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Even if you're not a huge fan of animals in real life, you have to admit that there's always something new we can learn about them. Even if you spent every weekend of your childhood watching wildlife documentaries, there are probably some things about the animal kingdom that can surprise you.
We've collected the most interesting and adorable facts about animals that folks have shared on Quora over the years—from friendships between tarantulas and frogs, why quokkas are endangered, why chow chows don't have pink tongues, to the fact that sea otters hold hands while they sleep so they don't drift away.
Do you need a pick-me-up in the form of cute animals? Scroll down and "aww" at the cutest things that these patooties from the animal kingdom do!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Elephants brains show the same reactions when they see humans, as when humans see puppies and kittens. Elephants think humans are cute.
RELATED:
#2
Last picture of Hachiko, the faithful dog who waited for over 9 years outside Shibuya station for his master to return even after he had died.
#3
Squirrels adopt other squirrels’ babies if they are abandoned.
Just as there are many adorable facts about animals, there probably are just as many hyped-up myths that are not entirely true. There are many things about animals that people have misinterpreted over the years, so, let's go through some of them and debunk them!
Since childhood, everyone kept telling me that bats couldn't see. The consensus was that they are blind, but that's totally untrue, it turns out! "Blind as a bat" is only a witty saying, as most bats have functional eyes and can see pretty well. This misconception probably formed because of their acute hearing. Bats use echolocation to find prey in dim environments, but they are certainly not blind.
#4
Like humans, cows have best friends too with whom they like to hang out more often. And studies have revealed that they get stressed when they get separated from their besties.
#5
Sea otters hold hands while sleeping so that they don’t drift away in the swirling sea from their group.
OzymandiasTheManokit They/Them 9 months ago
sea otter fur contains between 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. unlike most other marine mammals, otters lack a blubber layer. instead, they depend on their dense, water-resistant fur to provide insulation. to keep warm, sea otters spend a large portion of their days grooming and conditioning their fur. this traps air and heat next to their skin.
#6
Ravens have the ability to mimic things just like parrots. They’re actually considered one of the world’s smartest species of birds. Ravens have been observed mimicking other sounds such as car alarms, wolf howls, flushing toilets, and clever individuals who’ve taught them to recite Edgar Allen Poe.
Space Invader 9 months ago
Once heard a raven imitate a crying child in the woods. Now THAT was creepy.
Has anyone ever warned you not to touch a baby bird because then his mother would no longer accept him as hers? Birds don't have such strong smell receptors to notice human scent, but disturbing baby birds and their nests still shouldn't become a hobby. The warbler, for example, has no sense of smell, so they can't really detect your scent at all.
But what if you come across a baby bird on the grass who's fallen off his nest? Educator Elizabeth Manning writes that it's best to leave as quickly as possible. Humans can pass diseases to wildlife, and vice versa. "In most cases, the parents are nearby and may be waiting for you to leave the area," Manning claims.
#7
Crows and ravens troll other birds by pulling on their tail feathers. While some have proposed that this is a tactic to distract larger birds and steal their food, it does seem that, overall, they just do it for fun.
#8
While they have the reputation of being loathsome, disgusting, trash-eaters, black vultures are actually the “barbers” of the bird world. They are known to groom other birds who visit their roosts - as it turns out, their highly-dextrous beaks are not just good for picking apart carcasses, but also for finagling parasites and debris out of hard-to-reach areas.
#9
When a male penguin falls in love with a female, he searches the whole beach to find her the smoothest, most perfect pebble to present her as a proposal (if she approves, she puts the stone in her nest).
Huddo's sister 9 months ago
Pesto, the Australian penguin that got internet fame for being twice the size of his parents, a big fluff ball, has moulted and has partnered up with a female name Pudding :)
Here's another myth about wildlife for you: ostriches only bury their heads in the sand in children's books. Because they have relatively small heads, it only seems that they put their noggins under the dirt. In reality, when an ostrich is scared, he or she will flop to the ground and remain still to blend in with the environment. Ostriches only dig into the sand to turn the eggs in their nests.
#10
Prairie dogs greet each other by kissing. This behavior allows them to know who their family members are and helps them to avoid interactions with strangers.
#11
Baby elephants suck their trunks for comfort alike young children and babies who suck their thumb for comfort.
