• 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)

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• P
• R
• S
• U
• V
• W
• Z

Giraffe

The Giraffe(Thutlwa) is the tallest of the African mammals standing at around 5 meters. Giraffe use thisheight to great advantage, as there is no other real competition for their foodsource - leaves - apart from perhaps the elephant. Even thoughthe giraffe is the tallest of the African mammals it still only has seven neckvertebrae, the same as mankind. DESCRIPTION: Giraffes are the tallest of the landanimals. It is a hooved mammal with short, wiry hair that varies in colorsamong the various races. The background coloring is cream with borders of goldto orange and the splotches are brown to black. FUN FACTS: Giraffesstrip leaves from thorny acacia trees, sometimes colonized by ants, with their 45 cm (18 in.) long, prehensiletongues.     Bull giraffes forage higher in treesthan cow giraffes which reduces food competition between the sexes. Long-legged giraffes walk with thelimbs on one side of the body lifted at the same time. This gait is called apace and allows a longer stride which saves steps and energy. A mother giraffe often gives birthwhile standing so that the newborn's first experience outside the womb is a 1.8 m (6 ft.) drop! For the first four to five months,calves congregate in nursery groups called creches to rest and socialize whilemothers forage in the distance. Giraffes have seven elongated vertebraein their neck unlike most mammals, an adaptation for feeding high in the trees. Giraffes are the tallest mammal. Theyare often called the watchtowers of the Serengeti, keeping track of predators.Their extreme long-range vision enables visual communication with othergiraffes over several miles. Because their necks are shorter thantheir legs, they must spread their front legs wide in order to reach the waterto drink. Their neck veins contain valves and a network of tiny veins toconstrict blood flow to their brain when they lower their head to drink inorder to prevent blackouts. Each has unique markings, whichdistinguish it from others, much like a human fingerprint. Giraffe markings allow them to hide amongtrees. A giraffe's tongue is purplish-black andcan extend almost twenty inches! This adaptation is thought to keep the tonguefrom sunburn during their all-day feed. Giraffes are one of the few species ofmammal to perceive color, and their visual field approaches 360 from theirtremendous height. Theyare quite agile and can run up to 35 mph, and have been known to jump 1.8 m (6 ft).

Gray Whale

DESCRIPTION: This species of whale has short baleen,a proportionally small head when compared to other baleen whales, and no dorsalfin. Instead of a dorsal fin, they have 9-13 bumps or "knuckles" fromthe midpoint of the back to the tail flukes. They are, of course, grayish incolor. Their throat grooves number from 2-4.As with other baleen whales, adultfemales tend to be slightly larger than the adult males. SIZE: Newborn calves average 4.9 m. Male gray whales average 13 m, Female gray whales average 14.1 m. A maximum length forthem is about 15 m WEIGHT: At birth, a gray whale is about 500 kg. The maximumweight for a gray whale is believed to be around 35,300 kg.Females may weigh almost 32,000 kg DIET: A gray whale's diet consists largely of sandcrab-like crustaceans called amphipods. FUN FACTS: The gray whale is the only livingmember of the baleen whale family Eschrichtiidae. The gray whale differs fromthe other two baleen whale families primarily in its feeding behavior - it is abottom feeder. Gray whales are predominantly bottomfeeders and forage along the ocean floor. Turning on its side, a gray whalegulps great mouthfuls of silt, strains out water and mud through its baleen,and swallows bottom-dwelling invertebrates. This whale species has the leastamount of baleen-approximately 130 baleen strips on each side of jaw. Thereduced number of baleen reflects the fact that they are bottom feeders. Females give birth to 4.9 m calves in the warm,shallow lagoons of Baja. While in the lagoons, some gray whales are unusuallyreceptive to the attentions of human who travel to the lagoons to see them.  They are believed to be able to dive upto 120 m and swim up to 15 kph.  Graywhales are known to migrate more than 10,000 km eachway-that's the longest known migration route of any mammal

List of Animals English Globe