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Quokkas have a reputation of being the happiest animal on Earth because they look like they're always smiling. But it's just the way their teeth protrude that makes it look like a smile.
-TAN YEN XIN 4ST1

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Capuchin monkeys wash their hands and feet in urine.

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Capuchin monkeys wash their hands and feet in urine.

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Monkeys are undeniably cute. They can also be pretty darn gross. Capuchin monkeys, for example, urinate on their hands and feet when they're feeling "randy." "We think the alpha males might use urine-washing to convey warm, fuzzy feelings to females, that their solicitation is working and that there's no need to run away," primatologist Kimran Miller told NBC News. "Or they could be doing it because they're excited." Either way, ew!

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Wombats use their droppings to warn other animals to stay off their turf. Luckily, their cube-shaped poop makes it easy to see that a spot is governed by wombats, as the little squares tend to stay put more easily than spherical droppings would.

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Cowbirds use secret passwords to teach their young

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Cowbirds use secret passwords to teach their young

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Cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird species' nests, which means that the little ones eventually need to reconnect with their own kind when the time is right. And when that time comes, the young birds have a trick for figuring out who to reach out to. "Juvenile cowbirds readily recognize and affiliate with other cowbirds. That's because they have a secret handshake or password," according to Science Daily. To put it more simply, they use "a specific chatter call" to beckon each other.

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Sloths can take up to a month to completely digest a single leaf.

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Sloths can take up to a month to completely digest a single leaf.

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See Jia Maa - 4ST1

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A polar bear’s hair is not white – it’s colourless. 

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A polar bear’s hair is not white – it’s colourless. 

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Each thick strand of hair is hollow and reflects the light, making the polar bear appear white. Beneath this transparent fur, the skin is black, to soak up any warmth from the sun and keep the bear as warm as possible.

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Koala fingerprints are so close to humans' that they could taint crime scenes.

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Koala fingerprints are so close to humans' that they could taint crime scenes.

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Koalas might not seem to have a lot in common with us, but if you were to take a closer look at their hands, you'd see that they have fingerprints that are just like humans'. In fact, they're so similar when it comes to the distinctive loops and arches, that in Australia, "police feared that criminal investigations may have been hampered by koala prints," according to Ripley's Believe It or Not. Any koalas who want to commit crimes would be wise to do so wearing gloves.

KO KE XIN - 4KSI1

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With an estimated 7.77 million species of animals on the planet, the animal kingdom is an undeniably diverse place. But while the breadth of earthly biodiversity may be well known, the incredible things our animal counterparts can do are often hidden to humans. From furry creatures you never realized kissed to those who enjoy getting tipsy, these amazing animal facts are sure to wow even the biggest animal lovers out there.

Koalas might not seem to have a lot in common with us, but if you were to take a closer look at their hands, you'd see that they have fingerprints that are just like humans'. In fact, they're so similar when it comes to the distinctive loops and arches, that in Australia, "police feared that criminal investigations may have been hampered by koala prints," according to Ripley's Believe It or Not. Any koalas who want to commit crimes would be wise to do so wearing gloves.

Parrots may be associated with pirates, but it turns out African grey parrots are nothing like the infamously greedy, treasure-seeking criminals. Instead, researchers have discovered that the colorful birds will "voluntarily help each other obtain food rewards" and perform "selfless" acts, according to a 2020 study published in Current Biology. Study co-author Auguste von Bayern noted, "African grey parrots were intrinsically motivated to help others, even if the other individual was not their friend, so they behaved very 'prosocially.'"

Prairie dogs are quirky creatures for a number of reasons: They're giant rodents, they dig massive interconnected underground homes, and they kiss. While they're actually touching their front teeth in order to identify each other when they seem to be sweetly sharing a smooch, the BBC explains that scientists believe prairie dogs "'kiss and cuddle' more when they are being watched by zoo visitors," because they "appeared to enjoy the attention."

Crabs may be able to intimidate other creatures with their claws, but if that's not enough, ghost crabs will growl at their enemies like a dog. However, unlike our canine friends, crabs make these fearsome noises using teeth located in their stomachs. "There are three main teeth-a medial tooth and two lateral teeth-that are essentially elongated, hard (calcified) structures. They are part of the gastric mill apparatus in the stomach, where they rub against each other to grind up food," Jennifer Taylor, from the University of California, San Diego, told She and her colleagues were able to nail down the source of the noise after noticing that "the crabs [were] 'growling' at" them.

You might think that boxers have the most impressive jabs, hooks, and uppercuts on the planet, but it's the mantis shrimp that boasts the world's fastest punch. Traveling at about 50 mph, when a shrimp punches, its little fist of fury (which, of course, isn't a fist at all) is "accelerating faster than a .22-caliber bullet," according to . National Geographic shared the tale of one such small smasher, explaining that "in April 1998, an aggressive creature named Tyson smashed through the quarter-inch-thick glass wall of his cell. He was soon subdued by nervous attendants and moved to a more secure facility in Great Yarmouth. Unlike his heavyweight namesake [former professional boxer Mike Tyson], Tyson was only four inches long. But scientists have recently found that Tyson, like all his kin, can throw one of the fastest and most powerful punches in nature."

While male lions attract their fair share of attention thanks to their impressive manes, it's the female lions who do the bulk of the work when it comes to feeding their families. "Lionesses, not male lions, do the majority of hunting for their pride," according to CBS News. "Lionesses hunt around 90 percent of the time, while the males protect their pride."

