• 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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Kangaroos

DESCRIPTION: These large, muscular animals aregrayish-brown to reddish-brown with a small head, large ears, and a long thicktail used for balance. It also has short forearms, strong hind legs, and longbroad back feet for hopping and standing upright SIZE: Approximately 2 m (6.6 ft) long head to tail;6-7 ft(180-210 cm)in height WEIGHT: Male - About 54 kg,Female - About 28 kg (63 lbs) FUN FACTS: In their native country of Australia,western grey kangaroo females are known as does or fliers, the males as boomersor stinkers due to their strong, curry-like smell, and the young as joeys.Kangaroos live in groups called mobs. These kangaroos are the most vocal ofthe three large kangaroo species. The mothers communicate to the joeys with aseries of clicks. When defensive, they will growl like a dog. The western greys have very closesocial bonds, keeping family connections for years. A daughter often staysclose to her mother even after she has a joey of her own. Young kangaroos sometimes box playfullyto pass the time. Adult males box to determine dominance, with the strongestmale becoming the head of the mob. Whilerunning at speeds of about 12mph, these kangaroos are able to reach 35 mph in short bursts

King Vulture

DESCRIPTION: The king vulture has white eyes (ringedwith red), broad wings, a short tail, black wings and tail (above), and anorange beak. The underside of the wings and chest are white. The head and neckare bare. SIZE: Approximately 67.5-80 cm; wingspan of 1.2-1.66 m WEIGHT: About 2.7-4.5 kg FUN FACTS: There are several theories as to whythe king vulture was given its name; one theory suggests it comes from a Mayanlegend (dating back to ~450 A.D.) that believed the vulture to be a messengerbetween humans and the gods and the vulture was personified as a lord or king. How king vultures find their food is atopic scientists do not agree on: some say they have excellent eyesight and cansee the meal, others say it is their sense of smell that locates the meat,still others say neither - the vultures merely follow other scavenging birds tothe food. The king vulture has one of the mostpowerful beaks of all American vultures and can open a carcass that othervultures cannot. For this reason, they often eat first and other vultures feedoff the remains. The head and neck of a king vulturelack feathers. This helps to prevent bacteria and remains of the carcass from"fowling" up the feathers on the head. After eating, the vulture willrelax in the sun and allow the heat to bake off the bacteria.

Koala

DESCRIPTION: Mid-sized marsupial with thick, densefur ranging in color from slate-gray to reddish-brown. They have an opposablemodified index finger that acts as a second thumb. SIZE:Male - 75-82 cm,Female - 68-73 cm WEIGHT: Male -  9.5-12.5 kg,Female - 7-9.8 kg FUN FACTS: Although koalas may look like bears,they are actually marsupials, animals with a pouch that protects developingyoung. Koalas almost never need to drink; theyget most of their water from the succulent eucalyptus leaves they eat. The word"koala" is an aboriginal word meaning "no drink animal." Koalas eat so much eucalyptus, some saythey smell like a giant eucalyptus cough drop! A koala spends over 14 hours a daysleeping. Koalasare perfectly designed for their tree-dwelling life. Their hands have a largegap between the first and second fingers and their big toe is set at a wideangle to the foot. This gives the koala a vicelike grip on branches. They comfortablysit in a tree all day because of their thickly-padded tails.

Komodo Dragon

DESCRIPTION: Terrestrial multi-hued lizard with darkyellow, green, brown, and gray scales in years 1-5; adults generally areearthen red to gray and nearly black in various species; have short, powerfullimbs and tail; sharp claws SIZE: Males - 2.5-3.18 m total adult body length,Females - 1.8-1.96 m total adult body length WEIGHT: 164.25 kg maximum.Males - 90.9-135 kg,Females - 34-56.8 kg FUN FACTS: Komodo dragons are found on only fourislands in Indonesia with atotal area approximately the size of RhodeIsland! After hatching, the young immediatelyclimb trees to avoid being eaten by their cannibalistic elders. Komodos are opportunistic carnivoreswhose saliva contains several strains of virulent bacteria which in turn causessevere infection that can lead to blood poisoning and death in 1-5 days. Komodos have been known to dig upfreshly buried humans and eat the remains. Their sense of smell is so keen theycan detect the scent of carrion 5miles away! They have also been known to hunt in largepacks and bring down large prey. They are excellent swimmers and cancross great distances and strong ocean currents just to raid neighboringislands where the only available food source is domestic animals. Larger dragons eat first, while smallerdragons get what's left over. They have been known to eat up to 80% of theirbody weight in one meal. They communicate through body language:hissing loudly and inflating their throat. At times, their tails are used toswipe the feet out from under prey. Fat stored in their tail can providedragons with metabolic water in times of drought, enabling them to go for 1 to1 months without eating or drinking. Thesemembers of the lizard family Varanus, have a forked tongue that collects scentmolecules for analysis. Molecular analysis is conducted by the Jacobson's Organin the top of the mouth.

Kudu

DESCRIPTION: The kudu is a large antelope with fawncoloring and thin, white, sparse vertical stripes. Greater kudu may bedistinguished from similar species, lesser kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis), bypresence of throat main. MALE: The male has long black twisted horns FEMALE:        Females do not have horns SIZE:   Approximately 1.2-1.5 m WEIGHT: Male 225-357.7 kg,Female 180-235 kg FUN FACTS: Kudus are one of the largest antelopes. They produce one of the loudest soundsmade by antelope in the form of a gruff bark. Kuduhorns have spirals, which allow males to spar by interlocking horns. The malesthen proceed to shove and twist until one opponent is knocked off balance andthrown down. Some reports show male kudus found with locked horns, even indeath.

List of Animals English Globe