Cairn Terrier
Cairn Terrier
Canis familiaris
Mammalia
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
10-13 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Cathemeral
Social
Pack
Biome
Worldwide domestic
Range
Worldwide
Movement
Running
Breeding
Live Birth
Defense
Speed
Status
Common

About

One of the oldest Scottish terrier breeds, the Cairn Terrier was developed in the Scottish Highlands to flush foxes and otters from the rocky cairns along the coastline — and gained worldwide fame as Toto in The Wizard of Oz. Its shaggy, weather-resistant double coat can come in nearly any colour except white, and its small, compact frame hides a surprisingly bold and tenacious personality.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    newborn pup
    A blind newborn pup nurses and sleeps, completely dependent on its mother.
  2. 2.
    juvenile
    A weaned pup wrestles with littermates, learns its place in the pack, and starts eating meat.
  3. 3.
    adolescent
    An adolescent canid reaches near-adult size with long legs and a thinner coat, learning to hunt cooperatively.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown and hunting alongside the pack.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Carnivora
Family
Canidae
Genus
Canis
Species
Canis familiaris