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Nature:
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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.
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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
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- 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
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- 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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- Whale
The heart of a blue whale is about the size of a VW Beetle
- Oyster
An oyster changes its sex several times in life
Silkworm Silkworms have 11 brains
Octopus An octopus has three hearts
Snail Snails are hermaphrodites and can fertilize each other
Hen A hen lays about 300 eggs a year
Woodpecker Woodpeckers hammer their beak into trees up to 20 times per second
Fish Fish don’t drink water, they absorb it through the skin
Cockroach Cockroaches can live for nine days without a head before starving
Duck A duck’s quack is said not to generate an echo – we have our doubts!
Beetle Being able to carry 850 times its own body weight makes rhinoceros beetles the strongest animal in the world
Earthworm The longest earthworm ever found was 22 feet / 6.7 m long
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
Puma / cougar Pumas / cougars can jump as far as 60 feet / 18 m
Mouse A mouse has more bones (225) than people (who have 206)
Grasshopper A grasshopper will only jump in temperatures above 63 F / 17°c
Pig Pigs aren’t able to look at the sky
Red deer Red deer sleep no more than 5 minutes a day
All creatures 90% of all living creatures live in the sea
Parrot Chocolate is deadly to parrots
Condor A condor can soar for up to 9 miles / 15 km without flapping its wings
Fly Flies take off backwards
Elephant Elephants eat up to a ton of grass daily
Mite An average of 6 billion dust mites live in a normal mattress
Rat Rats find their way out of a maze more quickly when plays Mozart‘s music is playing
Cockroach Cockroaches are said to eat anything except cucumbers
Ostrich An ostrich egg requires 40 minutes of cooking before it is hard
Mosquito Only female mosquitoes bite, but they all love the color blue
Albatross An albatross can sleep while flying
Dolphin Dolphins can hear sounds underwater from over 15 miles / 24 km away
Insects On 2.5 km² of forest floor there are as many insects as there are people on Earth
Shark Sharks never get sick
Kangaroo Kangaroos can not jump backwards (not even Skippy the bush kangaroo)
Mussel Mussels can change their gender
Leech Leeches are said to have 32 brains
Tapeworm Tapeworms eat themselves if they can’t find food
Aphid Aphid females are born already pregnant
Rabbit Rabbits love licorice
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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 of ants, 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 of apes, 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 of bats, a colony of bats |
male |
female |
Bats |
Bear |
cub |
a sleuth of bears, 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 of birds, a flight of birds (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 of cats, a clowder of cats, a kindle or litter of 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 of cattle, a kine of cows (12 cows are a flink) |
bull |
cow |
Cattle |
Coyote |
pup, whelp |
a band of coyote, a 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 of dolphins/porpoises, a pod of dolphins/porpoises |
bull |
cow |
Dolphins / Porpoises |
Electric eel |
leptocephalus (larva), elver (juvenile) |
bed of eels, 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 of fish, shoal, run, haul, catch of fish |
male |
female |
Fish, fishes |
Fox |
cub, pup |
a troop of foxes, an earth of foxes, 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 of goats, a herd of goats, 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 of horses, a team of horses (in harness), a string of horses (for racing), a 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 of, a troop of kangaroos |
jack, buck, boomer |
jill, doe, flyer, roo |
Kangaroos |
Koala |
joey |
population, colony* |
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 of moles, a company of moles |
boar |
sow |
Moles |
Monkey |
infant |
a troop of monkeys, a tribe of monkeys, a barrel of monkeys, a cartload of monkeys, a wilderness of monkeys* |
male |
female |
Monkeys |
Mouse |
pup, pinkie, kitten |
a mischief of mice |
buck |
doe |
Mice |
Mule |
foal |
a barren, pack, rake or span of mules, team (when in harness) |
john |
molly |
Mules |
Otter |
pup, whelp |
a romp of otters |
dog |
bitch |
Otters |
Ox |
stot, calf |
a herd of oxen, a drove of oxen (when driven in a group), a team of oxen (in harness), a yoke of oxen |
bull, steer (castrated) |
cow |
Oxen |
Panda |
cub |
a cupboard of pandas* 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 of rabbits, a nest of rabbits, a 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 of elephant seals, harem, trip or herd of seals |
bull |
cow |
Seals |
Sheep |
lamb, lambkins, cosset |
a drove or drift (when driven in group), a flock of sheep, meinie, mob, parcel, trip, herd, hurtle, down |
ram |
ewe |
Sheep |
Squirrel |
pup, kit, kitten |
a dray or scurry of squirrels, a colony of squirrels |
buck |
doe |
Squirrels |
<Swine / Hog / Pig / Boar |
shoat, trotter, farrow, pig, piglet |
a sounder or drift of swine, a trip of swine, a doylt of swine, a herd of pigs, a flock of pigs, a drift (when driven), or parcel of hogs, a sounder of boars |
boar |
sow |
Swine |
Tiger |
cub, whelp |
a streak of tigers, a swift of tigers or an ambush of tigers* |
tiger |
tigress |
Tigers |
Walrus |
cub, pup |
a pod of walruses, a herd of walruses |
bull |
cow |
Walruses |
Weasel |
kit |
gang or pack of weasels |
buck, hob, jack, dog |
doe, bitch, jill |
Weasels |
Whale |
calf |
a school of whales, a shoal of whales, gam of whales, a pod of whales (smaller groups) |
bull |
cow |
Whales |
Wolf |
pup, whelp |
a pack of wolves, a herd of wolves, a rout/route of wolves (when moving) |
dog |
bitch |
Wolves |
Zebra |
colt, foal |
a cohort of zebras, a herd of zebras, (dazzle or zeal of Zebras *) |
stallion |
mare |
Zebra or Zebras |
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