40 Lesser-Known Facts About Animals That Made People Say ‘Aww’

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Trained African Giant Pouched Rats Have Found Thousands Of Unexploded Landmines And Bombs. Researchers Have Also Trained These Rats To Detect Tuberculosis. And Most Recently They Are Training Them To Sniff Out Poached Wildlife Trophies Being Exported Out Of African Ports

Trained African Giant Pouched Rats Have Found Thousands Of Unexploded Landmines And Bombs. Researchers Have Also Trained These Rats To Detect Tuberculosis. And Most Recently They Are Training Them To Sniff Out Poached Wildlife Trophies Being Exported Out Of African Ports

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40 Lesser-Known Facts About Animals That Made People Say ‘Aww’

Trained African Giant Pouched Rats Have Found Thousands Of Unexploded Landmines And Bombs. Researchers Have Also Trained These Rats To Detect Tuberculosis. And Most Recently They Are Training Them To Sniff Out Poached Wildlife Trophies Being Exported Out Of African Ports

In Most Western Cultures, Black Cats Are Considered A Bad Omen. But In Scottish Lore, The Arrival Of A Strange Black Cat Signifies Prosperity

Cheetahs Are So Shy That Zoos Give Them Their Own Emotional “Support Dogs”

Opposums Get A Lot Of Hate, But They Clear Many Unwanted Bugs And Parasites From The Ecosystem And Are Generally Helpful Friends. Please Appreciate Them, Especially This Good Boy

A Sloth's Claws Work The Opposite Way That Human Hand Does. The Default Position Is A Tight Strong Grip, And Sloths Must Exert Effort To Open Them Up. This Is Why Sloths Don't Fall Out Of Trees When They're Asleep

Cows Have "Eureka" Moments, And Take Pleasure In Their Own Learning Achievements

Scientists Know That Rats Like To Have Their Bellies Tickled, So They Used That As Basis For Testing Happiness In Rats. They Found Out That The Ears Of Rats Undergoing Tickling Became Droopier And Pinker - Subtle Signs Of Being Relaxed And Happy

The Opossum Is North America's Only Marsupial, They Can Eat 5000 Ticks A Year And Are Almost Immune To Rabies! Their Body Temperature Is Too Low For The Virus To Survive!

Lynx Have Evolved Enormous Paws To Distribute Weight Better In Snow, Acting Like Natural Snowshoes

Seagulls Stomping On Grass Is Called, The Rain Dance. This Mimics Rain By Vibration, And Brings Earthworms And Other Bugs To Surface

Blue Penguins Are The Smallest Type Of Penguin. Adults Reach Only 12-13in Tall. Owing To Their Small Size And Bright Color They Are Often Called Fairy Penguins

The Burmese Star Tortoise Is One Of The Few Animals That Have Comeback From Being Called Functionally Extinct

A University Of Chicago Study Found That Rats Are Just As Capable Of Empathy As Humans

150 Kākāriki Karaka Chicks Have Hatched This Season, Potentially Doubling The This Rare Birds Population

The Northern Cardinal Is Probably The Most 'Romantic' Bird Species: They Mate For Life, Travel Together, Sing Before Nesting, And During Courtship, Feed Seed Beak-To-Beak

When In Danger, The Malabar Giant Squirrel Often Freezes Or Flattens Itself Against The Tree Trunk, Instead Of Fleeing

The Pudú Deer Is The Smallest Species Of Deer Standing At 15 Inches Tall On Average

The Milk Of Pinnipeds Consist Of Up To 60% Fat, Allowing The Young To Grow Fairly Quickly. Pups Can Gain Over 2.2 Kg (4.9 Lb) Per Day While Nursing

A Newborn Chinese Water Deer Is So Small It Can Almost Be Held In The Palm Of The Hand. When It Matures, Instead Of Growing Antlers, They Grow Long Upper Canine Teeth Gaining Them The Name "Vampire Deer"

Cows Have Similar Emotional Range As Dogs. They Display Boldness, Shyness, Fearfulness And Even Playfulness

Van Kittens Are Initially Born With Pale Blue Eyes, Which Change To A Deeper Blue Or Amber As They Grow Older. Occasionally, You’ll Also See A Van With One Amber Eye And One Blue Eye, Or Two Blue Eyes Of Different Hues

Pigs Have Episodic Memory. It Is Likely That They Can Replay And Feel Past Experiences In Their Heads

Flamingo's Pink Coloring Comes From The Shrimp They Eat, And In 1992 In The Miami Zoo They Had To Stick The Flamingos In The Bathroom To Ride Out Hurricane Andrew

This Is The Raccoon Dog, The Only Extant Species In The Genus Nyctereutes. It's A Close Relative Of True Foxes And The Only Canid Known To Hibernate During The Winter

The Okapi's Closest Realative Is The Giraffe. Okapis Were Descovered In 1901. Unfortunately, They Are Now Endangered

Rats Giggle When You Tickle Them. Their Voices Are So High-Pitched You Need Special Equipment To Hear Them, But When You Do, Their Laughs Are Immediately Evident

Tigers Are Carnivores, But Will Eat Fruit In Order To Ease Digestion

Adult Giraffes Only Sleep For A Couple Of Minutes At A Time. Baby Giraffes Will Sleep For Much Longer Periods Of Time With Their Head Resting On Their Rump

Done Brushing Your Dog? Birds Love Using The Hair To Build Nests. Set Aside One Birdfeeder To Fill With Hair

The Eyes Of The Blunthead Tree Snake Make Up Approximately 26% Of Its Head

Bats Are Not Rodents. They Are Their Own Group Called Chiroptera. They Are More Closely Related To Cats Than Rats

The World's Oldest Known Wild Bird, Wisdom The Laysan Albatross, Has Laid An Egg At 67! Wisdom Has Outlived Several Mates And Has Raised 30 To 35 Chicks

Native To India, Sloth Bears Are The Only Ursids Known To Carry Their Young For Extended Periods. Cubs Will Ride On Their Mother’s Backs For Six To Seven Months After Leaving The Den

The Platypus Is Unique Not Only For Laying Eggs. It Also Has Elecrtoreceptors In Its Snout For Locating Prey, Eyes With Double Cones, No Stomach, A Single Duct For Their Urinary, Defecatory, And Reproductive System, 10 Chromosomes, And The Males Have Venomous Barbs On Their Hind Legs

Cows Can Recognise Individual Humans, Even When They Wear The Same Clothes

The Red Wolf (Canis Rufus) Is The Most Endangered Canid Species Alive. There Are Less Than 35 Individuals In The Wild After An Attempt To Bring The Species Numbers Up (Peaking At 130 Individuals In 2006). These Wolves Form Close-Knit Packs That Consist Of The Breeding Pair And Their Offspring

Captain Cook Collected Quolls Along The East Coast In 1770, And Recorded 'Quoll' As Their Local Aboriginal Name. Quolls Were Often Seen By Early Settlers, Who Called Them 'Native Cat', 'Native Polecat' And 'Spotted Marten', Names Based On Familiar European Animals

Cats Can Nurse Hedgehogs

The Red Fox's Adaptability And Resourcefulness Have Earned It A Legendary Reputation For Intelligence And Cunning. Also, A Fox's Tail Is Called A "Brush"

Male Ostriches Will Mate With 3 To 5 Hens That Will Lay Their Eggs In A Single Nest That The Male Digs Out. Every Night The Male Incubates The Eggs And During The Day The Dominate Female Will Incubate The Eggs, Which Take Around 40 Days To Hatch. The Male And The Females Will Help Raise The Chicks

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