Animal fun facts

Geckos are small lizards from the infraorder Gekkota. Within this infraorder are 7 families, around 125 genera and many more individual species. While these lizards all share certain characteristics, their diversity in appearance is incredible. Some are dull in color, allowing them to camouflage against...

Cats are known to love to sleep. They often sleep for hours during the day. In fact, it is not uncommon for a cat to sleep up to 16 hours a day, with some cats sleeping even more. Although this may seem excessive to some, this is completely normal behavior for cats. Even though it is normal for cats...

When in natural light, we can look into our dog's eyes and see the deep coloration. Although a dog's eyes can be a range of colors, they are all patterned delicately and do not have any natural bioluminescence. For this reason, it can be quite an eerie sensation to see our dog's eyes light up like some...

While there will be general consistency, most cats will have a somewhat capricious nature. Sometimes they will want to preserve their personal space and have some moments alone. Other times they will be appear desperate for company. As long as you have a good relationship with your cat and a strong bond...

The ocean sunfish, also known as the mola, is one of the most fascinating and unique fish species in the world. With its distinctive flattened shape, long dorsal fins, and enormous size, the sunfish has captured the imagination of marine biologists and casual observers alike. Despite its impressive appearance,...

Frogs are vertebrates, which means they have bones. However, the bones of frogs can tell us a lot about their anatomy, physiology, and evolutionary history. Frogs have adapted to a variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and their bones reflect these adaptations. Moreover, development from tadpole to adult...

Sleep is a state of rest which allows animals to alter various physiological processes. This is necessary to conserve energy, help muscles rest and perform various other functions. Other organic processes change to facilitate this such as altering brain function and slowing respiration. Different animals...

Within the group of vertebrates we find the order Testudines, to which all turtles belong, both aquatic and terrestrial. They are among the oldest and most primitive of all reptile groups, evolving millions of years ago. They are easily recognized by their hard shell, which protects them from predators....

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides a therapeutic benefit such as emotional support, comfort, or companionship to a person with an intellectual or psychiatric disability. Pets that are recognized as emotional support animals have certain privileges and benefits, such as being...

The animal kingdom is full of wonderful parents who care for their offspring. Most animals, including humans, depend on the care of their parents during the first days, weeks, and even years of their lives in order to survive. However, there are many species of animals that must care for themselves from day...

If your cat is pregnant, it is a good idea to prepare for the time of birth and the birth of the kittens. A very common question is how many kittens can my cat have. Usually it is between four and six kittens, but larger or smaller litters are not uncommon. Furthermore, if we take into account that female...

We know cats are very hygienic animals. They will spend much of their day grooming themselves senseless. Although we need to help them with brushing their coat and general maintenance, too many guardians neglect their dental care. Since a domestic cat's diet is different to their wild counterparts,...

Amphibians belong to the phylum Chordatea. This is a taxonomic class that includes three orders. One of them is the anurans, which include frogs and toads. These fascinating amphibians are anatomically and physiologically adapted to a dual life in water and on land, and undergo metamorphosis to become adults....

The course of various evolutionary processes has allowed animals to adapt to various environments. These adaptations are required due to the changes in such environments. Changes in temperature is one of the most impactful on an animal's chances of survival. As the ambient, ground and even water temperatures...

As you know, the teeth of animals are specially adapted to the type of food they eat. Dogs, being carnivores, have incisors and canines with which they can grasp, tear and rip meat, and premolars and molars with which they can cut and grind food. Our dog's teeth can tell us a lot about our dog's health,...

It is no secret to anyone that cats are unique and extraordinary animals. We who live with them are always amazed at all the things they can do. Cats have always aroused our curiosity and have even given rise to some myths and legends around the world. The following AnimalWised article lists some of...

Dogs and cats are much more like us than we think, to the point that they are also ticklish. This is a sensation they feel when we stroke certain areas of their body where a large number of nerve endings are concentrated. However, unlike humans and primates, our pets are not able to feel all types of tickling. Read...

