Amazing Animals Facts — Surprising Wildlife Facts for Everyone

The Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca ) is the fastest sea mammals. It speeds through the ocean at 45 kilometers per hour (km/hr). The killer whale hunts fish and larger mammals. It has a mouthful of pointed teeth shaped to hold slippery food  like squid. A killer whale is also known as the Orca. They hunts in packs. So also known as wolves of the sea. Killer whales are regarded as apex predators, lacking natural predators and preying on even large sharks.  Like dolphins, orcas use echolocation i.e. bouncing sound off of objects to determine their location  to hunt and use a series of high-pitched clicks to stun prey. Orcas are very fast swimmers. They can swim up to 30 mph Recent studies have found that orcas are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world. Pollution and chemical contamination make orcas more susceptible to disease and likely cause reproductive difficulties. The IUCN currently assesses the orca's conservation status as data ...

The white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus also known as the Pacific sturgeon, Oregon sturgeon, Columbia sturgeon, Sacramento sturgeon, and California white sturgeon. It is the largest freshwater fish in North America and is the third largest species of sturgeon, after the Beluga and the Kaluga. The white sturgeon has a slender, long body, head and mouth. This fish has no scales; instead it has large bony scutes that serve as a form of armor. A sturgeon's taste buds are located on the outside of its mouth. The underside is a clean white. It can smell food with four barbels, used for sensing food, near its huge toothless mouth.  White Sturgeon can live to be over 100 years old. White sturgeon in the Kootenai River are at such a low level that they were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1994.  In addition to overfishing, dams constructed along the Columbia and Snake Rivers have also become a threat to sturgeon. Tribal fishery managers ...

Lice (singular: louse)  Pediculosis capitis or head lice. The order has traditionally been divided into two suborders, the sucking lice (Anoplura) and the chewing lice (Mallophaga)the Mallophaga are paraphyletic and four suborders are recently recognized: Anoplura: sucking lice, occurring on mammals exclusively. Rhyncophthirina: parasites of elephants and warthogs. Ischnocera: mostly avian chewing lice- one family parasitizes mammals. Amblycera: a primitive suborder of chewing lice, widespread on birds. Most lice are scavengers, feeding on skin and other debris found on the host's body, but some species feed on sebaceous secretions and blood.  Head lice are tiny insects that live on the skin covering the top of your head, called the scalp.  They are not dangerous and do not cause any bodily harm.  Lice can be spread by close contact with other people.  Head lice infect hair on the head. Tiny eggs on the hair look like flakes of dandruff. However, instead of ...

A jellyfish is 98% water. Jellyfish also known as jellies or sea jellies or a stage of the life cycle of Medusozoa are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria.  Medusa is another word for jellyfish.  Jellyfish are classified in the phylum Coelenterata, which means they have a very simple body with a large center mouth where food comes in and waste goes out. Jellyfish have tiny stinging cells in their tentacles to stun or paralyze their prey before they eat them. Sea turtles relish the taste of jellyfish.  Jellyfish are invertebrates and don't have a backbone. All jellyfish sting, but the stings of small specimens and those with short tentacles often are not painful to humans. Even dead jellyfish can sting. One of the smallest adult jellies is the Australian Irukandji, which is about the size of a fingernail. The lion's mane jellyfish, Cyanea capillata, were long-cited as the largest jellyfish. The rarely-encountered deep-sea jellyfish Stygiomedusa gigantea is another...

The cheetah is the world's fastest land animal. Over short distances, it can sprint upto 112 kms per hour. The cheetah has long, slim, muscular legs, a smal, rounded head set on a long neck, a flexible spine , a deep chest, special pads on its feet for tractio, and a long tail for balance , distinctive tear stripes that stretch from the corner of the eye to the side of the nose.. They use tail to help them steer and turn in the direction they want to go. like the rudder of a boat. Cheetahs are found in open and partially open savannas.  They usually prey on small mammals and birds. The cheetahs are tan in colour with black spots all over their bodies.  Males are territorial. Males mark their territory by urinating on objects that stand out, such as trees, logs, or termite mounds. The whole coalition contributes to the scent. Males will attempt to kill any intruders, and fights result in serious injury or death.  Females' home ranges can be very large and a territory ...

