15 Surprising Animal Facts, You Probably Don’t Know

Here is a list of some amazing animal facts that I figured you too would love – after all, we all love animals!

Hamster

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Even their poor eyesight and being colorblind can’t stop hamsters in performing one remarkable feat — these stout-bodied, short-tailed cute rodents can blink one eye at a time!

Spitting Spider

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The spitting spider is such a wily hunter; it has a remarkable way of catching its prey. It doesn’t wait for prey to get trapped in its web; it spits out a poisonous silk (coming from special glands in its head and abdomen) that capture the prey where it stands

Nine-banded Armadillo

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The Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), has an amazing way in producing offspring. This timid, armored animal is the only mammal that always gives birth to identical quadruplets (4 babies that come from one egg)! Imagine how many offspring can a female nine-banded armadillo in her 12–15 year lifespan.

Great Tit

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The Great Tit (Parus major), which feeds mainly on insects during summer, has a clever ‘waste disposal’ scheme. This fairly large passerine bird, produces its waste in enclosed pouches that it later disposes from its nest! Believe it or not, on average, the Great tit can accumulate and remove 500 pouches of waste from its nest in a week”s time.

Koala

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What would a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) gain by consuming about one kilogram of eucalyptus leaves a day? This bear-like marsupial even stock these leaves in pouches in its cheeks, Why? Eucalyptus leaves, which are 50 percent water, provide the needed liquids its body requires.

Lion

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The lion (Panthera leo) enjoys a very weird sex or mating lifestyle. When the ‘King of the Jungle’ wants to mate, no fierce lioness can stop him. Copulation (desire for sexual intercourse) arises every 15 minutes for one week straight. A good thing, a lion’s sexual desire occurs only once every 2 years!

Chameleon

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Many people think a chameleon changes color as a clever way to camouflage or to blend in with its surroundings. Partly true, however, this amazing ‘quick-change artist’ makes this clever act primarily to showcase some emotional state or conditions. For example: a male chameleon shows a multi-colored pattern during social displays, shows dark color patterns when angered, or lighter colors reflect light during the heat of the day. In other words, color change in chameleons occur as a social signal for communication, adapting to temperature and light, expressing mood, health condition, or simply to make them more comfortable.

Hippopotamus

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Question for the day — What is the most dangerous animal in Africa? Lion-nope, crocodiles, not either, snakes-perhaps. However, records have shown that Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) kill more human annually than the above-mentioned animals.

Diving Bell Spider

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The Diving Bell Spider (Argyroneta aquatica), or water spider, is the only species of spider that live virtually its entire life under water. How does it survive? This arachnid makes such amazing feat by creating spinning a diving bell (an an open-bottomed dome-shaped silk cocoon) that acts as its living quarter, as well as ‘gills’ that take in oxygen from the water. A new study reveals, that diving bell spider can stay underwater for hours at a time.

Hedgehog

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Here’s an amazing fact about hedgehog – this spiny, the little mammal that hibernate in cold climates has amazing heart rate figures to show. While resting, a hedgehog’s200 to 300 times a minute; around 150 beats a minute when sleeping and just below 14 beats per minute during hibernation.

Woodpecker

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Serving both as a chisel and a crowbar, the woodpecker uses its strong, pointed beak to tear off bark in search of insects. Do you know that a woodpecker can peck its beak up to 20 times per second!

Grizzly Bear

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Believe it or not, the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), which averages between 180–360 kilograms can run as fast as an average horse! This brown bear can attain a running speed of up to 40 miles per hour.

Giant Anteater

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The Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga pterodactyl), is the largest species of anteater. An adult can measure up to 2.1 m in length with a long, tube-like head ending in a small nose about an inch wide. But do you know that these termite-eating mammals have no teeth.

Clams

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‘To be or not to be’ — perhaps this is the hardest question clams are asking themselves. Why ? Because all clams are born males. However, they have the option to become a female once, and the change is irreversible

Giraffe

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The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), has many amazing facts to brag about. It is the world’s tallest mammal reaching 5–6 m meters in height. Also, it has the longest tail of any land mammal – up to 8 feet long, A Giraffe can open and close its nostrils at will. However, this gentle giant has no tear ducts and lacks a vocal cord!

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