Fun Animal Facts from Pet News and Views
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Cats: Did you know that a cat has more bones in its body than a human being? Humans have 206 bones and cats have 230. Cats hear and see better than we do too. A cat’s hearing is more sensitive than people and dogs. At night, cats can see six times better than humans. All cats have an incredible sense of balance thanks to their tail.
Dogs: Did you know that dogs are related to the wolf? Scientists believe that friendship between dogs and people began more than 14,000 years ago. This friendship began when humans tried to tame wolf pups by giving them food. Over the centuries, humans have used dogs as hunters and watchdogs. For a long time, scientists have believed that dogs can tell when humans are happy, sad, angry, or frightened, making them good companions.
Fish: Did you know that fish can get dirty? Fish can have tiny animals living on their scales. If these tiny animals aren’t cleaned, the fish get sick. To clean themselves they go to the coral reefs. (It’s not a spa.) At these cleaning stations, there are special fish called Cleaners, who pick these tiny animals off of the scales. A fish called the Spanish Hogfish cleans the insides of other fishes’ mouths.
Chickens and Dinosaurs: Did you know that the chicken is the closest living relative of the tyrannosaurus-rex? Scientists compared and studied old dinosaur bones and new chicken bones. They discovered similar material found in each making the chicken and tyrannosaurus-rex distant cousins.
Monkeys: Did you know that there are more than 100 different types of monkeys? Monkeys are found in Africa, Asia, Mexico, Central America, and South American. Howler monkeys can be found in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The male Howler monkey makes the most noise and is the loudest. When it howls, it can be heard up to 10 miles away. Monkeys live in trees and use their tales just like they use their hands and feet.
Elephants: Did you know that elephants are the largest land animals in the world? There are two kinds of elephants—African and Asian. You can easily tell them apart because African elephants are bigger and taller than Asian elephants. Asian elephants have smaller ears and shorter tusks than African elephants. Since both African and Asian elephants are so big, they spend a lot of time eating—20 hours a day. They eat large amounts of leaves, grass, and the barks of trees. Both African and Asian elephants live in herds.
Sheep: Did you know that sheep have good memories? Sheep can recognize at least 50 different sheep and 10 human faces. They can even recognize positive or negative emotions—and respond to pictures of friendly faces. Some breeds of sheep (like Katahdin and Dorper) have human-like hair instead of wool. Sheep talk to each other by hissing through their noses and by making grunting noises. When they are upset, they make bleating sounds.
Snakes: Did you know that there are more than 3,000 different kinds of snakes in the world? Most of them are not poisonous. In fact, snakes rather slither away than bite you. They only attack when they feel scared. Some snakes like the python can grow up to 15 feet long. They can eat an entire antelope by swallowing it in one gulp. Other snakes, like Garden Snakes, can be smaller than a pencil. Some snakes live in the sea, some live underground, and others live in trees.
Bugs: Did you know that three out of four creatures on earth are bugs? For every person, there are a million ants. Scientists have identified about one million different types of bugs, and these are just the bugs we know about. There are several unknown types of bugs living on this planet. Bugs live in tropical rainforests and on dry lands. They can be found in ponds and deserts. The oldest known fossil of insects dates back to 400 million years. They have been around before the dinosaur.
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