• 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
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• Z

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.

List of Animals English Globe