Novels in which animals are the main character

[Witty Username]

Duncton Wood by William Horwood (moles).

[crich70]

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (all sorts of wild animals)

[tilia]

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.

A novel of Sheepish Detection where a herd of sheep are determined to solve the murder of their shepherd. Set in Ireland, originally written in German.

I see on Goodreads that there is a sequel, but I've only read the first (in Norwegian). It was a fun read.

[dickloraine]

Don't know if it counts, but nearly all books by Walter Moers have some kind of animal (or better creatures) as a protagonist. I just roughly translate the books, only know the german names:
Captain Bluebear: Of course a bear (and yes, he is blue)
Rumo: A Wolpertinger (a creature half dog half deer)
The City of lost books: A Lindwurm (like a humanoid dragon)
Der Schrecksenmeister (sorry, this is nearly untranslatable. Something like "witchmaster" grasps maybe the meaning) : A cat (or better a magical type called "crat")
More or less fantasy books.

Another one that maybe is far stretched: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

Not the protagonist but the most famous animal crime case: The murders in the rue morgue by Edgar Allan Poe.

Also not mentioned: The whole genre of the fable. Animal stories from the antique to today. Of course this are allegories, but still with animals.

The most famous bear of all time: Winnie-the-Pooh (does it count?)

I better stop now or I will just go on and on

[BenG]

Jog Rummage (hedgehogs and rats) by Grahame Wright.
https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/2005/cur0507.htm

[ficbot]

Anonymous Rex, and others by Eric Garcia- dinosaurs (they evolved to people-height and live within human society using disguises)

[rkomar]

Animal Farm

[MickeyC]

Dog on It by Spencer Quinn. This is a mystery narrated not by the detective but by his dog.

[GeoffR]

Evolution by Stephen Baxter (Science fiction). Told largely from the point of view of some of the non-human ancestors of humans. (But then, humans are animals too.)

[peachiekene]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

Dog on It by Spencer Quinn. This is a myster narrated not by the detective but by his dog.

I was going to say this one!

Also, Hank the Cowdog series. I read those in elementary, but they are not available as ebooks.

There is also the Warriors series -cats- and a couple spin offs with other animals (one with dogs and one with bears). I haven't read any of them, though I have the first Warriors from a B&N ebook promo some years ago.

And not sure they count, but the Animorphs series. It's told from (mostly) human perspective, but they change into animals and there is generally commentary on how the animal bodies feel and the thought processes being different.

[gmw]

"Duncton Wood" by William Horwood (already mentioned above, that's the first of six books in two connected series about moles). Horwood has also done a couple of independent books in which eagles play the main characters in one of multiple story threads: "Callanish" and "The Stonor Eagles" (I loved that second one in particular). Oh... and less impressively: "The Wolves of Time" (do I need to tell you what animals are the characters in those?).

[Pulpmeister]

Not to forget Kipling's The Jungle Books, which include a number of Mowgli short stories and also a lot of others, including famously the battle of the cobra and the mongoose,- "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi".

[Dr. Drib]

Isn't Man an animal?

I even know a few who can talk!

[MickiTee]

What about Michael Bond's Paddington Bear? He's also written series about a mouse, a guinea pig and a lion - Parsley.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by MickiTee

What about Michael Bond's Paddington Bear? He's also written series about a mouse, a guinea pig and a lion - Parsley.

And although he isn't the main character, the bloodhound Pommes Frites plays a key role in the Monsieur Pamplemousse mysteries.