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Nature:
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Technology:
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Related Links:
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Animal Species in the World
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There are more than a million animal species in the world. There are 6,000 species of reptiles, 73,000 kinds of spiders, and 3,000 types of lice. For each person there are about 200 million insects. The 4,600 kinds of mammals represent a mere 0.3% of animals and the 9,000 kinds of birds are only 0.7% of all mammals. The most numerous bird specie is the red-billed quelea of southern Africa. There are 100 trillion of them.
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
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Here is a quick reference guide to how long certain animals live.
Most animals have a life span far less than that of humans. Right now the average life span for a human is between 75 and 80 years of age.
The average life spans listed below are from the most years expected to live to the least years expected to live. Of course, the life expectancy of an animal depends on many factors, including its environment, its food supply, and whether or not it is captive.
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Average Life Spans
- Galapagos tortoise - 200+ years
- Box turtle, carp - 100 years
- Gray whale - 70 years
- Alligator, chimpanzee, African parrot, humpback whale - 50 years
- African elephant - 35 years
- Dolphin, gorilla - 30 years
- Horse, snake - 20 years
- Black bear - 18 years
- Tiger - 16 years
- Lion, lobster, domestic cat, cow, tarantula, - 15 years
- Domestic dog - 13 years
- Camel, moose, sheep - 12 years
- Ferret, giraffe, pig, squirrel - 10 years
- Chicken, white-tailed deer, goat - 8 years
- Kangaroo - 7 years
- Chipmunk - 6 years
- Beaver, domestic rabbit - 5 years
- Guinea pig, hamster - 4 years
- Mouse - 3 years
- Opossum - 1 year
- Worker bee - 5 weeks
- Adult housefly - 4 weeks
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Extreme Life Spans
- These animals have far exceeded their life expectancy. This does not happen often, so they are worth mentioning.
- Parrot - 80 years
- Elephant - 69 years
- Alligator - 68 years
- Catfish - 60 years
- Eagle, eel, giant salamander - 55 years
- Horse - 50 years
- Cobra - 28 years
- Queen ant - 15 years
- In the mammal species, it would appear that larger animals tend to live longer than smaller ones. Man lives longer than many mammals. Next comes, elephants, monkeys, horses, and down the line to the tiny house mouse that has the shortest life span.
- But, there are definitely exceptions to this rule. For example, in a same species scenario, larger dogs do not live as long as smaller dogs. Mutts (or mixed breeds) tend to live longer than pure bred dogs, and it does not really matter what size you are talking about.
- It is generally believed that one human year equals seven years for a dog. The fact is that for the first 2 years, 10.5 dog-years are equivalent to one human-year, and then 4 dog-years per human-year for each year after that.
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40 Amazing Facts about Animals
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90% of all living creatures live in the sea
Fish - Fish don’t drink water, they absorb it through the skin
Whale - The heart of a blue whale is about the size of a VW Beetle
Shark - Sharks never get sick
Dolphin - Dolphins can hear sounds underwater from over 15 miles / 24 km away
Octopus - An octopus has three hearts
Oyster -
An oyster changes its sex several times in life
Mussel - Mussels can change their gender
Mole - Moles can dig tunnels totaling up to 75 feet / 23 m in one night
Elephant - Elephants can take up nearly 9 liters of water with their trunk
Elephant - Elephants eat up to a ton of grass daily
Red deer - Red deer sleep no more than 5 minutes a day
Puma / cougar - Pumas / cougars can jump as far as 60 feet / 18 m
Pig - Pigs aren’t able to look at the sky
Kangaroo - Kangaroos can not jump backwards (not even Skippy the bush kangaroo)
Rabbit - Rabbits love licorice
Mouse - A mouse has more bones (225) than people (who have 206)
Rat - Rats find their way out of a maze more quickly when plays Mozart‘s music is playing
Ostrich - An ostrich egg requires 40 minutes of cooking before it is hard
Hen - A hen lays about 300 eggs a year
Duck - A duck’s quack is said not to generate an echo – we have our doubts!
