105 Weird & Fun Facts About Animals: How Many Do You Know?

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From ants to whales, here are the wildest animal facts
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Whether they’re domesticated or wild, we’ve observed animals doing some pretty weird things. But what if we told you that that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bizarre animal facts? We’ve collected the craziest tidbits about animals from the deep sea to the wide open skies, and trust us—you’ll never think an animal is ordinary again. Keep scrolling to learn more!

Our Favorite Crazy Animal Facts

  • Goats can have accents and change their vocal sounds to blend in with social groups.
  • When turtles hibernate underwater, they breathe by absorbing oxygen from the water via their butts.
  • Owls have eye tubes instead of eye balls . They rotate their heads because they can’t move their eyes.
  • Dolphins use unique whistle patterns to address each other by name.
  • Honey bees can remember and recognize human faces.
  • Microbes were the first living things to evolve on Earth, and will be the last remaining creatures on the planet.
  • The colossus penguin (which is now extinct) was as tall as LeBron James.
Section 1 of 8:

Weird Animal Facts about Mammals

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  1. You might be surprised by how little you know about your fellow mammals. Humans are mammals, after all, so we don’t blame you if you were thinking, “How weird can mammals possibly be?” As it turns out, some of our mammal brethren are pretty bizarre (and some are a bit too human-like for comfort…).
    • Polar bears actually have black skin underneath their white fur that helps trap heat in their cold climate. It also shields them from UV rays!
    • Dogs have a sense of smell that is 100,000 times greater than a human’s (but they only have a sixth of our taste buds).
    • Reindeer eyeballs turn blue in the winter to help them see when light levels are low (their eyes are normally golden-colored in summer). They’re the only animal we know of that can do this!
    • Sea lions are the only non-human mammal we know of that can keep a beat. Once they learn to do it, they can keep time with any song—even ones they haven’t heard before.
    • Rodents can’t burp or vomit. This is why rat poison is so effective—most other animals would regurgitate toxic substances.
    • Goats can pick up accents from each other and adjust their vocal sounds to fit the group they're in. Humans, bats, and whales are the only other mammals known to do this.
    • Elephants have a specific alarm sound that alerts the herd when humans are nearby. [1]
    • Horses have at least 17 documented facial expressions they use to communicate with each other.
    • Azara's owl monkeys are super monogamous. Both parents and their offspring live together as families until one of the parents dies.
    • Buffalo herds in Africa vote! Individuals show a preference for which way they want to travel by standing up, looking in a direction, and lying back down. Only adult females vote. [2]
    • Bats save the US economy between $3.7 and $53 billion per year by eating insects and pests that harm agriculture. [3]
    • Platypus mothers feed their young milk, but have no nipples. Instead, milk oozes from gland ducts in the skin. [4]
    • When female sloths are in heat, they will climb to the tops of trees and scream until a mate comes to them. This happens for 8-10 days every single month. [5]
    • Elephants have great memories and can pass down information about trail and watering hole locations to younger generations.
    • Armadillos can inflate their stomachs and intestines with air to float on water.
    • Rats laugh when they’re tickled! They make high-pitched squeaking sounds, showing that they experience joy and playfulness.
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Section 2 of 8:

