Animals

A giraffe has the same number of neck bones as a human, roughly seven vertebrae.

Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood that pumps through their bodies.

A snail can sleep for days at a time when conditions are dry.

Elephants communicate using low rumbling sounds that travel long distances through the ground.

Cats spend a large part of their lives sleeping, often more than half the day.

A chameleon changes colour mainly to signal mood and to regulate its body temperature.

Dogs understand many spoken words and can read human facial expressions quite well.

Sharks have been around far longer than trees, having survived several mass extinction events.

A group of crows is commonly called a murder in traditional English naming.

Frogs absorb water through their skin rather than drinking it with their mouths.

Butterflies taste with their feet, which helps them find suitable plants for laying eggs.

A blue whale's heart is roughly the size of a small car.

Kangaroos cannot walk backwards because of the shape of their legs and large feet.

Owls cannot move their eyes, so they rotate their heads to look around.

A starfish can regrow a lost arm over time, and some species regrow a whole body.

Sloths move so slowly through the trees that algae can grow on their fur.

Honeybees communicate the direction of flowers by performing a waggle dance inside the hive.

Penguins cannot fly, but they swim using wing strokes that resemble flying underwater.

A crocodile cannot chew, so it tears prey apart and swallows large chunks.

Rabbits have teeth that keep growing throughout their lives and wear down by chewing.

Dolphins call each other by name using distinctive whistles that other dolphins recognise.

A tiger's skin is striped as well as its fur, not just the hair.

Seahorses are unusual because the male carries the eggs until they hatch.

Cows have best friends and become calmer when they are kept near them.

A housefly beats its wings hundreds of times each second while in flight.

Snakes smell by flicking their tongues and carrying scent particles to a special organ.

Parrots can mimic human speech and some live long enough to outlive their owners.

A shrimp's heart is located in its head, which is unusual among animals.

Ants can lift many times their own body weight and work together to move food.

A cheetah is the fastest land animal over short distances, but it tires quickly.

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight rather than simple gliding.

A camel stores fat in its hump, not water as is often believed.

Goldfish have a memory lasting months, far better than the few seconds of folklore.

Wolves howl to gather the pack and to mark the edges of their territory.

A polar bear's skin is black underneath its fur, which looks pale in sunlight.

Elephants are among the few animals that can recognise themselves in a mirror.

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards for a sustained period.

A dog's nose detects smells at concentrations far below what humans can notice.

Turtles carry their shell as part of the skeleton, so they cannot leave it behind.

A cat's purr vibrates at a steady low frequency that is easy to feel while petting.

Flamingos are born grey and turn pink from pigments in the food they eat.

A parliament is the traditional collective noun used for a group of owls.

Jellyfish have no brain, heart, or bones, yet they drift and hunt quite successfully.

Squirrels bury nuts in many places and forget some, which helps forests grow.

A mole's digging ability lets it tunnel through soil at surprising speed using strong claws.

Beavers build dams from branches and mud to raise water levels around their lodges.

A rat's teeth never stop growing, which is why they gnaw on hard materials.

Whales sing complex repeated songs that can travel across entire ocean basins.

A frog's eyes help it swallow, since it pushes food down by blinking.

Chickens remember the faces of other birds and can recognise individual flock members.

Lizards change their posture to soak up warmth from the sun during cool mornings.

A spider's silk is strong for its thickness and is spun from specialised glands.