Woodpecker - Woodpeckers hammer their beak into trees up to 20 times per second
Parrot - Chocolate is deadly to parrots
Condor - A condor can soar for up to 9 miles / 15 km without flapping its wings
Insects - On 2.5 km² of forest floor there are as many insects as there are people on Earth
Grasshopper - A grasshopper will only jump in temperatures above 63 F / 17°c
Fly - Flies take off backwards
Mosquito - Only female mosquitoes bite, but they all love the color blue
Albatross - An albatross can sleep while flying
Mite - An average of 6 billion dust mites live in a normal mattress
Cockroach - Cockroaches are said to eat anything except cucumbers
Cockroach - Cockroaches can live for nine days without a head before starving
Beetle - Being able to carry 850 times its own body weight makes rhinoceros beetles the strongest animal in the world
Snail - Snails are hermaphrodites and can fertilize each other
Leech - Leeches are said to have 32 brains
Earthworm - The longest earthworm ever found was 22 feet / 6.7 m long
Silkworm - Silkworms have 11 brains
Tapeworm - Tapeworms eat themselves if they can’t find food
Aphid - Aphid females are born already pregnant
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Some Animals Have Slowly Lost Their Sense of Taste Over Millions of Years
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What creatures can only taste salt?
Answer: Dolphins & Whales. They can only taste salt!
Compared to other members of the animal kingdom, humans are pretty good at tasting things. Our primate biology gives us the ability to detect five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (or savory). These five basic tastes create the nearly limitless flavor profiles of all the foods we enjoy (or detest) — but not all animals are so lucky. Birds, for example, can’t detect spiciness in foods, which is why a pigeon could munch on a Carolina Reaper without a second thought. Taste also varies widely among mammals, and dolphins and whales may be some of the worst off, because they have devolved to only taste salt. That’s right — these unfortunate creatures have slowly lost their sense of taste over millions of years.
In 2014, scientists analyzed the genomes of 15 species of baleen and toothed whales, and found a massive loss of taste receptors across the board. Although these receptors were technically still present, they had been irreparably damaged by genetic mutations. Researchers were particularly surprised by the loss of bitter receptors, as many toxins in the sea have a bitter taste. This slow-but-steady loss of taste is likely tied to how whales and dolphins eat, as they tend to swallow prey whole rather than chew like many fellow mammals do. So while slowly losing their sense of taste is certainly a bitter pill to swallow, luckily these cetaceans can’t taste it anyway.
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Some Interesting Facts About Animals
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- A cockroach can live for 9 days without its head.It only dies when it cannot eat.
- A crocodile's tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth and cannot move it. So, a crocodile cannot stick out its tongue. The scales of a crocodile are made of ceratin, the same substance that hooves and fingernails are made of.
- A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
- A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
- A snail can sleep for three years. A snail has two pairs of tentacles on its head. One pair is longer than the other and houses the eyes. The shorter pair is used for smelling and feeling its way around.
- African elephants only have four teeth to chew their food with.
- Animals are either right-handed or left-handed. Polar bears are left-handed.
- An ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
- An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
- Butterflies taste with their feet.
- Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
- Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot
- Dogs: There are 701 types of pure breed dogs. The oldest breed of dog is the Saluki. The world's smallest dog is the Chihuahua, which means "tiny dog in the sky." There are about 54 million dogs in the US, and Paris is said to have more dogs than people. The coyote is a member of the dog family and its scientific name, "canis latrans" means barking dog.
- Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite and suck blood.
- Sharks are immune to all known diseases. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes. It is impossible to out-swim a shark - sharks reach speeds of 70 km/h (44 mph). Humans can run about 35 km/h (21 mph).
- Starfish don't have brains.
- The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car. The tongue of a blue whale is as long as an elephant.
- There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia, a nation of 17 million people. New Zealand is home to 4 million people and 70 million sheep.
- Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
- Turtles can breathe through their butts.
