• Interesting Facts about Amphibians (3)
• Interesting Facts about Birds (22)
• Interesting Facts about Fishes (9)
• Interesting Facts about Mammals (48)
• Interesting Facts about Reptiles (16)

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Narwhal

DESCRIPTION:  Narwhals are perhaps best known fortheir tusks-they are the only whales that have them. The tusk is an extremelyelongated, hollow tooth, which always spirals counter-clockwise from the leftside of the skull. It can measure 2.5-2.7 m long. Most narwhals havejust one tusk, but narwhals with two tusks have been reported. Almostexclusively seen in males, there are only scattered reports of femalesdeveloping a tusk. Narwhals have no other visible teeth in their jaws. Like thebeluga whales, narwhals lack a dorsal fin and instead have a dorsal ridge.Mature narwhals tend to have a black and white spotted coloration the dorsalregion of their body, while older narwhals may be almost completely white.Narwhal calves typically are a blotchy gray.Males tend to grow larger than females. SIZE:   Newborn calves average 1.6 m in length.Male -  Minus the tusk, adult male narwhals measure upto 5 m long,Females are smaller, with a size up to 4 m in length. WEIGHT: At birth, calves can weigh as much as 80 kg. Mature males weigh up to 1,600 kg,Adult females can reach a weight of upto 900 kg FUN FACTS: Narwhals are toothed whales in thefamily Monodontidae, which they share with just one other species - the belugawhale. Some theorize that males"joust" with their tusks or use them to poke their way through icefloes or even to skewer prey. These theories are unlikely. If the tusk weredamaged, it could lead to severe infections and death for the narwhal. The tuskprobably serves as a secondary sexual characteristic for males, indicatingwhich males are older and more mature. Contrary to common belief, narwhals donot spear fish with their tusks, but instead suck prey into their mouth andthen swallow it whole.  Narwhalstravel farther north than perhaps any other whale species. They are welladapted for life in frigid water, with blubber accounting for up to 35% oftheir body weight for insulation.

Nile Crocodiles

WEIGHT: Average of 148.5 kg DESCRIPTION: Large, lizard-shaped reptile with fourshort legs and a long muscular tail. The hide is rough and scaled. Juvenile Nile crocodiles are dark olive to brown with darkercrossbands on tail and body. Adults are uniformly dark with darker crossbandson tail. SIZE: Averaging approximately 5 m with maximum size ofroughly 6 m WEIGHT: Adults of both sexes may easily exceed 225 kg. FUN FACTS: A crocodile's ectothermic metabolism isextremely efficient. A large crocodile, which may weigh more than 900 kg (2000 lb.), can survive forlong periods of time between meals! If baby crocodiles are in danger, theadult female may pick them up and flip them into her mouth or gular (throat)pouch for protection. When fish are migrating, crocs may huntcooperatively by forming a semi-circle across the river and herding the fish.They then eat the fish that are closest to them. Whenyoung crocodiles are hatching, either parent may help them out of the egg byrolling it between their tongue and palate. This cracks the shell allowing foran easier escape.

Ostriches

DESCRIPTION: Largest living bird.Males are jet black with white plumage andbright red or blue skin.Females are fairly uniform in color,with earthy gray-brown plumage and skin color. SIZE: Approximate height 2.75 m WEIGHT: Up to 156.5 kg FUN FACTS: One ostrich egg equals up to 24 chickeneggs. And it takes approximately 2 hours to boil! Ostriches can run up to 70 km/hr (40 mph) and can outpace mostpursuers, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas. It is the largest and heaviest livingbird. It is unable to fly and does not possess a keeled sternum (breastbone)common to most birds. Ostriches stretch out their neck andlay their head on the ground to keep from being seen, hence the myth thatostriches hide in the sand. Ostriches are so powerful that a singlekick at a predator, such as a lion, could be fatal. Afemale ostrich shows a remarkable ability to recognize her own eggs even whenmixed in with those of other females in their communal nest.