Penguins (Spheniscidae) are a family of birds, the only one of the order Sphenisciformes. There are at least eighteen living species, belonging to six genera, distributed from the poles to the tropics of the Southern Hemisphere. Penguins are known among birds for their feathered tuxedos and graceful gait....

Canids are a very diverse family of carnivorous mammals, with about 34 species. Most of them have a very similar body structure as well as specific characteristics such as a highly developed sense of smell and hearing, which are crucial for their survival. Because coyotes and wolves are closely related and...

You may be aware that a dog can sense a woman's pregnancy. This is mainly thanks to their incredible sense of smell which allows them to observe cellular changes in a woman's body that we are ill equipped to perceive. It is also because our dog pays attention to us. When we build a strong bond with our canine,...

Deer belong to a diverse group of animals within the family Cervidae, which includes more than 50 different species. Common characteristics of the group include the presence of antlers in all but one male species, which are renewed each year. Their size and weight can vary greatly depending on the species....

Thanatosis is a behavior by which some animals pretend to be dead. This form of animal deception is an adaptive behavior used as a defense mechanism or a form of mimicry and occurs in a wide variety of animals. Most often, they pretend to be dead in order to survive, hoping that their predator will no longer...

When we think of feeding birds, we might associated it with seeds in bird feeders or perhaps slurping up worms from the dirt. The diet of birds is as varied as birds themselves, with around 10,000 different species in various ecosystems finding their sustenance from a variety of food sources. There are...

The term "big cat" is usually used to refer to all members of the genus Panthera. Small and medium-sized cats, including domestic cats, belong to the genus Felis. Big cats are found throughout the world in habitats as diverse as mangrove swamps, deserts, mountains and wooded forests. All cats are carnivores,...

There is an appeal to looking at orcas in captivity. Killer whales are beautiful creatures with a grace and intelligence that is a wonder to behold. To be up close to them can create a sense of awe unlike any other. As playful animals, they can also create great joy, especially for young spectators who...

Also known as orcas, killer whales (Orcinus orca) are marine mammals in the group known as cetaceans. Although they have the word ‘whale’ in their common name, orcas are actually considered a type of dolphin. However, the word ‘killer’ is fairly accurate. While they are highly appreciated for their beautiful...

You may have heard that cats' behavior changes when a woman living in the same household becomes pregnant. Some even claim that cats are able to tell if a woman is pregnant even before she knows it herself. But how can this be? There are few scientific studies on the subject, but everything we know so...

Any animal lover who walks out on the street and sees a stray cat in a bedraggled state will feel a certain amount of pity. When they come to our property, we may even feel compelled to feed them since we have the resources. AnimalWised asks should you feed stray cats? In asking the question, we are not...

The word "armadillo" comes from Spanish and means "the little one with the armor," alluding to the plates of bone that cover the back, head, legs, and tail of these peculiar creatures. Armadillos are the only living mammals that wear this type of protection. These animals, closely related to anteaters...

Felids or commonly felids (Felidae), colloquially called cats, are a family of placental mammals of the order Carnivora. They have slender bodies, keen hearing, short snouts, and excellent eyesight. They are the most secretive of all hunting mammals. Most consume only meat, ignoring any other food as live...

Birds are warm-blooded vertebrates that walk, hop, or stand only on their hind legs, while their front legs have evolved into wings, which enable them to fly in most cases, although not all of them do. Birds are descended from bipedal, carnivorous Jurassic dinosaurs that lived 150 to 200 million years ago....

Turtles are an order of reptiles known as testudines. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling turtles and freshwater turtles. Turtles are distinguished primarily by their solid shell, which protects their vital organs and from which their head, legs, and...

While we share knowledge on all kinds of companion animals, there is a reason the dog features in so many of our AnimalWised articles. The dog is not considered ‘man's best friend’ simply because they are adorable, loving and incredibly beneficial animals with which we can share our lives. It also has...

