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People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones

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On the surface level, we understand that animals, insects and marine wildlife are, physically, quite different from us. But once you start to look more closely at their behavior and biology, there is a whole world of interesting and unusual parts most of us had no idea about.

Someone asked “What’s a fascinating fact about wildlife that most people are unaware of?” and people shared their best examples. From owl-head movements to the particularities of flamingo dining, get comfortable as you read through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts in the comments below.

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#1

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones There are reports of elephants finding humans sleeping under trees and the elephants think they're dead. People have woken up with elephants gently stroking them with their trunk and in some cases they try to cover them with branches and sticks as a "burial"

Elephants are one of the few animals who mourn their dead and have rituals.

Slow-Star8477 Report

Final score:

364points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

"That human under that tree, he dead?" "Not sure, let me see if I can find a pulse using my trunk.,"

89points

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#2

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Vultures are really important for the ecosystems they live in, but a lot of vulture species are critically endangered due to human activity. Vultures have stomach acid so powerful that it can destroy things like botulism and anthrax, thus cleaning up the environment when they eat rotting meat that contains those things. There is evidence for a correlation between the drastic decline in India's vulture population and the boom in the stray dog population, since less vultures means there is more food for the dogs to scavenge. This has also sadly led to a rise in rabies which kills many people and animals. Many people find vultures scary, but for the most part they are harmless and we really need to have them around. Please consider supporting vulture conservation projects.

Expensive_Plant9323 Report

Final score:

279points

I'm bad at nicknames 4 months ago

Fun fact! Vultures that live in the Everglades National Park have found that they love playing with rubber so much that it's advised to keep a tarp over your car windows or they will rip the rubber rims off. The park provides tarps as well as a rubber playground to keep them occupied. Source: I went there a few years ago, saw the playground, the tarp borrowing bins, and had to chase them off of my car. Honestly, I love knowing they like to play.

135points

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#3

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Owls bob their heads up and down to help improve their depth of perception.

You can try it out yourself. Focus on an object and bob your head. It doesn't work for us, but you do look like an idiot.

WhimsyyWhisperr_ , Zdeněk Macháček Report

Final score:

268points

Foxes forever! 4 months ago (edited)

*still bopping my head

139points

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#4

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Raccoons have the most soft, velvety, devilish little hands.

Baby raccoons purr and knead like kittens. Did not know this myself until last spring when a wildlife rehabber posted a call to arms for people to help. (Figured I've raised enough neonatal kittens, my experience would be helpful.)

A ban has been lifted in my state and people are poisoning adult raccoons without considering the babies they are orphaning. Last year I raised and released 11. So far this year I've raised and released 27. I've also officially become a wildlife rehabber. One of the females I raised last year showed back up, babies in tow! Wasn't sure how she'd respond after being away for a bit but she let me check her out and treat her battle wounds.

Final score:

264points

PattyK 4 months ago

Good for you!

78points

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 4 months ago

Key word is "released". Rehabilitation of babies=great. Keeping one as a pet=not so much. It makes me angry seeing videos of "pet" raccoons. They are not pets, you cannot domesticate them. I love raccoons but even I understand they're wild animals and should remain so. Thanks for reading my rant, will climb off my soapbox now.

23points

Rosemary 4 months ago

We had a mother raccoon who would bring her babies onto our back patio for cat food. We had a couple of mushroom-shaped low-voltage lights on either side of the patio, which she didn't like. She learned to unscrew the bulbs, hiding them farther away every night to keep us from finding them. We actually watched her from the window one night, saw her stick her little hands up under the light, and then...dark. That was one smart raccoon.

17points

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago

Um, yes, please! I would love to care for some orphaned baby raccoons. Yeah, it'd be better to maybe not murder their mom, but I would treasure an opportunity to do that.😍

12points

KimB 4 months ago

One thing they didn't mention is that you might be tempted to keep one as a pet but be warned once those hormones kick in the sweet baby you raised isn't going to be sweet anymore. They become very aggressive as the drive to mate becomes stronger. Also those sharp climbing nails are really sharp. I have scars on the backs of my legs from being ran up like a human tree.

11points

Lee Banks 4 months ago

My ex was on the porch in the dark, and "cat" began licking his feet. He turned on the light, and it was a very fat raccoon. It kept coming back each night for scraps and pets, so we named him. One day Vlad stopped showing up. It was sad for two weeks, until SHE showed up with three babies! They all came around for about a year, until the male became too aggressive. They were the highlight of my nights.