Victoria Howell 9 months ago
I started sucking my thumb at 4-1/2 because of a tramatic event - as I remember, it did comfort me -especially in bed at night.
When British pilots who came back from the Falkland War in 1982 claimed that they saw penguins topple over while looking at planes, the world really took it to heart and spread the myth like wildfire. Sure, the image is quite comical, but it's not true. In 2001, scientist Richard Stone spent five weeks observing the king penguins in the Antarctic and said that "not a single bird fell over after 17 flights."
"Some birds waddled away from the helicopters. Others became quiet. A few minutes later, they waddled back."
#13
Quokkas, often called "the world's happiest animals," have a natural smile that makes them look friendly and approachable. They are found on some islands off the coast of Australia and are known for their curious nature.
#14
A study in 2012 found that when chickens listen to music, they produce more eggs than those who don’t listen to music.
#15
Animal behaviorists have concluded that cats don't meow as a way to communicate with each other. It's a method they use for getting attention from humans.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 9 months ago
By "getting attention" they actually mean "demanding absolute subservience to your feline overlord" jeez, it's like these so-called animal behaviorists have never been around a cat.
Opossums are adorable little critters who, according to some, sleep hanging from their tails. But, despite them impressively using their tails as a fifth limb to climb trees and other structures, the tails aren't strong enough to support their weights.
#16
Male pups will intentionally let female pups "win" when they play-fight so they can get to know them better.
#17
As we as being a famous Looney Tunes character, the Tasmanian Devil is a real animal that is only found in the wild in Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.
Shark Lady 9 months ago
Unfortunately they are an endangered species, in part due to a deadly disease which causes facial tumours.
#18
Chickens will come say goodbye to each other when one is dying and they do soft clicks and will then leave and that chicken will normally die alone.
Have you ever used the insult "You have a memory of a goldfish" against a forgetful person? If you did, it wasn't really accurate. Although many people believe that the memory of a goldfish spans three seconds, its memory can actually span several months. In fact, goldfish are much smarter than we might think. Scientists have even taught them to recognizehuman faces and drive a makeshift robotic car.
#20
The coat of a giraffe provides a clue to their age. Instead of graying, ageing giraffes' fur turns black.
Lousha 9 months ago
Sealpoint Siamese cats have a similar trait. The fur on the majority of their body is very light, and only the "protruding bits" like ears, tail, muzzle and paws are darker brown. As they age, the originally brown bits turn much darker, and a larger and larger area of the rest of the fur is also constantly darkening. I read somewhere that is has to do with body temperature, as they age their body get colder, and the fur reacts to that. Don't know if that's true, only that I was very lucky to having had the honour of seeing one of these blessed creatures go through all the shades over 20 years. Most beautiful companion inside and out, missed every day.
#21
Ants can form a giant ball to float during storms. The ants on the bottom will often survive too. They’ll either have an air pocket, or the ball of ants will rotate so that everyone gets a turn breathing.
If you thought that camels store water in their humps, you'd be wrong yet again. Their humps, in fact, contain fat. It is true, however, that they can go significantly long periods without drinking. At any one time, they can drink up to 20 gallons of water, and they store it all in their bloodstream. And what's the fat for? The camel uses it for sustenance when there's no food available. When they haven't eaten for a long time, their humps will go limp and droop down.
#22
The animal world may often seem brutally violent, and in truth, that’s because it is. However, that doesn’t mean there can’t be heartwarming moments in nature. Take, for example, the “friendship” between huge tarantulas and tiny frogs.
For unknown reasons, this partnership has independently sprung up several times across the world. From the Amazon Rainforest to India, giant spiders have teamed up with narrow-mouthed frogs, or microhylids.
It was originally thought that this was an example of commensalism: the amphibian hangs around the arachnid for protection (snakes and lizards steer clear of the dangerous tarantulas), but the latter merely tolerates its presence, rather than enjoying any benefits itself. After all, microhylid frogs are highly poisonous, so the spiders couldn’t eat them even if they wanted to.
However, it appears that the relationship is more complex; that the benefit is mutual. The little froglets hoover up any ants which might attack the tarantula’s eggs, and, since ants are far too small and agile for the giant arthropods to combat, this is very helpful. Evidence suggests the spiders can even distinguish partner frogs from others via chemical signals. So, the amphibian’s love is not unrequited: the two creatures provide advantages to each other.
