Interesting trivia and facts on Animals

Man's best friend
There are 209 official breeds of dog that range from tiny Chihuahuas to massive Mastiffs, which can weigh 100kg! In addition to all these pedigree breeds there are crossbreeds and mongrels galore.
On average a dog will live for 11 years (although small dogs typically live longer than their large counterparts) and cost their owners £1,000 per year.
The RSPCA rescued 1,283 dogs in the UK during 2007. (Fact for 1 Oct 2008)

Walking on water
The Basilisk lizard can walk on water, it slaps its long, webbed back feet on the water so fast it doesn't fall in and can move across ponds and rivers. (Fact for 19 Sept 2008)

Quokka
A Quokka is a small marsupial and looks similar to a kangaroo but is the size of a domestic cat. The Quokka was thought to only live on Rottenest Island off Western Australia, because of predators like foxes and cats however small colonies do still exist on the mainland.

The animal is very friendly and to avoid abuse or domestication of the animal by residents and visitors to Rottenest Island it is illegal to pick up a Quokka and infringement will result in a minimum fine of 100 Australian Dollars. (Fact for 17 Sept 2008)

Nature

Every year 15,000 new species of animals and plants however the same number, 15,000, of species are threatened with extinction (fact for 25 Aug 2008)

Feathers

The bird with the least feathers in the world is the Ruby Hummingbird with only 940 feathers in total. Title for the most feathers is held by the Whistling which can have as many as 25,000 at times of the year. (Fact for 24 Aug 2008)

Tallest Horse

The tallest horse was a Shire Horse that measured 21 and ¼ hands (86.5 inches or 2 metres 19.7 centimetres) and it was born in 1846. (Fact for 3 Aug 2008)

Moles

Moles are fantastically adapted to life underground with their well-known poor eyesight offset by an amazingly keen sense of smell, touch and hearing. Their shovel like limbs also enables them to dig through solid ground at a speed of 4 metres per hour.

A mole will only weigh about 80 grams and eats 50g of earthworms and grubs a day. (Fact for 2 Aug 2008)

River Thames surprise
It's not what you would expect to find in the River Thames, running through London, but the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has discovered a number of Seahorses, which have been observed regularly over the past 18 months.

The government declared the Thames biologically dead in the 1950s and the discovery shows the extent of improvement that has been made to water quality.

Short-snouted Seahorses are reasonably rare and usually are found further south around the Channel Islands (fact for 11 July 2008)

Tooth Talk

An elephant only has molar teeth and uses only four teeth at a time to chew the leaves and branches it eats. Once worn these teeth are replaced by new molars moving forward. Each molar tooth is the size of a brick and weighs 4 kg, that's the same as four bags of sugar!

If a Squirrel stopped eating hard items like nuts, its front teeth would grow so long they would curl up around its skull. (Fact for 2 July 2008)

Hippopotamus
The name hippopotamus means “river horse.” A hippopotamus can run faster than a man and has killed more people in Africa than any other wild animal!

A hippopotamus can open its mouth wide enough to accommodate a 4-foot-tall child!

Honeybees
Honeybees tell each other how far the nectar is from the hive by wagging their bodies, flying in circles and vibrating their wings. Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination

Squirrels
Grey squirrels are an alien species to the UK and were introduced from the USA in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. They have become dominant over the native red squirrels and have out-competed their UK cousins causing the red squirrels to be classified on the 2000 IUCN risk list. There are a number of studies ongoing to establish a true picture of the Red Squirrel throughout Europe.

Heart Beats
A human's heart beats approximately 70 beats per minute. An elephant's heart beats only 28 times per minute but the heart of a mouse beats over 200 times a minute!

Water shortage
Although a Camel is known for its length of survival without water both a rat and a giraffe can last longer!

Chameleon
Everyone knows that Chameleon's change colour to match their surroundings but did you know a blind Chameleon still changes colour to match his environment!

Goldfish
Although you cannot see them Goldfish have teeth - they are located in their throat and are used to crush food. Goldfish can survive at temperatures between 0 and 30 degrees Celsius and can live for 25years!

Frogs
The male mouth-brooding frog gathers up to 15 eggs with its tongue and puts them in its mouth. The eggs are kept in the vocal sac rather than eaten and over time they turn into tadpoles. The offspring are only released when they become frog lets and can jump out!

Mermaid's Purse
Some sharks lay eggs rather than giving birth to live babies; the eggs are laid in a tough case, called a mermaid's purse, which attaches itself to weeds. The baby fish grow inside the purse until ready to fend for themselves.