Source by: Only Dinosaurs
Undeniably, the animal kingdom is a very diverse place. With over 7.77 million species of animals, it’s safe to assume that humans can only boast of knowing the earthly breath of biodiversity and that the most incredible things in their kingdom are often hidden from humans.
Ranging from furry creatures you never knew kissed down to those who enjoy getting tipsy, these fantastic animal facts are sure to give you some chills, even the biggest animal lovers out there.
Hence, in this article, we will consider some impressive facts about our friends that share the earth with us, and you can be sure to get wowed.
1. Koala Fingerprints Are Close to Humans
Source by: Ripley’s Believe It or Not
Heard of the animal named Koala? Well, now you do. Except they are animals like us, we are; Koalas have very similar fingerprints to humans. The similarity is so much that in Australia, police sometimes believe Koalas’ prints may have deterred criminal investigations.
2. Parrots Are Selfless and Willing to Help Each Other
Source by: YouTube
While parrots may be associated with pirates, they are nothing like them. They are not greedy, treasure-seeking, and not selfish. Especially the African grey parrots. Research has shown that these colorful birds will voluntarily help each other get food and do some selfless acts.
3. Dragonflies Create a Heart Shape with Their Tails While Mating
Source by: ThoughtCo
Talk of true love, and animals too are not to be exempted. Traditionally, Dragonflies are a sign of transformation, adaptability, and emotional maturity, but that’s not all there is to dragonflies.
These animals also symbolize love. And they do that in different ways, like forming a combined heart shape with their tails when mating. There are no better ways to assure your partners of your undying love.
4. Wild Chimpanzees Enjoy Getting Tipsy
Source by: The Conversation
Research has shown that there might be a connection between humans consuming alcohols and chimpanzees haunting naturally fermented alcohol. Chimpanzees, just like humans, like to get tipsy.
The hypothesis is called the ‘Drunken Monkey Hypothesis.’ Chimps are known for gliding through raffia palm trees to search for alcoholic sap. The alcoholic content in this sap is estimated to be around 3% which is equivalent to the content percent in small beer.
5. An Octopus Has Three Hearts, Nine Brains, and Blue Blood
Source by: BBC
It’s a known fact that the ocean is home to numerous amazing creatures, in fact, the man may not exhaustively exploit the wonders beneath the oceans. However, one that stands outstandingly magnificent is the huge Pacific Octopus.
Apart from their eight arms, they are blessed with three hearts, and nine brains, and, more particularly, they have blue blood.
One brain controls its nervous system, and the others maintain each of its eight arms. That’s like, one brain to one arm. And for their heart, two pump blood to their gills, and the last one ensures proper circulation to the rest of the body. Impressive, yeah?
6. Penguins Propose To Each Other With Pebbles
Source by: Fine Art America
Well, it does seem that not only humans propose to each other. Far away in the animal kingdom, Penguins also propose to one another. However, unlike humans, Penguins propose with pebbles.
When Penguins see another attractive Penguin they like, they pledge lifelong commitment with a small stone. And they stay together for a lifetime. Quite fascinating!
7. Male Seahorses Give Birth to Their Young
Source by: Paw Tracks
Contrary to the conventional way of reproduction where female species get pregnant and give birth to their young ones, males Seahorses are responsible for giving birth to their young. That’s not all!!
The most impressive of it all is that male seahorses have pouches on their stomachs which carry up to 2,000 babies at a time. Wow!!!
8. Female Lions do 90 Percent of the Hunting
Source by: PBS
In the human world, male species are largely responsible for providing for the family. But in the world of Lions, that’s not entirely true. The female lions do the hunting 90% of the time. Lionesses hunt and work very hard to feed their families.
The male Lions? Well, they sit back and protect their pride. After all, what’s a home without its pride?
9. Capuchin Monkeys Wash Their Hands and Feet in Urine
Source by: Encyclopedia Britannica
While some animals can be very romantic when expressing their love or want to mate, some can be “not-so-romantic” with it.
Monkeys are lovely creatures that can be very pretty and dang awful. The Capuchin monkeys, for one, are known to urinate on their feet and hands when they are feeling aroused.
Research shows that male monkeys use urine-washing to express their warm and cozy feelings to their females and also because they are excited.
10. Pigeons Can Do Math
Source by: National Audubon Society
In a study, researchers found that the Pigeons could rank images in order of how many objects they contained. Do you think Pigeons are not intelligent? You might want to review that belief.
Science concluded that Pigeons could solve math at the same levels as monkeys. They are pretty brilliant. In simple terms, they learned that the birds could count!
11. Koalas Sleep Up to 22 Hours a Day
Source by: Twitter
And we are back to Koalas. According to the Australian Koalas Foundation, these lovely creatures can sleep for about 18 – 22 hours daily. That’s because their diet requires a lot of energy to digest. If you thought your cat was sleepy, then you probably haven’t heard about Koalas.
