Interesting Animal Facts

[Lilac Isosceles]

I have been reading a book called "A Mess of Iguanas, A Whoop of Gorillas......An Amazement of Animal Facts" written by Alon Shulman. It is really interesting. I'll share a couple of interesting facts with you.

 

A Bouquet of Hummingbirds - The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards

                                             - The hummingbird cannot walk

                                             - The heart of the Anna's hummingbird beats at 1260 beats per minute.

 

A Business of Ferrets - Ferrets like to hoard objects, which is where the phrase 'to ferret away' comes from.

                                   - The ferret's Latin name Mustela putorius furo, translates as 'mouse-catching stinky thief'.

                                   - Trained ferrets have been used to run wires and cables through large conduits. Perhaps their most high profile 'job' was laying the TV and sound cables for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

 

A Chatter of Budgerigars - Chocolate, avocado and alcohol are extremely toxic to budgerigars.

                                        - Budgerigar means 'good eating' in some Australian Aboriginal languages.

                                        - A budgerigar named Puck who died in America holds the world record for the largest vocabulary of any bird, at 1,728 words.

 

 

I'll post some more later. Let us know of some of your own interesting animal facts.

[LeslieDean]

My husband would love this book if only he would take the time to enjoy reading.  He is an avid fan of Animal Planet and any documentries on animals.  He retains all tidbit information about animals and is what many consider unbalanced in his love for them.  That is not something I am bragging or complaining about but just an observance by everyone who knows him.  You can see when he watches programming about animals something clicks inside his mind.  He is unable to even view the commericials about animal curely because he will tear up like a baby.  Very emotional about animals.

[Miss Bea]

My husband loves animals, too. I had to laugh. When he found out they had electrical bed warmers for dogs, he had to check to see if our system could carry them. It couldn't. I had known for some time about them, and kept my mouth shut. I knew he would want them. He has a button to push on the thermometer we have inside the house, and we can find out the temp in one of the dog houses. (As well as the temp outside)

We have 4 dogs and 3 cats. And they lead a pretty good life, if the cats can stay far, far away from the dogs. We do have a fence to allow them some space.

I really enjoy them too, but try to be balanced. When I start becoming emotional over how man treats animals, I think, get a grip, Bea, look at how they treat unborn humans. And then I think of what Jehovah must see. Cannot imagine, nor do I want to.

We enjoy animals so much today. A gift from Jehovah.

I

Edited May 20, 2013 by Miss Bea

[LeslieDean]

While we were dating my husband told me how much he loved his dogs when he was growing up.  I did not really think too much of it at the time but it became unbalanced with what I could see.  Like he would take money needed to pay bills and spend it feeding homeless animals or on vet bils.  t tis point we have 8 dogs--five of whom are rescued.  No, wait.  Two belongs to our neighbors but he takes such good care of them they will not leave our house.  He buys their Frontline and takes them to the vet when needed. This use to upset me.  Still does to a point but then I try to keep what I learned about him foremost and center when I become angry about the way he goes overboard with the animals.

 

He tol me he use to go to the dog house and crawl in and lay with the family dog.  He said he could remember spending hours in that dog house.  Several years after we were married his Mother told me she use to hide him in the dog house just before his father was to cme home from work.  There he would stay until she had time to "evaluate" his father's mood and see if it was "safe" for Rick to come out.  How disturbing this was for me to find out.  There he had been thinking he was just going out to love and pet the dog but he was actually being protected by his mother.

 

There are many other stories that I could say but it breaks my heart to recount them.

 

Now I keep in mind why he loves the animals so much.  They were a protection and comfort for him.  Instead of having a wonderful God like Jehovah to hide us--he had to turn to animals.  

[Musky]

Wow, Leslie! If you ever tell us that Rick is "in the dog house" we'll know that you mean that literally! 

Mrs. Musky is quite the animal lover too. She can't bear to watch the humane societies commercials on television, the ones with all the sad animals that need homes! We also go through fifty pounds of wild bird seed a week! The birds and squirrels are eating us out of house and home!

Edited May 20, 2013 by Musky

[LeslieDean]

Maybe Miss Bea's husband will allow him to stay in their dog house with the thermostat!  I am not sure if it is just to check the temperature and alert him or if it is climate controlled.  Miss Bea--tell your husband he may have to make room for one more!

[Lilac Isosceles]

When I am in the doghouse I don't get the luxury of a thermostat. I either freeze or swelter. Good thing I'm not in there very often. Some men don't know how good they've got it.

 

Anyway here are some more interesting animal facts.

 

A Turn of Turtles - The female green turtle sheds tears as she lays her eggs on the beach. This washes sand particles out of her eyes and rids her body of excess salt.

                            - Turtles can read the magnetic map of their native area and imprint this into their memories. By reading variations in the earths magnetic fields the turtles are able to navigate                                       across thousands of miles of ocean with pinpoint accuracy.

                            - Researchers have recently discovered that, unlike most animals, a turtle's organs do not gradually break down as it ages or become less efficient over time.

 

A Whoop of Gorillas - Humans are the gorillas only enemy.

                                - Gorillas have individual fingerprints.

                                - A gorilla named Koko has mastered up to 1,000 words in sign language. She describes herself as a 'fine animal person gorilla'.

                                - A young male gorilla is called a blackback. He's almost as big as a silverback, but his hair(not fur) has not as yet changed colour.

 

A Wobble of Ostriches - An ostrich's eye is almost 2in(5cm) across, the largest eye of any eye animal.

                                    - Ostriches stretch out their necks and lay their heads on the ground to keep from being seen - contrary to popular belief they do not bury their heads in the sand as they would suffocate.

                                    - The yolk in an unfertilised ostrich's egg is the largest single cell found in nature. An ostrich egg needs to be boiled for two hours to get a hard-boiled egg.  

[jayrtom]

beautiful and rare javan leopard captured by trap camera

Edited May 22, 2013 by jayrtom