No, ‘animal’ is not a proper noun. It is a common noun. Proper nouns are used to name specific people, places, or things and are always capitalized. For example, ‘New York’ or ‘John’ are proper nouns.
On the other hand, ‘animal’ is a common noun because it refers to a general category of living beings. Common nouns are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. For example, ‘The animal was running in the forest.’
In summary, ‘animal’ is a common noun as it refers to a general category rather than a specific entity.