Amazing Animal Facts

Alligators

• Alligators live only in freshwater, unlike their big brother, the crocodile.
• Almost all parts of an alligator are eaten in America.
• Alligators hibernate under water.
• Alligators can also be really big. The longest one measured 19 1/2 feet.
  

Anaconda

• By far the largest snake in the world reaching to enormous lengths of 30 feet and 600 pounds. The biggest ever caught was 37.5 feet long Green Anaconda.
• An Anaconda can kill an elephant, in fact The word "anaconda" is derived from the Tamil word "anaikolra" meaning "elephant killer". Known to the early Spanish settlers as "matatoro" or "bull killer", the anaconda is the largest of the boas.
• The Anacondas are also called as the "Water Boas"
• Anacondas can remain underwater for a maximum of 10 minutes.
• The chances that you will survive an Anaconda ambush attack is 0.77 percent.
• The Anaconda can open its mouth 180 degrees.
  

Bats

• Mexican free tailed bats can fly 10,000 feet high in air.
• Only female bats live in colonies.
• Flying Fox is a large herbivorous bat, found in Indonesia.
• A Chiroptorium, is an artificial cave made to house bats.
• You are most likely to encounter a female bat inside your homes. Male bats are very shy and meek.
• The Bumble Bee Bat weighs less than a penny!
• The famed Vampire Bats thrive on blood. All the three species are found only in South America.
  

Blue Whale

• A blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant.
• You might think it has no natural enemies.It does have though. The Killer Whale which is much smaller, which moves in groups of 3 or 4.
• A blue Whale can dive to a depth of 2500 feet in two minutes
  

Butterfly

• Did you know Sailor, Dead Leaf, Paper Kite, Blue Striped Crow, Julia and Great Egg Fly are all names of BUTTERFLIES.
• The original name for the butterfly was 'FLUTTERBY'!
  

Camel

• Is the third most domesticated animal after the dog and the cat. It beats the horse.
• A camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight in perspiration and continue to cross the desert. A human would die of heat shock after sweating away only 12 percent of body weight.
• Camel's milk does not form curd as does for cow, goat etc.
  

Cats

• A cat sees about six times better than a human at night because of the tapetum lucidum , a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light.
• Cat's urine glows in darkness.
• A cat uses whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.
• A cat will clean itself with paw and tongue after a dangerous experience or when it has fought with another cat. This is an attempt by the animal to soothe its nerves by doing something natural and instinctive.
• Cats, like humans, are either right or left handed... or is that paws?!
  

Chameleon

• The chameleon has a tongue that is 1.5 times the length of its body.
• A Chameleon can change its body color every minute with 24 shades.
• They are found only on the remote locales of the island of Madagascar, with new species being discovered even today!!!
  

Cheetah

• A cheetah can run 125 kilometers per hour - that's really fast! The fastest human beings run only about 38 kilometers per hour.
• Often confused with a leopard, it can be differentiated from it by its white belly.
• A cheetah does not roar like a lion - it purrs like a cat (meeeeeeooow).
• The Cheetah society is matriarchal. The female lives alone, the male in herds.
• A cheetah has no natural enemies, probably because of its speed.
• Cheetah are known to relish watermelons.
• They can be matched in speed by only the Greyhound species of Dogs.
  

Chimpanzee

• A chimpanzee is the only animal that can recognize itself in the mirror.
• They are the only animals on earth that see just as much as humans do.
• The genes of humans and chimps are 98.4% identical!!
• The first Chimp in space, Ham, went into space in 1961, much before Yuri Gagarin.
• An average Chimp is 4 times stronger than an average human.
  

Cockroach

• The Cockroach is the fastest creature on 6 legs.
• A cockroach can survive 9 days without its head before it starves to death.
• A cockroach can thrive on anything under the sun!! They relish anything that contains starch.
• Cockroaches die below 15 degree Celsius but can survive in simmering heats of up to 84 degrees.
• Maximum life of a Cockroach is 2 years.
• Cockroaches never carry diseases !!!
  

Crocodile

• A crocodile really does produce tears, but they're not due to sadness. The tears are glandular secretions that work to expel excess salt from the eyes. Hence, "crocodile tears" are false tears.
• A Croc cant stretch its tongue out.
• You cant slit a Croc's skin with a kitchen knife.
• The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
• The Alligator river in Australia was misnamed coz it is full of Crocodiles and not alligators.
  

Dogs

• Known to understand as high as 3500 words in English.
• A Greyhound species believed to have lived in Egypt could run as fast as the average Cheetah!!
• Every year Americans spend more on Dog food than baby food.
• Chocolate effects a dogs heart and nervous system, a few ounces enough to kill a small sized dog.
• Dogs are the only other animals other than us that have prostrates.
• The smartest dog is the Scottish-border collie and Afghan Hound the dumbest.
  