Weird Animal Facts about Reptiles & Amphibians

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  1. Reptiles are some of the oldest—and strangest—creatures on Earth. The earliest land vertebrates split off into reptiles and amphibians over 300 million years ago. [6] This has given both groups plenty of time to evolve some cool and unique traits unlike any other class of animal!
    • When the weather is warm, turtles are more likely to be born female than male.
    • There are 24 known species of dancing frogs in India. The male frogs do a “kicking” routine to attract mates. [7]
    • Crocodiles can’t move their tongues at all. They’re attached to the roof of their mouth to protect their airway when they’re underwater.
    • Glass frogs have a unique form of camouflage. They can remove 90% of their red blood cells from circulation, making them appear nearly transparent. [8]
    • When turtles hibernate underwater, they breathe by extracting oxygen from the water through blood vessels in their butt (technically called “cloacal respiration”). [9]
    • Axolotls can regenerate full limbs, including the bones, muscles, and nerves. They can do this several times per limb!
    • Some lizards , like geckos and bearded dragons, can detach their tails when they’re stressed or threatened (it will eventually grow back). [10]
    • Gila monsters and Komodo dragons are the only types of lizards that are poisonous. Others may look scary, but are far more harmless.
    • The marine Galapagos lizard is the only species of lizard that can swim. It goes into the water to scrape algae off rocks to eat.
    • Flying geckos have specialized skin flaps and webbed feet that allow them to glide short distances between trees. [11]
    • The pig-nose turtle has a long, pig-like snout that it uses like a snorkel to breathe when it’s swimming.
    • Some amphibians, like the Bornean flat-headed frog and Plethodontidae family of salamanders, don’t have lungs. To breathe, they absorb oxygen through their moist skin. [12]
    • Mount Lyell salamanders live under rocks on slopes. When the rocks are disturbed by predators, the slamanders curl into a ball and roll down the slope to escape.
Section 3 of 8:

Weird Animal Facts about Birds

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  1. Birds have evolved some pretty weird traits in order to rule the skies. These descendants of dinosaurs range from fearsome birds of prey to flitting little hummingbirds, but no matter their size, birds are far from ordinary. Here are some weird facts about owls, flamingos, penguins, and more:
    • Owls don’t have eyeballs. They have eye tubes (cylinder-shaped eyes) set into their skull. They turn their heads so far around because they can’t move their eyes! [13]
    • The now-extinct colossus penguin was as tall as LeBron James.
    • Off the coast of Argentina, seagulls have been seen divebombing young right whales when they surface for air to peck out chunks of blubber to eat. The calves’ skin is thin, and they need to breathe more frequently than adults, making them an easy target. [14]
    • Male gentoo and Adelie penguins propose to female mates by presenting them with a pebble. Pebbles are used to build nests and are hard to find on the shores of Antarctica, making this a precious gift!
    • Barn owls are monogamous, but can get “divorced” if they can’t mate successfully. About 25% of all barn owl relationships end in divorce. [15]
    • When roosters open their beaks to crow, their ear canals close off to block the loud sound. This is how they avoid damaging their own hearing! [16]
    • Woodpecker tongues are so long that they wrap around the bird’s brain. This protects them from brain injury during their high-speed pecking. [17]
    • A puffin’s beak is serrated so it can hold multiple fish at one time.
    • Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward.
    • A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.
    • The Arctic tern has the longest migratory journey of any bird. It travels up to 44,000 miles (71,000 km) round-trip between its breeding and wintering habitats.
    • Pigeons have been proven to detect cancerous cells in medical samples with a high degree of accuracy.
    • Flamingos are actually born gray. They turn pink due to compounds in their diet of brine shrimp and blue algae.
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Section 4 of 8:

Weird Animal Facts about Sea Creatures

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  1. Life under the sea is beautiful, exotic, and downright odd. Marine life is ancient and incredibly diverse, leading to the evolution of some pretty bizarre creatures! It’s estimated that humans have only explored about 20% of the oceans, meaning there could be a lot of even weirder ones we haven’t discovered yet. [18] But, until we observe that remaining 80%, here are the weirdest facts we’ve learned so far:
    • Octopuses have 3 hearts: 1 to pump blood around the body, and 2 to supply blood to their gills. (Their blood is also blue due to high levels of copper!)
    • The claws of a mantis shrimp are so strong that scientists must keep them in thick plastic tanks to prevent them from escaping (they can punch through glass!). They can also move their claws as fast as a .22 caliber bullet. [19]
    • Sharks only kill about 10 humans per year. Humans, on the other hand, kill 100 million sharks per year.
    • Wild dolphins call each other by name with unique whistle patterns.
    • Humpback whales can pass “songs” from one population to another, spreading a kind of musical culture.
    • A group of starfish is called a galaxy.
    • Greenland sharks typically have parasites in their eyes that make them partially or fully blind. The sharks use their other senses to get around (and since the waters they inhabit are so dark, losing their sight doesn’t seem to impact them too much). [20]
    • A blue whale’s tongue can weigh as much as an adult elephant (that’s up to 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg)).
    • Male seahorses give birth instead of females. They have a special pouch where females deposit eggs for fertilization.
    • The mimic octopus confuses predators by copying the appearance of other creatures like lionfish, flatfish, and sea snakes.
    • The archerfish hunts insects by spitting water at them with incredible aim. They can hit a bug up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) away).
    • Electric eels can generate a shock up to 600 volts to stun their prey and fend off predators.
    • Dolphins can “get high” off pufferfish venom. They provoke the pufferfish to release some toxin, which produces a hallucinogenic effect.
Section 5 of 8:

