ADVERTISEMENT

The phrase "it's never too late to learn" isn't just a cliché. To many, it's a motto guiding them forward.

For example, the Pew Research Center found that 73% of American adults consider themselves to be lifelong learners, and 74% are so-called personal learners; that is, they have read specialized material, taken courses, or attended events in the past 12 months tied to learning more about their personal interests.

80% of personal learners say their pursuit of knowledge is motivated by the desire to make their days more interesting and full. So what do you say we try and join them to see if it works?

We can start with a Reddit thread, created by platform user KnightsWhoSayKni, that invited everyone to share their favorite obscure animal facts, which is full of interesting trivia not too many of us are familiar with.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School We all know they have very good problem solving skills, like throwing a nut onto a road and picking the remains when the lights turn red. But they have social structure. They punish crows who have stolen food from younger crows. They avoid areas where a lot of crows have died. They don't caw during funereals. And when a crow dies, its buddies come examine the corpse to see how it died so they can avoid a similar fate. Yes, crows understand the concept and are afraid of death and try to avoid it at all times

Aomory , Pixabay Report

Final score:
218points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

Some species of burrowing tarantula let tiny frogs live in their burrows. The frogs are kept safe by the big, mean-a*s spider, and in exchange, they keep the burrow free of pests too small for the tarantula to deal with. This is pretty much how cats were domesticated.

Tiny frogs are tarantula cats.

The_First_Viking Report

Final score:
155points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#3

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Sloth hands work opposite to ours. They have to exert energy to open their “fist” and relax to close it. This is how they can hang from trees while they’re sleeping and not fall off.

liripipe , Bennet Robin Fabian Report

Final score:
133points
Add photo comments
POST
reddmenace23 avatar
Green Machine
Green Machine
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anyone else opening and closing their hand right now to see its resting position? lol

Vote comment up
84
84points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#4

Dogs may make social judgements about people based on how those people treat their owners. A study out of Japan had dog owners asking two people for help opening a container. There were three possible outcomes. A person reacting negatively by refusing and turning away, a person remaining neutral and a person helping. The dogs were then offered food from the people the owner had approached for help. Dogs were much much less likely to accept food from the people who had refused to help their owners, and much more likely to accept food from those who had been neutral or who had helped.

LogicalMess Report

Final score:
111points
Add photo comments
POST
tenrec-12 avatar
Bookworm
Bookworm
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unsurprising; we've spent millennia shaping dogs to understand human behavior.

Vote comment up
32
32points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#5

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School The Greenland shark reaches sexual maturity at 150 years old and lives 300-500 years. Always fascinates me that theres something that can live that long

Truedeal , Daniel Torobekov Report

Final score:
110points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#6

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Cheetas are so closely related to each other that you can freely transplant organs between all members of their species without needing immunosuppression.

Lord_of_Hedgehogs , Hari Nandakumar Report

Final score:
109points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#7

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Some squid have toroid shaped (donut) brains, and their esophagus (throat) passing through it. If they eat something too big they can get brain damage.

horch13 , Peter Boshra Report

Final score:
107points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School There's an insect called the scorpiofly that impresses mates by bringing them prey to eat. The bigger the meal, the better. Only, some scorpionflies aren't that great at catching food. So some of these males will imitate females, and wait for other males to bring them their gifts. Then they take the gift, fly away, and give it to an actual female. 

smiffypiffy , Richard Bartz Report

Final score:
104points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School On ostrich farms, some farmers have a hard time with breeding because the ostrich is more attracted to humans than other ostriches. That's right, somewhere out there an ostrich wants to f**k you.

cleancutPunk , Saad Khan Report

Final score:
101points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#10

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School A green sea turtle can swim faster than Usain bolt can sprint. An animal out there with a house for a body can swim at speeds we don’t allow in playground zones 35MPH.

rkhbusa , Stephen Leonardi Report

Final score:
99points
Add photo comments
POST
whr1095 avatar
two-sided llama
two-sided llama
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why turtles shouldn’t be allowed near schools. I rest my case

Vote comment up
70
70points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#11

Coral is an animal, related to jellyfish. Many coral species have a symbiotic relationship with a microorganism called zooxanthellae, which lives in their tissue and photosynthesizes like a plant, converting light into organic energy. Corals also deposit calcium carbonate and build huge geological structures, called reefs. The most massive structure ever created by any living organism on planet earth is a coral reef.