Panda Bears

InterestingFacts about Panda Bears: Pandas arealmost becoming extinct. They are endangered because people are cutting downthe bamboo that pandas eat to make farms. Pandas caneat more than 10,000kilograms of bamboo a day. The motherpanda can only take care of the baby panda for half a year (6 months). Peoplecan’t tell if a baby panda is a girl or a boy for four years. The motherpanda only has one baby every two years. Pandas haveblack on their eyes. Pandas livein Chinaon the mountainsides. If all thebamboo is covered in snow the pandas will eat little mice or uncovered leaves. Pandas arepink when they are born. Pandamothers nurse their babies. Pandas are mammals. Pandas areblack and white. The GiantPanda is found exclusively in Chinawhere it inhabits mountain forests that are dense with bamboo and conifers.They thrive in altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet in cold,damp forest. Which makes them accustomed to torrential rains and dense mistthroughout the year. Their habitat exists in only 6 small areas of inland China. There arethought to be less than 1,000 individuals in the wild. There areabout 110 pandas in captivity, mainly  inChina.There are seven in the United States- Zoo Atlanta, and The National Zoo eachhave a pair. The pair in San Diegoalso have a small cub. There are three females at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. There arealso pandas in Japan, Spain, Germany,France and South Korea. Theirnumbers are deceasing due to dwindling habitat and their poor reproductivecapabilities, both in the wild and in captivity. The averageGiant Panda consumes between 20 and 40 lbs of food per day. They can spend up to 16hours eating. These black-and-whitebears eat primarily bamboo although they also have been known to eat otherplants, fish, pika and other small rodents.

Panther

FUN FACTS: Very agile and muscular. Has been knownto jump 5.5 metersfrom the ground into trees. A capable but somewhat reluctantswimmer. Most acute sense is sight. Hearing alsovery good. Sense of smell not considered to be very well developed. Hunts by stalking. Frequently leaps onthe back of prey sometimes after a brief chase. Kill frequency averages onedeer every 3 days for females with large cubs, as compared to one deer every 16days for a single adult. Vocalize by making growls, hisses andbirdlike whistles, and infrequently loud screams. The function of the scream isnot known. Youngare born with spotted coats that fade by about 6 months. At that time they areable to make their own kills, but remain with their mothers for several moremonths up to a year. Litter mates may stay together for 2-3 months after that.

Parrotfish

DESCRIPTION: Parrotfish have thick, heavy bodies andlarge scales. They are found in tropical waters throughout the world and appearin a wide variety of colors, which may change depending on their sex, status,or maturity. SIZE: Rainbow parrotfish (Scarus guacamaia) maygrow up to 1.2 m in length FUN FACTS: The name "parrotfish" isderived from their fused teeth, which bear close resemblance to a bird's beak.Their teeth are specialized for scraping algae and invertebrates from coral androcks. Another set of teeth (pharyngeal teeth), are located on the floor androof of their throats. The pharyngeal teeth crush the ingested materials. Parrotfish are generally social and maybe found in schools of around 40 individuals. Sometimes an adult breeding malecalled the supermale leads these schools. Supermales are typically sex-reversedfemales and are strongly territorial and habitually drive other males away fromtheir areas. Schools of parrotfish graze over a reefmuch like a herd of cattle over a grassy field. Large amounts of calcareousmaterials are consumed and excreted by schools of parrotfish. In just one year,one parrotfish may convert a ton of coral into sand. Somespecies of parrotfish secrete a mucus cocoon around them before they rest,protecting them from predators that hunt by smell (morays) or by touch(crustaceans). It takes a parrotfish half an hour to secrete the cocoon andalmost as long to get out. Parrotfish do not make these cocoons every night,and it is unknown why a parrotfish chooses a particular night to sleep in acocoon.

Peccaries

DESCRIPTION: Coat is coarse and bristled, with apronounced mane of longer hairs running along the middorsal region from crownto hindquarters. Body form is quite pig-like with longer, slimmer legs. Additionally,the snout is more elongate than that of a domestic pig. SIZE: Head and body length = 750-1,112 mm Tail length= 15-102 mm Shoulderheight = 440-690 mm WEIGHT: 14-50 kg; depending on species FUN FACTS: Peccaries are highly social animals -often scent-marking one another as well as physical territory. When feeling threatened, Pecari willclash its canine teeth together as a warning. Pecari has been recorded sprinting up to35 km/hr. Pecari's sense of smell is so good thatit is capable of detecting bulbs 5-8cm below the soil's surface. Pecari, if wounded or threatened, mayattack as entire herd. The herd can consist of up to 50 members. Tayassumay form herds of several hundred individuals.

