Humans are both mammals and animals. Biologically, “mammal” is a type of animal, and humans fit into that subgroup.

Basic answer

  • Humans belong to the animal kingdom (Animalia), so humans are animals.
  • Within animals, humans are in the class Mammalia, which makes us mammals as well.
  • So the correct way to say it is: humans are mammals, and all mammals (including humans) are animals.

How science classifies humans

Biologists use a hierarchy to place humans in nature.

In that system, humans are classified roughly like this:

  • Kingdom: Animalia → animals
  • Phylum: Chordata → animals with a backbone
  • Class: Mammalia → mammals
  • Order: Primates → primates (monkeys, apes, humans)
  • Family: Hominidae → great apes
  • Genus: Homo
  • Species: Homo sapiens

All of this shows that humans are a specific kind of animal: a mammal, a primate, a great ape, and finally the species Homo sapiens.

Why humans are mammals

Humans are placed in Mammalia because we share key mammal traits:

  • Hair or fur on the body
  • Mammary glands that produce milk to feed babies
  • Warm-blooded (regulate internal body temperature)
  • Three tiny bones in the middle ear

Because humans have these features, they clearly fit the scientific definition of a mammal.

Why some people say “not animals”

In everyday speech or some religious/philosophical discussions, people sometimes say “humans aren’t animals” to emphasize our unique minds, culture, or moral sense.

Scientifically, though, humans still sit firmly inside the animal kingdom, even if our cognition and culture are very distinctive compared with other species.

So if someone asks, “Are humans mammals or animals?” the most accurate reply is:
Humans are mammals, and mammals are a kind of animal — so humans are both.