Word that means non-human animals?
Solution 1:
"Wildlife" could be used to differentiate between humans and non-human animals, but will not account for any non-human domesticated animals like dogs, cats, birds, etc.
From Merriam-Webster:
living things and especially mammals, birds, and fishes that are neither human nor domesticated
Another option could be "Fauna" which describes the animals common in a particular region at a given time.
From Merriam-Webster:
animal life; especially : the animals characteristic of a region, period, or special environment
However, the definition does not specifically exclude humans. In common usage, "fauna" pertains to the "wildlife" ie. non-domesticated animals unless describing prehistoric human species/ancestors (which we could consider "non-domesticated"). If someone were to ask about the current fauna of America, I would assume they were looking for non-human, non-pet, native wildlife of the area.
Solution 2:
"Beast" is a bit biblical, perhaps, but it is commonly understood to mean non-human animals.
From Merriam-Webster:
Beast: 1 a : a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrate
b : a lower animal as distinguished from a human being
More clarification from the Oxford English Dictionary follows. The omitted passage in the parenthetical (which is theirs) explains that beast was especially used in biblical translations for the similar concept from the Greek and Latin (confirming the source of the biblical flavor). The overall OED entry for beast also seems to confirm that the word is now mostly literary or antiquated for the broader sense argued for here, and it distinguishes from the literal and metaphorical senses when applied to man.
From OED:
I. Literal senses. 1. A living being, an animal. (Used to translate .... Now restricted in literary use as in sense 2, but still widely applied in dialect and colloquial use, including e.g. newts, insects, centipedes.)
a. In early times, explicitly including man. Obs.
b. In later times, applied to the lower animals, as distinct from man.
(Examples from published usage omitted here.)
Sense 2 (as referenced above, also from OED):
- a. A quadruped (or animal popularly regarded as such), as distinguished from birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, etc., as well as from man. (Now the ordinary literary use.)
Additional senses (2b, 3, etc.) have to do with more specialized kinds of uses (animals as hunted, domesticated animals, etc.).
Solution 3:
Creature - an animal, as distinct from a human being.
Creature - 1. an animal, especially a nonhuman:
Solution 4:
The Latin 'fauna' is one option. 'Animals' does not include humans; 'animalistic' refers to behaviour that is sub-human in its character. 'Creatures' does however include humans as part of God's living Creation.