List of mammals of the Cook Islands

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in the Cook Islands. There are seven mammal species in the Cook Islands, of which one is labelled as being a vulnerable species.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

Order: Chiroptera (bats)
The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.


 * Family: Pteropodidae (flying foxes, Old World fruit bats)
 * Subfamily: Pteropodinae
 * Genus: Pteropus
 * Insular flying-fox, Pteropus tonganus LR/lc

Order: Cetacea (whales)
The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.


 * Suborder: Mysticeti
 * Family: Balaenopteridae
 * Subfamily: Megapterinae
 * Genus: Megaptera
 * Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae VU
 * Suborder: Odontoceti
 * Superfamily: Platanistoidea
 * Family: Ziphidae
 * Subfamily: Hyperoodontinae
 * Genus: Mesoplodon
 * Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
 * Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
 * Genus: Stenella
 * Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris LR/cd
 * Genus: Lagenodelphis
 * Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei DD
 * Genus: Feresa
 * Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)
There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.
 * Suborder: Caniformia
 * Family: Phocidae (earless seals)
 * Genus: Hydrurga
 * Leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx LR/lc