Wild animal coloring pages for toddlers and preschoolers

Zoo animals, drawn small and friendly

Many children know a bear, an elephant and a giraffe from picture books and zoo visits long before they meet one up close. Each is easy to tell apart and fun to talk about: the bear's round ears, the elephant's trunk, the giraffe's long neck. That makes them a good next step after pets.

Our wild animals are drawn as friendly babies with round faces and soft shapes. There are no claws, no sharp teeth and no busy jungle behind them, just one animal doing one small thing on a white page. The outlines are thick, so crayons fill each shape without much effort.

The bear cub waving hello and the giraffe reaching for a leaf are marked Very simple, for children of 2 and 3. The elephant smelling a flower is marked Simple. It adds a tall flower and two grass tufts for children of 4 and 5 who want a little more to color.

Ideas while you color

• Wave back

  The bear cub is waving hello. Wave back, say hello and ask your child to give the bear a name before you pick the first color.

• Draw the spots

  Our giraffe has no spots, so the big shapes stay easy to fill. When the coloring is done, your child can add spots of any size, as many as they like.

• Long and short

  Compare the giraffe's long neck with the bear's short legs, or the elephant's big ears with the bear's small round ones. Pointing and comparing is an easy way to practice new words.

• Make a little zoo

  Print a few pages and hang them side by side. Your child can give you a tour and tell you something about each animal.