Narwhals are unlike most other whales because they have what appears to be a giant tusk. But that's not actually a tusk at all-what you're seeing is a tooth. Harvard University's Martin Nweeia told the BBC that the "tooth is almost like a piece of skin in the sense that it has all these sensory nerve endings," adding that it's "essentially built inside out."

Dogs are well known for being man's best friend, and it turns out that's a relationship that goes back longer than you might expect. According to Guinness World Records, the oldest known breed of domesticated dog goes all the way back to 329 BC. "Saluki dogs were revered in ancient Egypt, being kept as royal pets and being mummified after death," they note. "There are carvings found in Sumer (present-day southern Iraq) which represent a dog, closely resembling a saluki, which date back to 7000 BC."

Cats have also been hanging around humans for thousands of years. Guinness World Records reports that we've been domesticating cats for 9,500 years. Proof of this came in 2004 when the "bones of a cat were discovered in the neolithic village of Shillourokambos on Cyprus. The position of the cat in the ground was next to the bones of a human, whose similar state of preservation strongly suggests they were buried together."

Puffins surely have enough to be proud of with their beautiful beaks, but the seabirds also happen to be quite clever. According to a 2019 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS), Atlantic puffins in both Wales and Iceland were observed "spontaneously using a small wooden stick to scratch their bodies." Indeed, in a video shared by , a little puffin can be seen picking up a tiny twig before using it to scratch an itchy spot on its belly.

"Most humans (say 70 percent to 95 percent) are right-handed, a minority (say 5 percent to 30 percent) are left-handed," according to Scientific American. And the same holds true for bottlenose dolphins. In fact, the savvy swimmers are even more right-handed than we are. A team led by Florida's Dolphin Communication Project took a look at the feeding behavior of bottlenose dolphins and found that the animals were turning to their left side 99.44 percent of the time, which "actually suggests a right-side bias," according to IFL Science. "It places the dolphin's right side and right eye close to the ocean floor as it hunts."

If you're ever in the area of "the Broadway medians at 63rd and 76th streets" in New York City, keep an eye on the ground for crawling critters and you might spot something rare. That's where the "ManhattAnt" can be found, an ant that only lives in the one small area of the city. "It's a relative of the cornfield ant, and it looks like it's from Europe, but we can't match it up with any of the European species," Rob Dunn, a biology professor at North Carolina State University, told the New York Post. Dunn and his team discovered the isolated ant variety in 2012.

Cows have to deal with pesky flies that are beyond annoying for the docile creatures. Luckily, farmers can now protect their animals by painting them with zebra-like stripes. According to a 2019 study published in , "the numbers of biting flies on Japanese Black cows painted with black-and-white stripes were significantly lower than those on non-painted cows and cows painted only with black stripes." IFL Science suggests this might work because "the stripes may cause a kind of motion camouflage targeted at the insects' vision, confusing them much in the way that optical illusions ... confuse us."

Monkeys are undeniably cute. They can also be pretty darn gross. Capuchin monkeys, for example, urinate on their hands and feet when they're feeling "randy." "We think the alpha males might use urine-washing to convey warm, fuzzy feelings to females, that their solicitation is working and that there's no need to run away," primatologist Kimran Miller told NBC News. "Or they could be doing it because they're excited." Either way, ew!

People who come from different areas around the world tend to speak with inflections, fluctuations, and patterns that are specific to their home regions. Apparently, the same can be said for whales. Researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada and the University of St. Andrews in the UK have found evidence that seems to show whales in the Caribbean have a different "accent" than whales in other oceans.

In Nanning, the capital of China's Guangxi province, a man named Pang Cong has a rather remarkable animal living on his farm: a 1,102-pound pig. That's roughly the same size as a full-grown adult male polar bear. According to Bloomberg, massive swine of that size "can sell for more than 10,000 yuan ($1,399), over three times higher than the average monthly disposable income" in the area.

Sharks boast some enviable-and terrifying-features, like their sleek design and razor-sharp teeth. And while glow-in-the-dark sharks sound like something you'd see in a sci-fi film, they're totally real, as noted in a 2019 study published in . Researchers were already aware that some shark species produce a glow that only other sharks can see, but now scientists have discovered that "previously unknown small-molecule metabolites are the cause of the green glow," according to CNN. This glow "helps sharks identify each other and even fight against infection on a microbial level."

While it's not a secret that snails have shells, you probably didn't know that some actually have hairy shells. These hairs are rather handy to have, as they help a snail stick to wet surfaces like leaves.

Cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird species' nests, which means that the little ones eventually need to reconnect with their own kind when the time is right. And when that time comes, the young birds have a trick for figuring out who to reach out to. "Juvenile cowbirds readily recognize and affiliate with other cowbirds. That's because they have a secret handshake or password," according to Science Daily. To put it more simply, they use "a specific chatter call" to beckon each other.

If you have best friends who have been around since you were a child, then you have something in common with Tasmanian devils. Research has shown that Tasmanian devils form bonds when they're young that last for the rest of their lives. As Zoos Victoria's Marissa Parrott told IFL Science, "In the wild, when baby devils leave their mums, we believe they all socialize together." As the website notes, "young devils have their own dens," " engage in friendly sleep-overs," and when given the chance, they prefer "to share with their ... original friends."

