Category: Animal Facts

Facts About Frogs

facts about frogs
April is Frog Month – hooray! Below are a few Facts about Frogs, together with clips and videos of Frogs.
Facts about Frogs:
  1. There are over 5000 species of Frog
  2. A Frog’s call is unique to it’s species
  3. Every year that a Frog goes in to hibernation, a new layer of bone forms
  4. Frog genders can be identified from their ears – Larger than the eye = Male, Smaller than the eye = Female
  5. Frogs swallow with the help of their eyes – Eyes retract into the head, helping to push the food down the throat
  6. Frogs do not ‘drink’ water, they absorb it through their skin
  7. Frogs croak to attract a mate from up to a mile away
  8. Herpetology is the study of Amphibians and Reptiles
  9. Asian Tree Frogs build nests in trees directly above water so that when the tadpoles hatch they fall directly in to the water for safety
  10. If food becomes scarce, the Mother will deposit unfertilized eggs with her offspring to ensure they have something to eat
BBC Natural World: Fabulous Frogs
BBC Life In Cold Blood: Amazing Rain Frogs
 BBC Natural World: Nature’s Miniature Miracles
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International Seal Day

International Seal Day

It’s International Seal Day! (according to whatisyourspiritanimal.com) Here are some Facts about Seals

Seals are pinnipeds – sea mammals closely related to sea lions and walruses. There are 33 species of pinnipeds, 19 of which are seals including the Elephant Seal, Leopard Seal, Gray Seal and Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Seals can be found all over the globe on land and sea, spending about 20% of their time on land to give birth and molt. Some species of Seal mate on land, others mate under water.

International Seal Day
Elephant Seal

Male Seals are called Bulls, Females are called Cows and Babies are called Pups.

The Elephant Seal is the largest of all the seals, with males growing up to 20 feet in length. The smallest of the Seals is the Harbor Seal, growing up to 6 feet long. Each Harbor Seal has a distinct patch of spots on it’s body, unique to itself. The most well-known Seal is the Gray Seal, living on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Males can grow to 10 feet long and are usually twice the size of females, ranging in colour from a medium brown to a dark grey.

International Seal Day
Harp Seal

Seals eat mainly fish but will eat any meat they can get if sources are low, including squid, octopus and shellfish. They need to eat 5% of their body weight per day. If supplies are low their bodies begin to breakdown their internal Blubber for them to feed on but this can not last long as they need the Blubber to keep their body at the correct temperature.

Seals use their ears, if they have them, to hear prey and predators and can do over long distances. They use their whiskers to help find food both by day and by night, as they can sense vibrations in the water.

International Seal Day
Leopard Seal

Here are some clips from the wonderful David Attenborough series of documentaries with the BBC:

Life In The Freezer, Elephant Seals fighting over territory and females:

Life In The Freezer, Baby Seals Playing:

Blue Planet, Leopard Seal Kills Emperor Penguin:

For more Animal Facts, take a look here.

Thank you to the BBC and the internet for the photos and films

10 Facts About Pigs

Facts About Pigs
Today is National Pig Day, according to AVMA.org so here are 10 Facts about Pigs

1. Pigs have 44 teeth

2. Pigs have 4 toes but only use the 2 larger front ones to walk

Pigs and teeth3. Not all Pigs have curly tails

4. Pigs are remarkably clean and never poop where they eat or sleep

Pig Toes and Tails

5. Pigs have a terrific sense of smell and are used to locate truffles

6. Piglets know their name by 20 days old

Piglet

7. Pigs communicate with each other through grunts

8. Pigs are not too different from humans genetically and research is underway as to whether we can use Pig organs safely for human organ transplants (Here is a recent article by the Independent from 2017)

9. A shrieking Pig can scare an Elephant, and War Pigs were used against War Elephants from around 250BC

10. Pigs learn tricks faster than dogs

Pigs Learning Tricks

For more Animal Facts, take a look over here.

The Musk Ox

Musk Ox

– Taken from Buzzfeed.com

The Musk Ox is actually not an Ox but a Goat. They are stunning creatures living in the Arctic Tundra.

Tundra Map

-Taken from BBC.co.uk

David Attenborough’s ‘Frozen Planet‘ (season 1, episode 3) shows Musk Ox looking for food in the Tundra after the frozen Winter, only to be seen as food themselves, as the Wolves also come out on the hunt after Winter.

The Arctic Tundra during Winter. Not a habitable environment for warm bloodied creatures and chance of catching a meal is restricted.

– Taken from sciencing.com

The Arctic Tundra after Winter. Much more chance of catching a meal – but you will also be a meal to other prey.

– Taken from nationalgeographic.com

 

-Video taken from YouTube, made by Love Nature

For more Animal Facts, take a look here