 Did You Know? |
This is the fifth in a series of Did You Know? blog posts. Each blog post will gives fascinating facts on a particular topic. In part 1 the topic was science. In part 2 the topic was history. In part 3 the topic was geography. In part 4 the topics were art & music.
Today, I give you ten facts about Animals: 1. Cats domesticated themselves around 10,000 years ago. Dogs are thought to be the first animal domesticated by humans also around 10,000 years ago. 2. Elephants have the longest gestation period among mammals lasting nearly 2 years. However the spiny dogfish shark gestation period tops the elephant at 3.5 years, as does the black alpine salamander with a gestation period of 2-3 years. |
3. Animals with the shortest gestation period include: koala (34-36 days), squirrel (about 40 days) and a number of animals that have a 60-62 day gestation period.
4. The largest bat colony is believed to have 20m bats and is in Bracken Cave, Texas, USA.
5. Bees taste with their feet.
6. Octopi each have 9 brains, 3 hearts, blue blood and are about 90% muscle.
7. Dolphins can sleep half a brain at a time, meaning they can be active for 15 or more days.
8. Seahorse males carry fertilised eggs and give birth to hundreds of baby seahorses per time.
9. Ants never sleep and don’t have lungs. There are 1 million ants for every 1 human in the world.
10. Flamingos can only eat when their head is upside down.
Write soon,
Antony
References
The Nest – How Long Have Dogs & Cats Been Domesticated?
Mother Nature Network – 12 animals with the longest gestation period
Info.com – Which mammals have the shortest and longest gestation periods?
BuzzFeed – 47 Surprising Facts About Animals
The Daily Catch – An Octopus has 3 Hearts, 9 Brains & Blue Blood
List 25 – 25 Amazing Facts You Didn’t Know About Animals
The Fact Site – 300 Random Animal Facts
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