Those who find themselves in the presence of a grizzly bear will surely want to stay out of reach of this animal's super sharp claws. But they'll certainly also want to keep out of the grizzly's mouth, because these creatures "have a bite-force of over 8,000,000 pascals," according to National Geographic. That means grizzly bears can literally crush a bowling ball between their jaws. Yikes!

You might think that a whale's massive size is the only edge they'd need when it comes to hunting in the open waters. But humpback whales actually team up to use a "bubble-net" technique in order to catch their prey. "Sometimes, the whales will swim in an upward spiral and blow bubbles underwater, creating a circular 'net' of bubbles that makes it harder for fish to escape," Science News reports.

When you hear a housefly buzzing around your home, you might be annoyed by the persistent sound. However, the next time it happens, try to soothe yourself by noting that the airborne pest is actually buzzing in an F key. How melodious!

If you already thought that eels were kind of creepy, then this fact isn't going to make you feel any better about them. Moray eels have what's called pharyngeal jaws, which are a second pair of "Alien-style" jaws that are located in the throat and emerge to grasp prey before pulling the unfortunate meal down into the eel's gullet.

Over in New Zealand, surfers have noticed the same thing that those who ride the waves in California have witnessed: ducks can surf. The birds do so in order to catch food or simply to move through the water quickly. Sports reporter Francis Malley spotted a female duck and her babies catching a wave and told the New Zealand Herald, "The mother was surfing on her belly on the whitewash. I've never surfed with ducks before so this was a first."

They may be cute, but their bite can kill. According to Popular Science, these adorable animals secrete toxins from a gland in the crook of their inner arms. Their bites have caused anaphylactic shock and even death in humans. Better watch out!

You might think of pigeons as... not that smart. But it turns out, they're actually quite intelligent. In fact, one 2011 study published in the journal found that the birds are capable of doing math at the same level as monkeys. During the study, the pigeons were asked to compare nine images, each containing a different number of objects. The researchers found that the birds were able to rank the images in order of how many objects they contained. Put simply, they learned that the birds could count!

Cows may benefit from artificial stripes, but zebras have the real deal. One 2012 report published in the Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that zebras' black and white stripes may be an evolutionary feature to fend off harmful horsefly bites. "A zebra-striped horse model attracts far fewer horseflies than either homogeneous black, brown, grey or white equivalents," the researchers wrote.

Humans aren't the only animals who enjoy a drink or two. A 2015 study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science reveals that chimpanzees in Guinea had a fondness for imbibing fermented palm sap and getting tipsy in the process.

While many scientists believe that tool use among dolphins is a relatively new phenomenon, a 2017 study published in Biology Letters suggests that otters may have been using tools for millions of years. Sea otters frequently use rocks to break open well-armored prey, such as snails.

Why tolerate the cold when you could just freeze yourself solid? According to Kenneth Storey, a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, frogs undergo repeated freeze-thaw cycles. "We have false springs here all the time where it gets really warm and all the snow melts and then suddenly-bam-the wind comes from the north and it's back down to minus 10, minus 15 [Celsius], and they're fine," Storey told National Geographic.

Male horses have 40 to 42 permanent teeth, while females have just 36 to 40. According to the VCA Animal Hospital, the original purpose of these extra teeth was as fighting weaponry.

If you thought your cat was sleepy, just wait until you hear about koalas. According to the Australian Koala Foundation, these cuties sleep between 18 and 22 hours a day. The koalas' diets require a lot of energy to digest, which is why they've got to nap so much.

No, it's not because they're so professional-it's a modernized form of "busyness," the word originally used to describe a group of these weasel-related mammals.

And yes, they are called arms, not tentacles. According to the Library of Congress, the animals can taste and grab with the suckers on their arms. Even more impressive? Octopuses are capable of moving at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.

You already know that dolphins are smart. But did you know that they even have their own names? One 2013 study published in found that bottlenose dolphins develop specific whistles for one another.

Reindeers have beautiful baby blues-but only in the winter! According to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, "the eyes of Arctic reindeer change color through the seasons from gold to blue, adapting to extreme changes of light levels in their environment." The change in color impacts how light is reflected through the animals' retina, and improves their vision.

Scientists believe that it's so they don't get sunburns while they eat. The animals' tongues are also around 20 inches long.

In busy waters, manatees will nudge alligators to get in front, and alligators generally oblige.

Everything about life is slow for these sleepy mammals. Most sloths will only have a bowel movement once a week, and it can take them up to 30 days to completely digest a single leaf. For comparison, it takes the average human 12 to 48 hours to ingest, digest, and eliminate waste from food.

You probably know that cats love to talk to their humans. But did you know you're unlikely to see your feline friend interact the same way with another cat? That's because other than kittens meowing at their mothers, cats don't meow at other cats.

Elephant calves will suck their trunks to comfort themselves. The babies do it for the same reason humans do (it mimics the action of suckling their mothers).

According to Bat Conservation International, bats give birth to babies-known as pups-that can weigh as much as one-third of the mother's weight. If that doesn't sound like a lot, imagine a person giving birth to a baby that weighed 40 pounds.

Not all creatures head to warmer climates when it gets cold out, and that means they need to learn to survive in chilly conditions. Painted turtles need to adapt to frozen ponds, which restrict their access to the air above the water. They do that by breathing through their butts-specifically, the all-purpose orifice called the cloaca. Thanks to a process called cloacal respiration, the turtles are able to get oxygen directly from the water around them.