The bear with the goggles/spectacled . The spectacled bear is the only bear species in South America. It has black fur with a beige-coloured marking across its face and upper chest, though not all Andean bears have ' spectacle' markings. They look just like glasses. Each bear's spectacle pattern is different. It is the only remaining short-faced bear. Others species died out thousands of years ago. The spectacled bear is an excellent climber, often makes the platforms in trees to rest and eat.  It has been known to raise thorny cactus-eating fruit on top. Most of the bear have 14 pairs of ribs. The spectacled bear has 13 ribs. Its long, curved claws are great for digging or breaking into insect mounds for food. Longer front than back legs help them to climb. The spectacled bear population is under threat for a number of reasons like , the gall bladders of spectacled bears are also valued in traditional Chinese medicine 

The tarsier lives in the trees of South-East Asia and is similar to lemurs, monkeys and apes.The tarsier primarily feeds on insects but tarsiers will also eat small animals such as rodents, reptiles and birds.  It has the largest eyes in the mammal world. Tarsiers have even been known to catch birds that are in motion The eyes of the western tarsier are so big they weigh more than its brain.  The tarsier elongated fingers are dark brown and almost twig like in appearance.

Pangolins are strange Ant -Eating mammals.The name pangolin derives from the Malay word pengguling something that rolls . Pangolins are nocturnal and use their highly developed sense of smell to find insects. The long-tailed pangolin is also active during the day. Pangolins spend most of those who sleep during the day, curled up into a ball.  Pangolins lack teeth and the ability to chew. Pangolins have glands in the chest to lubricate the tongue with sticky saliva, the ant-catching. Their bodies are covered in overlapping scales that protect them from other animals and the stinging bites of ants. Pangolins are hunted and eaten in many parts of Africa and is one of the most popular types of bushmeat .  Pangolins are also in great demand in China because their meat is a delicacy and some Chinese believe pangolin scales reduce swelling, improve circulation and use as medication.

T he cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. Cuckoos don't bother making their own nests. Instead, they lay their eggs in other bird's nests. This way cuckoos do not have all the hard work of looking after their own chicks -other birds do it for them! Most birds take minutes to lay an egg. The mother cuckoo can lay an egg in 9 seconds ! This allows her to quickly pop it in the nest of another bird.

The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo ' Bubalus bubalis ' . Buffalo are used as draft, meat, and dairy animals. Their dung is used as a fertilizer and as a fuel when dried.  True wild water buffalo are thought to survive in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand. The rumen " the first chamber of the digestive system of a ruminant " of the water buffalo has important differences from that of other ruminants. The water buffalo rumen has been found to contain a larger population of bacteria, particularly the cellulolytic bacteria, lower protozoa and higher fungi zoo-spores and higher rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and higher pH have been found as compared to those in cattle. The domesticated water buffalo is often referred to as ' the living tractor of the East ', as it is relied upon for plowing and transportation in many parts of Asia. The chief dairy breed of buffalo is the Murrah breed . Buffalo meat, sometimes called ' car...

Most honeyguides are dull-colored, though a few have bright yellow in the plumage. All have light outer tail feathers, which are white in all the African species. Honeyguide birds follow honey badgers to find their favourite food - delicious bee grubs!! The clever birds follow the badgers when they go in search of a bee's nest. When the badger opens the nest it feeds on the honey, while the birds eat the grubs and beeswax. 

Ant birds are generally small birds with rounded wings and strong legs. Most have heavy bills, which in many species are hooked at the tip. They have mostly sombre grey, white, brown and rufous plumage. As of April 2008, 38 species are considered by the IUCN to be near threatened or worse and therefore at risk of extinction.  Antbirds are not targeted by either hunters or the pet traders. Ant birds follow army ants as they march through the forest, but they don't usually eat them. The birds perch on trees as the army ants pass by, then they pounce on the other small  animals and insects that come to feed on the ants.

Red pandas are distantly related to giant pandas. But they are smaller, and only the size of a domestic cat, but the big tail, thick add an additional 45 centimeters in length. Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and the mountains of Nepal and Myanmar, North as well as in central China. These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep in the air. Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods and fruits, acorns, roots, and eggs.

The sloth is the slowest mammal in the world . Its bodily functions are so slow that it comes down to the ground to relieve itself once a week. Sloths move so slowly that even at top speed, they reach little more than one kilometre an hour. There are two types of sloths, the slow two-toed sloth, and the even slower three-toed sloth, which moves at half the speed of a tortoise. PEDG3UCK2MRZ

Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen in the Palaeolithic age and gradually developed into the breeds known today.  The lifespan of a dog, on an average is between 8 to 15 years.  The sweat glands of a dog are located between their paw pads. D ogs are di-chromatic and have color vision equivalent to red-green color blindness in humans..he eyes of different breeds of dogs have different shapes, dimensions, and retina configurations.Experimentation has proven that dogs can distinguish between complex visual images such as that of a cube or a prism. The frequency range of dog hearing is approximately 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz.dogs have ear mobility which allows them to rapidly pinpoint the exact location of a sound. Dogs are also vulnerable to some of the same health conditions as humans, including diabetes, dental and heart disease, epilepsy, cancer, hypothyroidism, and arthritis. Dogs are highly susceptible to theobromine poisoning, typically from ingestion of chocolate ,especia...