8points

Maartje 4 months ago

I just had two raccoons come up and sniff me lolol- like 10 minutes ago! I stayed out in spite of the mosquitos, it was hilarious. Of course, they know me .

2points

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Peyton4ever 4 months ago

I know an animal rehabbed and got to hold BABY RACCOONS!!!! It was one of the best things I have ever done

7points

AutumnGirl 4 months ago

This is lovely <3

7points

Nikki Gross 4 months ago

When one of my Sisters and BIL lived in Kentucky they had a couple of raccoons that hung around and they loved. It was awesome, until they were closing the sale of their house to relocate for my BIL'S job. They tunneled underneath the house and destroyed thousands of dollars in Duct work and insulation, which they had to replace and repair before the buyers would be able to sign and close on the house. Yeah, saying that was a massive clusterfuck would be an understatement.

4points

EmAdoresHerKats🇮🇪🇩🇿🇵🇸 4 months ago

Why would you want to poison something? I don't get it. Kill something to eat it. Don't just kill it for the sake of killing it.

3points

Shark Lady 4 months ago

Most mammal babies will knead as it's how the mother's milk is released.

3points

Rabbit Of ill Portent(she/her) 4 months ago

Racoons are so sweet and nothing will change my mind

2points

Beachbum 3 months ago

I love this so much, I love just love their little noses!

1point

robin aldrich 4 months ago

Why lift a ban on poisoning animals ? Thats horrific...raccoons are so misunderstood... they are very often out during the day, doesn't mean they're rabid and they'll generally stay away from you

1point

TrippyBanana 4 months ago

They're also not naturally nocturnal but it's easier to come out after humans sleep than try and compete with them. That's why raccoons in rural settings will more likely be seen during the day while your city dwellers are usually night owls, and they're bigger because they get more food.

1point

Roger Nehring 4 months ago

Why would people want to poison raccoons?

1point

Petarah 4 months ago

I love Racoons!

1point

Cass Malone 3 months ago

People like this make my heart happy! THANK YOU Nyx!

0points

Donna Mace 4 months ago

Why in the world would anybody want to poison them??? That's awful! Why can't people just live and let live?

0points

Mel Schmidt 4 months ago

This is one of the reasons I really detest people who are like that! People who dislike critters are just rotten!

0points

Uncle Schmickle 4 months ago

Poisoning these is terrible.

0points

Rebecca Elliott 4 months ago

How can anyone poison any animal?

0points

moeless 4 months ago

People disgust me, by and large.

0points

Janet Watson 4 months ago

It disgust me that people poison animals. Who do they think they are ? Poisons shouldn't be sold in any store

0points

Dee Rutherford 4 months ago

😢😢

0points

clairebear 4 months ago

I wish we had Raccoons in UK.

0points

Tom Brincefield 4 months ago

No. No you don't. You want a cute baby animal? Get a kitten or puppy. Adult raccoons can be incredibly destructive.

2points

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#5

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Elephants have a specific warning call that means “human.”.

BurghFinsFan , Juan Felipe Ramírez Report

Final score:

216points

CK 4 months ago

We have a specific warning call that means "Elephant."

135points

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#6

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Manatees control their buoyancy by farting.

MotaHead , Robbie King Report

Final score:

199points

Foxes forever! 4 months ago

I do too

150points

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#7

You can’t cull coyote populations. Through howling they know how many are in their pack and if the number drops the females will respond by having larger litters. Killing coyotes just creates more coyotes.

TrundleLovesGhouls Report

Final score:

192points

Pill Nathan Whitely 4 months ago

I love it.

75points

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#8

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Crows can mimic human voices similar to parrots. I experienced that first hand while hunting on public land. Heard a little boy calling "MOM" "MOM!!" only to realize that the voice came from a crow flying overhead.

Riflemaiden1992 , Jos van Ouwerkerk Report

Final score:

174points

Foxes forever! 4 months ago (edited)

I had my neighbor shot at a crow with a bee bee gun and they all avoid there area for a month, smart birds I love them *edit this neighbor is super redneck and hates anything that makes a sound after 9pm, I’ve been feeding the crows as a sorry * second edit I dint make him do it I didn’t have a say in it, I’m just saying that they where smart to avoid the area

42points

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#9

I’ve told this one before, but some bar-tailed godwits (a wading bird) fly from Alaska to Australia non-stop in the longest continuous migration of any bird (maybe any creature).

To do this, they shrink their internal organs so they can pack more fat (for energy) into their body. They’re basically balls of fat when they take off. And when they’re in flight, they shut most of their organs down to devote all energy to flying.

And they’re just medium sized nondescript brown birds that peck around in the mud. I love wading birds, man.

KestrelQuillPen Report

Final score:

172points

Moë 4 months ago

They are cuties especially when they’re all chonky

33points

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#10

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Young goats pick up accents from each other, joining humans, bats, and whales as mammals known to adjust their vocal sounds to fit into a new social group.

soragoncannibal , Sorin Basangeac Report

Final score:

170points

Manana Man 4 months ago

Also birds.

32points

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#11

If you put a hamster wheel in the middle of the forest, you'd expect that small creatures would ignore it. They don't. Instead, they absolutely love it! Scientists believe it's because it provides some kind of novel stimulation that hits the core of most animal brains!

bbbbbthatsfivebees Report

Final score:

169points

KimTx ‍️ 4 months ago

Someone please set up a hamster wheel and a live camera in a forest somewhere and send me a link. I don't have a forest close enough and I have no idea how to set up said camera/link?

127points

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#12

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Every single whiptail lizards is female. They reproduce by parthenogenesis, a natural form of asexual reproduction.

look_a_male_nurse , Renee Grayson Report

Final score:

168points

Foxes forever! 4 months ago

Same with mourning geckos

44points

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#13

Caribou & Reindeer are the same species. Their ankles make a clicking sound when walking. It helps the herd follow each other in snowstorms. My knees make clicking sounds…but that’s just lack of cartilage😕.

RangerSandi Report

Final score:

159points

Professor Fate. 4 months ago

There is a difference between Caribou and Reindeer. Reindeer can fly.

132points

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#14

There is a type of mouse that behaves like a tiny wolf. Members of this species travel in packs, hunt live prey, and even howl. It is called the Grasshopper Mouse, named for one of its primary food sources.

Master-o-Classes Report

Final score:

159points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

Also if you get bitten by one and survive then every full moon you turn half grasshopper mouse.

122points

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#15

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Opossums brains are about 1/5th the size of other mammals their size. And mostly smooth, so precious and so dumb.
Eponarose:
Amazing Opossum Fact 1: It is extremely rare for them to have rabies!
Amazing Opossum Fact 2: They were used in the development of anti-venom!

email_queen , Skyler Ewing Report

Final score:

148points

Wooly 4 months ago

And they’re the biggest eaters of Lyme disease carrying ticks!! They get a complete pass here !

135points

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#16

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones My favourite fact ever: penguins have knees. Will never not baffle me. Knees.

leclercwitch , Cornelius Ventures Report

Final score:

148points

I'm bad at nicknames 4 months ago

All birds have knees. What we think of as their backwards knees are actually their ankles. The knees are just higher up

90points

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#17

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones There are coyotes in every major city in the USA. If you’re in the US, you’re likely less than 1mi away from one.

Edit: contiguous USA.

CariocaInLA , Frans van Heerden Report

Final score:

146points

Milady Blue 4 months ago

Well, Acme should be pleased.

89points

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#18

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Flamingos are not naturally pink. They are born grey. But their feathers turn pink because of their diet of shrimp and algae.

IntelligentHippo4245:
To add on to Flamingos, they can lose their color when raising their babies because it’s so intense of an experience.

GaryNOVA , reddit Report

Final score:

143points

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 4 months ago

Most humans also consider raising babies to be an intense experience. Most of them also lose at least some coloring. Luckily, most human babies will provide their parents enough coloring to cover every fridge at Lowe's.

89points

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#19

When a hornet invades a beehive, the bees will swarm it, and raise the heat of their bodies burning the invader to death. This ends with perhaps dozens of the hive's protectors dead, but is seen as worth it to protect the hive and it's inhabitants.

HeartonSleeve1989 Report

Final score:

141points

Jeff White 4 months ago

This is a defense against the Japanese super hornets, correct? The invader dies at 39.5C and the bees would die at 40.0C. So they just slowly cook the hornet to death.

60points

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#20

An opossum's body temperature is too low for rabies to survive in it. They also kill most ticks that try to latch on.

Everything_Breaks Report

Final score:

138points

smugdruggler 4 months ago

I'd heard that they were resistant to rabies, but never why. Thanks for that piece of info.

