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Sea otters can rest in kelp beds
Resting sea otters float on their backs and can settle into coastal kelp beds.
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Animal facts, with the why included.
Adaptations, anatomy, and behavior from the creatures that share our planet. Each claim includes context and a source you can inspect.
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Flamingos get their pink color from food
Flamingo feathers turn pink because pigments called carotenoids are present in the algae and small animals they eat.
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Hummingbirds can fly backward
Hummingbirds are the only birds that can sustain controlled backward flight.
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Octopuses have three hearts
An octopus has three hearts and blue blood that uses copper-rich hemocyanin to carry oxygen.
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Wombats make cube-shaped droppings
Wombats are known for producing cube-shaped droppings, a form created inside the final part of the intestine.
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The blue whale is the largest animal ever
Blue whales are the largest animals ever to live on Earth, and the biggest may eat up to 6 tons of krill a day.
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Hellbenders breathe through their skin
A hellbender absorbs up to 95 percent of its oxygen through loose folds of skin along its sides.
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The maned wolf is neither a wolf nor a fox
The maned wolf looks like a long-legged fox, but genetic studies show it is neither a fox nor a true wolf.
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Clouded leopards have the longest canines for their size
A clouded leopard's canine teeth are longer in proportion to its skull than those of any other wild cat.
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Leatherbacks are the largest turtles in the world
Leatherback turtles weigh 750 to 1,000 pounds and are the only sea turtles without scales or a hard shell.
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Electric eels are not true eels
Electric eels can generate up to 800 volts, and they are more closely related to catfish and carp than to eels.
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Lobsters may live to be 100 years old
Scientists believe some American lobsters live to be 100 years old, and they can weigh up to 44 pounds.
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Dolphins and porpoises have different teeth
Dolphins have cone-shaped teeth, while porpoises have spade-shaped teeth.
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A giant anteater's tongue is two feet long
Giant anteaters have no teeth and feed with a 2-foot-long tongue that can flick up to 150 times a minute.
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A beaver's front teeth never stop growing
Beavers have long orange incisors that grow continuously throughout their lives.
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Komodo dragons are the largest living lizards
Komodo dragons are the largest, heaviest lizards in the world and among the few with a venomous bite.
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Bison are North America's largest land animals
American bison are the largest land animals in North America, and they can run 30 miles per hour.
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Horseshoe crabs are closer to spiders than crabs
Horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to crabs.
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Sea stars pump seawater instead of blood
Sea stars are not fish, and they move nutrients through their bodies with seawater instead of blood.
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Japanese giant salamanders grow five feet long
The Japanese giant salamander is the world's second-largest salamander, reaching up to 5 feet and 55 pounds.
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Jellyfish are about 95 percent water
Only about five percent of the body of a jellyfish is solid matter. The rest is water.
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A narwhal's tusk is a tooth
Male narwhals have a tooth that grows into a long, clockwise-spiraled tusk.
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Beluga whales can nod and turn their heads
Unlike other whales and dolphins, belugas have neck vertebrae that are not fused, so they can nod and turn their heads.
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Pronghorn can run 55 miles per hour
A pronghorn can run at a top speed of around 55 miles per hour.
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Sponges are animals 600 million years in the making
Sponges are simple aquatic animals, and their fossil record goes back about 600 million years.
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The emu is the second-largest living bird
The emu is the second-largest living bird and the largest in Australia, averaging 5.7 feet tall.
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Humpback whales migrate up to 5,000 miles
Some humpback whales swim 5,000 miles between tropical breeding grounds and colder feeding grounds.
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Male seahorses get pregnant and give birth
Seahorses and their close relatives, sea dragons, are the only species in which the male gets pregnant and gives birth.
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Aldabra tortoises can live 150 years
Aldabra tortoises can weigh up to 550 pounds and live as long as 150 years.
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A lion's roar carries up to five miles
Lions mark their territory by roaring, and the sound can be heard up to five miles away.
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A wolf's howl can travel seven miles
Other wolves can hear a gray wolf's howl from 6 to 7 miles away.
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Sea lions have ear flaps and true seals do not
Visible ear flaps distinguish sea lions from true seals.
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Cheetahs reach 45 mph in 2.5 seconds
A cheetah can accelerate from zero to 45 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds.
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No two tigers have the same stripes
Like a human fingerprint, a tiger's stripe pattern is unique to that animal.
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Fennec foxes are the smallest wild canids
Fennec foxes are the smallest members of the dog family and can go long periods without drinking water.
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Ostriches have the largest eyes of any bird
An ostrich's eyes are about 2 inches wide, the largest of any bird.
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Sloth fur can turn green with algae
The coarse outer hair of a two-toed sloth turns green in moist conditions because algae grow on it.
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Sloth bears are missing two front teeth
Adult sloth bears lack their top two front teeth, which lets them suck up termites and other insects.
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The kori bustard is the heaviest flying bird
Kori bustards are the world's heaviest flying birds, with males weighing 24 to 42 pounds.
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Greenland sharks can live for centuries
Scientists estimate that Greenland sharks live at least 250 years, which makes them the longest-lived vertebrates.
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Some corals live for 5,000 years
Studies show that some corals can live for up to 5,000 years, making them the longest-living animals on Earth.
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Giant pandas spend up to 16 hours a day eating
A giant panda spends 10 to 16 hours a day foraging and eating.
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Killer whales are the largest dolphins
The killer whale is the largest member of the dolphin family.
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Orangutans are the largest tree-dwelling mammals
Orangutans are the largest mammals that live in trees, with arms much longer than their legs.
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Bowhead whales can live more than 200 years
Evidence suggests that bowhead whales can live for over 200 years.
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The last wild horse has 66 chromosomes
Przewalski's horses, the last truly wild horses, have 66 chromosomes. Domestic horses have 64.
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Giant manta rays span up to 26 feet
The giant manta ray is the world's largest ray, with a wingspan of up to 26 feet.
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