Obscure Facts you Know—animal edition

Page 1 of 3 [ 37 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

Kiki1256
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Oct 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 815
Location: Somewhere...

30 Nov 2017, 10:55 am

Post facts you know about animals!


Opossums are not “possums”—“opossum” is the correct term.
Chickens can’t eat avocados or they get sick.
Cows weigh half a ton on average.
Insects are animals—some people think insects are not animals but they are!
Lemurs live in Madascar—it’s the only place in the world that has lemurs in the wild!



Redxk
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jun 2016
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,704
Location: Washington

30 Nov 2017, 3:33 pm

Male marsupials have forked penises.



Leahcar
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jan 2016
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 259
Location: United Kingdom

30 Nov 2017, 5:01 pm

Despite the stereotype that dolphins are friendly and sociable, they are actually quite nasty things.
Some have been known to torture and murder porpoises for fun.


_________________
I'm sailing across Spectrum Sea, in my little boat.
The waters of the port were choppy. After I set off, there was a long, massive storm.
Years later, however, the sea calmed. I'm still on tranquil sea, but I'll never reach the Neurotypical Beach.


Kiki1256
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Oct 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 815
Location: Somewhere...

30 Nov 2017, 6:30 pm

Birds chirp with different tones in different parts of the world!



lostonearth35
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,790
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?

09 Dec 2017, 1:19 pm

The hippopotamus's name comes from Greek and means "river horse", although they are more related to whales and dolphins than horses.

Although they spend most of the day in water, they don't really swim. They sink and sort of bounce along the bottom, bobbing in a dolphin-style fashion.

They also sweat a sticky pink fluid that acts like a sunscreen that protects them from the blazing African sun.

And when they poop, they spin their tail around to spread their droppings all over the place. :eew:

And, although they are herbivores and pretty comical-looking, they are the most dangerous animal to humans in Africa, killing more people than lions or any other predator. Although I heard that part of the reason is people boating on the rivers, not knowing a hippo is right underneath them, and when the hippo comes up it knocks the boat over.



TheSilentOne
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Aug 2015
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,820
Location: Torchwood Three

09 Dec 2017, 3:06 pm

Chocolate labs are the most accident-prone dogs.
I learned this when we took my old chocolate lab to the vet after he was stung by a wasp.

Labs are also the most popular dog breed in the United States.


_________________
"Have you never seen something so mad, so extraordinary... That just for one second, you think that there might be more out there?" -Gwen Cooper, Torchwood


Redxk
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jun 2016
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,704
Location: Washington

09 Dec 2017, 5:02 pm

Havanese dogs can, and frequently do, yodel.



naturalplastic
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Age: 69
Gender: Male
Posts: 33,879
Location: temperate zone

10 Dec 2017, 9:04 am

Redxk wrote:
Havanese dogs can, and frequently do, yodel.


Do you mean "dogs that live in Havana Cuba"?

Or is "Havanese" a breed of dog (like "Pekinese")?



Misslizard
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 18 Jun 2012
Age: 59
Gender: Female
Posts: 20,454
Location: Aux Arcs

10 Dec 2017, 10:32 am

Some lizards and amphibians eat their own skin when they shed.


_________________
I am the dust that dances in the light. - Rumi


Kiki1256
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Oct 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 815
Location: Somewhere...

10 Dec 2017, 11:00 am

There are 25 billion chickens in the world!



Trogluddite
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Feb 2016
Age: 53
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,075
Location: Yorkshire, UK

10 Dec 2017, 12:41 pm

The wheat-ear is a small songbird. It's name wasn't originally "wheat-ear", though, it was "white-arse" because when it flies away from you, it flashes a white patch under its tail. The Victorian's though that was a bit rude, so the name got changed to "wheat-ear", even though the bird isn't particularly associated with cereal crops.

On a similar note, the birds known in the USA as "chickadees" are known as "tits" in the UK (they're unrelated to the family of birds called "boobies", though!)


_________________
When you are fighting an invisible monster, first throw a bucket of paint over it.


lostonearth35
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,790
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?

10 Dec 2017, 6:29 pm

If you catch a ladybug and then drop it, whether it falls to the ground or flies away depends on the current temperature. Because of this some people think ladybugs can be used to predict the weather.



komamanga
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 18 Jan 2017
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,343
Location: CzechRep.

10 Dec 2017, 6:51 pm

Flamingo parents, male and female, both produce milk, which is red in color.



bunnyb
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Mar 2016
Gender: Female
Posts: 589
Location: Australia

11 Dec 2017, 12:53 am

Giraffes have seven cervical (neck) vertebrae which is the same number we have.
Elephants can smell water up to 12 miles away.


_________________
I have a piece of paper that says ASD Level 2 so it must be true.


Kiki1256
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Oct 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 815
Location: Somewhere...

11 Dec 2017, 9:00 pm

Butterflies taste with their feet.



Kiki1256
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Oct 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 815
Location: Somewhere...

12 Dec 2017, 3:26 pm

There are fish that live in 28 degree Fahrenheit water—even though they’re cold blooded. Real life vampires, minus the bloodsucking?