The natural world is full of cool and interesting details that go entirely unnoticed for the majority of the population. After all, we can’t exactly go down to the animals’ neighborhood and just interview them, so it’s up to zoologists to get out there and find out what they can.
Someone asked “What are some really amazing animal facts?” and netizens shared the best ones they knew. We also got in touch with Nina Thompson, Director of Public Relations for the San Diego Humane Society to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to leave your own thoughts below.
Image credits: DynamikSan04
#1
Owls bob their heads up and down to help improve their depth of perception. You can try it out yourself. Focus on an object and bob your head. It doesn’t work for us, but you do look like an idiot.
Image credits: SleepyLoner
#2
There is a species of Zombie Worm called the Bone-Eating Snot Flower.
Yes, zombie worms and bone-eating snot flowers are real animals.
Image credits: MYTITSARECALMNOWWHAT
#3
The airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow (European) is roughly 11m/s or 24 mph.
Image credits: Swimminginsarcasm
Bored Panda got in touch with Nina Thompson, Director of Public Relations for the San Diego Humane Society and she was kind enough to answer some of our questions. After all, the people who care for rescues have to know what they are doing. Firstly, we wanted to hear how they work to educate the public about animals in general.
“San Diego Humane Society educates the community about animals in so many ways. Just to mention a few: Adoptions counselors have an in-depth conversation with prospective adopters to ensure they can take care of the pet they want to adopt. The Behavior & Training team offers classes for the community and has a free helpline to call.”
#4
Most elephants weigh less than a blue whale’s *tongue*.
Image credits: Delica
#5
The nautilus has remained essentially unchanged for 400 million years. They just evolved to their current form and stayed that way. The first dinosaurs didn’t even appear until 230 million years ago.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Image credits: JuniusBobbledoonary
#6
Ravens can mimic sounds and speech like parrots can.
Image credits: ChaChaRealSmoothe
“We have our Dr. Seuss Foundation Humane Educator, whose full-time job is to inspire youth throughout San Diego to learn about our connection to animals and to better advocate for them as they develop into the leaders of tomorrow. Our Humane Law Enforcement officers are in the field seven days a week to educate pet owners about keeping their animals safe, healthy, and happy. Our Lost & Found team works to help pet owners search for their lost pets. We have Resource Center community members who can call for guidance and ask questions. We also have an incredible selection of resources on our website.”
#7
A bat’s immune system is so strong it could withstand viruses that could be highly damaging to other species.
Image credits: Alexius08
#8
A horses teeth takes up more space in their skull than their brain.
Image credits: BeelzeBat
#9
Foxes use the earth’s magnetic fields.
“Like a guided missile, the fox harnesses the earth’s magnetic field to hunt. Other animals, like birds, sharks, and turtles, have this “magnetic sense,” but the fox is the first one we’ve discovered that uses it to catch prey.
According to *New Scientist*, the fox can see the earth’s magnetic field as a “ring of shadow” on its eyes that darkens as it heads towards magnetic north. When the shadow and the sound the prey is making line up, it’s time to pounce.
Image credits: Jammy13
We also wanted to hear what common misconceptions she and others at the San Diego Human society have encountered. “One that comes to mind is that people may think a senior pet (7 years and older) may have a harder time adjusting to a new home. We think the opposite. Adopting a senior pet is oftentimes easier! You can teach an old dog new tricks: Some senior pets are already trained and, even if they’re not — they tend to catch on faster and have an easier time focusing.”
“They adapt faster: Mature animals are likely to settle into a home more easily and quickly than younger pets, often due to past experiences living in houses among people or other pets.”
“What you see is what you get: Unlike adopting a puppy or kitten, you already know what a senior animal’s full size, personality and required care will likely be. This makes it easier to pick an animal who is the right fit for you,” she shared with Bored Panda.
#10
Unlike humans, dolphins must actively decide when to breathe. Captive dolphins have been known to hold their breath until they die of suffocation, which some have suggested amounts to dolphin self-harm.
Image credits: filthy_lucre
#11
There is only two mammals left that lay eggs, and they are both from Australia.
Image credits: analgesic1986
#12
When a male octopus is ready to mate it rip’s off its ding dong and throws it at the female so she can do whatever she wants with it. the reason they do this is because they’re a lot smaller than the female so she’ll eat the male but on the plus side the Male octopus will grow his ding dong back eventually.
Image credits: thiccboi77579
She also gave some pointers on what to consider with an older animal. “A little R&R: These sweet seniors usually have less energy, which makes them great additions to mellow, relaxed households looking for a cozy companion. Unconditional gratitude: A senior pet will bring maturity and wisdom into your home. If you give a senior a chance, they will thank you for the rest of their life!”