Corals are like a cross between animals, plants, and rocks, and they’re incredibly important for the health of our oceans, because reefs serve as a “nursery” for many, many marine species. Save the reefs.

anon Report

Final score:
98points
Add photo comments
POST
adrian_5 avatar
Adrian
Adrian
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And if we keep pumping CO2 into the atmosphere they will all be gone...

Vote comment up
22
22points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Fish have been seen using tools - deliberately hitting a clam with a rock to get it to open so they can eat it. Some fish (eels and groupers) form hunting partnerships where they communicate across the species barrier with specific signals to put their individual strengths to work (the eels chase prey out of crevices to where the groupers are waiting in open water). They also get fooled by illusions in the same way we do, meaning that their brains are processing and interpreting their environment in a similar way to us.

That's technically three facts but I like fish.

BoldlyGone1 , David Clode Report

Final score:
95points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#13

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School A horse can outrun a bear.

If you see a mountain lion, it has already decided to eat you.

If you're camping and you hear an animal moving around, it's probably a skunk or a beaver or a porcupine. Bears, moose, and other large animals are surprisingly snarky.

makesitallup , Helena Lopes Report

Final score:
81points
Add photo comments
POST
kirstin-peter avatar
Shark Lady
Shark Lady
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or an axe murderer, I've seen way too much true-crime TV.

Vote comment up
33
33points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

Squirrels are responsible for thousands of new trees every year. They collect and bury their nuts all over the place so they'll have food to last thru winter, but they forget about most of them.

southwycke75344 Report

Final score:
77points
Add photo comments
POST
austinl avatar
Austin L
Austin L
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They only forget a small percentage of them. Theft however, is a real problem sometimes.

Vote comment up
24
24points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Snails can sleep up to three years

ninelove9 , PhotoMIX Company Report

Final score:
77points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

Ants breed and domesticate aphids around their colonies, so they can drink their milky secretions. Aphids are ant cows. So ladybugs, then, would be like ant chupacabras.

Cereborn Report

Final score:
76points
Add photo comments
POST
d4rkpone avatar
TotallyNOTAFox
TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ants produce a chemical that prevents aphids to develop wings, if it still happens they rip them off

Vote comment up
36
36points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Some stores will only sell gerbils in pairs because they get very lonely

soda_cookie , Robert Owen-Wahl Report

Final score:
75points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

Naked mole rats are very fkn weird animals.

They dont feel pain at all, except for chilli.

They can survive 30min without oxygen.

They cant regulate their body temperature.

Their incisors can work independently.

Noone has ever found cancer in a mole rat. They are thought to be immune to it.

They can live for 30 years.

Pagan-za Report

Final score:
74points
Add photo comments
POST
tenrec-12 avatar
Bookworm
Bookworm
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're also mammals with a queen and a 'hive,' like social insects!

Vote comment up
57
57points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School SPIDER FACT: Did you know that spider webs are initially liquid? Upon coming into contact with the air, the web hardens, creating a substance that is 5x stronger than steel. It is believed that, if a spider could produce threads as thick as a pencil, they would be strong enough to stop a plane in flight. However, farming silk from spiders was largely impossible, both due to the quantity of the silk, and due to the fact that the spiders would attack one another. For this reason, scientists have genetically engineered goats with spider DNA that can produce silk through their milk. They are called spider goats, and they are chimeras—a creature with the genetic information of two animals. In this case, the genetic information comes from two different species. 

Sebaren , Kevin Grieve Report

Final score:
74points
Add photo comments
POST
kennedynetasha avatar
DetriMentaL
DetriMentaL
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

SpiderGoat SpiderGoat, does whatever a SpiderGoat does.. .