Weird Animal Facts about Insects

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  1. Bugs, spiders, and creep-crawlies are fascinating—even if they’re a little gross. Insects may not be your cup of tea, but these animals have some amazing skills and traits that make them stand out in the animal kingdom. From ultra-strong spider silk to hyper-deadly snails, here’s the weirdest that insects have to offer:
    • Butterflies taste with their feet! Each foot has chemoreceptors to help identify plants. Female butterflies will “drum” on a leaf to find a suitable place to lay their eggs.
    • One strand of spider silk is thinner than a human hair, but 5 times stronger than a piece of steel that’s the same width.
    • Honey bees can flap their wings up to 200 times per second.
    • Black widow spider venom isn’t toxic to every animal. Cats and horses are highly susceptible to it, while dogs are fairly resistant. Sheep and rabbits are immune!
    • Honey bees wiggle-dance to show their preference for a nesting site. If it’s an unpopular choice, other bees will headbutt the dancing bee to help form a consensus.
    • Bone-house wasps stuff the walls of their nests with dead ants.
    • During floods, ants will form balls that roll in the water. This ensures each gets a chance to rest and breathe. [21]
    • Only female mosquitoes bite humans.
    • Honey bees can remember and recognize human faces.
    • Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal. Over 1 million people are killed each year from mosquito-borne diseases like Malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever. [22]
    • Insects have existed for over 350 million years (modern humans have only been around for about 300,000 years!). [23]
    • Houseflies use their feet to find sugar. Their feet are 10 million times more sensitive than a human’s tongue.
    • It would take about 100 monarch butterflies to weigh just 1 ounce (28 g).
    • The cone snail has one of the deadliest (and most painful) stings in the world. Their venom causes paralysis and respiratory failure within minutes.
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Section 6 of 8:

Weird Animal Facts about Microorganisms

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  1. What’s weirder than a microscopic creature you can’t even see? OK, most microorganisms are not technically animals (minus our tiny friend, the tardigrade). Creatures like bacteria and fungi belong to different biological kingdoms, but they’re still living things with plenty of strange quirks to explore:
    • Tardigrades (water bears) are microscopic animals that can survive extreme temperatures from 300°F (149°C) down to -458°F (-272°C). They can also survive the vacuum of outer space, pressure 6 times stronger than at the ocean floor, and more than ten years without food. [24]
    • Microbes were the earliest living things to evolve on the Earth—and scientists believe they’ll be the last living creatures remaining on it, too. [25]
    • The bacteria Thiomargarita magnifica is large enough to see with the naked eye. It’s about the size of a human eyelash! [26]
    • There is debate about whether viruses are living organisms or not. They can’t reproduce without a host organism, raising doubts about their “alive-ness” from some scientists. [27]
    • There are 3 times more bacteria and microbes in and on your body than there are actual human cells. [28]
    • The human body emits bacteria into the air. This creates a “microbial cloud” that is unique to every person. [29]
    • Fungi are not technically animals or plants—they belong to their own fungal kingdom. But, fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants! [30]
    • One type of fungus in the Amazon creates “zombie” ants by taking over their brains and instructing them to climb onto a suitable plant to be consumed.
    • The honey mushroom is the largest living organism on Earth and takes up 2,384 acres (10 sq km) in the Blue Mountains of Oregon.
    • Large networks of fungi and bacteria form underground connections between trees, allowing the trees to communicate and share resources with each other.
Section 7 of 8:

