Athletic Ability Of The Dynamic Dhole

Dholes are incredibly athletic.

Picture from WAZA

Aside from being great swimmers and fast runners, they are also incredible at jumping.  They can jump nearly seven feet straight up in the air.  These skills are critical when it comes to hunting in a pack.

Dholes are incredibly athletic. They are fast runners, excellent swimmers, and impressive jumpers. These skills are critical when the pack is hunting. In some protected areas, they share habitat with tigers and leopards. - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/dhole#sthash.rOGZzefz.dpuf

Spotted Cougar Kittens

A baby cougar's spots fade over time.

 Picture from KVAL

Cougar kittens are born with black rings on their tails and spotted coats. These spots fade to dapples around nine months of age. By the time the kittens are twenty-four to thirty months old all signs of these dapples will disappear, which is roughly around the time the cubs reach sexual maturity.

Color Changing Cicadas

 Albino cicadas do not exist.

Picture from The Atlantic

Sometimes when cicadas first emerge they are white in color.  Over a period of time, their bodies gradually become darker.  Some take longer than others, and some die before the change can occur leaving them as a white corpse.  If they don't die before their color changes, they will eventually turn black and orange.

Keeping Caribou Warm

Caribou have unique hairs that provide them with excellent insulation due to their ability to trap air.

 Picture from Minnesota Zoo

Keeping them warm in cold climates, these unique hairs also help keep them afloat in water.  Caribou tend to be very strong swimmers and are able to move across rushing rivers and even frozen ice with ease.

Butterfly Bathroom Usage

 Adult butterflies never excrete waste, they use up all they ingest for energy.

 Picture from Texas Butterfly Ranch

As adults, butterflies consume only liquids.  They sip water from damp patches for hydration and then feed on nectar from flowers, which is where they obtain sugars for energy as well as sodium and other minerals necessary for reproduction.

Many adult butterflies never excrete waste—they use up all they eat for energy - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/butterfly#sthash.MYcOKS6Y.dpuf

Loudest Animal On Earth

Blue Whales are not only the largest animal on Earth, they are also the loudest.

Picture from Bay Schools

The call of the blue whale reaches levels up to 188 decibels.  A jet reaches up to 140 decibels, while a shouting human can reach up to 70 decibels.  Sounds over 120 decibels are extremely painful to the human ears.  A blue whale's amazingly loud whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles underwater.

Reestablishing The Bibly

Due to habitat changes and loss, as well as competition with other animals, bilbies are slowly becoming endangered.

Picture from ABC

A national recovery plan is in place to help save bilbies, including breeding them in captivity, monitoring the current population, and reestablishing bilbies to where they once lived. Some have even gone as far as to start handing out bibly chocolates, as a substitute for the Easter Bunny.

Orioles Are Drawn To Dark Fruit

 Baltimore Orioles are fans of dark colored fruits.

 Picture from Carolina Bird Club

Most fruit eating birds, like robins, tend to graze on any fruit they can find.  The Baltimore Orioles however, prefers only ripe, dark-colored fruit like mulberries, red cherries and purple grapes.  They'll ignore the lighter colored fruits like green grapes and yellow cherries, even if they are ripe.

The Rarest Snake In The World

The Antiguan Racer is the world's rarest snake.

Picture from Fauna & Flora

In 1995 there were no more than 50 Antiguan Racer's left in the world, but over the years they have started to make a come back.  In 2010 it was estimated that the snake's population had grown to over 500.  These snakes can only be found on tiny Great Bird Island, a small island off the coast of Antigua.

Crows Who Keep Put

Crows are usually permanent residents as they do not migrate.

 Picture from Planet of Birds

As long as there are a few trees to perch in American crows can live just about anywhere, with parks and lawns in suburban areas being a popular choice.  The largest species of American crow tend to reside in the northeast part of the continent, steadily declining to the smallest species that live nearly as far southwest as western Mexico.

Antisocial Aardvarks

Aardvarks are not social and only get together during the breeding season. 