Vote comment up
92
92points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#20

There's a parasite that needs to get inside a warm-blooded animal. Problem is, it lives in fresh water. It waits to get swallowed by a fish, then it attaches itself inside, "takes over" a part of the hosts brain, adjusting it's behavior so the fish is not longer afraid of shadows. The fish is then more likely to get eaten by a Heron (large bird that stalks fresh water fish). And the parasite gets inside it's warm-blooded host and does lord knows what

Thanks to Ricky Gervais for that (I think I might have butchered it a bit but it's roughly along those lines)

Here's a bonus one. Researchers took a leech, put it in a maze and put food at the other end. Eventually the leech figured out the route. They then liquidised the leech, fed that leech to other leeches, and those leeches were able to complete the maze on the first try. They had "acquired" the other leech's memory

anon Report

Final score:
72points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School A narwhals “horn” is actually an overgrown canine tooth. Also some narwhals can have 2 “horns”!!

cheechiie , пресс-служба ПАО "Газпром нефть" Report

Final score:
70points
Add photo comments
POST
tenrec-12 avatar
Bookworm
Bookworm
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And it's a real unicorn! Hadn't thought about this until I watched the SciShow 'why are there not unicorns' video, but cetaceans are the closest living relatives of ungulates, so narwhals are basically unicorns 😊

Vote comment up
25
25points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#22

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Polar bears are so efficient at storing Vitamin A, consuming polar bear liver can cause death....one polar bear liver contains enough Vitamin A to kill 52 adult humans.

quantumguy , limoo Report

Final score:
69points
Add photo comments
POST
d4rkpone avatar
TotallyNOTAFox
TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are also so good at staying warm that they are in danger of dying from a heatstroke if they run for longer tha very short distances

Vote comment up
19
19points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Ancient penguins could have been up to 7 feet tall.

StarsandstampS , Pixabay Report

Final score:
67points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Seals will get seasick if you put them on a boat

The-Goat-Lord , Sand Crain Report

Final score:
67points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

Both animal and plant fact.



Avocados were evolved to be eaten by the giant ground sloth. Imagine a sloth, but so massive it could only live on the ground. The flesh attracted the sloth and the very large seed was "designed" to travel through their intestinal tract for re-seeding or whatever plants do.

Humans killed the sloth but loved the avo. We domesticated the avo to increase the yummy flesh. The pit has gotten smaller but is still very large. Whenever you eat an avo, think of the long extinct giant sloth.

quokkafarts Report

Final score:
59points
Add photo comments
POST
tenrec-12 avatar
Bookworm
Bookworm
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Size wasn't the reason the giant sloth lived on the ground. Pretty much all sloths did, regardless of size. It just so happens that the only two sloths that survived the arrival of humans in North America did it by having adapted to life in the trees, unlike all their now-extinct relatives. Convergently, no less, because the two remaining sloth species aren't very closely related at all.

Vote comment up
35
35points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#26

There's a thing called a deer mouse that is a type of mouse and a mouse-deer which is like a minature deer.

Mouse-deers are freaking adorable.

stormythrows Report

Final score:
57points
Add photo comments
POST
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Giraffes have the same number of cervical vertebrae as humans!

anon , Pixabay Report

Final score:
52points
Add photo comments
POST
tenrec-12 avatar
Bookworm
Bookworm
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I already knew this one, but never thought to look up why! Turns out there's a possibility that it's because the number and type of vertebrae are controlled by Hox genes, which are super important in embryonic development, and when they mutate, as they would have to to change the number of neck vertebrae, there's a big risk of developing cancer. Mammals, as a group, are more susceptible to cancer, so variations that deviate from the ancestral 'seven neck bones' body plan also tend to get cancer and are selected against. Birds and reptiles don't get cancer as easily, so there's less evolutionary pressure against mutation, and they've been able to change their cervical vertebrae numbers frequently. Learned something new today!