#23
Wombats have cube-shaped poop. They mark their territories by defecating, and it's thought that the shape of their poop keeps it from rolling away. Special bones in their backsides allow them to squeeze and form their feces into cubes.
Jeffery B Jones 9 months ago
https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/civet-poop-coffee.htm
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Warren Peece 9 months ago
They stack the poop cubes to build their house. Even the Big Bad Wolf can't blow that down.
Huddo's sister 9 months ago
And if you do find one dead on the side of a road, check the pouch for babies- just make sure it's female (an animal rescue person I know had a call from someone who got confused and stuck their hand in a male's a**s, thinking it was a pouch!)- and remember the pouch faces towards the back, unlike with kangaroos.
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Beak Hookage 9 months ago
Australian here, can confirm. Someone even made a wombat poop sculpture where they cast some in bronze. And a famous Australian author wrote a freakin' poem about it.
Stannous Flouride 9 months ago
They are also the only species besides humans that regularly sleep on their backs. (as I was writing that I wondered whether they snore too)
If you're afraid to touch a frog or a toad, somebody at some point probably told you that you'll get warts if you do. However, that's not true. You can touch any amphibian you want and you won't get any warts on your hands from that. Toads and frogs do have wart-looking bumps on them, but they're glands that don't actually secrete anything, so you're safe.
#25
A snail can sleep for straight three years.
#27
Just as no two fingerprints are alike for humans, not two nose prints are alike for dogs.
Our last animal myth has to do with man's best friend, the dog. Many people think that dogs are color-blind and can't enjoy life in all its technicolor, but that's not entirely true. Dogs are very good at distinguishing between shades of blues, yellows, whites, and grays, so, they don't see the world in black and white. They have more trouble with reds and greens, though. So, the next time you're buying a toy for your doggo, maybe opt for a blue or a yellow toy so they can see it better.
#28
Beaver’s teeth are orange in color as the teeth contain Iron-rich outer enamel which gives strength to their teeth.
#30
Kittens purr not just when they are happy, but also when they are frightened or in pain. This purring can have a calming effect on themselves and even promote healing.
Which of these facts surprised you the most, Pandas? Which did you know already? Share your adorable facts about the animal kingdom in the comments below! And if you want to learn more wholesome things about wildlife, check out a similar article we previously did here!
#31
Studies have shown that wild chimps in Guinea drink fermented palm sap, which contains about 3 percent alcohol by volume.
#32
Platypuses swim with their eyes closed!
OzymandiasTheManokit They/Them 9 months ago
another weird platypus fact is that male platypuses are one of the few venomous mammals on Earth. they have vicious spurs on their hind legs that deliver an excruciating toxin, possibly to help them fight other males during mating season.
#33
Baby shrews travel in conga lines.
When a mother shrew wants to take her babies places, one will carry her tail in its mouth, then its sibling will do the same to it, and so on. These “caravans” can comprise up to 7 or 8 shrews.
Another cool fact about shrews is that their brains shrink by 15% in the winter, so they can survive the food-scarce winter.
#34
Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, its the only species of the birds which can fly backwards.
#35
Sand cats are tiny wild cats native to deserts that look like kittens.
Edward Loopyderm 9 months ago
Most adorable feline predator :) I seem to recall that they are very successful predators too.
#36
Jumping spiders are very curious little creatures so if one never saw a human before very likely it will come closer to investigate you and often times jump on you without you knowing it and they can also recognise their owners when kept as pets.
#37
One way you can tell the gender of turtles is by the sound they make. Male turtles grunt, while female turtles hiss.
#38
Flamingos are naturally white—their diet of brine shrimp and algae turns them pink.
#39
Boxer crabs/pom pom crabs keep sea anemones on their claws in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship
Warren Peece 9 months ago
"Mutualistic symbiotic" is redundant. It means the same as 'mutualistic" or "symbiotic".
#40
Like other marsupials, wombats give birth to a tiny, underdeveloped baby that crawls into its mother's pouch to grow and develop further. But wombats' pouches have a special difference — they are positioned backwards, opening toward the mother's rear rather than her head. This allows her to dig without getting dirt in her pouch.
