There is one thing I admire most in this world and know the most about, and that is animals. I am omniscient in the field of zoology, and I take great pride in my love for and knowledge of all of the fauna that inhabit this planet alongside us humans. I am always craving an adventure in the wild habitats of the creatures that I research about on a daily basis (it’s one of my most longstanding, favored hobbies). There are millions upon millions of creatures in our world today, all dispersed throughout a multitude of habitats and locations. There is no animal I do not love and wish I could see with my own eyes: the dangerous, the gentle, the cute, the ugly, the tiny, the large — all of these creatures have a special place in my heart.
Biology can be quite an interesting subject to learn about, so why not share facts that we know about certain creatures that others may not? Come on, join, it’ll be fun! I’ll start:
-
There are 36 different species of cats, all in the Felidae family. Out of these, the Siberian Tiger is the largest (tigers in general are the largest group). However, the Jaguar has the strongest bite of all, strong enough to crack the shell of a turtle or break the skull of a human.
-
Rhinos have poor eyesight, and that is why they charge at anything in front of them that makes too much noise. They have magnificent hearing.
-
The Harpy Eagle has talons the size of a Brown Bear’s claws. They can snatch monkeys and sloths right out of the trees, then make their way back to their nest to feast on them with their chicks.
-
The Dodo Bird went extinct at the end of the 17th century due to having no fear of humans. This lack of fear was all because they had no natural predators on the Mauritius Islands, so they did not know to be afraid of anything. Due to this lack of fear, the Dodos would walk up to humans with no hesitation, and stare with great curiosity and confusion. They could not fly. All of these things made them easy targets for the Dutch sailors that sailed to the island and hunted them to extinction.
-
The Thylacine, aka “Tasmanian Tiger” went extinct in 1936 due to being hunted to extinction, as well as competition with the Dingo over food. The last Tasmanian Tiger died in a zoo. There is still internet footage of the Tasmanian Tiger, but it has been confirmed to be extinct. FYI, Tasmanian Tigers looked nothing like tigers. As mentioned, they competed with Dingoes over food. Both Dingoes and Tazzy Ts loved hunting kangaroos and wallabies. Dingoes still do it to this day. As the Tazzy Ts and Dingoes competed, the Tasmanian Tiger population diminished, until all of them were totally gone.
-
Moving on from extinct animals. The thought that I could have seen those animals before they went extinct still perturbs me. Everyone knows about frogs, right? Everyone knows that all frogs jump, right? Well, you may want to recheck yourself, because there is a frog that actually walks, and it’s called the African Bushveld Frog. This frog walks and runs, rather than hops. It is a very interesting species indeed, and it’s pretty fast.
-
Cheetahs are known to be the fastest of all land mammals, reaching speeds of up to 75mph when chasing in pursuit of prey. There is something that not many know, however. A cheetah can only run for about 40 seconds until they have to stop and cool down. If they continue to run, they will quickly overheat and die.
-
The Clouded Leopard is a very elusive, stealthy cat that inhabits the forests of Indonesia. They spend lots of time in the trees. They have rotatable ankles that allow them to quickly make turns in the systems of tree branches throughout the forest. They eat things like monkeys, birds, wild pigs, and deer. The Clouded Leopard has the longest canines of any cat. Not much is known about this creature, but it is believed that they are pretty great swimmers, despite rarely coming down to the ground (they are extremely arboreal).
-
Another cat. Ah, the love of cats. The Caracal! The Caracal is a cat that lives in Sub-Saharan Africa. It eats birds, which it hunts by waiting in stealth, then running up to the spot of resting birds. If the birds attempt to fly away, the Caracal can jump up to ten feet high to grab them midair. Apart from birds, they also eat rodents and small antelope.
-
The Orca is my favorite ocean animal. It is one of the most feared of all ocean animals. Orcas will eat just about anything they come across, although this depends solely on their range. Orcas live in every ocean and sea in the world. Some in the Arctic eat predominantly seals and penguins (seals and penguins do not live together by the way). Some in the hotter regions (such as off the coasts of Africa and Australia) eat sea lions off the coasts of beaches, as well as fish. Some of the ones that stay in the middle of the ocean eat things like fish, birds, sea otters, whales, dolphins, and even sharks. That’s not all either! To clear up a popular misconception, orcas are in the dolphin family, DELPHINIDAE. I also want to make it known that an orca would never hurt a human, despite the news of human fatalities in the past (most likely provoked to the extent of extreme annoyance).
-
Bald Eagles are very powerful birds of prey. They have a grip 10x better than a human’s, and eyesight 6x better. Their favorite food is fish, although they will opportunistically take other prey items, including other birds (such as ducks). Bald Eagles have very strong chest muscles for carrying heavy fish, and their tenacious grip helps them with that as well. A Bald Eagle can see a fish clearly beneath the water. Sometimes, Bald Eagles steal fish from Ospreys. An Osprey is a different species of eagle that eats primarily fish. They have eyesight that they can adjust to see beneath the glare of the sun against the water. And Bald Eagles often use this to their advantage—letting the Osprey do the hunting, then swooping in to make them drop their catch.
That’s as far as I’m going to go in terms of animal facts. Animals are amazing, and I am glad to share my existence with all of them. They can quite intriguing. If I could choose between my life and the life of an animal, I would choose the life of the animal. Do you have any facts that you may want to share? Feel free to do so!
but I don’t know as many cool facts about them. Apparently they have super long tongues though.
— they can wrap them around thorny branches and strip leaves off without injuring themselves. They’re also purple! Your favorite color!