12. Squirrels are Responsible for Planting Thousands of Trees Worldwide
Source by: NPR
We have our little furry friends to thank for playing a pivotal role in our environment. Squirrels plant thousands of trees every year all over the world. Interestingly, they do this by forgetting where they buried their acorns. Funny how seemingly simple things could mean so much.
13. Sperm Whales in The Caribbean Have an Accent
Source by: DIVE Magazine
Just like people who come from different areas around the world speak with tones, fluctuations, and patterns that are specific to their regions, whales in the Caribbean also seem to have a different “accent” than whales in other oceans.
14. Some Sharks Glow in The Dark
Source by: www.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Sharks are terrifying creatures, just like they have some features that make them enviable. Features like their elegant design, razor-sharp teeth, amongst others, might not be so new to you.
However, the idea of glow-in-the-dark sharks will, of course, sound like something you’d see in a sci-fi film. But they are totally real.
Researchers believe this glow “helps sharks identify each other and even fight against infection on a microbial level.”
15. A Housefly Buzzes in an F Key
Source by: The Conversation
When a buzzing housefly flutters by your home, you tend to feel annoyed. Especially when it becomes persistent. Well, next time it happens, try to soothe yourself by noting that the airborne pest is actually buzzing in an F key. How pleasant!
16. Sloths Can Take Up to a Month to Completely Digest a Single Leaf
Source by: Encyclopedia Britannica
For sloths, everything is sluggish. They have bowel movements once every week, and sometimes, it takes about thirty days to digest a single leaf. To put in context, it takes the average human 12 to 48 hours to ingest, digest, and eliminate waste from food. More so, these creatures are heavy sleepers.
17. Painted Turtles Survive Winter by Breathing Through Their Butts
Source by: The Spruce Pets
When it gets cold during chilly weather, you either head to warmer climates or develop methods to survive the cold weather. And if you are caught in frozen ponds, then you just have to learn to survive.
Painted turtles, unlike many other animals, breathe through their butts—specifically, the all-purpose orifice called the cloaca, to survive whenever it gets cold.
Meaning they can get oxygen directly from the water around them through a process called cloacal respiration.
18. A Cat's Meow is a Form of Communication with Humans Only
Source by: Everyday Health
Yes, you have cats as pets, but have you noticed they constantly meow around humans only? That’s because this is a form of communication only between cats and humans.
And except when kittens are communicating with their mothers, you won’t see our lovely feline friends meow or use the same form of contact with other cats.
These beautiful furry creatures also love to spend their time loafing around, and most times, they connect their heads with ours to tell us they feel safe around us. How lovely!
19. A Group of Owls is Called a Parliament
Source by: Bird Academy
And about their legislative powers, that has not been ascertained yet.
20. Moths Experience Love at First Scent
Source by: YouTube
Sure, you have heard of love at first sight, but have you heard of love at first scent? Very likely, you haven’t. Well, there is love at first scent.
Maybe not among humans, but in the animal kingdom, love at first scent exists, precisely, among Moths.
When a male moth catches a whiff of a female moth, he’ll travel distance to find her—based on her scent alone. Talk of the things we do for love!
Researchers found out that even without the male moth knowing what the female moth sounds like, and definitely not what she looks like, the male moth will track her down. And guess what, they are never disappointed.
21. Ravens Are Masters of Deception
Source by: Mental Floss
It’s undeniable that the Ravens are smart. But it has been shown that these creatures also play pranks on themselves and deceive each other. In fact, the entire birds in the corvid family- crows, ravens, and jays- are brilliant and tease other animals.
22. When Listening to Slow Music, Cows Produce More Milk
Source by: Scroll.in
Cows have been found to produce 1.54 more pints per day when the sound of slow music, as opposed to upbeats, is buzzing out of the speakers. That’s about a 3 percent increase.
23. Butterflies Taste with Their Feet
Source by:
The most exciting thing about these little creatures is not that they taste with their feet but the strength of their taste buds. The receptors on their taste buds are 200 times stronger than that of humans’.
Meaning, these sensors can determine whether what they’re standing on is edible or not very quickly.
24. Vampire Bat Saliva Is an Anticoagulant
Source by: University of Wisconsin
The saliva of Vampire bats prevents their prey’s blood from clotting. This is to ensure the free flow of blood while they feed. Another fun fact for you, the protein in the anticoagulant has been nicknamed “Draculin. Creepy!
25. Horned Lizards Squirt Blood from Their Eyes
Source by: FISHBIO
Whenever the horned lizard finds itself in a dangerous situation, it drizzles blood from its eyes to scare off the predator—quite an impressive trick.
Facts About Animals: Conclusion
That’s our 25 incredible facts about animals. You’d agree that the animal kingdom is quite a versatile place, one that is filled with amazing creatures with different behaviors. Ranging from romantic ways of showing love to impressive strategies of escaping predators, fascinating features, and all, the animal kingdom has it in abundance.
While some of these animals may be very dangerous to get close to, you can check out some of our animatronic animals for a more realistic feel of our animal friends.
