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Bored Panda

Gabija Palšytė

50 Awesome Facts About Animals You Probably Didn’t Know, As Shared On “Awwducational” (New Pics)

Gimli (Person) Nigel

There's always something new we can learn about the world. Some people get discouraged by the bad experiences they've had at school, so, we here at Bored Panda try to make learning fun and easy for everyone. This time, we're encouraging you to learn new facts about animals, but with a twist: every fact will be more adorable and cute than the last one!

These animal facts come to you courtesy of the subreddit "Awwducational." It's an online community that invites people not to waste their precious time and learn something, but in a fun way. "r/awwducational is your source for all cute things in the natural world," the subreddit's bio reads. So, what are you waiting for, Pandas? Scroll and learn why echidnas have the cutest way possible to cool themselves down, and melt at the cuteness of the Japanese dwarf flying squirrels!

More info: Reddit

#1 The Buff-Tip Moth: The Resting Posture, Shape, And Color/Pattern Of The Buff-Tip Moth Allows It To Mimic A Broken Birch Twig

The moth's buff-colored head and the patches on its hindwings even resemble freshly-snapped wood.

#2 Japanese Dwarf Flying Squirrels Glide Using Special Skin Flaps Called Patagia—they Can Soar From Tree To Tree Like Tiny Forest Gliders!

#3 Jaguarundis Are Known As Very Secretive Animals & Have Well Developed Senses Of Sight, Hearing, And Smell. They Are Terrestrial But Are Also Good Climbers And Swimmers

So, what's the deal with those echidnas and why do they have to blow snot bubbles to cool down? These adorable mammals are found in many parts of Australia and also in New Guinea, but the Australian desert environments are generally the most tricky for them to navigate. For a long time, people thought that echidnas were intolerant of high temperatures.

However, Christine Cooper and her fellow researchers at Curtin University in Perth found that to be false. After all, echidnas are the most widespread mammals in all of Australia! "They blow mucus bubbles from the tip of their snout and they've got a big blood sinus that sits underneath the skin at the tip of their snout," Cooper explained to ABC National Radio. "So that wets the area; as the water evaporates, it cools it, and that cools the blood."

#4 Osmia Avosetta: These Solitary Bees Place Their Eggs In Colorful Nesting Capsules That They Build Using Flower Petals, Nectar, And Mud

#5 Sand Cats Have Been Described To Close Their Eyes At Night When Humans Approach Making Them Difficult To See Them Because They Blend In With Their Environment

#6 The Iriomote Cat Occupies The Smallest Habitat Of Any Wild Cat On Earth

Found only on Japan's southern Island of Iriomote — with its current population estimated to be around 100 individuals.

What's even more interesting is that echidnas keep their snouts cool even in cold temperatures. As Cooper explains, they need their snouts to be moist for electroreception. "They use electroreception to find their prey, and they keep their nose moist to do that. They always tend to have a moist nose."

As many other cute animals, echidnas have fallen victim to people who would like to own them as pets. But Cooper warns that, aside from them being wild animals, they're also pretty tricky to feed. "They're eating over 20,000 individual termites a day," she notes. The ones Cooper and her team have raised in captivity are used to humans, though, and follow them around like puppy dogs. However, the reason is not as cute as we would like: they just want more food.

#7 Flying Foxes Are Crucial Pollinators That Keep Native Forests Healthy

Pollen sticks to their bodies as they fly between trees, pollinating their flowers. This reinforces the forest's health, which in turn provides valuable timber, honey, carbon sinks, stable river systems, & tourism opportunities.

#8 This Is The Ethiopian Wolf, One Of The Rarest Canids In The World, Among The Most Endangered Carnivores In Africa

It is also known as the Simian fox, due to the red fur. It feeds almost exclusively on rodents in the highlands of Ethiopia, to which it is native.

#9 These Tiny Tragulids Are Found In Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, And Africa

Nocturnal or Crepuscular (active dawn/dusk). They're the Smallest hoofed animals in the world. Considered to be living fossils as they're mostly unchanged today.

Let's leave patootie echidnas behind and talk more about dwarf giraffes. How did they become a thing? Well, in 2018, scientists spotted an eight-foot-and-inch-inch giraffe in Namibia and called him Nigel. The one you see on this list, Gimli, is a dwarf giraffe someone spotted even earlier, in 2015, in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park. Named after the brave dwarf from The Lord of the Rings, Gimli is slightly taller than Nigel at nine feet and four inches.

Both dwarf giraffes are about half as short as an average giraffe, and that gives them survival disadvantages. Scientists believe that they might have a lower chance of mating and have a difficult time running from their predators because of their shorter legs.

#10 Because Of High Mortality In The First Year Of Life, A Robin Has An Average Life Expectancy Of 1.1 Years

However, once past its first year, life expectancy increases. One robin has been recorded as reaching 19 years of age.

#11 After 2000 Years Of Isolation, A Few Decades Of Interbreeding Have Rendered The Scottish Wildcat “Genomically Extinct”

Starting in the mid-1950s, more than 5% of the genetic markers in Scottish wildcats began to resemble those of domestic cats. After 1997, that figure jumped to as high as 74%.

#12 Bare-Throated Bellbird. The Male Has One Of The Loudest Calls Of Any Bird

A sharp sound like that of a hammer striking an anvil or a bell, and It might takes a long time for young males to learn & perfect the call.

But how do giraffes get dwarfism, anyway? For some time, observers thought that both dwarf giraffes were actually juveniles, and only later noticed that they were fully grown males. Scientists theorize that it's due to skeletal dysplasia. "Instances of wild animals with these types of skeletal dysplasias are extraordinarily rare," conservationist scientist Michael Brown explained. "It's another interesting wrinkle in the unique story of giraffe in these diverse ecosystems."

#13 Snow Leopards Are Primarily Crepuscular, Meaning That They Are Most Active During Dawn And Dusk. They Are Capable Of [taking Out] Animals More Than Three To Four Times Their Own Weight

#14 Only Two Dwarf Giraffes Have Ever Been Documented. This Is One Of Them. His Name's Gimli

#15 The Raccoon Dog Isn’t A Raccoon At All — It’s A Canid, More Closely Related To Foxes

It’s the only member of the dog family that hibernates, able to put on 50% of its body weight in fat reserves as winter approaches, before snuggling down in its den, often with its partner.

If you've never heard of the jaguarundi, don't worry – most people haven't. They're wild cats most commonly found in Central and South America. What makes them interesting is how little we know about them and how mysterious they are. They're classified as cats, but they're much smaller, more similar in appearance to the weasel-like martens. However, their behavior is more like that of a puma. They also have 38 chromosomes like most Old World cats, while most South American cats have 36.

#16 Bee Hummingbirds: These Are The Smallest Birds In The World, With Males Measuring Up To 5.5cm Long And Weighing An Average Of Just 1.95 Grams, Which Is Less Than The Weight Of A Dime

#17 The Ability Of Barn Owls To Locate Prey By Sound Is The Most Accurate Of Any Animal Tested

This very acute sense of hearing allows barn owls to capture prey hidden by vegetation or snow. Barn owls also have excellent low-light vision

#18 Teddy Bear Bees: These Enormous Bees Can Measure Up To 26mm (Roughly 1 Inch) Long, And The Males Are Covered In Thick, Golden "Fur" That Makes Them Look Like Flying Teddy Bears

Despite jaguarundis being one of the most widespread cats in the Americas, we know relatively little about them. Why is that? In fact, jaguarundis are the least studied cats in the world. First of all, they're incredibly difficult to trap. Arturo Caso, president of Predator Conservation, spent more than a year trying to trap two jaguarundis for his radio-collar research in Tamaulipes, Mexico.

#19 Costasiella Kuroshimae (Sea Sheep) Produce Energy Via Kleptoplasty: It Takes The Chlorophyll From Algae And Incorporates Them Into It's Appendages

#20 This Is The Spix's Macaw. It Is Endemic To Brazil. It Was Declared Extinct In The Wild In 2019

But after decades of conservation, a small population were reintroduced into the wild, and new ones have been born in the wild recently!

#21 While Many Animals Pant Or Sweat To Cool Down, It Turns Out Echidnas Instead Opt To Blow Snot Bubbles And Perform Bellyflops

Another reason is that jaguarundis resemble other critters who aren't even cats. Many people confuse them with otters, tayras, and other weasels. They have elongated backs and plain coats that are unusual for American wild cats, and even scientists have difficulty identifying them in the field. The third reason is much more practical: because they're not under threat of going extinct, it's difficult to secure funding and convince people that we need to study them.

#22 Sand Cats Rarely, If Ever, Need To Drink Water- Instead, They Get All The Liquid They Need From Their Prey, Which Includes Rodents, Insects, Scorpions, And Even Venomous Snakes

#23 Arguably The Most Colourful Spider In The World, Chrysilla Volupe Is A Jumping Spider Native To Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, And Bhutan

Thought to be extinct for 150 years, it was rediscovered in 2018.

#24 The Pacific Marten: This Member Of The Weasel Family Has Delayed Implantation After Breeding

Which means that the fertilized eggs remain "dormant" for 6 months before implanting in the uterus; the embryos then rapidly gestate, and the kits are born about 27 days later, weighing just 28g (1oz) each.

If you've never found regular squirrels to be cute, you probably haven't seen the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. A squirrel that flies seems like it's straight out of science fiction, but this big-eyed critter isn't – they're just nocturnal. They live in trees and very rarely go down to the ground, and their wings, or rather, skin flaps (called patagia) help them to glide from tree to tree.

#25 The Brahminy Blind Snake Is Also Known As The 'Flowerpot Snake' Because It Often Hides In The Soil Of Flowerpots, Resulting In Its Spread Throughout Most Of The World

It looks and acts like a worm — some 13 cm (5 in) long and subterranean — but it's one of the world's smallest snake species.

#26 Siamese Kittens Are Solid White When They're Born

Their signature markings, or "points", begin to grow as they age, with their fur darkening in areas that are most susceptible to cooler temperatures. This is why their fur is usually darkest on their faces, ears, tails, and limbs!

#27 The Sunda Stink Badger (Mydaus Javanensis) Is A Small Nocturnal Mammal Native To Indonesia And Malaysia

Despite the name, they and other stink badgers are not true badgers, and are instead the closest living relatives of the skunk.

If you're worried that these patooties are in danger of extinction, rest assured – they're currently listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature). They live in well-protected areas and have a big population. And since they're so elusive with their small stature and blending abilities, they're good at evading predators, too.

#28 The Giant Panda’s Reputation Of Being “Bad At Life” Is Largely Undeserved As It’s Based Mainly On The Behavior Of Captive Pandas Who Lack Natural Instincts

In the wild, pandas have no natural predators as adults and their breeding success rate is similar to some American black bear populations.

#29 This Is The Red Crested Tree Rat. It Is Endemic To Colombia

Believed extinct for over a century, one appeared suddenly at the front door of an ecolodge in a Colombian nature preserve, where researchers took pictures of it for two hours. Afterwards, it left and was never seen again.

#30 Baby Horseshoe Crabs: These Eggs Contain Tiny Horseshoe Crab Embryos; The Hatchlings Typically Emerge After 2-4 Weeks, But It Takes Another 10 Years For Them To Mature Into Adults

Which animal fact from this was your favorite, Pandas? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to share some cute animal trivia we might've missed here. As always, if you'd like to see more wholesome animal content, check out our previous publications featuring the "Awwducational" subreddit here, here, and here!

#31 Male Calico Cats Are Uncommon Because Fur Color Genes Are Located On The X Chromosome

This means that a female cat can have a different color gene on each of her X chromosomes, with one for "red" (orange) and one for "black" (not orange.) Male cats need an extra chromosome to be calicos.

#32 The Pig-Nosed Turtle Is The Sole Surviving Species In Its Family

It lives in the rivers of northern Australia and southern New Guinea, using its pig-like nose to "snorkel" without exposing the rest of its body.

#33 A Small Elephant Was Found In Sri Lanka. His Height Is About 1.5 Meters. This Is Considered Proof Of Dwarfism In The Wild

#34 The Capuchinbird Is Named For Its Resemblance To Capuchin Monks/Friars, With The Brown Plumage Around Its Bald Head Looking Like The Monks’ Hooded Robes

#35 Burrowing Owls Are Unique In That They Nest Underground. They Often Utilize Abandoned Burrows Dug By Ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs, And Other Mammals!

#36 Brush Jewel Beetle (Genus Julodis): This Beetle Has Tufts Of Colorful, Wax-Coated Bristles That Sprout Up Along The Dorsal Surface Of Its Head, Thorax, And Abdomen

#37 Female Bonobos (Pan Paniscus) Form Coalitions Against Males To Secure Their Social Status And Reduce Differences In Power

Females target males in 85% of their coalitions, and they occupy higher ranks compared to males when they form more frequent coalitions.

#38 Tayras Are The Biggest Species Of Central American Mustelid At Up To 28 In Long

They live as semi-arboreal omnivores in forests ranging from The Southern Yucatan to Northern Argentina & are also well known for their intelligence, having been seen ripping unripe bananas from trees to save for later.

#39 The Armoured Rat Is Covered In Sharp Spines That Can Grow As Long As 3 Cm (1.2 In)

A great defense against the snakes and ocelots that share its wet rainforest habitat. Additionally, if all else fails, this rat can drop its tail to confuse or distract a predator.

#40 Present-Day Sled Dog Breeds And Their Cold-Climate Adaptations Stem From A Common Ancient Arctic Ancestor That Diverged From Other Dog Lineages More Than 9,500 Years Ago In Northeast Asia

Greenland sled dogs don’t share much DNA with wolves, despite a reputation for having been interbred.

#41 Rainbow Lorikeets Travel In Nomadic Flocks, Following The Flowering Of Trees — Using Their Brush-Tipped Tongues To Feed On Nectar And Pollen

At night, they roost communally, perching close together and occasionally hanging upside down or lying on their backs, feet in the air.

#42 The Short-Eared Dog Of The Amazon Rainforest Is One Of The Most Mysterious And Unusual Wild Canids In The World

Unique features of their species not found in other canids include females being one third larger than males and both genders not reaching sexual maturity until 3 years old.

#43 The Camouflaged Looper: This Caterpillar Creates Its Own Camouflage

Using flower petals and foliage from the plants that it feeds upon, "gluing" the pieces onto its body with silk; when the caterpillar moves to a new host plant, it adjusts the disguise to match its new surroundings.

#44 The Spectacled Salamander: When Threatened, This Salamander Will Often Curl Its Body Into A Defensive Position That Displays The Aposomatic Markings On The Underside Of Its Tail And Legs

#45 The Call Of The Quetzal During Mating Season Is Of A Whining Or Complaining Nature, And The Male's Call During This Season Sounds Like "Very-Good Very-Good"

They play an important ecological role in the cloud forests, helping disseminate the seeds of at least 32 tree species.

#46 Pheasant-Tailed Jacana Females Are Larger Than The Males. The Species Is Also Polyandrous

Each female mates with multiple males and, in a single season, lays up to 10 clutches that are raised by different males in her harem.

#47 Pink Fairy Crab: Also Known As A "Pink Hairy Squat Lobster"

This species of crab has a strikingly colorful, fuzzy-looking appearance, and it feeds on various bits of detritus that are collected in its own "fur."

#48 The Phantom Nudibranch: This Sea Slug's Body Is Almost Completely Transparent, Revealing The Delicate Network Of Organs Within

#49 The Ears Of A Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus Californicus, Can Measure Up To 13 Cm Long, About 20% Of The Animal's Entire Body Length. (Photo Credit: Scott Rheam)

#50 Blue-Banded Bees Use Buzz Pollination To Pollinate

Blue Banded Bees perform a special type of pollination called 'buzz pollination'. Blue Banded Bees can grasp a flower and shiver her flight muscles, causing the pollen to shoot out of the pollen capsule. She can then collect the pollen for her nest and carry it from flower to flower, pollinating them as she goes.

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