39points

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#21

Penguins mate for life. The male penguins scour the shores for a beautiful stone and then proposes. If the female accepts, they mate for life. Also, the female goes to hunt after the egg is laid while the male watches/sits on eggs.

pardonmytits27 Report

Final score:

130points

setsuriseikou 4 months ago

Ah, so that's why they have knees, to properly propose!

160points

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#22

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Ants have disinfectant saliva, and some actually treat the wounds of their fellow ants.

AntsAllRound , Egor Kamelev Report

Final score:

123points

Pill Nathan Whitely 4 months ago

"I'm injured..." "Hauk tua!"

97points

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#23

Male platypus have venomous spines on their back feet, one on each side. The pain has been described as unbearably excruciating and can last for months on end. Platypus may look very cute, but never ever pick one up unless you are a trained wildlife carer.

Tired_Lambchop111 Report

Final score:

123points

Senjo Krane 4 months ago

Australia - only for the tough..

87points

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#24

One fascinating fact about wildlife that often surprises people is that some species of octopuses are known to use tools. They've been observed collecting coconut shell halves and using them as portable shelters.

Arko_Test Report

Final score:

119points

Sleestak 4 months ago

And they throw things at fish for their protection and amusement.

83points

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#25

Orcas are predators of moose. Moose can swim (and dive quite deep) and orcas have been seen attacking and killing moose in the wild. It's not a common, everyday occurrence. But I think it's metal as f**k.

MissionPollution9984 Report

Final score:

119points

Doctor Strange 4 months ago

It occurs often enough that orcas are indeed listed as a natural predator for moose.

65points

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#26

Wild wolves are pretty timid around humans and getting attacked by one is so extremely rare.

CaptainFuzzyBootz Report

Final score:

112points

Penguin Panda Pop 4 months ago

Tell that to Rockstar games. Damn wolf attacks on Red Dead Redemption are annoying.

31points

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#27

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones A flamingo's head has to be upside down when it eats. This is interesting to know!

angelLaguna1 , Gaetano Cessati Report

Final score:

109points

ZGutr 4 months ago

this is one you can only respond to with: "WHY?"

35points

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#28

Fungi can help build "wood wide webs" connecting surrounding tree roots in the forest. These "webs" are used as warning systems when a tree is in distress from an attacker and these systems also transfer nutrients and other goods to eachother within the system.

Intrepid-Middle-5047 Report

Final score:

108points

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago

I've read that the mycelial network can also stop the flow of nutrients to trees that they're 'mad" at.

42points

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#29

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones The Mayfly's adult lifespan is so short they are born without a mouth.

agitator775 , Chris F Report

Final score:

101points

Pill Nathan Whitely 4 months ago

The mayfly eats during its larval, aquatic stage. The adult form exists only for reproductive purposes.

70points

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#30

Scientists studying sperm whales are ignored/shunned if they wear scuba gear. If they use drones, like submersible ones, the whales leave. If they free dive, no gear, holding their breath about 10-15 feet deep, for a few minutes at a time...

Whales approach within feet of the diver. Close enough a full strength hunting "call" would pulp the human. Close enough the energy from a normal "scan" heats up the divers.

Sometimes, the pod will surround the diver, floating vertically, and swap over to their communication mode.

As James Nestor (look him up on Youtube) says - Getting that close to an animal that can kill you with its voice, when there is a chance that specific whale may be old enough to remember being hunted by humans... is pretty sketchy.

Squigglepig52 Report

Final score:

99points

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago (edited)

Wait a minute, heat up from a sperm whale scan? Oh I'm diving down this rabbit hole. See you tomorrow. Edit: the only information on this is literally only from this man, that I could find. Turns out he's not actually a scientist, just a journalist writing a book. I'm going to wait until I can find actual research to support these claims. Can anybody find it?

88points

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#31

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Rats have collapsible ribcages - it's why they can fit through such small crevices.

Express_Hedgehog2265 , Matt Seymour Report

Final score:

99points

Beak Hookage 4 months ago

A fun game you can play with your pet rats is to gently loop your forefinger and thumb around their neck and watch them squeeze their entire body through a hole the size of an Australian 20 cent coin. It's amazing. There are claims out there that they can also collapse their skulls, but that's a nonsensical lie.

36points

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#32

Deer will eat human remains. It's known that they are very occasional opportunistic carrion consumers, and this has included film of a deer munching on human remains at a body farm. I guess there's no reason to assume that carrion wouldn't include human remains, but it's just sort of a weird thought, we just don't think of deer like that.

adlittle Report

Final score:

90points

Manana Man 4 months ago

OMG Bambi, what are you doing?

