DOG FACTS

Dogs are pack animals by nature and enjoy companionship.

A dog can hear sounds from 250 yards away.

Dogs are direct descendants of wolves.

The Basenji is the only barkless dog in the world.

There are 701 dog breeds.

HORSE FACTS

a stallion is a male horse
a mare is a female horse
a foal is a baby horse
a filly is a young female horse
a colt is a young male horse
a yearling is a foal after its first birthday
a sire is the word used for the father of a horse
a dam is the word used for the mother of a horse
a pony is not a baby horse. It is a fully grown small horse
a horse’s height is measured in hands. One hand = 4″

DOLPHIN FACTS

Unlike any other mammal, dolphin babies are born tail first.

A dolphin’s dorsal fin is as distinctive as a person’s face.

Some dolphin species can swim up to 25 miles an hour for long periods, more than three times faster than the best human swimmers.

Some dolphins can hold their breath for as long as 30 minutes, while others have to breathe every 20 seconds.

The largest member of the dolphin family is the Orca, which can grow to 30 feet long.

SEA TURTLE FACTS

There are 7 species of sea turtles:
Green
Loggerhead
Kemp’s Ridley
Olive Ridley
Hawksvill
Flatback
Leatherback

A sea turtle cannot retract its limbs, head or neck under its shell like a land turtle. The shell adaptations necessary for retractile limbs would impede rapid swimming.

Sea turtles can live up to 80 years.

During the first year after hatching, many species of sea turtles are rarely seen. This first year is known as the “lost year”.

Green sea turtles can stay under water for as long as five hours.

WHALE FACTS

There are 2 types of whales: baleen and toothed. “Toothed” whales include dolphins and porpoises.

There are 11 species of baleen whales:
Blue Whale
Gray Whale
Bowhead Whale
Fin Whale
Humpback Whale
Minke Whale
Narwhal Whale
Pilot Whale
Right Whale
Sperm Whale
Beluga Whale

Some whales have a lifespan similar to humans. The blue and the fin whales can reach up to 85 years old.

Blue whales are the largest creatures on earth and can be as long a 2 buses. They can produce sounds louder than a jet engine and communicate with other whales up to 1000 miles away.

GIRAFFE FACTS

For a long time people called the giraffe a “camel-leopard,” because they believed that it was a combination of a camel and a leopard.

Giraffes only sleep for a few minutes at a time, usually no more than 20 minutes.

A giraffe is able to clean its ears with its own tongue.

Giraffes can go without water longer than camels can.

Newborn giraffe calves begin their lives by falling 6 feet to the ground

TIGER FACTS

Most tigers have more than 100 stripes, and no two tigers have identical stripes.

A tiger’s roar can be heard up to a mile away.

Tigers walk on their toes.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

Tigers are largely solitary cats and are most active between dusk and dawn.

PENGUIN FACTS

There are no penguins at the North Pole.

All 17 varieties of the bird are found in nature only below the equator, primarily in the Antarctic.

Penguins in the Antarctic move quickly on the ice by tobogganing on their bellies.

I bet you didn’t know…..

Turtles can recognize faces. They are one of the few reptiles that can be trained to do “tricks”.

The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight.

Ferrets sleep for about 20 hours a day.

All elephants walk on tip-toe, because the back portion of their foot is made up of all fat and no bone.

Dogs and humans are the only animals with prostates.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

Armadillos can walk underwater.

Starfish don’t have brains.

When a giraffe’s baby is born it falls from a height of six feet, normally without being hurt.

The cheetah is the only cat in the world that can’t retract it’s claws.

The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene.

The placement of a donkey’s eyes in its’ heads enables it to see all four feet at all times.

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs, because a cows’ knees can’t bend properly to walk back down.

Americans spend more annually on cat food than on baby food.

Ants stretch when they wake up. They also appear to yawn in a very human manner before taking up the tasks of the day.

A zebra is white with black stripes.

A shark can detect one part of blood in 100 million parts of water.

A kangaroo can’t jump unless its tail is touching the ground.

A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.

A cat uses his whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.

Giraffes have no vocal cords.

On a large sea otter, there are approximately 650,000 hairs per square inch.

Certain frogs can be frozen solid then thawed, and continue living.

To escape the grip of a crocodile’s jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs– it will let you go instantly… (ya think?)

Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex.