Animal Facts that are surprising/amazing/weird

[Ken]

Do frogs drink water?​

Frogs do not drink like we do; they absorb water directly through their skin in an area known as the ‘drinking patch’ located on their belly and the underside of their thighs.

How do frogs swallow?​

Frogs use their eyeballs to swallow. Frogs eat their prey whole and their eyeballs actually sink down into their mouth and push the food down into their throat.

All About Frogs

Do frogs sleep? How do frogs hear? Why do frogs eat their own skin?

www.burkemuseum.org

And people think I'm weird!

 

[tree]

• Scientists revived a 46,000-year-old worm that was living in Siberian permafrost.
• When they brought it back to life, the worm started having babies.
• Small worms like this are known to have the ability to shut down biological functions to survive.

A 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost was brought back to life, and started having babies

Scientists revived a 46,000-year-old worm that was living in Siberian permafrost. When they brought it back to life, the worm started having

www.businessinsider.nl

 

[Misty Avich]

Did you know that rats are physically unable to burp or vomit? I know there are other animals that can't either but I thought I'd just point out rats because I love them lol.

Why Rodents Can’t Throw Up, In Case You Were Wondering

A combination of physiology and neurology prevents these hairy little guys from being able to upchuck

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Outdated]

The reason the Australian coat of arms shows a kangaroo and an emu isn't just because they're iconically Australian. Neither animal is physically capable of stepping backwards.

They were chosen to go with the national anthem - Advance Australia Fair.

Which Animals Cannot Walk Backwards?

Neither Emus nor Kangaroos, which are both from Australia, can walk backwards. The Australian coat of arms features both of these animals as symbolism for moving forward.

www.worldatlas.com

 

[tree]

"If like us, dolphins went into a deep unconscious sleep, they would stop breathing and suffocate or drown.


To get around this, dolphins only allow one half of their brains to sleep at a time; the other half stays alert to enable the dolphin to continue breathing and look out for dangers in the environment. Dolphins only close one eye when they sleep; the left eye will be closed when the right half of the brain sleeps, and vice versa. This type of sleep is known as unihemispheric sleep as only one brain hemisphere sleeps at a time. Dolphins alternate which half of the brain is sleeping periodically so that they can get the rest they need without ever losing consciousness."

How do dolphins sleep?

Dolphins sleep in a very different way to the way we humans do. Humans have prolonged periods of unconscious sleep and we are not aware of our surroundings for periods of time while sleeping. Humans have a breathing reflex and when we sleep or become unconscious, we continue to breathe...

us.whales.org

How do Whales and Dolphins Sleep Without Drowning?

Bruce Hecker, director of husbandry at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, S.C., provides an answer that gives new meaning to the expression "half asleep."

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[tree]

"Elephants understand pointing without being trained..."

"Most other animals do not point, nor do they understand pointing when others do it. Even our closest relatives, the great apes, typically fail to understand pointing when it's done for them by human carers; in contrast, the domestic dog, adapted to working with humans over many thousands of years and sometimes selectively bred to follow pointing, is able to follow human pointing – a skill the dogs probably learn from repeated, one-to-one interactions with their owners."

Elephants understand pointing, scientists show

Scientists claim elephants inhabit as complex a social system as humans so they can recognise unspoken signals and make them

www.theguardian.com

 

[tree]

"Dolphins do a lot of diving and breath-holding and compared to humans, they replace a lot more of the air in their lungs with each breath. When humans take a breath, they replace only 15% of the air in their lungs with fresh air. When dolphins take a breath, they replace 90% of the air in their lungs with fresh air."

"Dolphins are born with just a few hairs on their rostrum which falls out shortly after they are born. They don’t grow any hair the rest of their lives."

"Dolphins have teeth, but they don’t chew their food (fish, shrimp, squid etc..) they swallow it whole."

"Dolphins don’t have to drink freshwater, rather they get it from the fish and other prey that they eat."

10 Fascinating Dolphin Facts - Wild Dolphin Project

This year, our blog has covered everything from highlighting aggressive behaviors to a“creature feature” on a unique species of dolphin, like the Amazon River Dolphin. So, to wrap up the end of the year, this month’s blog is going to highlight 10 fun facts about dolphins. For instance, did you...

www.wilddolphinproject.org

Do dolphins drink water?

Article on whether dolphins drink water

www.dolphins-for-kids.com

 

[tree]

These guys are almost unbearably cute/appealing/clever looking.

I didn't know they lived as long as that though.
I thought rat life span was about 4 years, tops,
but these are Gambian pouched rat - Wikipedia

 

[mysterionz]

A group of frogs is called an army, their cousins toads are known as knots in large groups.

 

[Rodafina]

Ravens and wolves have a symbiotic scavenger/hunter relationship, but they also display playful social interactions and can act as allies in the wild.

Here's a few snippets from an interesting article and the link is below.

The root of the wolf-raven relationship stems from the same connection shared between all predators and scavengers. Predators catch prey, take their fill, pass it along to less dominant members of the group, and when everyone's done, scavengers dive in and take their share of what's left.

… The relationship between wolf and raven isn't defined by an antagonistic fight over flesh. In reality, their relationship is mutually beneficial to the point of being allies, even friends. As the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge notes, ravens are hyper-vigilant at kill sites, and act as sentries for wolves to protect against incoming threats. Ravens even alert wolves to nearby prey, and wolves react to raven vocalizations in turn. Wolves even have been seen visually following ravens in flight. And in a truly stunning case of give-and-take, if a carcass is too tough for ravens to peck their way through themselves, they will more or less gift the carcass to wolves by finding and leading them to it.

