Animals, there are thousands of them on the planet. Dangerous, not so dangerous, and some that are just down right awesome. They have things about them that we never knew or maybe we just never noticed till now. They are creatures of mystique and masters of disguise. Here on this list we have ten awesome animal facts that some just never knew about. So read and enjoy the things you thought you knew about and the ones that you never did.
Number one:
The Hydrozoan Jellyfish
Did you know that this jelly fish is the only known immortal in the world? Yes, that’s true. This under water miracle has an amazing trait that allows it to revert back to its very first stage of life and repeat the growing up process all over again. This trait is called transdifferentiation, where the jellyfish cells transform into another cell completely. That cell being that of the early stages of life. Don’t you wish we could do that?
Number two:
The Platypus
Did you know that the male of this species of mammal is venomous? This is a fact that some people overlook or even forget about over the years. The male platypus has venom barbs in his heals and uses this as a defense mechanism. This is one of the very few venomous mammals known to man. And even worse, you can’t really tell between a male and female platypus. So I wouldn’t try to mess with any of these furry little creatures.
Number three:
The Anteater
Did you know that the anteater has a super fast tongue? The anteater’s tongue can shoot in and out of its mouth up to 150 times per a minute. This method is used to gather plenty of the anteater’s food source, ants. But can you imagine your dog with that tongue power? You might drown in drool!
Number four:
The Beaver
Did you know that beaver’s teeth never stop growing? A beaver’s teeth are made of two layers, an outer layer that is made up of harder enamel, and an inner layer that is soft, making it easy to keep the pearly whites sharp. This is necessary when it comes down to the beaver’s way of building its home. Chewing down trees on a daily basis can be rough, but at least they are not loosing their teeth over it!
Number five:
The Armadillo
Did you know that humans are not the only mammal capable of producing identical quads? For the armadillo, quads are the norm. The armadillo will reproduce four identical babies all from one egg almost every time it breeds. Something only some humans have been able to pull off. And if you think about it, that is a lot of identical brother and sister armadillos.
Number six:
The Giant Panda
Did you know that the giant panda “bear” is not a bear? In fact, this beautiful creature is in the marsupial family. The proof is in the pouch, literally. The giant panda gives birth to one or more babies inside a pouch, very much like a kangaroo.
Number seven:
The Dolphin
Did you know that the dolphin has more than one stomach? Sounds like something we heard about cows in school. Well, a dolphin doesn’t have that many stomachs. The dolphin only has two stomachs, one that it uses to store a food supply and one that digests food. Most likely, this is a survival mechanism used in the wild when a dolphin has to swim long distances with no food in sight.
Number eight:
The Sloth
Did you know that nothing is fast with this slow poke species? Even the sloth’s digestion takes forever to get around. The sloth’s main food source is the leaves from trees it lounges in. And can you believe it takes up to a month or more to digest one stomach full? That’s pretty slow for a mammal. Normally it is snakes that take their time digesting their meals.
Number nine:
The Rhino
Did you know that a rhino’s horn is not a real horn? Real horns are made up of bone or tooth like materials such as ivory and are attached at the mouth or skull. A rhino’s horn is actually made up of the same materials as hair and nails. A fiber called keratin, which grows from the skin. I didn’t even know that one, till now!
Number ten:
The Domesticated Rat
Did you know that if raised in a “family unit”, male rats can be just as nurturing to a litter of pinkies as a mother rat? He will even “baby sit” the litter as the mother rat takes a break from nursing or keeping the nest warm. As she eats and relaxes the male rat will take up a defensive stance over the nest and keep the pinkies warm till the mother returns. And everyone thought rats ate their young! Nope, these are just as good of parents as you and me; it’s just all in the teamwork!
There are ten awesome animal facts that you may not have known. Some were pretty baffling, where others were really cool. These are average animals we hear about almost all the time, minus the jellyfish and platypus, and they had some awesome facts that no one seems to mention. So lets hope we all learned something from this article, I know I did!
http://animal.discovery.com/animals/wild-animal-guides.html
