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Friday, April 15, 2016

Animal Fax? No Animal Facts!

1. The pufferfish known for its 'inflatability' and spike-covered bodies, contain the deadly poison tetrodotoxin, which can be up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.

2. A group of floating penguins in the ocean is called a raft. A group of penguins on land is called a colony, rookery or waddle.

3. The dodo was a large flightless bird of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, which stood about 1 metre (3.3 feet) high and weighed around 20 kilograms (44 pounds). Human impact, including hunting, introduction of predatory animals, and the clearing of habitat, rendered the dodo extinct before the year 1700. The bird would later become a symbol of extinction, and the phrase "dead as a dodo" is often used in reference to something considered indisputably dead.

4. Elephants CANNOT stand on the bottom portion of their feet. That portion is only fat, and cannot support the elephant's weight. Because of this, elephants stand on their toes, and therefore cannot jump.

5. You should not put two male betta fish in the same aquarium. Also known as Siamese Fighting Fish, betta males cannot tolerate each other and will fight till one or both die.

6. A "tall" animal known as zarafa in Arabic, has a 20 inch tongue and has to spread its legs wide to reach water and drink. Also, male giraffes can weigh up to 3500 pounds and 1800 for females. Giraffes also see in color with sharp senses of smell and hearing.

7. Some male animals are just beasts when it comes to helping Mom raise the young - they fertilize and run! However in this species, the male plays an equal role and sticks around when times get tough. Both male and female emperor penguins must work hard to keep their single chick alive in the harsh cold of Antarctica. After the female lays her egg she quickly transfers it to the male, who balances it on top of his feet and shelters it in his warm feathers while the female goes out to find food. With luck, the female will return to find her chick newly hatched and very hungry!

8. This small African mammal, known as the meerkat has the scientific name Suricata suricatta. These cute animals live in the Kalahari desert in south-west Africa.

9. The world’s smallest bird is the bee hummingbird. Hummingbirds are the only bird that can fly backwards, sideways, and up and down.

10. Because of the frigid Antarctic weather, male emperor penguins often go up to two months without food, when incubating their mates' eggs. Male emperor penguins will fatten themselves up with extra food before the female lays her egg, so that when she does, they can incubate the egg on their feet while the female gets some much needed food. It is necessary for the males to stay in one place and keep the eggs on their feet, or else the eggs will freeze. While the female is away, the male eats nothing but snow and can lose up to 45% of its body weight. When the female returns from her trip, the egg is close to hatching, and the male can then go on a feeding spree to fatten back up again.

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