Interesting Animal Facts

Pandas can sleep anywhere and they usually fall asleep wherever they happen to be.

Squirrels use their tails as umbrellas and parachutes.

A dog’s nose print is as detailed as a human fingerprint and can be used to identify them.

Giraffes only sleep for around 4 and a half hours a night, on average.

Tigers have striped skin underneath their striped fur.

Baby elephants suck on their own trunks, like pacifiers.

Fabricated Animal Facts

Rabbits eat carrots, but as any bunny owner will attest, rabbits prefer leafy green vegetables. The image of the rabbit enjoying a carrot was made iconic by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny. However, when Bugs first did it, he was actually parodying a then famous scene from another movie called It Happened One Night. In the movie, Clark Gable is munching away on the carrot while talking and, when Bugs did it, he was merely referencing a scene which was quite well-known at the time, but became less so over the years.

Old cartoons tell us elephants love peanuts and they were constantly fed peanuts at circuses and zoos. This is no longer a common practice. In the wild, peanuts are not a part of an elephant’s diet and most who have been fed peanuts in captivity do not like them. They prefer hay and other grains along with fruits and vegetables.

An elephant's nose is a regular nose. Since it is very long and dexterous, an elephant can use it to grab things, but its primary role is to breathe air, just like any other nose. Something an elephant definitely cannot do is drink water through it like a straw. It might appear that way, because elephants do suck in water through their trunks, but only to carry it into their mouths.

Ostriches been never been observed sticking their head in a hole, except in cartoons. When an ostrich is in danger, it will either 'fight or flight' like most other animals. It is equipped to do both quite well. It can reach speeds of up to 40 mph. In a fight, an ostrich has big, sharp claws and a kick powerful enough to take down a lion.

Six Quick Animal Facts

Armadillos found in the US nearly always give birth to identical quadruplets.

The largest bat colony in the world in Bracken Cave, Texas has 20 million bats.

Dolphins can stay active for 15 days or more by sleeping with only one half of their brain at a time.

Elephants are pregnant for almost two years.

Guinea pigs are neither pigs nor from Guinea.

Koala bears are not bears, they are marsupials.