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60 Surprising Animal Facts

A selection of the checked facts behind the Animal Facts mode, from the Wild Facts channel. Think you know them? Play the quiz.

How much honey does one worker bee make in her lifetime?1/12 of a teaspoon — It takes the lifetime work of many bees to fill a single jar.
Insects
Pigeons feed their chicks something called what?Crop milk — Both parents make a nutritious secretion in the crop lining.
Birds
Where are a cricket's ears?On its front legs — Crickets hear with small membranes on their front legs.
Insects
A garden snail can have roughly how many tiny teeth?Over 10,000 — The average garden snail has around 14,000 microscopic teeth on a ribbon-like tongue called a radula.
Weird
How many hours a day does a giant panda spend eating?12 to 14 hours — Bamboo is low in nutrition, so pandas spend about 12-14 hours a day eating.
Mammals
A newborn kangaroo is about the size of what?A jellybean — It is only about 2 cm long and crawls into the pouch on its own.
Mammals
Which giant snake gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs?Green anaconda — Females give birth in water to dozens of young.
Reptiles
Which striped-legged forest animal is the giraffe's only living relative?Okapi — The okapi of the Congo has zebra-like leg stripes but is a giraffid.
Mammals
A ladybird defends itself by releasing foul-tasting fluid from where?Its leg joints — This 'reflex bleeding' smells and tastes bad to predators.
Insects
Which animal has the largest brain of any, about 8 to 9 kg?Sperm whale — Guinness puts it at around 9 kg, about six times a human's.
Records
In Afrikaans, what does 'aardvark' literally mean?Earth pig — Early Dutch settlers in South Africa named it for its burrowing and pig-like snout.
Mammals
Which sense do a rattlesnake's heat pits provide?Infrared detection — Pits sense body heat from warm prey even in darkness.
Reptiles
Which Australian bird can mimic camera shutters and chainsaws?Lyrebird — Superb lyrebirds copy sounds from their surroundings, including man-made noises.
Birds
Which tiny rodent can live over 30 years, remarkable for its size?Naked mole-rat — One captive naked mole-rat lived at least 32 years.
Mammals
Which deer species has antlers on both males and females?Reindeer — Reindeer (caribou) are the only deer where females regularly grow antlers.
Mammals
What decides the sex of baby alligators?Nest temperature — Warmer or cooler nests produce different sexes.
Reptiles
How do insects breathe?Through body spiracles — Tiny holes lead to tubes that carry air directly to tissues.
Insects
Why are beaver incisors orange?Iron in the enamel — Iron in the enamel makes the teeth tougher and gives the orange colour.
Mammals
Which of these has existed the longest on Earth?Sharks — Sharks date back over 400 million years; the first trees came later.
Ocean
About how many hours a day does a lion rest?16 to 20 hours — Lions save energy for short bursts of hunting, mostly at dusk and night.
Mammals
Which vertebrate may live around 400 years?Greenland shark — Eye-lens radiocarbon dating estimated the oldest shark studied at about 392 years, and at least 272.
Records
In true flies, the hind wings have evolved into what?Halteres — These tiny balance organs act like gyroscopes during flight.
Insects
If you shaved a tiger, what would you find?Striped skin — A tiger's stripes are in its skin as well as its fur.
Mammals
Which land mammal makes the longest overland migration?Caribou — Some caribou herds make round-trip migrations of more than 1,200 km a year.
Records
What gift do some male penguins give to court a mate?A pebble — Adelie and gentoo males present stones used to build the nest.
Birds
In seahorses, who carries the babies until they are born?The father — The female deposits eggs in the male's brood pouch, where he gives birth.
Ocean
The largest amphibian ever recorded, about 1.8 m long, was what kind of animal?A Chinese giant salamander — The 1.8 m record specimen is now thought to belong to the South China giant salamander, recognised as a separate species in 2019.
Records
Which is the heaviest snake?Green anaconda — The heaviest reliably weighed specimen was about 97.5 kg; claims of far heavier ones are unverified.
Records
Which North American frog survives with much of its body frozen solid?Wood frog — Up to around 65% of its body water can freeze.