If this sounds unbelievable, well, the relationship doesn't stop there. Wolves and ravens also engage in play when not seeking and collaborating over food. Ravens dive in for a bit of mischief and pull at wolves' tails, and wolves have been observed chasing them around, too. Ravens and puppies even play tug-of-war with sticks, with ravens flying overhead and poking the puppies with sticks to provoke them. There's even evidence that singular ravens and wolves develop individual relationships.

… Much of this interactivity likely stems from, as stated, each species' uniquely high combination of sociability and intelligence. Even so, the wolf-raven relationship stands out as one of the most notable, in-depth, and symbiotic in nature.

The Unexpected Relationship Between Wolves And Ravens - Grunge

Wolves and ravens share a mutually beneficial relationship when it comes to food and survival in the wild with ravens sometimes being called "wolf birds."

www.grunge.com

 

[AuAL]

The reason the Australian coat of arms shows a kangaroo and an emu isn't just because they're iconically Australian. Neither animal is physically capable of stepping backwards.

They were chosen to go with the national anthem - Advance Australia Fair.

Chosen to go with the national anthem? That’s a bit mischievous @Outdated!

 

[AuAL]

The shooting of salt water crocodiles is now banned in Australia. Instead, crocodiles that become problematic (usually due to their proximity to population centres - there have been 34 people killed in croc attacks since they became protected in 1971) have now been relocated to remote areas. Unfortunately, the crocodiles are highly territorial and often determined to get back to their home territory. There have been a number of documented returns, including one crocodile that swam 400 km from where it was relocated on the east coast of Cape York, around the tip of the cape and back to its home on the west coast.

Relocated 350kg crocodile swims 400km to return home in North Queensland

It took 400 kilometres and just under a month for a Queensland research team to realise that relocating far north Queensland problem crocodiles wasn't ever going to be an option.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

 

[AuAL]

The existence of the platypus is one way that I know that Jesus loves us all. Because he wants us to live in a world with adorable fantasy animals.

Ah, the adorable fantasy animal that squirts venom. (The only mammal to do so.) That’s how you know you’re in Australia. Even the cute ones are dangerous.

 

[Forest Cat]

Unfortunately, the crocodiles are highly territorial and often determined to get back to their home territory. There have been a number of documented returns, including one crocodile that swam 400 km from where it was relocated on the east coast of Cape York, around the tip of the cape and back to its home on the west coast.

Not surprising really, if someone relocated me I would do the same thing. Swim 400 kilometers to get back home. Nothing would stop me.

 

[Outdated]

Chosen to go with the national anthem? That’s a bit mischievous @Outdated!

You just taught me something, or caused me to google it at least. Another "fact" I was taught in school that turned out to be completely false.

The reason for those animals being on the coat of arms is correct but I didn't know God Save The Queen was our anthem until 1974. Now I understand why I got in so much trouble in school when I refused to stand with the rest of the class and sing it.

I saw a bit of a confused documentary the other day that mentioned the platypus and the echidna. The doco said that they were monotremes which means they lay eggs. Wrong. They are egg laying mammals and they are monotremes, and even on Wiki the word monotreme is used as the descriptor for egg laying mammals, but that's not what the word means.

Mono Treme means One Hole. Most mammals have separate outlets for urinary and faecal matter, monotremes do not. Neither do birds or reptiles.

 

[AuAL]

The reason for those animals being on the coat of arms is correct but I didn't know God Save The Queen was our anthem until 1974. Now I understand why I got in so much trouble in school when I refused to stand with the rest of the class and sing it.

Yes, I remember singing the original anthem in school. In the infants classes we also had to salute a picture of the Queen. The teachers, standing facing the classes, would salute with their left hands, to get the little kindergarten kids to mirror them. We older, super-sophisticated 7-year-olds thought it funny to mimic the teachers and salute with our left hands. (I also remember, in senior years of high school, my friends and I would loudly and distinctly “rubarb” our way through the oath of allegiance in assembly.)

I think the key distinction with the monotremes’ “one hole” is that the cloaca is used for both excretion and reproduction. It may also be noted that the platypus and echidna are the only living monotremes.

 

[Outdated]

Yes, I remember singing the original anthem in school. In the infants classes we also had to salute a picture of the Queen.

My grade 1 teacher was a hippy lady that played the guitar and made us sing along to Beatles songs, I hated singing and refused to join in. When I refused to join in with God Save The Queen I got sent to see the Head Mistress. She phoned my father and told him to come and get me and take me home. Now!

He was pretty angry about being called out of work and losing half a day's pay and he demanded to know what I'd done. When the Head Mistress asked me why I wouldn't sing I told her "My Dad says we don't have a Queen, we have a Prime Minister.". Dad said that was the only time in my life that he was ever proud of me and he told the Head Mistress I deserved a day off for that.

 

[Mary Terry]

I love to watch "Secrets of the Zoo" on the National Geographic (NatGeo) TV channel. The show is filmed at many zoos such as Tampa, FL, Columbus, OH, and even a zoo in Australia. It is amazing how the zookeepers can train wild animals and birds to stand still or present a part of their body for injections or X-rays, and how much the keepers love the animals.

If you love animals and want to learn about them, I highly recommend the show.