Kabuki Kitsune 9 months ago
Furthermore, if threatened, a Wombat mother will force her young out. Not so it can escape, but so the baby wombat will 'distract' the predator while the mother escapes to safety.
#43
Trained pigeons can tell the difference between the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet.
#44
Dolphins have unique signature whistles that they use to identify and call out to each other, much like humans use names.
ElfVibratorGlitter 9 months ago
I watched a Ted talk (maybe?) about how they were using LLM to figure out what whales were saying. And so researchers were playing a speaker underwater with whale calls and this whale was slamming into the boat. Long story short, what they were playing was essentially "Bob!!!!?! Bob?!??" And Bob (the whale) was like what?!? That's me! I'm Bob! ( His name wasn't Bob but I don't speak whale like Dory can.)
#45
One of the wombat's primary defenses is its toughened backside, which is mostly made of cartilage. When threatened, a wombat dives headfirst into a tunnel, blocking the entrance with its rump. This sturdy rump, and lack of a significant tail, make it difficult for a predator to grab on.
#46
Dragonflies and damselflies form a heart with their tails when they mate.
#48
Horses can sleep by both standing and sitting
Day Andie 9 months ago
HA HA HA! I'd love to see a sleeping horse sitting. Horses rarely assume what we call as sitting position for long periods naturally. What we call a sit is part of their getting up before they raise their haunches to stand. They may pause for a bit, but normally won't 'sit' unless trained to do so. Horses sleep standing up or lying either flat-out on their sides with their head down on the ground, or lying in what is call sternal recumbency, which means they are lying down on their belly and sternum, their legs folded underneath, and with their heads raised or curled over their shoulder.
#49
Lobster has teeth in its stomach.
#51
Cougars (also known as mountain lions, pumas, and panthers) are the largest type of cat that can purr. Purring and roaring are thought to be mutually exclusive. Lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars are unable to purr but because of their flexible larynx, they can produce tremendously loud roars.
#52
Apart from humans the only land animal that cries is the elephant.
Fullo Shit 9 months ago
Just because you cant see them shed the tears, does'nt mean they don't cry
#53
Budgies will show signs that they’re about to sleep by:
Tucking one foot into their feathers, hiding it.
Tucking their head between their wings.
Chirping to themselves.
Colleen Glim 9 months ago
They also tuck one foot into their feathers because they’re cold, chirp to their cage mates, and add their two cents worth to any conversation you’re having. And good luck hearing the tv at the important bits. But they make me happy
#54
Pigeons are capable of doing math at a similar level to monkeys.
#55
Koalas sleep up to 22 hours a day.
Edda Kamphues 9 months ago
You guys would too if you were on their diet. Eucalyptus, more eucalyptus and a bit more eucalyptus. High in fibre, hard to digest.
#56
There’s no such thing as a black panther. The cats you see labelled as black panthers are leopards or jaguars with melanism. Melanism is a condition opposite of albinism where an animal’s body produces too much dark pigment (melanin), making the animal appear black. Other big cats with melanism have never been documented or confirmed to exist.
#57
Reindeer eyes turn blue in the winter.
#58
Sloths can take a week to digest their food.
#59
The Honduran white bat is less than 2 inches long, and they sleep huddled together in leaves
m6nbtfpx7q 9 months ago
Bats have gotten the worst marketing, I blame Halloween. They’re mostly like flying puppies and I’d love to pet some of them! But they are in fact a carrier of rabies, so I can’t.
#60
That grizzly bears have extremely pliable and dexterous lips that she used to eat a muffin out of my hand without her teeth ever touching me. Amazing animal!
#61
Male atlas blue butterflies hold the record for having the most chromosomes of any animal on earth: a whopping 452! Lots of genetic material for such a little thing.
#63
Frogs can freeze without dying.
#64
Aside from nesting, common swift spend their entire lives in the air, living on insects they catch in flight.
#65
Unlike most animals, who have a fixed upper jaw and a mobile lower jaw, flamingos have a completely mobile beak all the way around. The upper and lower portions of their beak can be moved independently with ball and socket joints. It was thought for a long time that flamingos could only move the upper part of their beak because of their feeding habits. When eating, flamingos keep their lower beak stationary to use as leverage.
