Ear shape can play a role in how well animals hear. The pointy shape of the ears, specifically of the outer part of the ear called the pinna, allows for better directional hearing.
Ears don’t just help with hearing ability. They might aid with balance, navigation, and heat saving.
Some pointy-ear animals living in cold environments developed smaller ears to reduce the skin surface in contact with the cold. Losing heat in the arctic climate can be deadly.
Animals with sharp and pointy ears:
- Chihuahua
- Bull Terrier
- Siamese Cat
- Norwegian Forest Cat
- Bobcat
- Arctic Fox
- Coyote
- Alpaca
- Red Panda
- Wolf
- Marwari Horse
- Bush pig
- Tiger Quoll
Here are 13 amazing-looking animals with pointy ears and their photos.
Table of Contents
Animals With Pointy Ears
Chihuahua
Size: 6-9 in (15-23 cm)
Weight: 2-6 lb (0.9-2.7 kg)
Lifespan: 12-20 years
Pointed ears: Yes, moderately
Origin: Mexico
Chihuahua is one of the smallest breeds of dogs with pointy ears. It has smooth hair, large eyes, and a big forehead.
Chihuahuas got their name from the Mexican state of Chihuahua, where this breed originated.
While adult chihuahuas are famous for their small stature and pointy ears, their pups are born with floppy ears. As they get older, their ears will move up and get fully erect around 6 months of age.
Bull Terrier
Size: 1.8 ft (55 cm)
Weight: 60 lb (27 kg)
Lifespan: 10-14 years
Pointed ears: Yes, moderately
Origin: England
The Bull terrier is a short-haired breed of dogs developed in England by crossing the bulldog with terriers. They are a long-faced breed with naturally pointy and upright ears.
They are playful, gentle, and affectionate to all the members of their household, especially children.
Healthy bull terriers should have pointy and erect ears. If a puppy gets born with large thick ears, it might have a hard time standing on its own. In that case, owners might tape the animal’s ears so they get up, and develop properly.
There are over 30 dog breeds with pointy ears. These are the Alaskan Malamute, American Akita, American Eskimo Dog, Australian Cattle Dog, Basenji, Belgian Malinois, Berger Picard, Boston Terrier, Chow Chow, Pomeranian, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, and many others.
Siamese Cat
Size: 8-10 in (20-25 cm)
Weight: 8-10 lb (3.6-4.5 kg)
Lifespan: 12-15 years
Pointy ears: Yes, moderately
Origin: Thailand
Siamese cats are blue-eyed, short-haired domestic cats with gray bodies and darker paws, tails, and faces. Their ears are prominent, tipped, and usually with a color darker than the cats’ coats. The ears are also large and triangular in shape.
Some Siamese cats can have ears nearly as large as the head itself.
They are very energetic animals that love to play. Siamese cats look adorable and are one of the most intelligent around.
Norwegian Forest Cat
Size: 12-18 in (30-45 cm)
Weight: 10–20 lbs (4.5–9 kg)
Lifespan: 14-16 years
Pointy ears: Yes, moderately
Origin: Norway
The Norwegian Forest cat is a breed of domestic cat that is adapted to living in a very cold climate. It has a coat with thick, long, glossy, and water-shedding hair.
The Norwegian cat breed has a very distinctive triangular-shaped head. Their nose is straight, their forehead is flat, and the ears are medium-sized with slightly rounded points.
They are very sweet, friendly, and a little shy at first. They like to play, have people around them, and do not demand constant attention and petting.
Just like with dogs, there are lots of cat breeds with pointy ears including the Maine Coon, Abyssinian, Balinese, Cornish Rex, Sphynx, and similar.
Read More: Cats that look like foxes
Bobcat (Red Lynx)
Size: 21 in (53 cm)
Weight: 14-40 lb (6.3-18 kg)
Lifespan: 7 years
Pointy ears: Yes, moderately
Origin: North America
Bobcat is a small North American cat species that is about two times bigger than the average housecat. It has long legs, large paws, and tufted ears.
Their pointy ears have black and white marks on the back that resemble real eyes. Bobcats have such fake eyes on their ears to intimidate other bobcats and trick larger predators into thinking that they’ve been spotted.
They got their name from black-tipped, stubby (or “bobbed”) tails they have.
Arctic Fox
Size: 10-12 in (25-30 cm)
Weight: 7.7 lb (3.5 kg)
Lifespan: 3-4 years in the wild
Pointy ears: Yes, slightly
Origin: Tibetan Plateau
The Arctic fox (white fox or polar fox) is a small animal that is adapted to living in extremely cold environments in the Arctic tundra. It is famous for its thick and warm fur that also serves as camouflage.
They have small, pointy ears, and excellent hearing. In fact, their hearing is so developed that they can hear prey moving underground.
Though small, the ears of arctic foxes are pointed forwards, very directional (allow them to identify where a sound is coming from), and compact so foxes don’t lose too much heat.
Fun fact: Arctic foxes are monogamous animals and mate for life with the same partner.