Penguin

DESCRIPTION: Theupright body posture and mostly black-and-white coloration makes penguins easyto distinguish from other birds. As with other marine animals, penguins have afusiform (tapered) shape. The forelimbs are modified into flippers, the tail isshort and wedge-shaped and the hind limbs are set far back on the body, whichis supported on land by webbed feet. Species-specific markings on the head andfacial areas make it easy to tell the adults of most penguin species apart.Male and femalepenguins of most species are not sexually dimorphic. The exception is thecrested penguins in which males are more robust and have larger bills. SIZE: The emperorpenguin is the largest penguin, standing 112 cm tall. The smallest penguin is the fairypenguin, standing just 41 cm. WEIGHT: Of the 17 penguin species, emperor penguins weigh the mostat 27-41 kg.In contrast, the fairy penguin is the lightest, weighing roughly 1 kg. FUN FACTS: All penguinslive south of the equator, from the icy waters of Antarctica to the tropicalGalapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, almost astride the equator. Penguins arespecialized marine birds adapted to living at sea. Some species spend as muchas 75% of their lives in the sea - only coming ashore for breeding and molting.Penguin wings are paddle-like flippers used for swimming, not flying. Penguinshave denser feathers than most other types of birds having as many as 70feathers per square inch. These feathers are spaced very closely and tuftedwith down on the shafts to help keep the penguins warm. Adultpenguins are countershaded (dark dorsal, light ventral) which helps to concealswimming penguins from predators such as killer whales, sharks or leopardseals. When viewed from above, the dark dorsal side blends in with the darkerocean depths. When viewed from beneath, the light ventral side helps in withthe lighter surface of the sea. Antarcticspecies of penguins can move quickly on ice by tobogganing on their belliesusing their flippers and feet to help propel them along. Chinstrappenguins may be the most numerous penguin, with a population estimated at 12-13million. The most vulnerable penguin is the yellow-eyed penguin,which inhabits the coasts and offshore islands of southeast New Zealand. Theyellow-eyed penguin population is estimated at less than 7,000.

Piranhas

DESCRIPTION: Piranhas have a robust, narrow body, ablunt head, and strong jaws with triangular-shaped, razor sharp teeth. Piranhastend to be silvery with red-pigmented patches. SIZE: Typical size is 20.3-30.5 cm, although adults ofsome species grow larger FUN FACTS: Piranhas are well known for their razorsharp teeth, and have a reputation for having voracious appetites. Althoughthey are known to occasionally attack large animals, the reputation is greatlyexaggerated. Most adult piranhas - depending on the species - eat fruit, seeds,and fish. Some have been found with bird fragments, snakes, and small mammalsin their stomachs. Young piranhas may eat copepods, crustaceans, and insects. Piranhas may feed more aggressivelywhen their normal food resources become scarce. Water levels of their riverhomes fall during the dry season. Piranhas may become trapped in stagnant poolsfor weeks. When all of the food in these pools is consumed, piranhas may eatanything that enters the water. Fivespecies are considered potentially dangerous to humans: Serrasalmus piraya, S.nattereri, S. niger, S. rhombeus, and S.eigenmanni - but piranha attacks on people are extremely rare. According to Dr.Herbert R. Axelrod, in his Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes, "In 25years of travel and fishing in almost every river system in South America,nearly all of which had schools of piranha, I NEVER was bitten, nor did I evermeet anyone who was bitten...nor did I ever meet anyone who even knew anyonewho was bitten by a piranha...and these are mostly Indians who live on theriver and swim in it every day."

Polar Bears

Polar Bearshave hair (fur) on the bottom pads of their feet to keep them warm and to helpthem grip icy surfaces. The hollow, thick hairs of the polar bear's waterprooffur coat hold in the body heat and are buoyant, which helps the animal floateasier in water.   Mostmammals have a fur coat with two distinct layers; an undercoat of shorter densehair and an outer coat of longer stiffer hairs

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