Mammals that have pouches on their tummies are called marsupials . Opossums are the only marsupials to be found outside Australia, They are found in America too. These animals are most famous for ' playing possum '.  When threatened by dogs, foxes, bobcats, opossums sometimes flop onto their sides and lie on the ground with their eye closed, or staring fixedly into space. They extend their tongue and pretend to be dead :)). This trick fools the enemy, and allows the opossum to make its escape.

Mustang horses are probably the most well known type of wild  horses, particularly within the United States. they are the descendents of the horses escaped and learnt to live in the wild. The name Mustang comes from the Spanish word 'mesteno' or 'monstenco' that means stray or wild. Przewalski's horses are the last surviving subspecies of wild horse. Przewalski's horses have never been tamed for riding, which means that they are the last truly wild horses in existence today. They were first described scientifically in the late 19th century by N.M. Przewalski , a Russian Explorer. They are the national symbol of Mongolia, the country of their origin .With a short, muscular body Przewalski's horses are smaller than most domesticated horses.

OARFISH The oarfish does and it can grow to be as long as four canoes!! It is the longest bony fish and is found in all the world's oceans. Oarfish have a bright red fin along the length of their back. They swim upright through the water.

The okapi is sometimes referred to as an example of a living fossil .The okapi was adopted as an emblem by the now defunct International Society of Cryptozoology. The tongue of the okapi is also long enough for the animal to wash its eyelids and clean its ears (inside and out). The okapi is a beautiful and unusual animal . It has white and black striped hindquarters and front legs, like a zebra's, but its head is like a giraffe's. In fact the okapi is a distant cousin of the giraffe. Like giraffes, okapis have very large , upright ears, which catch even slight sounds, helping them to avoid trouble. They also have long, dark tongues , just like giraffe's to help them strip the buds and young leaves from the trees in the dense rain forest of West Africa. They are not as tall as giraffe, since they live in rainforests  where  there are trees with branches hanging down as well as roots and tree trunks to dodge. Okapis communicate by means of a scent gland on eac...

A raccoon is one of the most facinating and among the most intelligent of wild animals. Raccoons are related to Pandas, but their tails are ringed. The most important sense for the raccoon is its sense of touch. The raccoon also has black and white marking on its face that resemble masks. Raccoons are often called 'little bandits' because of these masks. These mammals are found in forests, marshes, prairies, and even in cities, where they love to feast on garbage. They are nocturnal -that means they are active at night. When it comes to choosing a den, raccoons may inhabit a tree hole, fallen log, or a house's attic. The raccoon is very good with its front paws, using them like hands. Its scientific name, Procyon lotor , means 'a washer'. Raccoons got this name because they often seem to wash their food in water. The most important natural predators of the raccoon are bobcats, coyotes, and great horned owls, th...

The tasmanian wolf was a marsupial that was striped like a tiger, had a thick tail like a kangaroo, and looked like a wolf... It was a remarkable animals that has now become extinct. Tasmanian wolves were shot by farmers because they killed sheep. The last surviving tasmaniam wolf died in a zoo in 1936.

Streaked Tenrec  Streaked Tenrec  Tenrecs are small mammals and many have greatly reduced tails and bodies covered with bristly hair or quills. around 30 species of tenrecs can be found on madagascar. Streaked tenrecs are known to communicate using high pitch tongue clicks when searching for food, but many of the sounds  are beyond human hearing. They also grow faster than any other mammals . It is quite amazing that even six day old babies of the streaked tenrec stop drinking milk and start eating worms.

The water shrew is one of the largest of the shrews. Its saliva contains venom that it uses to stun larger prey such as fish and frogs and prevents the prey from struggling. The salivary glands of one shrew contains enough poison to kill 200 mice! Because the water shrew complately digests its food in three hours, it must feed frequently , throughout both day and night.

Wide wings and long life, albatrosses are rarely seen on land and prefer to stay out on ocean, except to mate and raise their chicks. The albatrosses are a group of large to very large birds, they are the largest of the procellariiformes. Albatrosses have been described as "the most legendary of all birds." An albatross is a central emblem in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Their long, narrow wings are strikingly graceful. Equally impressive are the large heads featuring massive hooked bills. Their bodies are mostly white and have long necks, short legs and short tails especially. The size of the largest great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) are the largest of any bird, exceeding 340 cm.  Wandering albatrosses are the biggest seabirds and spend months at sea. They are such good gliders that they even sleep as they fly. To feed, they sit on the surface of water, where they catch creatures such as cephalopods (class of marine mollusks that inc...