Weird
Why do some storks and vultures excrete on their own legs?To cool off — Evaporation cools the blood flowing through the legs.
Weird
An ostrich egg equals about how many chicken eggs?About 24 — It weighs about 1.4-1.5 kg, the largest egg of any living bird.
Records
What shape are wombat droppings?Cube — Their intestines shape them into cubes, so they stay put on rocks and logs.
Weird
What shape are the pupils of goats and sheep?Horizontal rectangles — They give a wide view to spot predators.
Weird
A group of flamingos is called a what?Flamboyance — A fitting name for such colourful birds.
Weird
How many hearts does an octopus have?Three — Two pump blood through the gills and one serves the rest of the body.
Ocean
Which big cat cannot roar?Cheetah — Cheetahs chirp and purr instead; their voice box lacks the roaring structure.
Mammals
Which is the smallest bird in the world, about 6 cm long?Bee hummingbird — Males weigh about 1.6 grams; it lives only in Cuba.
Records
Which bird is the fastest runner, reaching about 70 km/h?Ostrich — It can sprint at about 70 km/h and keep up around 50 km/h.
Birds
Biologically, what is an orca?A dolphin — Orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family.
Ocean
Scientists have located penguin colonies from space by spotting what?Their poop stains — Guano stains the ice a visible reddish-brown in satellite images.
Weird
Which bird has been shown to recognise individual human faces?Crow — Crows remember people who threatened them and can pass this on to others.
Birds
A cheetah's top speed is closest to which figure?About 100 km/h — The fastest timed cheetah, Sarah, reached about 98 km/h (61 mph) in 2012.
Records
Owls can turn their heads by up to about how many degrees?About 270 degrees — Owls have 14 neck vertebrae (humans have 7) plus blood-vessel adaptations; their eyes are fixed, so they turn the head instead.
Birds
Which is the largest living rodent?Capybara — The largest capybaras weigh around 66 kg.
Records
In some deep-sea anglerfish, what do tiny males do to females?Permanently fuse to her — The male's body merges with the female, who then supplies his blood.
Ocean
'Ming', found in 2006, was dated at 507 years old. What was it?An ocean quahog clam — Counting growth rings in its shell revealed the age.
Records
In emperor penguins, who incubates the egg through the Antarctic winter?The male — He balances it on his feet for about two months without eating.
Birds
What does a camel's hump store?Fat — A hump holds tens of kilograms of fat that can be used as energy.
Mammals
A group of owls is called a what?Parliament — The collective noun nods to the owl's wise reputation.
Birds
A single silkworm cocoon is made from one thread about how long?Up to about 900 m — A silkworm spins one continuous filament that can be up to about 900 m long.
Insects
Which stinging insect do elephants avoid so much that farmers guard crops with hives?Honeybees — Elephants flee the sound of angry bees.
Weird
Which part of a dog is unique to each dog, like a human fingerprint?Nose print — The ridge pattern on a dog's nose is individual to each animal.
Mammals
Which lizard is the heaviest in the world?Komodo dragon — Large wild adults weigh around 70 kg.
Records
Which bird's chicks have claws on their wings for climbing?Hoatzin — Young hoatzins use wing claws to scramble through branches and lose them as adults.
Birds
Which land snake has the most toxic venom, by mouse tests?Inland taipan — Its venom has the lowest lethal dose in mouse tests of any land snake.
Reptiles
A chameleon's tongue can reach about how many times its body length?About twice — Studies found small chameleons can shoot the tongue up to about 2.5 times body length in a fraction of a second.
Reptiles
In what position have sperm whales been seen napping?Vertically — Groups drift motionless, tail down, for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Ocean
What force lets geckos cling to walls?Van der Waals forces — Millions of tiny foot hairs create weak molecular attractions; some research suggests electrostatic effects also help.
Reptiles
Which snake is the longest in the world?Reticulated python — Reticulated pythons can exceed 6 m.
Reptiles
A honeybee's wings beat about how many times per second?About 230 — That rapid beat produces the characteristic buzz.
Insects

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