Along with barbets, toucans make up the birds found in the Ramphastidae family, itself belonging to the order Piciformes. Toucans are arboreal and inhabit the forests of the Americas with a habitat ranging from Mexico to Argentina. Toucans are very intelligent birds, but they are particularly noted for...

Turtles are an order of reptiles known as testudines, characterized by a shell developed primarily from their ribs. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles found on most continents, some islands, and, in the case of sea turtles, in much of the oceans. For a long time, people thought...

Guinea pigs are very active rodents that are fun, non-aggressive and ideal as pets for children. If you have a guinea pig or are thinking of adopting one, you may be wondering how old they are. When guinea pigs are young, it's easy to estimate their age based on height and weight. However, once they...

Birds have been inspiring human beings since before we had words, so it is no surprise many of our most common idioms are related to birds. Whether used to inspire, reflect on nature or even highlight deep truths through metaphor or poetry, there are many bird sayings which can help us make better sense...

Sight is not their most distinctive sense, but guinea pigs can recognize certain colors even better than dogs and cats. In addition, they have a wide field of vision (peripheral vision) because their eyes are arranged very laterally. In this way, they can detect the presence of predators. However, their...

Reptiles are a very diverse group of animals which inhabit various habitats across the world. Although these habitats can have extremely different conditions, they are animals which have adapted to thrive in them all. Many reptiles can survive on land, in water or even between both. Some reptiles live permanently...

Canids are part of the family Canidae, animals which are part of the order Carnivora. These animals include the most diverse type of land mammal, the domestic dog. They also include wolves, jackals, coyotes and several genera known to us as foxes. Only the genera Vulpes contains the animals we know as true...

Elephants are known for being the largest land mammals on earth and having a distinctly massive body, large ears and long trunks. Elephants are impressive not only for their size, but also for their intelligence and complex social structure. There are many interesting facts to learn about these amazing...

If you live in a quiet neighborhood, it possible a dog will hear a siren very infrequently and bark as the ambulance, police car, fire truck or other kind of emergency service vehicle drives past. If you live in a busy neighborhood in a city, it is possible this is frequent occurrence. A dog howling...

Primates are a group of animals with a special relationship to human beings. This is due to our evolutionary closeness thanks to a common ancestor. However, the diversity of simians (higher primates which contains all apes and monkeys) is very wide. They have many features and behaviors which are distinguishable,...

Pollination is an essential process for the reproduction of plants, on which depends not only the life of different plant species, but also biodiversity in general, including humans. Thanks to this process, it is possible to produce a considerable amount of food on our planet. However, the loss of vital...

Animals and insects are distributed throughout the world over very different habitats. However, 80% of the world's plant and animal species live in forests and jungles, environments characterized by high tree density. In fact, there are many species that spend most of their time in trees and rarely...

Contrary to what you might think, strength is not always related to the size of the body or the weight of the animal. You may be surprised to learn that some small animals have strength that far exceeds humans, and that some of them are capable of lifting, dragging, carrying, or pulling enormous weights....

We often wish our dog could simply communicate with us using words. Although they are non-verbal, dogs communicate everything we need to know about them. We simply have to pay attention. Body language and other physical signals are used to convey their wants, mood and emotions, but not all are as obvious...

We can tell whether a person is left- or right-handed by their actions. Their dominant hand is determined by how they eat, open doors, play music, write or do many other functions. Dogs do not use their paws in the same way as humans, so it can be more difficult to determine whether they are right-...

Although they communicate mainly through body language, cats make all kinds of sounds that have different meanings. The meow is certainly the best known of all. If you share your home with a cat, you have probably asked yourself questions like “Why does my cat meow when it sees me?”, “Why does my cat...

Flightless birds are birds that have lost the ability to fly through evolution. There are over 60 species of flightless birds, including the well-known ostriches, emus, kiwis, and penguins. There are several domesticated birds, such as the domesticated chicken and some domesticated ducks, that have also...