Dolphins

• There are 26 species of Ocean Dolphins and 5 species of RIVER Dolphins..!!!
• River Dolphins are an endangered lot with only about 350 left in South America.
• Every dolphin has its own signature whistle to distinguish it from other dolphins, much like a human fingerprint.
• A buffalo is a distant relative of the Dolphin.
• A Dolphin can understand up to 300 English Words!!!
• The largest Dolphin is the killer whale that is thrice as large as the Great White Shark.
• Dolphins can kills sharks by ramming them with their snout.
• Dolphins sleep with one eye open!
  

Elephants

• The tallest elephant was 21 feet tall.
• An elephant weighs as much as an average Double Decker bus.
• Elephants sleep standing up. But sometimes baby elephants lie down to sleep.
• They poop 80 pounds in one day.
• Overall Elephants have killed more humans than the Great White Shark !!
• An enraged elephant can reach running speeds of up to 45 km/hr. Carl Lewis's record was 37 km/hr.!!!
• Elephants always travel, miles together in a day, always in a file (how disciplined..!!!)
  

Frogs

• The largest frog in the world is called Goliath frog.
• Frogs start their lives as 'eggs' often laid in or near fresh water.
• They are the only vertebrates who are present in all the continents (except Antarctica)
• Frogs never drink. They absorb water from their surroundings by osmosis.
• Some frogs squirt blood from their eyes when they are angry
  

Gorillas

• Human birth control pills work on gorillas.
• Gorillas sleep as much as fourteen hours per day.
• Gorillas are one of those few large vertebrates that don't know how to swim.
  

Great White Shark

• Is the largest and the most feared species of sharks.
• They attack humans mistaking them for seals.
• They can live in very shallow waters of 3-4 feet deep waters to great depths of 1500 mtrs., an indication of how tough they are.
• Most shark deaths have not happened in the US, but Australia.
• Most Great Whites get blind as they get old.
• The Great Whites are known to be one of the most conservative maters across all species. Females conceive an average of 2 pups in their lives.
• A top freestyle swimmer achieves a speed of only 4 miles per hour. Great Whites in contrast, have been clocked at 48 mph.
• And there's good news for you all, they are not found in Indian Waters. Phew!
• Sharks and rays are the only animals known to man that don't get cancer.
  

Hippopotamus

• The hippopotamus gives birth under water and nurses its young in the river as well, though the young hippos do come up periodically for air.

Horse

• You can tell the sex of a horse by its teeth. Most males have 40, females have 36.
• Horses cannot vomit.
  

Iguana

• Whatever made you feel that iguana eats insects and mice. Its herbivorous and quite harmless.
• Iguanas are an American specialty.
• The worlds fastest reptile (measured on land) is the spiny-tailed iguana of Costa Rica. It has been clocked at 21.7 mph.
  

Koala Bears

• Koalas aren't bears. They aren't even related to bears. The koala is related to the kangaroo and the wombat. The koala is a mammal.
• The Population of the Koala bears has dropped by 90% since 1990!!
• The Koala lives only on a particular type of Eucalyptus trees in Western Australia.
• Newly born Koalas are just about 2 Cm long.
  

Lion

• Male Lions are the most sexually active among large vertebrates. They have multiple partners and can mate as high as 50 times in a day!!
• The female lion does more than 90% of the hunting while the male simply prefers to rest. !!
• Lions eat bones like Dogs, Tigers don't.
• An average lion roar is about 95 decibels loud! It can be heard from 5 miles away.
  

Mosquitoes

• Mosquitoes have killed more humans than any other living being.
• Mosquito repellents don't repel mosquitoes, instead they hide you by blocking their sensors.
• Mosquitoes have 47 teeth. (eeks!! Scary!!)
  

Orangutans

• Orangutans are obsessive liars!
• They are found only in the rain forests of Asia.
• They are more intelligent than the chimps considering their brain size.
  

Panda

• Pandas are an endangered species and are only found in 6 pockets in China. There are only 1100 Pandas in the wild. About a hundred odd are in captivity mostly in the zoos of USA and China.
• A female Panda can have a cub only once in two years.
• Pandas are pink in color when they are born.
• Pandas are majorly vegetarian, although they do eat a variety of things in captivity.
• A Panda's hide sells for $1,00,000. (Sick)
• Pandas never hibernate, one of the only bears (along with the Polar Bears of the Arctic) to do so.
• At birth, a panda is smaller than a mouse and weighs about four ounces.
  

Penguins

• Penguins only have sex once a year.
• Penguins toss themselves as high as 5-6 feet up in the air before diving.
  

Rats/Rodents

• A rat can last longer without water than a camel can.
• The world's largest rodent is the Capybara. An Amazon water hog that looks like a guinea pig, it can weigh more than 100 pounds.
• The largest order of mammals, with about 1,700 species, is rodents. Bats are second with about 950 species.
  

Zebra

• A zebra is white with black stripes.
• No two zebras have stripes that are exactly alike.
• When two zebras stand side by side, they usually face in opposite directions. They say this is so they can keep an eye out for predators.
• Zebras cant see the color Orange.

Other facts in RANDOMNESS blog.