50points

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#33

Bull Sharks can survive in any kind of water. They swim into rivers to have their young because there are fewer predators, hence you hear news stories about sharks in the Mississippi River.

They are also a******s and will bite with very little provocation. IIRC they cause more "attacks" than Great Whites but they're nowhere near as big so they don't do as much damage. They are still the 3rd most dangerous shark in the world behind Tigers and Great Whites.

CopperTucker Report

Final score:

86points

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago (edited)

Ugh, did my post disappear? Well 1945 uss Indianapolis got sunk in the Pacific. Oceanic white tips snacked on the crew for 4 days before they were rescued. Oceanic white tips are the most aggressive sharks in the open water. Google the incident, it's interesting. Edit: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-worst-shark-attack-in-history-25715092/

30points

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#34

Some species of birds can sleep while flying, known as "unihemispheric slow-wave sleep," keeping one hemisphere of their brain awake.

LunarLass1 Report

Final score:

86points

Mrs.C 4 months ago

Is it whales or dolphins that do that too? I'm obviously not in a look-it-up mood 😒

31points

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#35

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Elephants can’t jump.

TheFuckeryIsReal , Alex Report

Final score:

85points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

White men can't jump.

53points

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#36

Squid brains are donut-shaped and the digestive tract goes through the hole in the middle.

FireStrike5 Report

Final score:

84points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

Squid can give themselves brain damage if they try to swallow too large a piece of food.

44points

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#37

Buffalo/ American bison only have one lung cavity. They have 2 lungs, but they are together in the same cavity. It's what makes such incredibly powerful dumptrucks of pure muscle so vulnerable to a single gunshot, or bow shot.

jollyrobyn Report

Final score:

81points

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago

I'm guessing a shot to the lungs. I don't think a shot to their haunches would do much.

14points

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#38

Sharks can "smell" electricity.

They have pores on their snout that can detect electrical fields, and they use this sixth sense to hunt. They are capable of sensing the electrical currents a brain uses to communicate with muscles, and have even been known to chew on underwater electrical cables. It's possible that they can even tell if a creature is feeling calm or panicked this way.

Famousguy11 Report

Final score:

81points

Doctor Strange 4 months ago

I mentioned this in a comment higher up. Its not actually 'smelling' electricity. There is a seperate sensory organ called the ampullae of Lorenzini which can detect electricity. They use this to hunt prey. But it is so sensitive, if you stretched a wire from the US to England across the atlantic and attached a 9 volt battery at each end, every shark in the world could sense it. And this is why they will chew on metal, because metal moving through salt water causes electrolysis, which generates an electrical charge.

43points

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#39

Whale milk is the same consistency as toothpaste.

what-katy-didnt Report

Final score:

80points

LaserBrain 4 months ago

That's because it's so rich in fat, allowing baby whales to gain over 100 kilos per day.

61points

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#40

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Pigeons produce milk.

cat9tail , Ashithosh U Report

Final score:

71points

UncleJohn3000 4 months ago (edited)

But balancing on that tiny stool is hard on the derriere.

73points

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#41

Hyenas have inside-out vaginas until they're ready to mate. They hang outside the body as a structure sometimes referred to as a false penis. This means that among hyenas, mate selection occurs entirely in the female; they can't be forcibly inseminated the way most animals can be.

Harry-le-Roy Report

Final score:

29points

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 4 months ago

Fun fact: when making The Lion King, filmmakers realized this. That is why they made Shenzee the leader of the hyenas, and also made her more threatening. Originally it was supposed to be a Banzai, and he was meant to be more comedic.

18points

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#42

The tongue of a woodpecker is longer than it's head, for a couple reasons. The more obvious one is so that it can reach far into the holes it pecks for insects to eat. The less obvious reason is that it cushions the bird's brain so it can peck trees without hurting itself. How does it do this? Because the tongue WRAPS AROUND the brain to keep it from moving! Edit: it's not just the tongue, but the entire bony apparatus which houses the tongue. This section of the skull has soft, spongy sections which do help to protect the brain while pecking

JPH_RedFive Report

Final score:

28points

ZGutr 4 months ago

Around the brain huh ? Now I feel I understand why humans have such short tongues

11points

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#43

Mountain lions can chirp like a bird to communicate with each other.

Final score:

27points

Moë 4 months ago

Don’t all cats chirp?