GenuineJen 9 months ago (edited)
Flamingos eat with their heads turned upside down, so it makes more sense when you see how they use their beaks while eating.
#66
Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump
#67
Tree shrews have the largest brain to body ratio as they are such small creatures. Despite this title, tree shrews are not considered very smart.
#68
The Etruscan shrew, the world’s smallest mammal, has a heart that beats 25 times a second. Do the math and that adds up to 1,500 beats a minutes. For comparison, an average human’s heart beats 60–100 times a minute (while resting). It takes a lot less time for blood to pumped through the Etruscan shrew’s two gram body.
#69
Giraffes, like many other hoofed prey animals, only sleep standing up to stay safe from predators. They take multiple quick, five minute naps and can get by on just half an hour of sleep a day.
Verena 9 months ago
The majority of hoofed prey animals do sleep laying down, they need the REM phase. They have to, to stay healthy and mentally balanced. However, they will only do so when feeling safe (and have the space to get up, horse owners!). If they do not have the opportunity for a longer time, they get stressed out
#70
The peacock mantis shrimp can throw a punch at 50 mph, accelerating quicker than a .22-caliber bullet.
#71
Capuchin monkeys pee on their hands and feet to wash them.
#72
Crocodiles cannot stick their tongue out.
Sillywaster Stayalone 9 months ago (edited)
I want nature to create a crocodile which can shoot its tongue out like a gecko. It will be fun.
#73
Felines and Ursides both display dimorphous expression in play, which is otherwise known as “cute aggression.”
Studies show this fosters bonding between parents and children and helps the young learn motor control and reflexes in response to stimuli!
#74
Male greater frigatebirds inflate their throat sacs to display masculinity to mates.
#76
If you have a lonely/anxious horse, put a chicken or pig in the stable with it to calm it down.
Day Andie 9 months ago
Bored Panda doesn't know much about horses, do they? It's goats. If you have a horse that needs a companion, put a goat in its stall. The phrase 'get your goat' originates in the theft of a companion goat which resulted in a nervous and upset horse not winning the race. Not to say that a sheep, pig, or a chicken wasn't occasionally used but the GOAT of racehorse companions is a goat.
#77
The chow is the only dog without a pink tongue.
#78
A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.
Laura Lawson 9 months ago
This was disproved by Mythbusters in their 1st season! The hardest part of the whole thing was getting the duck to quack on cue. Lol. Anyway, it turns out that duck's quacks do echo but it is so quiet that we generally don't hear it.
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What do you think ?
Louisa johnson 9 months ago
This is the sort of thing I come to bored panda for. There have been so many sales and advertising in the last months. It’s really annoying.
PenguinEmp 9 months ago
Ah now we've moved on from reddit to quora. Quora the poor man's yahoo answers
Sillywaster Stayalone 9 months ago
This implies that Yahoo Answers is the quality stuff.
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I_imagine_even_worse_w***s 9 months ago
I misread the poll and thought it asked which one had you witnessed so I said the other one. But no what I want ro see is quokkas
Broccoli 9 months ago
Some of these facts are really obvious and stupid. However, most were good so I still enjoyed the list.
Broccoli 9 months ago
Some of these facts are also misleading or just plain wrong
Load More Replies... Louisa johnson 9 months ago
This is the sort of thing I come to bored panda for. There have been so many sales and advertising in the last months. It’s really annoying.
PenguinEmp 9 months ago
Ah now we've moved on from reddit to quora. Quora the poor man's yahoo answers
Sillywaster Stayalone 9 months ago
This implies that Yahoo Answers is the quality stuff.
Load More Replies... I_imagine_even_worse_w***s 9 months ago
I misread the poll and thought it asked which one had you witnessed so I said the other one. But no what I want ro see is quokkas
Broccoli 9 months ago
Some of these facts are really obvious and stupid. However, most were good so I still enjoyed the list.
Broccoli 9 months ago
Some of these facts are also misleading or just plain wrong
Load More Replies... You May Like 60 Interesting Facts That Are Better Than Watching The News If You’re Hungry For New Knowledge, These 50 Facts Might Satisfy Your Appetite “Google Immediately Fired All 28 Employees”: 40 Stories And Pics That Prove That Our World Is Strange
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