across animals of all kinds.
Our pledge to you is simple: We built A-Z Animals to be a resource you can trust. That means every day we strive for accuracy through an editorial process that emphasizes primary research and keeping all information up-to-date and accurate.
Below, we’ve outlined more details on our guiding principles. Whether citing A-Z Animals in research or just learning more about the animal kingdom that surrounds us, we want to ensure that you know the values that drive us.
1.) Accuracy
Every Animals A-Z page begins ONLY with vetted, encyclopedic resources. From there we layer on primary research, and have developed an editorial process for reviewing content to ensure its as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
- The Animals A-Z editorial team maintains a library of more than 100 encyclopedias and other definitive guides across the animal kingdom that forms the basis of our research library.
- Every article we publish begins with this research library. While the Internet has made knowledge freely available, that also comes with the downside of information often being inaccurate. Our goal is that you can trust the information across A-Z Animals as vetted, and sourced from encyclopedias, biologists, and researchers across the world.
- At the bottom of each article, you’ll find our research cited, with details on the different encyclopedias, research, and publications we used as source material.
- Our editorial team has more than 30 years of experience directly managing editorial teams across some of the world’s largest websites.
- Finally, while we strive for accuracy, we also understand that mistakes happen. If you see an error, please contact us and we’ll do our best to correct it in a timely fashion.
We’ve designed A-Z Animals to have engaging content that brings forward the most interesting aspects of the kingdom.
2.) Spreading Knowledge on the Animal Kingdom
- With more than one million species on Earth, the animal kingdom is all about discovery!
- For that reason, we focus on bringing out the most interesting aspects of each animal in addition to encyclopedic details such as appearance, taxonomy, and behavior.
- By using a diversity of sources – many of which are not available online – we aim to deliver facts and research on animals that are simply unavailable across other resources online.
3.) Giving back
We’re focused on giving back to causes that support animal conservation efforts and education across the world.
- Extinct is As of 2020, more than 30,000 animals are threatened with extinction, which is about 27% of all assessed species.
- Within each page on A-Z Animals, we focus on the most up-to-date conservation status, with a special focus on the threats that face each animal.
- In addition, we try to call attention to conservation efforts that may aid in the survival of species. Without dedicated conservation work across the 20th and 21st centuries, thousands of more animals would simply be extinct today.
- A-Z Animals is dedicated to giving back to conservation efforts, and we’re currently designing new programs to support some of our favorite programs directly!
Our Content
Animals and Wildlife
We believe the natural world deserves to be understood and respected. That’s why we bring readers closer to the incredible diversity of animal life on our planet, from the smallest insects to the largest mammals. Our team covers species profiles, behavior, habitats, and conservation efforts, blending scientific accuracy with storytelling that sparks curiosity. At A-Z Animals, every creature has a story worth telling.
Pets
We know pets are family. Our goal is to help readers care for and understand their companions better, whether they’re dogs, cats, reptiles, birds, or more exotic friends. A-Z Animals offers expert advice on health, nutrition, training, and behavior, all backed by research and written with heart. Whether you’re a first-time pet owner or a lifelong animal lover, you’ll find trusted insights to keep your pets happy and thriving.
The Natural World and Weather Phenomena
Nature never stops amazing us. From the strongest storms to the fastest animals, A-Z Animals explores the extraordinary forces and phenomena that shape life on Earth. We dive into the science behind natural events like hurricanes, migrations, lakes, and extreme weather events, revealing how they connect to the broader web of life. Our mission is to turn wonder into understanding and appreciation for the world we share.
A-Z Animals Across the Web
We’re on a mission to educate and inspire. Join millions of students and educators who follow us across the web to explore incredible species and stay curious about the natural world every day.
Ownership
A-Z Animals (a-z-animals.com) is owned and operated by Flywheel Publishing, LLC, a Colorado company with offices in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Tennessee. Flywheel Publishing is a private, self-funding company with no outside investors.
Contact Information
You can contact Flywheel Publishing by completing the form found on the Contact Us page or using the information below:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 720-263-1029
Business Mail:
You can contact A-Z Animals at the following address:
Flywheel Publishing
Attn: A-Z Animals
12081 W. Alameda Parkway
#405
Lakewood, Colorado 80228
Affiliate Disclosure
Some of the articles on A-Z Animals (a-z-animals.com) refer readers to products available for purchase on other websites, such as Amazon. In some cases, A-Z Animals earns a small commission for those purchases.
While it does not raise the price for you, these commissions help support our site and allow us to continue researching and writing great content for you.
Awards
Awesome Library
A-Z Animals would like to say a huge thank you to the Awesome Library for giving A-Z Animals an Editor’s Choice Award!
thegoodwebguide.co.uk
A-Z Animals has been featured on the thegoodwebguide.co.uk as a recommended site!