Interesting Animal Facts

Animal lovers are always interested in knowing the physical characteristics and behavioral patterns of animals. I am sure you will enjoy the most interesting animal facts presented in this article as they throw light on some unknown traits of wild and domestic animals.

Unusual and Amazing Animal Facts

• A blue whale is termed as the world's loudest animal because blue whale whistles generate the loudest noise, sometimes up to 188 decibels.
• Labrador retrievers were originally used for retrieving fishing nets because they have webbed paws which enable them to swim well.
• We have only 32 teeth but mosquitoes have 47! You won't believe but it is true that leeches have 32 brains. Slugs are said to have 4 noses as they have four 'feelers' on their head! Two of them help them sense light while the other two help them sense smell.
• Not only human beings but dalmatians too can suffer from gout. Interestingly other dog breeds are saved of this ailment. And here's something you may not easily believe - about 33% dalmatians have to face the problem of 'hearing loss' due to inbreeding.
• Crocodiles swallow stones because swallowing of stones enhances the process of digestion and helps them dive deeper. They are believed to be descendants of dinosaurs. Isn't it amazing?
• The daily diet of a dolphin consists of food that weighs about one third of its own weight. Another amazing fact about dolphins is that they are believed to have evolved around 60 million years ago.
• Beware while touching a sleeping dolphin as they sleep with one eye open. One more strange fact about dolphins is that half of their brain is awake even when they are asleep!
• Dogs express their emotions by making about ten different vocal sounds. Now isn't that an amazing fact about dogs? And cats? They are expert in making over 100 vocal sounds.
• A camel, commonly known as the 'desert ship' has three eyelids per eye. Camels need more eyelids to protect their eyes from sand.
• Newborn kangaroos are called 'joeys' and joeys can be as small as a coffee bean (about 1 inch in length) at the time of birth.
• Feet of butterflies work as their tongues! Their feet help them know the taste!
• The shocking fact about an electric eel is that it can kill its prey by producing a shock of up to 650 volts. It can also produce a severe shock while defending itself from predators. I am sure you would like to know why are eels slippery.
• Hummingbird, which weighs about 1 oz, is the smallest bird in the world and it is the only bird that can fly backwards.
• Strange facts about animals provide us information that life span of the Galapagos tortoise is about 200 years. Other animals which live that long include koi, whales and tuataras. On the other hand, gastrotrich, a microscopic animal inhabiting the waters, lives for just about 3 to 21 days. It's strange to see such 'discrimination' in the life span 'gifted' to animals by nature.
• Moles are known as fast diggers as they can construct a tunnel of length 300 feet (they can dig more than 15 feet per hour) down into the earth, in one single day. There exists a star-nosed mole too!
• Antarctica, the earth's southernmost continent, is the coldest continent covered by ice. So it is without snakes or reptiles.
• Sharks have the strongest immune system amongst all animals. Sharks are never found ill. The gigantic size of Megalodon sharks is still a subject of curiosity. They became extinct before 1.6 to 2 million years. Now who do you think a whale shark is? A whale? Or a shark? Whale sharks are not whales, they are the biggest sharks. They are biggest among fish.
• Here's some more interesting information on animals. It's about the King cobra, to be precise. A very small amount of king cobra's poison kills about 30 people while the venom thrown out by a poison arrow frog can kill approximately 2,200 people. Now isn't that strange?
• Milk obtained from any animal is white but yak produces pink milk.
• Human beings have their sweat glands under their skin but a cow has sweat glands only in the nose. And have you heard about pink sweat? The pink oily substance released from the glands in the skin of a hippopotamus, is referred to as 'pink sweat' and it protects its skin.

Kids usually love to read wild animal facts like 'a cheetah can chase its prey with a speed of 70 mph' and 'a greyhound can jump as high as 27 feet'. Adults may like to read interesting animal facts like 'New Zealand's sheep population is estimated to be ten times more than the human population' or 'some lions can have sex with their partners over 50 times a day!' I am sure, people of all ages enjoy reading the facts about animals, but remember, animals are not objects of amusement. It's interesting to know about them but it's important to create awareness about their protection.