Picture from Wikipedia

Due to their solitary, nocturnal lifestyle, not much is known about their mating or about the rearing of their offspring. After a 7 month gestation, one young is born, usually in October or November. The young is about 6 pounds at the time of birth. By 6 months of age, the young aardvark is capable of finding its own food and will leave its mother to dig its own burrow.

A Zebra's Protection From Predators

A zebra's stripes serve as a kind of protection from predators.

Picture from The Animal Files

When zebras are grouped together, their combined stripes make it hard for a lion or leopard to pick out one zebra to chase. Zebra stripes are unique to each individual, and researchers in the field have used zebras’ individual stripe patterns for identification.
 

Water Buffalo Bone Usage

Water buffalo are often hunted for their horns and bones.

 Picture from Goodlawd

The bones and horns are often made into jewellery, especially earrings. Horns are used for the embouchure of musical instruments, such as ney and kaval, which are very common in Turkish cultures.

Storks: Bringing Around Babies Since The Victorian Times

The legend about storks bringing babies got started in Victorian times. 

Picture from Bird Life

When a child asked, “Where did I come from?” the parents simply said, “The stork brought you.” This tied in nicely with the fact that European white storks often nests on the roof and chimney of houses in the spring, a time when many babies are born. The bird became a symbol of fertility and is considered good luck.

The legend about storks bringing babies got started in Victorian times. When a child asked, “Where did I come from?”, the parents simply said “The stork brought you.” This tied in nicely with the fact that European white storks often nests on the roof and chimney of houses in the spring, a time when many babies are born. The bird became a symbol of fertility and is considered good luck. - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/stork#sthash.06pNRgYh.dpuf

Stinky Sleep Scavengers

Skunks are scavengers when it comes to finding a place to live.  The often invite themselves into the home of other animals.

 

Picture from Animals & English

Skunks usually nest in burrows constructed by other animals, but they also live in hollow logs or even abandoned buildings. In colder climates, some skunks may sleep in these nests for several weeks of the chilliest season.

Scorpion Survival Technique

Some species of scorpions are able to change their metabolic rate.

 Picture from Animal World

Changing their metabolic rate allows them live on one meal per year and even survive being stored in a freezer overnight.  When put in a freezer overnight, they can quickly thaw out and return to their normal life just by being put in sunlight.

Baby Raccoon Mortality Rate

Infant mortality is high amongst raccoons.

  

Picture from SB Wildes

It is not unusual for only half of the young raccoons born in one year to survive.  If the young are able to live past the first year, their life expectancy is only between 1.8 to 3.1 years.  Numerous factors are taken into consideration when determining that number, including traffic volume, hunting and weather severity.

The Panda Pack

Contrary to prior belief, giant pandas do socialize outside of breeding season.

 

Picture via World Wildlife

 

Scientists originally thought giant pandas spent most of their lives alone, with males and females meeting only during the breeding season, but that is not correct.  Recent studies paint a different picture, in which small groups of pandas share a large territory and sometimes meet outside the breeding season.

Unmoveable Owl Eyes

Owls are unable to move their eyes in the sockets because of the size and tubular shape.

 Picture from The Sunny Girl

To compensate the fact that they are unable to move their sockets, they have a long flexible neck which enables them to turn their head 270° in either direction horizontally and at least 90° vertically. 

Fancy Some Fruit?

Orangutans are primarily fruit eaters.

 

Picture from San Diego Zoo

Mornings are usually spent forging through the forest for fruit.  If none presents itself, the orangutan will then feast on leaves, flowers, bark, termites and other insects.  While female and young orangutans are social while eating, the male orangutan tends to eat in a more solitary area.

Orangutans spend most of their lives in trees and travel by swinging from branch to branch with their long arms. They usually build a new nest every night, but may occasionally reuse one. The apes also use leafy branches to shelter themselves from rain and sun, and sometimes they drape large leaves over themselves like a poncho! - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/orangutan#sthash.dIdlQZ7N.dpuf

March On Little Lobsters, March On!

 After a storm, lobster's sometimes do what is called a "lobster march".

 

Picture from California Diver

On numerous accounts fishermen and divers have reported seeing hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of  lobsters form into columns and migrate as a group after a storm.  It is thought that the lobsters could be seeking a better food supply or warmer water.