Playing Possum

Often accused of acting like it's dead, or "playing possum", an opossum is actually not faking it.

Picture from Flyover People Daily

When confronted with a threat the opossum will launch into an involuntary response causes the animal to fall over, bare it's teeth, and even secrete a foul smelling fluid from its glands to make it seem less appetizing. Opossums cannot voluntarily wake up from this state and usually do not regain consciousness for 1-4 hours.

Not So Stubborn Mules

 Opposite of the common notion, mules are not really stubborn.

Picture from Tallahassee Museum

 Mules are very intelligent and the "stubborn" streak is just the mule's way of telling humans that things are not right.  They will do their best for their owner, with the utmost patience, but will resist when they feel that their owners are incorrect.

Llama Unusual Mating Habits

Llamas mate in an unusual way for large animals.

Picture from Wikipedia

Mating occurs with the female in a lying down position, otherwise known as a "kush" position.  The entire mating process can last anywhere between 20 and 45 minutes.  Both of these traits are rare amongst larger animals.

Leopard vs. Cheetah vs. Jaguar

Leopards may sometimes be confused with two other large spotted cats, the cheetah and the jaguar.

 Picture from The Highlander

The leopard and cheetah co-exist together in Africa, while the jaguar typically lives elsewhere.  The patterns of spots is different for each of these animals.  The cheetah has simple black spots that are evenly spread.  The jaguar has small spots that are inside the polygonal rosettes.  And finally the leopard has rounder, smaller rosettes.

Jackals Prefer Young Prey

 Jackals kill almost exclusively small or young animals for their prey.

Picture from RetrieverMan

Jackals can best be described as opportunistic omnivores. They hunt small or young antelopes or domestic sheep. They also eat snakes and other reptiles, insects, ground-dwelling birds, fruits, berries and grass. Jackals kill small prey with a bite at the back of the neck, but have also been known to kill animals by shaking them.

Hyena & Dog Differences

Hyena are not related to dogs, although they do have some similar greeting ceremonies.

Hyenas are similar to canines in several aspects; both hyenas and canines are hunters that catch prey with their teeth rather than claws. Both eat food quickly and may store it, and their calloused feet are adapted for running and making sharp turns. However, the hyenas' grooming, scent marking, defecating habits, mating, and parental behavior are different from the canine.

Angry, Angry Hippos

Hippopotamuses are by nature very aggressive animals. 

 Picture from The Telegraph

Hippos involved in attacks on other animals are often either mature bulls, which tend to be very territorial and ill-tempered, or females, which are protecting their young.  Due to their ill temperament and great size, adult hippopotamus are not usually subject to predation by other animals, only humans.

A Giraffe's Age Spots

As they age a giraffe's fur begins to darken.

 

Picture from Giraffes Online

A giraffe's color scheme varies considerably in pattern from one giraffe to the next, but consists of dark-reddish to chestnut brown blotches of various shapes and sizes on a buff ground color.  When the giraffe is young the coloring is light and begins to darken with age.

Feasting Flamingos

A flamingo gets it's pinkish or orange color from the food it eats.

 Picture from Otts World

Most flamingos we see are pink and that's because shrimp and other crustaceans are one of the primary sources of food.   They also eat algae, diatoms, and aquatic insects.  Flamingos that eat mostly algae are more deeply colored than birds that eat the small animals that feed off of algae.

AA flamThe flamingo’s pink or orange color comes from the food they eat, including algae, diatoms, and small aquatic insects and crustaceans such as shrimp. - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/flamingo#sthash.caDIBVzq.dpuf

An Elephant's Hot Spots

Elephants can fine tune their body temperature using "hot spots" scattered around their bodies.

 

Picture from Spirit Animals

For years society believed that elephants flapped their large ears to help keep cool, but a 2010 study revealed that elephants are able to direct their blood supply to small patches of skin throughout their body known as "hot spots", which helps them lose heat.