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Links to Interesting Wildlife Websites
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Collective Nouns for Animals, Baby, Genders & Plurals
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This list of collective nouns for animals (also called collective terms and terms of venery) can never be definitive but it is fun. A “collective noun” refers to “plural-only” words such as cattle for cows and people for person. Detailed grammar definitions are beyond the scope of this collective nouns for animals ADDucation list! There are currently around 5,400 mammal species worldwide which includes bats, whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
Animals |
Babies & Infants called? |
Collective nouns for animals |
Male |
Female |
Animal Plurals |
Ant |
antling |
a colony or an army of ants |
winged male, aner |
queen, worker |
Ants |
Antelope |
calf |
a herd of antelope |
herd |
doe |
Antelope or Antelopes |
Ape |
baby |
a shrewdness or a troop of apes |
bull |
female |
Apes |
Baboon |
infant |
a troop of baboons |
bull |
female |
Baboons |
Badger |
kit, cub |
a company, colony or cete of badgers |
boar |
sow |
Badgers |
Bat |
pup |
a cloud or colony of bats |
male |
female |
Bats |
Bear |
cub |
a sleuth or a sloth of bears |
boar |
sow |
Bears |
Beaver |
pup, kitten, kits |
a family, lodge or colony of beavers |
male |
female |
Beavers |
Bird |
fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick |
a flock, flight (in the air), congregation or volery of birds |
cock |
hen |
Birds |
Buffalo |
calf |
a herd of buffalo |
bull |
cow |
Buffalo, buffalloes, buffaloes |
Cat |
kitten |
a clutter, clowder, kindle or litter of cats/kittens |
tom, tomcat |
tabby, queen |
Cats |
Camel |
calf, colt |
a herd, flock, train or caravan of camels |
bull |
cow |
Camels |
Cattle |
calf |
a herd or drove of cattle |
bull |
cow |
Cattle |
Cow |
calf |
a herd or kine of cows (12 cows are a flink) |
bull |
cow |
Cattle |
Coyote |
pup, whelp |
a band or pack of coyotes |
dog |
bitch |
Coyotes |
Deer |
fawn, yearling |
a herd, mob or leash of deer |
buck |
stag |
Deer or Deers |
Dog |
puppy, pup |
a pack of dogs |
dog |
bitch |
Dogs |
Donkey / Ass |
colt, foal |
a herd or pace of asses |
jack, jackass |
jenny, jennet |
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Dolphin / Porpoise |
pup, calf |
a school or pod of dolphins/porpoises |
bull |
cow |
Dolphins / Porpoises |
Electric eel |
leptocephalus (larva), elver (juvenile) |
a bed or swarm of eels |
cassi |
emily |
Eels |
Elephant |
calf |
a herd of elephants |
bull |
cow |
Elephants |
Elk |
calf |
a gang of elks |
bull |
cow |
Elks |
Ferret |
kit |
a business or flensing of ferrets |
hob |
jill |
Ferrets |
Fish |
fry (plural noun) |
a school, shoal, run, haul or catch of fish |
male |
female |
Fish, fishes |
Fox |
cub, pup |
a troop, an earth, a skulk or leash of foxes |
dog, reynard |
vixen |
Foxes |
Gerbil |
pup |
a horde of gerbils |
buck |
doe |
Gerbils |
Giraffe |
calf |
a tower of giraffes/giraffe |
bull |
doe |
Giraffes |
Goat |
kid |
a flock, herd, tribe or trip of goats |
billy (domestic), evec |
nanny |
Goats |
Guinea pig / Cavy |
pup |
a group of guinea pigs |
boar |
sow |
Guinea pigs |
Hamster |
pup |
a horde of hamsters |
