Buzz
[WARNING: giant insect image ahead.] Welcome to the third edition of our animal facts series! If you haven't checked out the earlier installments, be sure to do so. In this edition, we're presenting 15 more mind-blowing and occasionally strange facts from the animal world. Let us know in the comments if you have any personal favorite facts that aren’t listed here. Here are the previous two lists for you to explore:
10 Incredible Animal Facts Another 10 Incredible Animal Facts
1 Facts 1 to 5
1. The tuatara, a lizard-like species native to New Zealand, has been around for at least 200 million years (if you believe in evolution, or 6,000 years if you believe in special creation). The most intriguing feature of the tuatara is its third eye, complete with lens, cornea, rods, and nerve tissue linked to the brain. This suggests that it was once a fully functional eye in ancient times. By six months old, this eye is covered by scales. The baby tuatara pictured above is one of the last surviving members of the sphenodontia genus.
2. In the world of ants, some species have a brutal strategy to take over new colonies: the queen enters another nest, decapitates the resident queen, and starts laying her own eggs to take control.
3. On average, sharks are responsible for 10 human fatalities each year. But here's an interesting comparison: cows kill around 100 people annually by stepping on them. So, the next time you find yourself in a field of cattle, remember this.
4. Woodpeckers are known to strike trees at a rate of 20 pecks per second. What's impressive is their ability to avoid injury, thanks to a spongy area behind their beaks that acts as a natural shock absorber.
5. In the 17th century, during a time of intense anti-Catholic sentiment, Puritans created wicker effigies of the Pope, stuffed them with live cats, and set them on fire, delighting in the agonizing screams of the poor animals.
2 Facts 6 to 10
6. Unlike many other animals, the word for butterfly differs across European languages. In German, it's 'schmetterling,' in French it's 'papillon,' in Spanish it's 'mariposa,' in Italian it's 'farfalla,' in Dutch it's 'vlinder,' and in Portuguese, it's 'borboleta.'
7. Some frogs have a unique method of vomiting: they expel their entire stomach, wash it off with their right hand, and then push it back inside.
8. The hoatzin (pronounced 'watseen') is a vegetarian bird with a diet that requires special stomachs, much like a cow’s, to break down its food. Due to its need for large quantities of food, these birds are quite heavy and poor fliers. The beautiful bird pictured above is a hoatzin.
9. Manatees possess two teats located beneath their forelimbs, which likely contributed to the many mermaid legends told around the world during the era of great sea exploration.
10. Here's an interesting fact for animal rights advocates: the giant tortoise was often hunted for its rich, flavorful oil, which the Dutch once believed was the only way to make the now-extinct Dodo bird's meat edible. The giant tortoise's meat was abundant enough to feed several people, and nearly every part of it was considered a delicacy, including the bone marrow and eggs.
3 Facts 11 to 15
11. 'Tappen' is the term used for a plug made from leaves, resin, and fat that bears create and insert into their rectum before entering their three-month-long winter hibernation. This helps prevent insects from invading and laying eggs in their bodies.
12. Ants can build chambers that reach up to 10 feet deep. Each chamber within this extensive network serves a specific function: the bottom chamber is reserved for eggs, while others house larvae, the queen, new queens, and food storage.
13. Bats are able to hang upside down effortlessly because their claws lock onto the branch or surface they're hanging from. When a bat dies in this position, its toes remain locked in place.
14. The double-headed eagle emblem of the Byzantine Empire holds a special meaning: one head represents ancient Imperial Rome, while the other symbolizes Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, often referred to as the New Rome.
15. The giant weta is a large insect from New Zealand, with a body (excluding its legs) that can grow as big as a mouse. It is heavier, on average, than a sparrow. While it has a rather intimidating appearance, the giant weta is found only on small islands, unlike its larger relatives scattered throughout New Zealand. The photo above shows an adult human holding a weta, giving a good sense of its size. Despite its size, the weta is harmless and only bites when threatened.
