25 weird and wonderful facts about animals (26 photos)

The natural world is full of wonders and surprises. Someone on Reddit asked the question, “What is the weirdest animal fact you know?” - and wildlife experts from all over the world immediately joined us! Sit back and imagine that these facts are being read out by everyone’s favorite Nikolai Nikolaevich Drozdov.





1. When a female sloth wants to find a mate, she hangs on a tree branch and just screams.



2. The octopus sometimes kicks fish with its tentacles for no reason - for fun or “out of anger”



3. Cats have the mental capacity of a two-year-old child. And that explains a lot



4. Polar bear fur is not white - it is translucent (for most frequencies of light). And underneath is black skin



Therefore, a polar bear's fur allows all light to reach its black skin to warm it, except for a few visible frequencies to maintain its white camouflage.

5. Contrary to popular belief, reindeer prefer raisins to carrots. If you suddenly find yourself on a deer farm, you know what to treat them with.



6. Argonauts are small octopuses that are too lazy to copulate. To mate with females, they detach their members and throw them into the open sea



7. Honey badgers can turn their anal glands inside out and use their scent to repel attackers.



Few people have the courage to attack a honey badger, but if they do, it will definitely not be a sweet one.

8. Dolphins deliberately get a thrill from pufferfish. This fish contains a toxin that causes a mind-altering effect in dolphins.



9. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.



10. The soaring (webbed) octopus exhibits the highest degree of sexual dimorphism ever known. Females: about 1.8 m across. Males: about 2.5 cm



11. A woodpecker’s tongue wraps around the brain to cushion it from the vibrations that occur when its beak hits a tree trunk.



12. The sea otter is the most densely furred animal: from 90,000 to 150,000 hair follicles per 1 square meter. cm



For comparison: dogs have about 2,000 of them per 1 square meter. cm, a person has on average from 120 to 200 hair follicles per 1 square meter. cm.

13. Owls have very long necks, but this is difficult to notice due to their extremely fluffy feathers.



14. Platypuses glow bluish-green under ultraviolet light. They also do not have nipples: they simply secrete milk from glands under the skin, and the young absorb it



15. Cats can get pregnant while already pregnant.



16. Armadillos always give birth in the form of four cubs



17. Dragonflies have the highest hunting efficiency. This is the luckiest and deadliest predator on Earth



18. To prevent predators from guessing about the presence of cubs, female deer eat the excrement of their offspring



19. MalesAngler fish are very small compared to females



When the male finally stumbles upon the female in the deep, deep darkness, he attaches himself to her and gradually, over time, becomes part of her.

20. While humans have three types of color-sensitive cones in their eyes, mantis crabs have 16. They see colors that we cannot see.



21. Blue whales are estimated to produce about 20 liters of sperm when they ejaculate.



22. Killer whales (orcas) belong to the dolphin family



23. Kangaroos cannot jump backwards. So if one of them attacks you, just try to stay behind him



24. Wombats poop cubes



25. The bees, having found the source of nectar, return to the hive and tell the rest of the bees where it is with a special dance.



This “dance” indicates: 1) the direction to the source of nectar in relation to the sun; 2) the exact distance from the hive to the nectar source.