buck |
doe |
Hamsters |
Hare |
leveret |
a down or husk of hares |
buck |
doe |
Hares |
Hedgehog |
piglet, pup |
an array of hedgehogs |
boar |
sow |
Hedgehogs |
Hippopotamus |
calf |
a bloat of hippopotamuses/hippopotami |
bull |
cow |
Hippopotamuses or Hippopotami |
Horse |
foal, yearling, or colt (male), filly (female) |
a herd, team of horses (in harness), string of horses (for racing), rag of colts, pair or harras of horses, a stud of mares |
stallion, colt (young) |
mare, filly (young) |
Horses |
Hound |
pup |
a pack, sute, mute or cry of hounds |
dog |
bitch |
Hounds |
Kangaroo/ Wallaby |
joey |
a mob or troop of kangaroos |
jack, buck, boomer |
jill, doe, flyer, roo |
Kangaroos |
Koala |
joey |
a population or colony of koala |
buck* |
doe* |
Koalas |
Leopard |
cub |
a leap (leep) of leopards |
leopard |
leopardess |
Leopards |
Lion |
cub |
a pride of lions |
lion |
lioness |
Lions |
Llama |
cria |
a herd of llamas |
male |
female |
Llamas |
Manatee |
calf |
a herd of manatees |
bull |
cow |
Manatee or Manatees |
Mole |
pup |
a labor/labour or company of moles |
boar |
sow |
Moles |
Monkey |
infant |
a troop, tribe, barrel, cartload, wilderness of monkeys* |
male |
female |
Monkeys |
Mouse |
pup, pinkie, kitten |
a mischief of mice |
buck |
doe |
Mice |
Mule |
foal |
a barren, pack, rake, span or team of mules (when in harness) |
john |
molly |
Mules |
Otter |
pup, whelp |
a romp of otters |
dog |
bitch |
Otters |
Ox |
stot, calf |
a herd, drove, (when driven in a group), team, (in harness) or yoke of oxen |
bull, steer (castrated) |
cow |
Oxen |
Panda |
cub |
a cupboard or an embarrassment of pandas* |
boar |
sow |
Pandas |
Person / Humans |
baby, infant, child |
a crowd of people |
man |
woman |
People |
Rabbit |
bunny, bunny rabbit, kittens |
a colony, nest, or warren of rabbits (strictly, where they live) |
buck |
doe |
Rabbits |
Rat |
pup, pinkie, kitten |
a pack or swarm of rats |
buck |
doe |
Rats |
Reindeer |
fawn |
a herd of reindeer |
buck |
doe |
Reindeer or Reindeers |
Rhinoceros |
calf |
a crash or herd of rhinos |
bull |
cow |
Rhinoceros or Rhinoceroses |
Seal / Sea Lion |
pup |
a pod, harem, trip or herd of seals |
bull |
cow |
Seals |
Sheep |
lamb, lambkins, cosset |
a flock, meinie, mob, parcel, trip, herd, hurtle, down or a drove/drift of sheep (when driven in group) |
ram |
ewe |
Sheep |
Squirrel |
pup, kit, kitten |
a dray, scurry or colony of squirrels |
buck |
doe |
Squirrels |
<Swine / Hog / Pig / Boar |
shoat, trotter, farrow, pig, piglet |
a sounder, drift, trip of swine or doylt of swine, a herd, flock or drift of pigs (when driven), a parcel of hogs, a sounder of boars |
boar |
sow |
Swine |
Tiger |
cub, whelp |
a streak, swift or an ambush of tigers* |
tiger |
tigress |
Tigers |
Walrus |
cub, pup |
a pod or herd of walruses |
bull |
cow |
Walruses |
Weasel |
kit |
a gang or pack of weasels |
buck, hob, jack, dog |
doe, bitch, jill |
Weasels |
Whale |
calf |
a school, shoal, gam, or pod of whales (smaller groups) |
bull |
cow |
Whales |
Wolf |
pup, whelp |
a pack, herd of wolves or rout/route of wolves (when moving) |
dog |
bitch |
Wolves |
Zebra |
colt, foal |
a cohort or herd of zebras, (dazzle or zeal of Zebras *) |
stallion |
mare |
Zebra or Zebras |
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