An Assortment of Animal Facts

The first bird domesticated by man was the goose.

You are more likely to get stung by a bee on a windy day than in any other kind of weather.

Cow's milk is 87% water.

Cows have four stomachs.

A cow has to eat grass to produce milk.

Frogs do not drink water. They absorb it from their surroundings by osmosis.

The animal that can last the longest without drinking water is the rat.

Owls are the only birds that can see the color blue.

An adult female flea can lay one egg every hour during its 3-month life span.

Murphy's Oil Soap is the product most commonly used to clean elephants.

The African elephant is pregnant for 640 days.

Ants do not chew their food; they move their jaws sideways to extract food juices.

An ant can lift up to fifty times its own weight.

Mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.

They do not live on the continent of Antarctica.

The average housefly lives for one month.

The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head.

The world's termites outweigh the world's humans ten to one.

There are more chickens in the world than people.

There are more than 900,000 types of insects.

An insect's skeleton is on the outside of its body.

Roosters do not crow only at dawn.

Fish sleep with their eyes open because they don't have eyelids.

Pet fish beg (just like dogs!); they jostle each other at the front of the tank for food.

A jellyfish is 95% water.

Cats can make more than one than one hundred vocal sounds.

Dogs make roughly ten.

Four out of ten dog and cat owners carry photographs of their pets in their wallets.

The average cat-food meal is the equivalent of five mice.

Millie, the Bush family dog, earned more money in 1991 than President George Bush did.

Before spraying, a skunk stamps its front feet and hisses or growls.

Giraffes have no vocal cords.

Opossums do not actually "play possum." In reality, they pass out from sheer terror.

Pigs, walruses and light-colored horses can be sunburned. Also white, hairless and short-haired cats and dogs can get sunburned. And so can rabbits, hamsters, birds and fish-so move cages or aquariums away from windows or close the curtains or blinds when the sun's streaming in.

Horses and rabbits cannot vomit.

Cats can get mad at you and hold grudges! (They're creatures of habit, so any change in their daily routine or environment will spark some "acting up".)

They can also sleep in over 100 positions, more than any other mammal.

Contrary to popular belief, most cats turn up their whiskers at milk!

Most dogs can remember a spoken word for up to two minutes.

If a dog nudges you in the crotch, it's just trying to get to know you from your scent.

Dogs do smile!

The three best ways to say "I love you" to your pet are: Talk in baby talk (reminds your pet of when they were a baby and was cherished), getting down to their level (you're trying to understand them) and establishing eye contact (you're paying special attention to furry beloved).

One reason the Egyptians regarded cats as sacred animals was that their eyes glow at night.

Cats and dogs dream much the same way that humans do!

Dogs dream about every 20 minutes; cats, about every 15 minutes.

Lions love a crowd. Their pride (group) can have as many as 20 members!

The world's most dangerous bird is the cassowary of Australia and New Guinea. It has powerful legs and knifelike claws. A kick from a cassowary can cripple or even kill a person.

The chameleon's tongue is as long as its body.

The hummingbird can fly straight up like a helicopter.

English sparrows were brought to the U.S. in the mid-1800s.

Lizards and snakes use their tongues to smell as well as to touch.