Coyote
Size: 24 in (60 cm)
Weight: 20–50 lb (9-23 kg)
Lifespan: 10-14 years
Pointy ears: Yes, slightly
Origin: North America
Coyote is a wild dog native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf. It has grayish-brown to yellowish-brown fur, large triangular ears on the top of its head, and a long, narrow muzzle.
Coyotes have black noses, yellow eyes, and long, bushy tails. Their ears are big and their hearing is so acute that they can spot a hunter 3 miles away.
They are predators and give big headaches to farmers that keep llamas and alpacas on their farms.
Alpaca
Size: 3 ft (90 cm)
Weight: 154.3 lb (70 kg)
Lifespan: 15-20 years
Pointy ears: Yes, moderately
Origin: South America
An alpaca is a fluffy and domesticated South American animal that is related to the llama. Alpacas are noted for their wool, long legs and necks, small heads, and large, pointed ears.
Compared to its cousin, the llama, alpaca’s ears are short and spear-shaped while llamas have much longer, banana-shaped ears.
One breed of alpacas, called Huacaya, has a sharp ear tip, while a breed called Suri has a more rounded one.
Alpacas originated from vicunas, a species that lives in the wild of the Andes today – vicunas also have pointy ears.
Wolf
Size: 31–33 in (80–85 cm) at the shoulder
Weight: up to 176 lb (80kg)
Lifespan: 14-16 years
Pointy ears: Yes, slightly
Origin: Eurasia
Wolf is a large predatory animal that is active mostly at night, lives and hunts in packs and is related to the aforementioned coyotes.
It belongs to the dog family, has a straight tail, narrow chest, and large and long legs and feet.
The wolf has excellent hearing and uses its pointed ears to detect sounds from great distances.
It has triangular-shaped ears that can rotate independently and hear sounds from 6 to 10 miles away, depending on the terrain.
And just like the arctic fox, wolves also mate for life.
Read More: Gorilla Against A Wolf – A Match To Death
Red Panda
Size: 22-25 inches (56 to 63 cm) long
Weight: 8-17 lb (3.6-7.7 kg)
Lifespan: 9-13 years
Pointy ears: Yes, slightly
Origin: Himalayas and South-western China
The red panda is a small mammal with thick reddish-brown fur, white-lined pointed ears, a white muzzle, and a ringed tail. Despite their name, these furry and cute-looking animals are more closely related to raccoons than the black and white giant pandas.
Their babies are born with fur and look even more adorable than their adult counterparts. Red panda offspring will stay with their mothers for a year until they become fully grown.
Outside of the mating season, adult red pandas will live alone and rarely interact with others.
Mozilla’s browser, Firefox, the one you might be using right now, means red panda.
Bushpig
Size: 26-39 in (66-100 cm) at the shoulder
Weight: 130-180 lb (60-80 kg)
Lifespan: 13-20 years
Pointy ears: Yes, very
Origin: Africa
Bushpig or bush pig is a wild pig that lives in the forests and savannas of Africa and Madagascar. It is easy to recognize by the big and muscular snout, short legs, small eyes, and pointy white-tufted ears.
Bushpigs belong to the family of pigs and can be rarely seen in the wild because they live in hard-to-access terrains and are active mostly during the night.
A female bushpig that has reproduced is called a sow, while a female that has not reproduced is called a gilt.
Marwari Horse
Size: 14.3 h (150 cm)
Weight: 750-1,000 lb (340-450 kg)
Lifespan: 25-30 years
Pointy ears: Yes, very
Origin: India
The Marwari or Malani horses are a rare breed that comes from the area of Rajasthan, in northwest India.
It is a breed of royal horses that were used as war horses for centuries. What makes them uniquely distinctive are their ears which are so curved that the tips may touch.
The Marwari horses can rotate their ears 180 degrees, have superior hearing and can use their ears to communicate with their rider.
They can run up to 40 km/h and can be used for riding, dragging carriages, in sports, and various jumping activities.
Did you know that there’s a breed of camels coming from the same place Marwari horses come that know how to swim? Read more about the camels of India that know how to swim.
Tiger Quoll
Size: 31.5-36.6 in (80-93 cm)
Weight: 3.5-7.7 lb (1.6-3.5 kg)
Lifespan: 2-4 years
Pointy ears: Yes, sligtly
Origin: Australia
The tiger quoll, also known as the spotted-tail quoll, is a carnivorous marsupial that is native to Australia. It is easy to notice by its reddish-brown coat with white spots.
Its ears are not as pointy as in other animals, but they still have a relatively sharp tip – that’s why it got included on our list.
The animal is classified as endangered – scientists estimate that there are less than 14,000 tiger quolls alive today.
Read More: Animals that look similar to groundhogs
Final Thoughts
This concludes our article on animals with pointy ears.
These funny-shaped ears allow animals to hear their prey more easily or to escape from their predator. Pointy and compact ears of the arctic fox prevent heat loss in extremely cold environments.
Further reading: 5 of the world’s most famed camels
Photo Sources
Tiger Quoll – Leonard G., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Marwari Horse – raviraj gadhvi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons