Article created by: Gabija Saveiskyte
The lifestyles and peculiarities of most animals are often a lot weirder than we might expect, particularly if your main frame of reference is “a cat goes meow and a dog goes woof.” The natural world is full of wonders and surprises waiting to be discovered.
Someone asked “What is the weirdest animal fact you know?” and wildlife-savvy netizens from around the world answered. So get comfortable, imagine every answer being read in the voice of David Attenborough, and get to scrolling. Be sure to upvote the facts that were most surprising to you and comment your thoughts below.
When a female sloth wants a mate she'll hang onto a tree branch and just scream.
octopus punch other fish for no reason- so, for fun.
cats have the mental capacity of a 2 year old which makes a lot of sense
Polar bear fur isn't white - it's translucent (for most frequencies of light). And they have black skin underneath.
So polar bear fur lets all the light through to their black skin to warm them - except for a few visible frequencies to keep them camouflaged as white.
Contrary to popular belief, reindeer prefer raisins instead of carrots. So if you want to leave a treat for Santa's reindeer, leave raisins. I only know this because a friend of mine has a reindeer farm and they will push you for a whole box.
Dolphins will intentionally use puffer fish to get high.
The Blanket Octopus exhibits the highest degree of sexual dimorphism known. Females: About 6 feet across. Males: About one inch.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than it's brain
Woodpeckers' tongues wrap around their brains to cushion them from the vibrations of slamming their face into trees all day.
Sea otters are the most densely furred animal with 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. Dogs have about 15,000 per square inch, humans on average are between 800 to 1,290 hairs per square inch
Owls have really long necks, but it's hard to notice that because their feathers are so fluffy
Cats can get pregnant while being pregnant.
Armadillos always have offspring in quadruplets
Male anglerfish are super teeny tiny compared to a female. When a male finally bumps into a female down in the deep deep dark, he attaches himself to her and slowly, over time, he becomes A PART OF HER
Does will eat their offsprings feces in order to keep predators from even recognizing there are babies around.
Humans have stripes. They are rarely visible but we all have them due to how our bodies developed in the womb. They're called Blaschko Lines
Killer Whales are actually dolphins.
Mantis Shrimp have 16 different sets of rods.
(Rods and cones are in your eyes. Cones see light, rods see color. Humans have 3 sets of rods, red blue yellow.)
Mantis Shrimp are seeing colors we can not.
That’s not even the strangest thing about them. They can also punch as fast as a .22 bullet which cause a cavitation bubble which can heat up to 8000 degrees or something.
Edit because it was late night: Cones see color! Rods see detail and light. And apparently it’s red blue green. Color is super strange anyway. It doesn’t really exist unless it’s perceived.
Kangaroos can’t hop backwards. So if you’re ever attacked by one, just step behind him. Thanks Snapple!
Wombats poops in a square form.
When finding nectar bees swarms in random direction and when bee find the source of nectar the go back to their hive Bees communicate with other bees where the nectar is located by their special dance which indicates
1. Direction of nectar with respect to sun
2. Exact Distance of nectar from the hive
3. Time before sunset (this point is controversial as there is only one research paper available)