Weird Facts about Baby Animals

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  1. Animal babies are adorable—and they’re plenty strange, too! From unique survival adaptations to some unbelievable parenting strategies, the lives of baby animals are a lot more complex than they seem. Here are some of our favorite facts about how young critters make their way into the world:
    • Baby guinea pigs are born super well-developed with open eyes, fur, visible teeth, and the ability to start walking and eating solid food just a few hours after birth. [31]
    • A giraffe calf can stand up and start walking on its own within an hour of birth. [32]
    • Female Siamese fighting fish enjoy the taste of their own eggs, so it’s up to the father fish to defend and protect them against their own mother. [33]
    • It’s more common for cotton-top tamarins to give birth to twins than to single babies.
    • Baby deer do not have a scent. Along with their camouflaging fur pattern, it makes them nearly invisible to predators.
    • Meerkat pups are raised collectively and taught life skills from multiple adults (not just their parents).
    • Most baby reptiles have a special “egg tooth” they use to crack open their egg shells from the inside. After a month or two, the egg tooth is reabsorbed into the body.
    • Baby ostriches are larger than adult chickens and reach their adult height in 6 months.
    • Young macaques have been observed making snowballs and playing with snow in the winter.
    • Young chimps have been seen playing with “dolls” made of sticks and rocks to mimic the nurturing behavior of their own parents.
    • Baby elephants will suck on their trunks for comfort, much like how human babies suck their thumbs.
    • Male sandgrouse birds will soak themselves in water and let their chicks drink the droplets that fall off their wings. This helps them stay hydrated in desert climates.
    • Baby otters are covered with so much fluff that it’s impossible for them to drown—they just float!
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Section 8 of 8:

Bonus Extra-Weird Facts about Animals

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  1. There’s no limit to how bizarre the animal kingdom can get. These crazy animal facts may be hard to believe at first, but trust us—they’re all natural! From animals that see in slo-mo to feuding supercolonies of ants, here are some of the absolute weirdest tidbits about animals:
    • Animals with small bodies and fast metabolisms see in slow motion. They process sensory information faster and see more frames per second, allowing them to perceive more detail at a slower pace. [34]
    • The immortal jellyfish is a tiny jellyfish species that can “reset” their cells to an earlier stage of their life cycle when faced with a threat. They can technically regenerate indefinitely, but can still die from external factors like injury or disease. [35]
    • Less time has passed between the existence of T. Rex and humans than between T. Rex and Stegosaurus .
    • There’s a turf war happening in North America between 2 supercolonies of Argentine ants. One colony covers 560 miles (901 km) of the US west coast and is feuding with a nearby supercolony in Mexico.
    • When bees are stressed, they release an alarm pheromone that has a banana-like smell to humans. The same compound (isoamyl acetate) is used to make artificial banana flavor. [36]
    • Vultures will urinate on their legs to cool down in hot weather and to kill lingering bacteria and parasites they may have picked up from walking around carcasses. [37]
    • Blue-eyed black lemurs are the only known primate besides humans to have blue eyes.
    • Bearcats smell like buttered popcorn because of a compound in their urine called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (the same chemical that gives popcorn its aroma). [38]
    • Koalas have fingerprints that look nearly identical to the ones that humans have (they also have similar prints on their noses).
    • The honey from bees doesn’t expire! Honey has been found in Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old—and the honey is still entirely edible. [39]
    • Tapirs haven’t evolved much over millions of years, giving us a glimpse of what prehistoric relatives of horses and rhinos looked like.
    • North American horned lizards squirt blood from their eyes as a defense against predators. [40]
    • The green basilisk is also called the “Jesus Christ lizard” because of its ability to run on water. [41]

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      References

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      2. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20121114-election-day-animal-style
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      32. ↑ https://www.activewild.com/weird-reptiles/

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