17points

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#44

Just how far that twittery little birdie came from. You live in New York and you see a Gray Catbird in the spring and you're like "oh hey buddy, where've you been?"

If the bird could answer it would likely say something like Mexico or Central America where it likes to overwinter. That tiny songbird has been further south than I have!

The migrations a lot of perfectly ordinary looking birds make are wild.

gonegonegoneaway211 Report

Final score:

26points

nomnomborkbork 4 months ago

Gray catbirds have a wide variety of songs too, more than a mockingbird, in addition to its mewing call that earned it its name.

5points

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#45

Turkeys love pets and have a favorite scritchy spot on their necks.

khrysthomas Report

Final score:

26points

nomnomborkbork 4 months ago

We should change Thanksgiving to Scritch a Turkey Day!

9points

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#46

The Virginia Opossum has two vaginas and gives birth out of neither.

assortmentoffeelings Report

Final score:

26points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

See my post above about the opossum. They have a third vagina that appears just to give birth which then disappears again.

14points

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50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

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French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

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#47

Ruby throated hummingbirds migrate from Central America and mexico to breed in the eastern US every Spring. A large numbers of them cross the great expance of the gulf of Mexico without stopping (Some over 600 miles!). They migrate to and from their range in waves, so they all don’t get wiped out by a tropical storm..

reecieface1 Report

Final score:

25points

Wolf princess quinn 4 months ago

We better start building that teeny tiny wall

10points

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#48

Killer whales are a species of dolphins not whales.

Spare_Thought_8151 Report

Final score:

25points

Nagawa (Cofa) Kishiki 4 months ago

And narwhal is a specie of whales, not unicorn.

23points

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#49

I do work surveying and trapping Mourning Doves in Kansas, so gonna lay some on you:

-Doves mate for life

-Male doves have a rosy underside and female head, while females do not

-Young doves have mottled feathers, and even older juveniles have buffy-tipped ones

-Many doves migrate between August and October

-It is not uncommon to see doves missing toes due to being caught in string and other fibers. Birds usually survive this

-Doves can go through the whole nesting process in under a month

-Doves can literally nest anywhere, though prefer short trees the most

-Doves feed their young a milk-like substance created in their crop as opposed to raw food like most birds

-Doves lay two eggs almost 100% of the time

-Doves usually nest at least a few times a year. Most nests end up being unsuccesful.

-Doves prefer urban areas much more than rural ones.

-They are the most popular game species in the US. Over 10% of the population is shot every year, but they seem to be holding steady.

-Populations have declined by about a third in the Midwest in the last 10 years, hence why I’m working to help my supervisor get information about this.

Meanteenbirder Report

Final score:

23points

Pill Nathan Whitely 4 months ago

Fascinating. Please clarify. "Male doves have a rosy underside and female head, while females do not."

19points

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#50

Polar Bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend so much of their lives at sea.

EdelwoodEverly Report

Final score:

22points

smugdruggler 4 months ago

Their scientific name is Ursus maritimus, the sea bear.

12points

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#51

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Sharks don't have bones.

IceSmiley , Chase Baker Report

Final score:

20points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

Boneless Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo Boneless Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo Boneless Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo Boneless Shark

30points

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#52

Horses and mice are not able to puke.

Cherry-Shrimp Report

Final score:

20points

Nika the Great 4 months ago

That’s why horse owners have to be really careful! Some girl at the farm I take lessons at fed a peach to a horse, and those are toxic to horses. The horse died :(

10points

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#53

Hummingbird courtship is probably one of the weirdest of any bird. Makes display by diving in U-shaped patterns in front of females while sometimes making noises by rubbing their tail feathers together at the top of their dives. Costa’s Hummingbirds (a species in the southwest US), also splay their purple gorget open in front of the female to look like a weird face octopus. I have seen this irl and it’s one of the weirdest things in nature I have witnessed.

Meanteenbirder Report

Final score:

19points

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 4 months ago

Showing off their gorgets in public! The nerve!