While you may think that Fido has the same dinnertime experience as you do, he's actually got a much different taste bud arrangement. Humans have about 9,000 taste buds, while dogs have only around 1,700. And while they can identify the same four taste sensations as people, dogs are not fond of salt.

They're thought to have up to one million hairs per square inch. Their fur consists of two layers and is designed to trap a layer of air next to their skin so their skin doesn't get wet.

According to a 2018 study published in , alligators often haven't hit their full size until 33.

Their legislative powers, however, are still up for debate.

Snow leopards have less-developed vocal cords than their fellow large cats, meaning that they can't roar, but make a purr-like sound called a chuff instead. For a 2010 study published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, scientists researched why some cats have a higher-pitched meow than others. They found that it's not size that determines a kitty's call, but habitat.

The salamanders are the only vertebrates that can replace their skin, limbs, tail, jaws, and spines at any age. On the flip side, humans can regenerate lost limb buds as embryos and fingertips as young children.

Individual male rhinos are referred to as bulls, and females as cows.

Turns out, squirrels have an intense motherly instinct. One 2010 study by researchers at the University of Guelph found that the animals will take in the orphaned pups of their late family members.

" Social animals, including lions and chimpanzees, are often surrounded by relatives, so it's not surprising that a female would adopt an orphaned family member because they have already spent a lot of time together," said lead researcher Andrew McAdam, an evolutionary biologist. "But red squirrels live in complete isolation and are very territorial. The only time they will allow another squirrel on their territory is the one day a year when the females are ready to mate or when they are nursing their pups."

According to National Geographic, it's the longest tongue of any known mammal.

Cows have stronger social ties than you might think. One 2013 study conducted by researchers at the University of Northampton found that when cows were separated from their BFFs, their heart rates increased as a sign of stress.

When a male moth catches a whiff of a female moth, he'll travel miles to find her⁠-based off her scent alone. According to the experts at , "they don't know what the female sounds like, or even what she looks like. But when they smell her, boy, do they know it, and they use her seductive musk to track her down."

Horses can make 17 facial movements, which is 3 more than chimps and only 10 fewer than humans, according to a 2015 study published in .

Yes, white-tailed deer can hit top speeds of 35 miles per hour. Think that's fast? Reindeer can run up to 50 miles per hour.

Octopuses have two more hearts than you do. Two hearts are used to pump blood to their gills, while the third brings blood to the rest of their body. If that's not enough, they also have nine brains.

Certain species of the Amynthas worm, which have recently been identified in the Midwestern United States, can jump and detach their tails when disturbed.

Nile crocodiles can live for a full century. And they can do a lot of damage over the course of those 100 years: Approximately 200 people die every year from Nile crocodile attacks.

Just how smart are ravens? A 2002 study published in Animal Behaviour found that these tricky birds have the ability to deceive each other. The entire corvid family-which includes crows, ravens, and jays-is exceptionally intelligent. These birds have also been known to play pranks on one another, and to tease other animals.

While scientists don't exactly think they have a sense of humor, rats will make a laugh-like sound when tickled.

You might think it's just their fur, but no, tigers have striped skin. And speaking of those stripes, much like our fingerprints, they're unique to every tiger.

Sorry, cat owners, you're not just being paranoid: Your pet does know when you're calling their name, and they're ignoring you anyway. In a 2019 study published in Scientific Reports, researchers discovered that while cats can distinguish their own name, they don't necessarily feel obligated to respond.

Call it a moo-d. Researchers at the University of Leicester School of Psychology found that cows produced 1.54 more pints per day-a 3 percent increase-when they were played slow music, as opposed to more upbeat tunes.

Not only do butterflies taste using their feet -the receptors on their legs are also 200 times stronger than human taste buds. When a butterfly lands on a plant, they use these sensors to determine whether or not what they're standing on is edible.

Don't plan on eating a spur-winged goose if you happen to come across one during your travels. These birds, natives of sub-Saharan Africa, have flesh that's often poisonous to humans, thanks to their diet of blister beetles, which contain the deadly cantharidin poison.

Vampire bats do more than just bite their prey-they also keep the other animal's blood from clotting. Their saliva works as an anticoagulant, so that the blood can flow freely as they feed. Here's another fun fact: The protein in the anticoagulant has been nicknamed "Draculin." Spooky!

Wombats use their droppings to warn other animals to stay off their turf. Luckily, their cube-shaped poop makes it easy to see that a spot is governed by wombats, as the little squares tend to stay put more easily than spherical droppings would.

You can learn a lot from the color of a giraffe's spots. According to a 2019 study in Animal Behaviour, giraffes with darker spots are more dominant than giraffes with lighter spots. And not only that: Dark-spotted giraffes also tend to be more solitary.

Groups of killer whales have their own dialects that are further influenced by the company they keep. A 2014 study published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America revealed that orcas housed with bottlenose dolphins over a long period of time were able to replicate the dolphins' language.

To ensure her dominance, the queen mole rat works to make it impossible for other female mole rats to have litters. In fact, the queen can produce a substance in her urine that renders other female mole rats infertile.

The horned lizard has a pretty impressive trick for evading predators. When a horned lizard finds itself in a perilous situation, it can squirt a stream of blood from its eyes. The predator then runs off, because, well, wouldn't you?

Relax, pigeons-it's not all catfish. But yes, in southwestern France, a group of European catfish have learned to kill pigeons, launching themselves out of the water to grab the sunbathing birds.