#13
A group if dolphins is a pod, a group of Falcons is a cast. When you watch the Miami Dolphins play the Atlanta Falcons you are watching a pod-cast on TV.
#14
Crows will see how you look like and how you act and tell other crows about you.
Image credits: TheAvocadoSpeaks2
#15
Sloths sometimes grab their own arms, thinking they’re branches, and thus fall to their death.
Image credits: anon
Lastly, we wanted to know what she would suggest to people who wanted to help. “The San Diego Humane Society, and shelters across the country, are overcapacity and have been for more than a year — almost two at this point. This is unprecedented. Here are just a few ways the public can help:
Adopt: If you’re thinking about adding a pet to your family, San Diego Humane Society urges you to consider adoption first. By opening your home to a shelter pet, you give a deserving animal a second chance while creating critically needed space for other pets in need. Right now shelters and rescues have more puppies in their care than ever before too, so even if you want a puppy, please choose adoption first.”
#16
When a specific species of carpenter ant (Colobopsis saundersi) realizes it’s going to lose the fight it’s having with another insect, it latches onto them and then *blows itself up.* Membranes along the ant’s body can be activated that’ll lead to combustion. Special enlarged glands in its head mean the explosion sends a glue-like substance shooting out that will very likely entrap the previously presumptive brawl victor.
Image credits: maleorderbride
#17
Wombats have cubic poops. They literally s**t bricks!
Image credits: Themris
#18
Sperm whales in the carribean have an accent.
Image credits: taehyunngie
#19
Bald eagles don’t sound like they do on TV. They dub over the call of a redtail hawk. Actual bald eagle calls sound more like a seagull.
Similarly, lion roars on tv are usually dubbed over with tiger roars, because an actual lion roar is usually too deep to record well so it sounds weak, but apparently is terrifying IRL.
Image credits: UltimateAnswer42
#20
Humans over long distances can outrun all other land animals.
Image credits: Limp_Distribution
#21
There is an extinct species of bee that we only know exists because there is an orchid whose naughty parts mimic the bee in order to trick them into pollinating it!
Image credits: smokesinquantity
#22
Turtles can breath through their butts. And Owls keep little snakes as pets.
Image credits: WhoKnowsMyTagAnyway
#23
Gorillas, along with other primates, can learn sign language to the point where even if they do not know a specific word for a specific object they can use their previous vocabulary to describe the word accurately.
Like for example, Koko the gorilla never learned the word for “ring”, so one day she pointed at a ring and signed the words; “finger-bracelet”.
#24
Giraffes chew on bones to give them extra calcium.
Leopard pee smells like buttered popcorn.
A group of zebras are called a dazzle.
A cat slowly blinking at you means they’re relaxed and comfortable in you company.
Sharks have electric sensors in their noses that help them locate prey. If you ever feel you’re about to be attacked, rub their noses. This sends them into a natural high where they float around like a dead fish.
Shark attacks are incredibly rare. They aren’t vicious animals at all. They’re actually very shy and curious by nature.
Guinea pigs can die from loneliness.
A goldfish’s natural lifespan is around 30 years. Common causes for early death are stress and inadequate housing such as a dirty filter or an unbalanced acid and bacteria ratio in the water.
A pig’s body structure is uncannily similar to a humans. Scientists study pig corpses to give a strong educated guess as to our decomposing would work. It’s also apparent that human meat would taste very much like pork.
A chinchilla’s hair a so fine, you would need 5 hairs to match the thickness of a human hair.
The mantis shrimp, while also having the ability to see 16 primary colours, it has a punch so hard string that it creates a vacuum inside the water between its leg and the prey as well as boiling the surrounding water.
Dogs can see farts.
The difference between a turtle, tortoise and terrapin is in the legs and their environment. A turtle is large, has 4 flat flippers and lives in salt water. A tortoise is land dwelling and has 4 stubbly legs. A terrapin is about the size of a tortoise, has 4 legs with webbed feet and lives in fresh water.
Image credits: Blysse102598
#25
If frogs vomit, they vomit out their stomach, scraping out their contents, then swallowing it up again without dying.
this is probably more disgusting than amazing
but
oh well.
#26
Only female mosquitoes bite humans for blood. Males drink nectar like butterflies.
#27
A snail can sleep for three years.
Image credits: RandyNewman1902
#28
The closest living relatives to the Tyrannosaurus Rex are chickens.
#29
One of my favorites is about cats! Did you know that they have UV vision? That means that when cats play with random paper balls, bags, spots on the wall, or the box their toy came in, they’re actually playing with the ingredients that are UV reactant (like glues and stuff)
P.S. Zebras’ stripes are as unique as finger prints, and they can tell each other apart.