18points

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Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

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#54

Most monogamous birds are only socially monogamous. Genetic studies prove again and again that many clutches have multiple paternity. A few exceptions exist, like mute swans. Bearded vultures have a strange diet that is comprised 90% of bones. If they cannot swallow a bone whole, they drop it on a rocky surface to break it. They pick specific rocky places, which they visit often for that. Many aquatic turtles take supplemental oxygen through their cloacas. Komodo dragons don’t have septic bacteria in their bite, they are mildly venomous. However, prey usually dies quickly from blood loss caused by their serrated teeth. King cobras usually stick to the forests and hardly ever bite people. If anything, they help control the populations of many other venomous snakes that commonly bite people. Fire salamanders exhibit intrauterine cannibalism, where the larger larvae will consume the smaller ones. The longer they stay on land without giving birth, the larger but the fewer the offspring will be. Leopard slugs mate hanging from a thread of their own slime, and then drop off. Many classic herbivores like cows, deer, horses or tortoises will eat meat or bones on occasion to supplement missing protein or minerals.

TubularBrainRevolt Report

Final score:

18points

LaserBrain 4 months ago

"Only socially monogamous"... Sounds like some people I know

8points

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"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

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Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

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#55

If the flea was the size of a person it could leap over two Empire State buildings stacked on top of one another. Part of of this is astonishing but what is hilarious is that fact that a flea cannot aim where they land because of the wind resistance that’s created by that crazy a*s jump. This means the fleas that caused the black plague were solely because of sheer dumb luck.

That-Chemistry-8324 Report

Final score:

16points

LaserBrain 4 months ago

I think that if a flea were as big as a human, it couldn't jump very high at all.

11points

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#56

The Cuvier's Beaked Whale is the deepest diving mammal. The deepest dive on record is 2,992m (3km or 2mi). They also hold the record for longest breath held by any mammal at 3 hours and 42 minutes.

spookymouse1 Report

Final score:

16points

iseefractals 4 months ago

3 kilometers is only 1.86 miles.

0points

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#57

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Beetles make up about 1/4 of all animal species.

rimshot101 , Weronika Romanowska Report

Final score:

16points

Full Name 4 months ago

Am I 1/4 beetle then? *checks body* Oh - it's the arms. I have beetle arms.

10points

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#58

People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 40 Best Ones Back in the day dragonflies ate flesh, were 3 ft long, and dominated the food chain.

Exact-Cod-4474 , Bob Brewer Report

Final score:

15points

Manana Man 4 months ago

'Back in the day' makes me think like about the 1950's or something. In fact they lived in the Carboniferous, about 300 million years ago.

25points

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College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

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#59

Killdeer will feign a broken wing if you get too close to their nest/babies. Had this happen just a few days ago. Was on a road I was driving, so followed the parents with my truck and they soon flew off from whence they came once I was far enough from the chicks.

Meanteenbirder Report

Final score:

15points

BoredPossum 4 months ago

Killdeer, Catbird? Who comes up with all those names?

9points

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#60

Most "herbivores" are not exclusively herbivores. And there are animals that drink milk of other species.
Animals like horses, cows, and deer eat baby birds and rodents to get protein. Animals like antelope and other ungulates eat carrion and will scrape the meat and periosteum off bones for protein. Hippos occasionally eat carcasses. Koalas and Sloths are probably two of the only animals that exclusively eat leaves and don't try to eat insects or meat. Though in captivity sloths enjoy eggs.

Seabirds will harrass lactating pinnepeds and their young to sneak in to get any spilled or spraying milk, or they wait til they're sleeping and essentially nurse. Bears will kill lactating prey animals/livestock to break into the udders, which while likely for meat they do have access to lap up the milk. .

BradypusGuts Report

Final score:

15points

T'Mar of Vulcan 4 months ago

Hippos are the most dangerous animal (not insect - that's the mosquito) in Africa (the whole continent). They can run really fast and will k!ll you stone de@d. There was a farmer in Mzansi who adopted a hippo and kept it in a river on his farm. He even used to ride it. People told him they are dangerous and it wasn't a good idea. You know what happened? Yep - it k!lled him.

11points

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#61

Chickens have ear lobes.

Fiendish_Jetsanna Report

Final score:

14points

Michael Largey 4 months ago

It's good that they have ears. Otherwise they'd have to read the other chickens' lips.

1point

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#62

White tailed deer squat when they pee!! I had no idea until I saw it last night driving home with my husband.

Allthingsplants00 Report

Final score:

12points

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 4 months ago

Had a friend in high school who somehow had one as a "pet". He'd have to take her outside to pee before bed (yes they hept her in the house!) yes, they squat.

5points

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#63

Occasionally birds with red feathers that fail to get proper nutrients (either by mutation or naturally) can have their feathers turn orange/yellow. I trap birds for my work and caught a Red-winged Blackbird just a few days ago with orange wings.

