Do animal names have to be capitalized?

Animal Names: lowercase, with the exception of animals whose name includes a proper name such as the Mexican wolf. It is not necessary to include Latin names in press releases unless the species in question has no common name or shares a common name with another species.

1. Should animal names be Capitalised?
2. Should elephant be capitalized?

Should animal names be Capitalised?

Are Animal Names Capitalized? Capitalize animal names if they are proper nouns. However, do not capitalize common nouns.

Should elephant be capitalized?

The only exception is if part of the name is a proper name or proper adjective, which should always be capitalized. See #6 here. See also this reference. Thus, otter shrew, elephants, gazelles, lions and wild dog should all be lower case, and it would be a mistake to capitalize them.