If you think crocodiles aren't frightening enough, consider this: They used to gallop. While modern-day crocodiles can move surprisingly fast, giant crocodiles during the Cretaceous period could use their legs to chase and kill dinosaurs.
Additional reporting by Desirée O.

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75 Animal Facts That Will Change the Way You View the Animal Kingdom

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With an estimated 7.77 million species of animals on the planet, the animal kingdom is an undeniably diverse place. But while the breadth of earthly biodiversity may be well known, the incredible things our animal counterparts can do are often hidden to humans.

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Two-thirds of an octopus’ neurons reside in its arms, not its head. As a result, the arms can problem solve how to open a shellfish while their owners are busy doing something else, like checking out a cave for more edible goodies. The arms can even react after they’ve been completely severed. In one experiment, severed arms jerked away in pain when researchers pinched them.

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Despite being a toothed whale, beluga whales do not chew their food. Instead, they swallow their prey whole.

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An ostrich’s eyes is bigger than its brain.

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An ostrich’s eyes is bigger than its brain.

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Ostrich is the largest bird in the world having the largest eyes in the whole animal kingdom that are even bigger than its brain. An ostrich's eyes are about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter, which is almost of the size of a billiard ball. The ostrich needs large eyes to adapt to its terrestrial lifestyle.

Siti Zulaikha - 4ST1

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Cats recognize their own name but choose not to respond.

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Cats recognize their own name but choose not to respond.

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Sorry, cat owners, you're not just being paranoid: Your pet does know when you're calling their name, and they're ignoring you anyway. In a 2019 study published in Scientific Reports, researchers discovered that while cats can distinguish their own name, they don't necessarily feel obligated to respond.

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A rhinoceros’ horn is made of hair

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Animals are amazing things; all of us are unique and sometimes very unusual in our behavior. At Frontier HQ, we are fascinated by all things nature, and so we have put together a list of all of the very best and most interesting and downright funny facts about animals we could find.

1. The heart of a shrimp is located in its head.

2. A snail can sleep for three years.

3. The fingerprints of a koala are so indistinguishable from humans that they have on occasion been confused at a crime scene.

4. Slugs have four noses.

5. Elephants are the only animal that can't jump.

7. It is possible to hypnotize a frog by placing it on its back and gently stroking its stomach.

8. It takes a sloth two weeks to digest its food.

9. Nearly three percent of the ice in Antarctic glaciers is penguin urine.

10. A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in a lifetime.

11. Bats always turn left when leaving a cave.

12. Giraffes have no vocal chords.

13. Kangaroos can't fart.

14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

15. Around 50 percent of orangutans have fractured bones, due to falling out of trees on a regular basis.

16. Frogs cannot vomit. If one absolutely has to, then it will vomit its entire stomach.

A few incredible facts about animals to mull over ... If you would like to learn more about animals first hand, check out our wildlife conservation volunteering opportunities around the world.

Join the Frontier Community online with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinteres t.

See more from volunteers on Flickr and YouTube.

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Animals are amazing things; all of us are unique and sometimes very unusual in our behavior. At Frontier HQ, we are fascinated by all things nature, and so we have put together a list of all of the very best and most interesting and downright funny facts about animals we could find.

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THEY CAN’T ROAR

Unlike other big cats, snow leopards can't roar. Snow leopards have a 'main' call described as a 'piercing yowl' that's so loud it can be heard over the roar of a river.

LONG JUMP CHAMPIONS
The snow leopard would do well in most athletic events, it’s best potentially being the long jump. Some snow leopards have been known to leap up to 9 metres - 6 times their body length!

----Rui Yee 4ST1

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In fact, one 2011 study published in the journal Science found that the birds are capable of doing math at the same level as monkeys. During the study, the pigeons were asked to compare nine images, each containing a different number of objects. The researchers found that the birds were able to rank the images in order of how many objects they contained. Put simply, they learned that the birds could count!

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Capuchin monkeys wash their hands and feet in urine.

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Capuchin monkeys wash their hands and feet in urine.

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Monkeys are undeniably cute. They can also be pretty darn gross. Capuchin monkeys, for example, urinate on their hands and feet when they're feeling "randy." "We think the alpha males might use urine-washing to convey warm, fuzzy feelings to females, that their solicitation is working and that there's no need to run away," primatologist Kimran Miller told NBC News. "Or they could be doing it because they're excited."

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Baby elephants suck on their trunks for comfort, just like human babies suck their thumbs

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Baby elephants suck on their trunks for comfort, just like human babies suck their thumbs

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Flamingos are not pink. They are born grey, their diet of brine shrimp and blue green algae contains a natural pink dye called canthaxanthin that makes their feathers pink. (Vivian Teo)

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Flamingos are not pink. They are born grey, their diet of brine shrimp and blue green algae contains a natural pink dye called canthaxanthin that makes their feathers pink. (Vivian Teo)

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Frogs cannot vomit. If one absolutely has to, then it will vomit its entire stomach.

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A giraffe’s tongue is black! Scientists think that this is so they don’t get sunburnt while they eat.

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A giraffe’s tongue is black! Scientists think that this is so they don’t get sunburnt while they eat.

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Wondering what are the most interesting facts about animals? Below are a list of some of the most interesting facts about animals:

Patcho and Pigeon: Dynamic Duo!

