Fast Facts
February 20, 2006
Before its name was changed, the African Penguin was called the Jackass Penguin because of its donkey-like braying call.
There are no two zebras that have stripes that are exactly the same.
Armadillos breed in July, but get pregnant in November after delaying implantation. This allows the young to be born during the spring when there is an abundance of food.
A blue whale’s tongue is so large that 50 people could stand on it.
African heart-nosed bats have such a keen sense of sound that they can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from 6 feet away.
A newborn kangaroo weighs approximately 0.03 ounces and is small enough to fit in a teaspoon.
The incubation temperature of a sea turtle’s nest is a major factor in the determination of the sea turtle’s sex. Females are more likely to be produced in warmer temperatures.
Pigs have no sweat glands, which is why they stay in water or mud to keep cool.
Cows do not have any upper front teeth. Instead, they have a thick pad on the top jaw.
The trunk of an elephant can hold up to two gallons of water.
Even though a polar bear’s fur looks white, it is actually colorless and is made of hollow tubes. The reason the bear looks white is because the rough inner surface of the tubes makes light scatter and reflect at many different angles to give a white appearance.
On average, a beaver can cut down 200 trees a year.
About 30 percent of Americans admit to talking to their dogs or leaving messages on their answering machines for their dogs while they are away.
A snail can crawl across a razor blade without getting injured. This is possible because it excretes a slime that protects it.
