With the earth being over 4 billion years old, it’s no surprise that it has been through its fair share of changes. However, over the course of history, one thing is certain: in the natural world, survival is key and to ensure that animals have certainly developed many surprising ways to thrive in the ever-changing environment.
Every species is unique, and each has their own set of adaptations to survive the world around them. From microscopic animals that can live in space, to camels living in the desert, there is one thing that we all have in common: our world is constantly changing and only the fittest will survive.
The simplest definition of an animal is a living organism that feeds on organic matter other than a human being. That very general definition encompasses a startling variety of creatures and vast differences in lifestyle and behavior.
Let’s see for yourself, we have put together a list of random and fun animal facts to make you smile and admire nature’s creativity.
Immortal? Facts about the longest living animals on earth
As humans, we generally categorize creatures in terms of life expectancy. We know how long our pets can be expected to live, as well as how long our parents might be with us. But we don’t consider that there might be creatures that are immortal.
Well, there just might…
There is a species of jellyfish, the turritopsis nutricula jellyfish, that is capable of reverting from its adult state to an immature polyp stage, effectively beginning its life development cycle anew. Members of this species are able to turn themselves from an adult into a baby through a process known as “transdifferentiation.”
In theory, this means jellyfish can live forever. The jellyfish reproduces via asexual reproduction, creating hundreds of identical copies of itself, and therefore never dying.
Although, no one knows for certain if that is the case. Because they have proven able to do this even when sucked in by a ship’s machinery and are then spit out again as a polyp along the voyage far from its origin, that is why these jellyfish can now be found in many oceans. And their population is increasing .
Ancient sea sponge
The Antarctic sponge, which grows very slowly in the cold water does not live forever, but it can live a very long time. The oldest known specimens are 1,550 years old.
Slowly aging tortoises
These slow moving, gentle giants of the reptile world often live to more than a hundred years old. They are extremely well known due to their unique shape and size. Tortoises are believed to be the longest living vertebrates on earth, sometimes living to 250 years.
Extreme resilience? The most resilient species of animals out there
Much of survival is resilience or ability to adapt to changing conditions. Animals have been around even longer than humans, and, although there are some species that are more resilient than others, animals can be used as good examples for how resilience is the key to longevity of a species.
Here are some facts about what is to be considered the most resilient species of animals.
The gross way of caterpillar becoming a butterfly
It is common knowledge that a caterpillar metamorphosizes into a butterfly when it spins its silky cocoon around itself, but exactly how does this change take place? The caterpillar not only eats a lot of leaves before hibernating, but it digests itself, turning into a soup. The soup then develops into a template of its future self before it completely reformulates into a butterfly .
Sticking to the same look for millions of years
Sharks made the list due to the fact that sharks have been around for millions of years, yet evolutionary they have changed very little while maintaining their position as apex predators.
Perfect adaption to drought
Camels have incredible ability to withstand extreme temperatures and survive on very little water for prolonged periods of time. This is thanks to that odd hump on their back made from fatty tissue which can be metabolically broken down into water and energy during times of water and feed shortage in extreme conditions.
They also have other impressive skills like their ability to drink water as quickly as 30 gallons in a little over 10 minutes which enables them to live in areas with very little water and make the most of water when suddenly available .
Tiny but extraordinary
Although tiny, ants are very resilient. Ants are considered to be resilient due to their widespread location, super strength, and the ability to create amazingly complex nests and structures. When they work together in unison, they have been seen to carry relatively large creatures such as birds. This is all due to their impressive strength and teamwork.
Although they give most of us the creeps, cockroaches are extremely resilient. They are one of the oldest insect groups and are more than 300 million years old as a species. They are very adaptable, will eat just about anything and mature very quickly–perfect set of skills to survive everywhere under any situation.
Timid and adaptable, that’s the way to live
Oysters on the other hand, are easy going. They just make pearls. They are known to even change gender, if that makes mating go more smoothly.
Being boiled? Living in the space? No problem…
Finally, the most resilient animals are tardigrades (also called water bears). These microscopic creatures are approximately 1 mm in size and get their nickname due to their appearance under a microscope.
They are extra resilient and can live for hundreds of years even after being boiled or frozen. Also, they can survive the most extreme temperature changes, are capable of living without water for years without an issue and can even live in space .
Random facts about animals you never knew
Not such a big fan of snakes? Hold on…here is even more scary stuff about these odd creatures.
Snakes and their special feats
- Snakes kill over 40,000 people a year.
- The chopped off head of a snake can still bite and spit out a large amount of venom.
- On the subject of snakes, it might be helpful to know that five different kinds of snakes can take off and fly up to 330 feet or 100 meters in the air. The faeries and leprechauns apparently do not put up with any of the aforementioned shenanigans.
- There are no snakes in Ireland .
Why you shouldn’t be scared of sharks
In comparison to snakes who kill more than 40,000 people a year, sharks, for all the bad press they receive, actually kill fewer than ten people a year. But humans kill about 100 million sharks a year .
Bald eagles are dramatic lovers. They mate during a downward descent from the heavens. The pair soars high in the sky, begins a dive and interlocks talons, performing a series of passionate somersaults in their freefall. They mate for life, producing one or two offspring a year.
Romantic proposals of courting penguins
The courtship of a male Adelie penguin mirrors that of young man’s. He proposes to the female he is courting by presenting her with a pretty pebble. If she accepts the small rock, they bond and mate for life. Although it’s hard to tell, penguins do have knees. But no one has yet documented them proposing on their knees.
Dances of frogs to impress females
Less formal than their tuxedoed bros, the frogs in the Sadhaya Mountains have an entirely different jam for attracting females.
The mountain range, which stretches 1,000 miles across India is home to twenty-four species of dancing frogs. The males dance to attract females.
The gender discrepancy is 1:100, so they have to show some really good moves to win the coveted prize.
Cowbirds are lazy. They don’t raise their own chicks, but instead a cowbird will watch carefully, waiting for another songbird to leave its nest and then she lays an egg in it, content to let another bird do the work of raising her young.
Singing for life
Not all birds are lazy. Some just like to sing. Some male songbirds sing more than 2,000 times a day.
Special feathers for silent flight
Many species of owls have special feathers so that they can in fact fly silently.
Not so fragile as they appear
Fragile as they appear, Monarch butterflies travel over 2500 miles each winter to escape the cold. Their wings move in a figure 8 motion. And…it is a flutter of butterflies that flutters bye to Canada come cold weather, preferring the warm, bright sun of Mexico.
- Cows can sleep standing up, but they can only dream lying down.
- Dolphins can stay active for fifteen days or longer by sleeping with only half of their brain at a time.
- Ants don’t snore. They don’t have lungs. And besides that, they don’t sleep. Ever. They are just always busy. There are one million busy ants for every human.
Some weird and disgusting facts about animals
Oh, gross! Here are some fun fourth-grade animal facts that might disgust you, but hey, these tricks have been working well for those animals, so do not judge.
- Lobsters pee out of their faces;
- Horned lizards can shoot blood out of their eyes;
- Chinese soft-shelled turtles can expel urea out of their mouths;
- and some Australian river turtles can breathe through their butts.
On the other hand, a fact often learned around fourth grade that daddy long legs are the most venomous creatures on earth, but ineffective because their fangs are too small to bite, isn’t true!
They don’t have venom at all. They have been around a long time though. A fossil found in Scotland dates the species back 400 million years, 200 million years before dinosaurs appeared.