Image credits: Ditto_Ditto_Ditto
#30
In clownfish, each ‘school'( tribe whatever) has one female, and a head male and the others ( all males) , if the female dies, the head male turns into a female.. And the next in line to the ( leadership throne?) would be the male leader and bang the former male leader.
Yeah clownfish are Wacky.
Image credits: anon
#31
There’s an intelligent species of jumping spider called as the “Portia Spider”. These little munchkins are specialized spider hunters, with different tactics for a particular problem. Their favorite food is the common weaving spiders. Their tactics ranges from imitating a fallen debris on the prey’s web to directly attacking the prey. Their venoms are potent against spiders as it will only take seconds to paralyze the prey.
Image credits: PraetorOfSilence
#32
Polar bears fur is actually clear.
Image credits: anon
#33
Caterpillars have over 200 muscles in just their head.
Image credits: Pandasaurbutt
#34
Astronomer here! There are (probably) tardigrades on the moon.
A few years ago an Israeli satellite accidentally crashed there that had tardigrades on board that likely spilled all over.
The reason this is interesting is because these are really hearty little creatures that can survive really extreme temperatures and dehydrate into suspended animation. The company that crashed them almost definitely thinks the tardigrades are still alive. So hey, the moon probably has life on it now, and that happened while none of us were paying attention.
Image credits: Andromeda321
#35
The blobfish looks like a normal fish underwater, but since orda a deep sea fish, the depressurisation make it look like what we see in pictures.
#36
A hummingbird weighs less than a penny and is the only bird who can fly backwards. And is always two hours away from starvation.
#37
Male seahorses have pouches in which their children grow up.
#38
Wolfs only have one mate for their entire lives.
#39
Wasps pollinate figs and may be trapped inside while doing so. That means fig Newtons are not technically vegan.
#40
If you placed an adult blue whale length-wise on a basketball court, the game would be cancelled.
Image credits: CaptainNoBoat
#41
Gladiator spiders have the largest eyes of all other spider species. This is kinda disadvantageous though because they go blind everyday due to not being able to close them. However they regenerate their eyes every evening/night so they can survive.
Also “New World” Tarantulas has a defence mechanism where they use their back legs to rub off and kick hairs from their andomen at their attackers. They are super itchy and a pain in the a**e to get rid off.
#42
An octopus can fit through any opening large enough for its beak to pass through.
Also, octopuses have beaks.
#43
In a fox couple, if the vixen dies, the male fox will become single for the rest of his life. Now if the male fox dies, the vixen goes off to find another partner.
#44
Axolotl facts:
1. The “ferns” on an Axolotl’s head are actually its gills!
2. Axolotl is a Mexican word that translates to “Water dog”
3. Xolotl was a dog-headed “god” from Aztec mythology. Xoltol would lead the souls of the dead to the underworld. Some believe that Xolotl was scared of being killed by an angry king and transformed into an axolotl to hide. The salamander is trapped in the water of Xochimilco, unable to transform and walk on land due to forgetting how to transform back into the “god” it once was.
4. They can regenerate parts of their body! If they lose a limb it will grow back.
5. Axolotls are resistant to cancer, over 600% more than us humans.
6. They have no eyelids and prefer it where it’s dark
7. They also have no teeth! But they have ridges similar to velcro to grip their food and vacuum it down to their stomachs
8. They have a characteristic called Neoteny, meaning that they keep their juvenile traits even if they’re full grown.
9. They have a chance of evolving into a tiger salamander but this is a rare occurrence that only happens if the axolotl’s parents have the gene in them. (Usually due to crossbreeding)
10. They’re critically endangered in the wild, with only a couple of their habitat lakes existing.
#45
In eleven million years time the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur will have been extinct for 77 million years. This is way less time than the time the Stegosaurus had been extinct when the T Rex was alive 66 million years ago.
#46
Fun fact: the octopus has 3 hearts.
#47
Owls can sit crossed legged, the big cat with the strongest bite force(PSI) is the jaguar(1700 PSI), male anglerfish are much smaller than the females and when the female is ready to mate she excretes a pheremone which makes the male hungry. He will then try to eat her, but he then gets stuck to her, dissolves until the only thing that remains are his testicles.
#48
An immortal species of jellyfish! They can revert back to a sexually immature polyp to start its life over once it becomes old or sick.
#49
You can buy helmets for chickens on Wish.
#50
Sheep don’t like to walk in water or move through narrow openings.
They prefer to move *into the wind and uphill* rather than down-wind and downhill.