Animal Secrets

A chihuahua telling a secret to another.

Weird Science Facts About Animals

We love animals because they are cute, tiny and fuzzy. At the same time, we don’t like them because they bite, carry disease and have more strength and speed than our human bodies, making them scary and sometimes dangerous.

Regardless of whether you consider yourself an animal lover or not, these scientific animal facts are both interesting and bizarre:

  • Dogs poop in alignment of the Earth’s magnetic field. (Source)
  • Gorillas can catch human colds and other illnesses. (Source)
  • The only mammals to undergo menopause are elephants, humpback whales and human females. (Source)
  • A tarantula spider can survive for more than two years without food. (Source)
  • For every human in the world, there are one million ants. (Source)
  • A single elephant tooth can weigh as much as nine pounds. (Source)
  • The flamingo can only eat when its head is upside down. (Source)
  • Oysters can change gender multiple times during their life. (Source)
  • A cheetah can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in three seconds. (Source)
  • Galapagos tortoises sleep for 16 hours a day and can go a year without food or water. (Source)
  • A wolf can eat up to 20 pounds of meat in one sitting. (Source)
  • Baby giraffes can stand within half an hour of birth. (Source)
  • Flying fish reach speeds of 37 miles per hour to breach the water and glide up to 655 feet — more than the length of two football fields! (Source)
  • Elephants can smell water from several miles away. (Source)
  • Young goats pick up accents from each other. (Source)
  • Squirrels can’t burp or vomit. (Source)
  • Reindeer eyeballs turn blue in winter to help them see at lower light levels. (Source)
  • Warmer weather causes more turtles to be born female than male. (Source)
  • Turtles can breathe through their butts. (Source)
  • Pigs’ orgasms last for 30 minutes. (Source)
  • Dogs’ nose prints are as unique as human fingerprints and can be used to identify them. (Source)
  • Butterflies taste with their feet. (Source)
  • The tongue of a giraffe is so long it can lick inside its own ear. (Source)
  • Polar bears are left-handed. (Source)
  • A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. (Source)
  • The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head 360 degrees. (Source)
  • Armadillos, opossums and sloths spend up to 80 percent of their lives sleeping. (Source)
  • Underneath their stripes, zebras have black skin. (Source)
  • A whooping crane’s eye color changes as the bird gets older. It moves from blue to aqua to gold. (Source)
  • Starfish don’t have blood. Rather, filtered seawater runs through them. (Source)
  • An ostrich stride can reach 23 feet in length. (Source)
  • Octopuses have three hearts, two to pump blood to the gills, and a third to circulate for its organs. (Source)

It’s overwhelming to think about the number of animals in the world, their capabilities and their unique qualities. The animal kingdom, by human standards, is a weird place, but let’s not forget that we are part of that kingdom too.

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