Doris the Loris

Doris the loris has a story for everyone, from adventure stories to silly stories. But will she be able to come up with a way for her animal friends to enjoy her stories wherever they are? Set in the Sumatran rainforest, this story is full of interesting wildlife, and the plot and themes of the tale make it great for reluctant readers. View the full collection of teaching resources for 'Doris the Loris' here .

The giant Pacific octopus has three hearts, nine brains and blue blood! Two hearts pump blood to the gills, while a larger heart circulates blood to the rest of the body; a central brain controls the nervous system, while there's a small brain in each of the creature's eight arms; and the blue blood is rich in protein that improves the animal's ability to transport oxygen in cold environments.

Animals with smaller bodies and faster metabolism such as flies, chipmunks and squirrels see in slow motion. This allows them to see more information in one second than a larger animal like an elephant.

The Bear Who Came to Babysit

Wake-Up Time on Bumble Farm

Prairie dogs touch front teeth to identify one another, giving the appearance that they're kissing. Some scientists even believe that the creatures do this

Mantis shrimps can punch at 50 miles per hour, an acceleration that's faster than a .22-caliber bullet!

Female lions do 90 percent of the hunting, while males protect their pride.

Wild barn owls generally eat around four small mammals every night - that's 1,460 per year! They usually swallow their food whole, before regurgitating bits of fur and bone as an owl pellet.

A Tale of Two Feathers

When two birds find mystery feathers, they realise that some animals come out at night while others are more active during the day. Perfect for teaching about nocturnal and diurnal animals, the story features repeated refrains and alliteration, making it fun to read aloud. View the full collection of teaching resources for 'A Tale of Two Feathers' here .

The Messy Magpie

Starry-Eyed Stan

Wild chimpanzees in Guinea have been observed consuming fermented palm sap which makes them tipsy!

The first thing a caterpillar eats is its own eggshell. Once it hatches, the creature consumes the remainder of the protein-rich outer layer of the egg, called the chorion.

The Cautious Caterpillar

Frogs undergo repeated freeze-thaw cycles without dying. As they're cold-blooded, their body temperature takes on the temperature of the environment around them. During their winter hibernation when temperatures drop below freezing, frogs can literally freeze over themselves.

A group of ferrets is called a business.

A 2013 study published in PNAS found that bottlenose dolphins have specific whistles for one another.

A giraffe's tongue is black! Scientists think that this is so they don't get sunburnt while they eat.

The Runaway Iceberg

When the ice breaks, Gaspar and Rossi find themselves on an unintended adventure as they float away at sea. They'll need the support of some special animal friends if they're to make it home. Fantastic for a topic on polar regions, this story features stunning illustrations throughout to bring the events to life. View the full collection of teaching resources for 'The Runaway Iceberg' here .

Don't Hog the Hedge!

Ronald the Rhino

African bullfrogs produce mucus membranes that solidify into cocoons to stop their skin from drying out in the heat. The creatures can survive in the cocoons for up to seven years while they wait for rain.

Cats may be one of the few animals that can't taste sweet things. However, while they lack the receptor for sweetness, cats can taste things that we humans can't, for instance, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the compound that supplies the energy in every living cell.

Harold's Worst Nightmare

A study by researchers at the University of Northampton found that when cows were separated from their preferred partner their heart rates went up as a sign of stress.

When bunnies feel worried they clench their facial muscles and change their body position.

Formidable Sid

Crocodiles can live to 100.

Ravens are intelligent enough to play tricks on one another. If one raven knows another is watching it hide its food, it will pretend to put the food in one place but actually hide it in another. They've also been known to push rocks on people to prevent them from climbing to their nests and play dead beside a beaver carcass to scare other ravens away from the food, while they can even imitate human speech.

Rats laugh when being tickled.

Tigers have striped skin as well as fur, and each tiger's stripes are unique to it.

The Pack of Pompeii

Once an anaconda has found its prey, it starts by suffocating its victim. Next, it opens its mouth wide, with stretchy ligaments allowing it to swallow its prey whole. This can range from large fish and rodents to caiman (relatives of crocodiles) to jaguars!

Rainforest Calling

The Zoo Vet

All clownfish are born male. While they have the ability to switch their sex, they will only do so to become the dominant female of a group, and this change is irreversible.

Hartebeest run in zigzag patterns to decade predators.

Anteaters don't have teeth, but their long tongues allow them to eat 35,000 ants and termites each day.

Part of the Party

Karri Koala wants to go to the Mummy and Daughter Disco, but she has two dads. After calling a meeting to see who else feels left out by the event, she comes up with a way to ensure all of her friends and their families can be part of the party! The story is great for inspiring discussions about inclusion and diversity. View the full collection of teaching resources for 'Part of the Party' here .

What is the coolest animal on the planet?

With millions of species to choose from, it's difficult to narrow the list down to a few of the most interesting! However, the list below features ten of the coolest animals, based on things like appearance, cuteness and behaviour.

Bearded vulture - This creature's phoenix-like appearance makes it beautiful to look at.

Goblin shark - The last representative of sharks that lived around 125 million years ago, the goblin shark can grow up to more than 13 feet in length and has been caught in every major ocean.

Blobfish - With a density only slightly above that of water, the blobfish has a rather simple hunting technique, simply floating along and waiting for creatures to wander into its mouth.

Snow leopard - Perhaps the most beautiful of the big cats, snow leopards are solitary creatures who mostly rest near cliffs and ridges.