Vote comment up
42
42points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

Armadillos are the only animals aside from humans that can contact and spread leprosy

-eDgAR- Report

Final score:
48points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#29

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School There aren't a lot of bees in Australia, so for pollenation plants relied on birds. Birds see the colour red better, which in turn increased the flora reproduction rate - this is why a lot of plants are red in Australia.

spacedoutletterz , Frank Cone Report

Final score:
44points
Add photo comments
POST
katherine_halamek avatar
KayJay
KayJay
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not quite correct. There are indeed many bees in Australia, including over 2000 native varieties. Populations of European honey bees have been declining due to habitat loss, disease, farming practices. There are many plants with red flowers, believed to have evolved to attract birds for pollination, but not that bird. That's a hummingbird, not found in Australia at all.

Vote comment up
56
56points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

30 Cool And Interesting Animal Facts That People Didn't Learn At School Porcupines climb trees and come down backwards and use their tail to feel for the ground. Sometimes their tail will hit a branch and they will think it is the ground and so they will jump off and impale themselves. Over time they evolved to have antibiotics in their quills so when they fall out of trees they don't die.

otterdragon , Arif Hidayat Report

Final score:
36points
Add photo comments
POST
mcalad avatar
M Calad
M Calad
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The last phrase makes no sense. How can an antibiotic help the animal to not die when it falls? It will help by not getting an infection in wounds or healing wounds faster.... Anyway, weird phrasing.

Vote comment up
18
18points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#31

The American bison is the only animal in which both lungs share a common cavity. In every other animal the lungs are separated. What this meant is that when shot by an arrow, both lungs would collapse and the buffalo would suffocate quickly. (For other animals, being shot in the chest would only collapse one lung, and they would at least have a chance) That's why such a large animal could be taken down with relatively small weapons.

angmarsilar Report

Final score:
20points
Add photo comments
POST
rodentraiser avatar
Kelly Scott
Kelly Scott
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guess that answers my question from Dances with Wolves. I couldn't figure out why it took so many arrows to finish off that one guy with the mules, but it only took one arrow to bring down a bison.

Vote comment up
6
6points
Vote comment down
reply
View more commentsArrow down menu
#32

There’s more genetic diversity in two chimpanzees from different troops than in two humans living in different continents.

The only thing separating the chimps? A river.

Humans are inbred as f**k.

Finito-1994 Report

Final score:
19points
Add photo comments
POST
d4rkpone avatar
TotallyNOTAFox
TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The last ice age reduced the human population to around 10.000 individuals back then, so of course we are more tightly related

Vote comment up
13
13points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#33

Scientists thought the platypus was a joke until they send a dead one back to be studied.

anon Report

Final score:
17points
Add photo comments
POST
tenrec-12 avatar
Bookworm
Bookworm
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even then they thought it was a hoax! Those were the days of people sewing together a fish and a monkey to make a 'mermaid,' and when the platypus was first sent to Europe, 'experts' spent years looking for the seams where they were sure it had been pieced together.

Vote comment up
12
12points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#34

Bats are more maneuverable fliers than birds.

HolbiWan Report

Final score:
15points
Add photo comments
POST
robertbenson avatar
Robert Benson
Robert Benson
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maneuverability is related to stability. The more stable something is in flight, the harder it is to maneuver. There are planes that are so inherently unstable that they require a computer to maintain level flight, but this instability makes them very maneuverable.

Vote comment up
5
5points
Vote comment down
reply
View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

The Duckbill Plataypus is no bigger than a house cat and has venomous claws.

reddit.com Report

Final score:
15points
Add photo comments
POST
mt-57 avatar
eMpTy
eMpTy
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only the males have a poisonous spur (not a claw) on the hind leg.

Vote comment up
20
20points
Vote comment down
reply
View More Replies... View more commentsArrow down menu
#36

Crocodiles never die of old age. They continue to live and grow for as long as there is a sustainable food source around. Most crocs die because they're killed by humans or they grow to big and die of starvation because they can't eat enough to sustain themselves.

Sub_Steppa Report

Final score:
13points
Add photo comments
POST
rangerkanootsen avatar
Ranger Kanootsen
Ranger Kanootsen
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is it that they never die of old age, or that they cannot die of old age?

Vote comment up
9
9points
Vote comment down
reply
View more commentsArrow down menu

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!