Meanteenbirder Report

Final score:

11points

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago

Oh, I've seen one of those. My friend was convinced it was an Oriole but we looked it up and it was a red winged black bird.

3points

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#64

Cockroaches’ brains reside in their bodies—creepy yet fascinating.

surendraReddy7 Report

Final score:

10points

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 4 months ago

That's way they can live without their heads for several weeks. They won't bleed out either, as they do not have large circulatory systems and the wound will just seal off. In the end, the cockroach will die... of starvation.

8points

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#65

Sperm Whales have 2 nostrils. Only one is the blowhole.

WolfWomb Report

Final score:

9points

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

Where is the other nostril then?

6points

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#66

Pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in North America.

Glum_Mobile5663 Report

Final score:

8points

Becky Samuel 4 months ago

Ugh. Red Dead is very accurate on that countl. Try getting a sample out of one of them.

4points

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#67

Fruit flies have testicles.

Active-Struggle3197 Report

Final score:

7points

linda harbin 4 months ago

And that will be filed under “need to know basis”.

16points

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Justin Sandberg

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Justinas Keturka

I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

What do you think ?

PattyK 4 months ago

More like this, please, Bored Panda.

30points

Pill Nathan Whitely 4 months ago

Loved it. I am endlessly fascinated by the marvels of nature.

28points

Rachel Walker 4 months ago (edited)

I recently learned an animal fact that blew my mind. Basically, we've all been lied to about how sex determination in bees works. They tell you female bees come from fertilized eggs, so have two sets of chromosomes, and males come from unfertilized eggs and have one set. That's the simplified version. How it actually works is that a bee is female if it has two kinds of sex determining alleles, and male if it has one kind. Most animals have only two possible alleles. You're probably most familiar with the x and y in humans. Bees have maybe 19 possible alleles. If a bee, against the odds, inherits two of the same, it turns out male because it only has one type of sex determining alleles, though it is sterile. The hive will kill it as soon as it hatches though, because a sterile male is a useless waste of resources.

13points

Mike F 4 months ago

Why not just ask them? 😂

5points

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Beak Hookage 4 months ago

Rats cannot puke because they have no gag reflex.

6points

Bored Retsuko 4 months ago

And they can't burp! (That's why carbonated drinks are bad for them.)

3points

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Show Thyself 4 months ago

That's the post one needs. Interesting & funny - even when the information has to be taken with a grain of salt.

6points

Mary Villegas 4 months ago

I love this type of trivia!

2points

Stella Goldfish 4 months ago

Great! More please 😃

1point

GG 4 months ago

Love this stuff - Boredpanda makes my day

1point

Mimi M 4 months ago

Nice!

1point

Danish Susanne 4 months ago

Very interesting.

0points

Della 4 months ago

It's amazing how this works works. Great plan, God.

0points

PattyK 4 months ago

More like this, please, Bored Panda.

30points

Pill Nathan Whitely 4 months ago

Loved it. I am endlessly fascinated by the marvels of nature.

28points

Rachel Walker 4 months ago (edited)

I recently learned an animal fact that blew my mind. Basically, we've all been lied to about how sex determination in bees works. They tell you female bees come from fertilized eggs, so have two sets of chromosomes, and males come from unfertilized eggs and have one set. That's the simplified version. How it actually works is that a bee is female if it has two kinds of sex determining alleles, and male if it has one kind. Most animals have only two possible alleles. You're probably most familiar with the x and y in humans. Bees have maybe 19 possible alleles. If a bee, against the odds, inherits two of the same, it turns out male because it only has one type of sex determining alleles, though it is sterile. The hive will kill it as soon as it hatches though, because a sterile male is a useless waste of resources.

13points

Mike F 4 months ago

Why not just ask them? 😂

5points

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Beak Hookage 4 months ago

Rats cannot puke because they have no gag reflex.

6points

Bored Retsuko 4 months ago

And they can't burp! (That's why carbonated drinks are bad for them.)

3points

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Show Thyself 4 months ago

That's the post one needs. Interesting & funny - even when the information has to be taken with a grain of salt.

6points

Mary Villegas 4 months ago

I love this type of trivia!

2points

Stella Goldfish 4 months ago

Great! More please 😃

1point

GG 4 months ago

Love this stuff - Boredpanda makes my day

1point

Mimi M 4 months ago

Nice!

1point

Danish Susanne 4 months ago

Very interesting.

0points

Della 4 months ago

It's amazing how this works works. Great plan, God.

0points

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