Narwhal - Often called 'sea unicorns', a narwhal's tusk makes it look like a mythical creature.

Seahorses - Male seahorses have pouches on their stomach which the female deposits her eggs in, meaning the male ultimately gives birth!

Great white shark - This fear-inducing predator can smell blood from three miles away.

Assassin bugs - Assassin bugs hunt ants before turning their victims' exoskeletons into outerwear, which they wear to confuse future predators.

Bengal tigers - The ultimate meat-eaters, Bengal tigers can consume up to 60 pounds of meat in one meal, and whatever they don't eat they bury in the ground and eat later.

Cheetah - The fastest animal in the world, cheetahs can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds.

What are some weird things animals do?

The horror frog breaks its own bones to produce claws that puncture their way through the frog's toe pads! This is likely a defence mechanism.

Rats urinate on their food to mark it and ensure that it's safe.

A horror frog

Sea cucumbers squirt their internal organs out of their bottoms to protect themselves against predators. Eventually, their organs grow back.

Pandas aren't fussy about where they sleep, and will fall asleep wherever.

Sloths live in trees, but once a week, they make the slow, tiresome journey to the ground to go to the toilet.

Weird animal anatomy facts:

Fish have four nostrils.

Deadly box jellyfish are equipped with advanced eyes that can make out shadow, shape and motion.

When frogs swallow, their eyeballs move to the inside of their mouth in order to push the food down.

A tick's eyes are on its back.

Sperm whales don't have upper teeth.

A sperm whale's skeleton
Amazing animal abilities:

Bats shoot out high-pitched sound waves into the night and use the echoes to pinpoint the location of their prey.

With a running start, pumas can leap over 12 metres.

Hummingbirds can fly upside down.

Dung beetles can pull weights 1,141 times heavier than their own body weight, making them the strongest animal on the planet!

The alpine ibex can walk on steep walls that are nearly vertical.

An alpine ibex What is the most random animal? Pink fairy armadillo
The smallest of all armadillo species, pink fairy armadillos are elusive, and are rarely ever seen by humans. They're native to central Argentina, and their two large sets of claws that allow it to dig quickly have earned them the nickname 'sand-swimmers'.

Japanese spider crab
The Japanese spider crab has the largest leg span of any arthropod in the world, which can reach up to 3.8 m in length! While the creature weighs around 19 kg, it's just 15 inches long. It has eight legs and two arms - which it uses for feeding. Each feeding arm is around 1.5 m long.

Dumbo octopus
Dumbo octopuses live at least 4,000 m below the surface, making them the deepest-living genus of all known octopuses. Its ear-like fins have earned it the name 'Dumbo', after the elephant character in the Disney film. Dumbo octopuses don't have an ink sac, as they're unlikely to encounter predators in the deep sea.

Naked mole-rat
Naked mole-rats can move all of their front teeth separately. They don't drink water, as they get their hydration from their plant-based diet. A single colony can make tunnels that are 2.5 miles long,

Dugong
Dugongs are herbivorous marine mammals who subsist on a diet solely of seagrass. Their closest land relative is the elephant, and you can estimate their age by how many rings they have on their tusks. The creatures communicate with barks, chirps, squeaks and trills.

Babirusa
Babirusas are found in swamps and rainforests of Indonesian islands. While they're members of the pig family, they do differ from normal pigs in several ways: their snouts are less specialised, and they have two-chambered stomachs like sheep and other ruminants. They're omnivorous and eat almost anything.

Aye-aye
The aye-aye is a long-fingered lemur that's native to Madagascar. It has rodent-like teeth that grow perpetually, as well as a specialised thin finger that it uses to pull grubs out of wood. It's the largest nocturnal primate, and its eyes change colour as it ages.

Maned wolf
Maned wolves are found in central and eastern South America, including northern Argentina, South and Central Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Peru. Their thick red coat gives them a distinctive appearance, and genetic studies show that they're neither a fox nor a true wolf; the maned wolf is a distinct species - the only member of its genus.

Creature trivia to share with your friends and family

Why not test friends and family with some of the questions below?

1. What are a group of crows called?

2. Lemurs are only native to one country - what is it?

3. Which breed of dog has the best sense of smell?

4. Which mammal has the most powerful bite in the world?

5. What animals are included in the 'big five' in Africa?

Answers

A bloodhound
What animals have no blood?

Flatworms, nematodes, and cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals) don't have a circulatory system and, therefore, do not have blood.

What are the smartest animals?

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117 Amazing Animal Facts | Weird Animal Facts

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What are Weird Animal Facts? - Answered - There are an estimated 8.7 million species of animals on Earth, and this stunning diversity gives rise to lots of unusual characteristics and behaviour in the animal world. This page features lots of weird animal facts that will entertain children and adults alike.

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Pistol shrimp can create loud bubbles that are louder than gunshots.

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Faster than a speeding bullet, it's ... the pistol shrimp!

At first glance, the pistol shrimp might seem more Mr. Krabs than Butch Cassidy, but this small invertebrate has a power-packed punch. Sometimes overshadowed by the very powerful, very colorful mantis shrimp, it's time that the sassy snapping shrimp gets the recognition it deserves.

Pistol shrimp, also known as snapping shrimp, are a crustacean in the family Alpheidae. Their two front claws are different sizes, with one being notably larger than the other. There are hundreds of species found all over the world, but most species are found in reefs and seagrass beds in temperate and tropical regions. They're not very big, only reaching a few inches in size, but their large claws can grow to half its body length.

