It's a Human characteristic to love little animals, especially if they're attractive in some way.Leonard McCoy explaining pets to Spock
An animal was a multicellular lifeform of the kingdom Animalia in biology. In normal conversation, it was used to refer to a non-sapient member of that kingdom. Unlike plants, animals could not make their own food energy, and unlike the more closely related fungi, digestion took place internally, rather than externally. Other characteristics of animals was that they could move voluntarily and respond quickly to stimuli. All animal life of a region was named as fauna.
Doctor Phlox kept several animals as pets in sickbay aboard Enterprise NX-01 in the 2150s. (ENT: "Minefield", "The Catwalk", "Regeneration", "Anomaly (ENT)")
In 2151, Captain Jonathan Archer told Phlox that the Novans were hunting some "kind of burrowing animal", the diggers. Phlox later told the senior staff, that many species feed on underground fauna and flora such as tubers, fungi, and insects. (ENT: "Terra Nova")
On Earth, Humans would train an animal to perform for an exchange of food. (TOS: "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I")
On Betazed, women used to wear huge wigs with large holes in the middle where cages for tiny animals were kept. This fashion was very cruel for the animals and was abolished after many years. (TNG: "Half a Life")
The emotions of animals could be felt by telepathic species, such as Betazoids detecting the emotions of sentient beings. (TNG: "Pen Pals") Vulcans could communicate with animals, at least with highly intelligent species. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
In the final draft script of ENT: "Rajiin", organic grenades were referred to as a type of animal.
Vertebrates
Invertebrates
- See Invertebrate