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This large claw holds the pistol shrimp's superpower. When a pistol shrimp senses prey is nearby, it will open the top part of its big claw, allowing some water to enter a small chamber in the crook of the claw. Then, when it clamps down, the pressure from a small plunger on the top claw forces the water out of the chamber. This happens so fast that it creates bubbles. And not just any bubbles: these bubbles can speed out at 60 miles per hour, fast enough to stun or kill the prey! When the bubbles pop, it makes a "snap" sound that gives these shrimp their name.

The bubbles are loud. Like, really loud. The snap of one recently-discovered species of pistol shrimp called Synalpheus pinkfloydi (named after something else that is also loud and very cool: Pink Floyd) can reach 210 decibels. That is louder than an actual gunshot, which is around 140 - 175 decibels. You can hear them for yourself by sticking your head below the water on a reef and listening for the " snap snap snap."

The pistol shrimp's mighty snap comes in handy for more than just lunch. Its powerful claw can deter predators or other competitors looking to take over the shrimp's burrow. It also makes males more attractive to the ladies-larger claws suggest they are better mates.

However, just because pistol shrimp have a big weapon doesn't mean they can't play nice. Some species have symbiotic relationships with other organisms, meaning they work together so one or both species benefit. Some species will share a home with gobies, a type of small fish. The goby keeps an eye out for predators while the shrimp digs their burrow, and once the burrow is finished, the goby looks for threats while they look for food. If the goby gives the signal that danger is nearby, they both scurry back to their protective home.

Mega fighting power and good teamwork skills-what else would you want for a superhero? Actually, Netflix's new superhero movie Project Power agrees: Jamie Foxx's character possesses the power of the pistol shrimp after taking a pill that gives animal-inspired superpowers.

Making it to pop culture mainstream? Now that is the recognition this gun-slinging crustacean deserves!

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The Real Power of the Pistol Shrimp - Ocean Conservancy

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Faster than a speeding bullet, it's ... the pistol shrimp! At first glance, the pistol shrimp might seem more Mr. Krabs than Butch Cassidy, but this small invertebrate has a power-packed punch. Sometimes overshadowed by the very powerful, very colorful mantis shrimp, it's time that the sassy snapping shrimp gets the recognition it deserves.

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Bottlenose dolphins are even more right-handed than humans.

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Bottlenose dolphins are even more right-handed than humans.

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"Most humans (say 70 percent to 95 percent) are right-handed, a minority (say 5 percent to 30 percent) are left-handed," according to Scientific American. And the same holds true for bottlenose dolphins. In fact, the savvy swimmers are even more right-handed than we are. A team led by Florida's Dolphin Communication Project took a look at the feeding behavior of bottlenose dolphins and found that the animals were turning to their left side 99.44 percent of the time, which "actually suggests a right-side bias," according to IFL Science. "It places the dolphin's right side and right eye close to the ocean floor as it hunts."

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Some male songbirds sing more than 2000 times each day.

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Some male songbirds sing more than 2000 times each day.

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A snail can sleep for three years at a time.

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A snail can sleep for three years at a time.

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1. One species of jellyfish is immortal. It can revert back to its child state after having become sexually mature, and therefore never dies.

2. A snail can sleep for three years at a time.

3. There are 1 million ants for every human in the world.

4. A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes. Lucky pigs.

5. A blue whale weighs as much as three elephants and is as long as three Greyhound buses.

6. A bat can eat up to 1 thousand insects per hour.

7. Octopuses have three hearts.

8 Sharks kill fewer than 10 people per year. Humans kill about 100 million sharks per year.

9. Wild dolphins call each other by name. "Oi, Flipper!"

10. Elephants have a specific alarm call that means "human".

11. Dogs' sense of smell is about 100, 000 times stronger than humans'. However, they have only one-sixth our number of taste buds.

12. Animals with smaller bodies and faster metabolism such as chipmunks and squirrels see in slow motion.

13. The now extinct colossal penguin stood as tall as 2.03 metre basket ball legend LeBron James.

14. The male gentoo and Adelie penguins "propose" to females by giving them a pebble.

15. Polar bears have black skin and see-through fur.

16. Reindeer eyeballs turn blue in winter to help them see at lower light levels.

17. Honeybees can flap their wings 200 times per second.

18. A sea lion is the first nonhuman mammal with a proven ability to keep a beat.

19. Male koalas have two penises, and female koalas have two vaginas.

20. At birth, a panda is smaller than a mouse and weighs about four ounces.

21. The flamingo can only eat when its head is upside-down.

22. A female ferret will die if it goes into heat (is horny) and cannot find a mate.

23. The venom of the king cobra is so deadly that just one gram of it is enough to kill a person 150 times over.

24. The bat is the only mammal that can fly.

25. The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.

26. The only mammals to undergo menopause are elephants, humpback whales and human females.

27. Cows can sleep standing up, but they can only dream lying down.

28. A housefly hums in the key of F.

29. Sea otters hold each other's paws when they sleep so they don't drift apart.

Check out http://www.wwf.org.au to find out how you can help the animals.

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29 Amazing Animal Facts That Will Surprise You

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1. One species of jellyfish is immortal. It can revert back to its child state after having become sexually mature, and therefore never dies. 2. A snail can sleep for three years at a time. 3. There are 1 million ants for every human in the world. 4.