Fun Animal Facts
Learn about animals and test your knowledge
The Bear Essentials
Bears have an incredible sense of smell, which is seven times stronger than that of a bloodhound.
During hibernation, a bear's heart rate drops dramatically, allowing them to go months without eating or drinking.
Not all bears are carnivores. Giant pandas eat mostly bamboo, while polar bears primarily eat seals.
Despite their size, grizzly bears can run up to 35 miles per hour, faster than most humans.
Many bears, like black bears, are skilled climbers, while polar bears are powerful swimmers.
Down the Rabbit Hole
On average, a rabbit warren may cover an area of up to 150 square meters (about 1,600 square feet)
Rabbits can hop at speeds of 45 miles per hour when escaping predators.
A rabbit’s teeth never stop growing—they can grow up to 5 inches per year!
Their ears can rotate almost 180 degrees, allowing them to detect sounds from different directions.
They communicate with each other using a variety of sounds, including thumps, grunts, and clucking noises.
Wise as an Owl
Owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees without damaging blood vessels.
They have specialized feathers enabling nearly silent flight, allowing them to sneak up on prey.
Owls' eyes are tubular rather than spherical, giving them excellent night vision but limited eye movement.
Some species of owls can hear prey under several feet of snow thanks to their exceptional hearing.
The Great Horned Owl can close its feet with a force of 28 pounds, enough to crush bone.
Hawk Eye
Hawks have extraordinary vision, seeing up to eight times sharper than humans.
They can dive at over 120 miles per hour and stop shortly before hitting the ground.
The call of the Red-tailed Hawk is a distinctive, high-pitched scream often heard in the countryside.
Some hawks, like the Cooper’s Hawk, are adept at hunting birds and can maneuver through dense forests to catch them.
Hawks often build their nests high in trees or cliffs, providing a safe place for protecting their young
Fox Trot
Foxes use over 40 different sounds, such as barks, howls, and screams, to communicate.
They can leap up to 3 feet in the air, using their strong legs to catch prey.
Their sharp hearing allows them to hear a mouse squeak from 100 feet away.
Foxes sometimes store food by burying it in the ground.
Highly adaptable, foxes can live in forests, grasslands, deserts, and even urban areas.
A Shell Game
Turtles are one of the oldest reptile groups, having been around for over 200 million years.
Unlike most reptiles, turtles have no teeth, but their beak-like mouths are strong enough to crush food.
Sea turtles can hold their breath for several hours while sleeping or resting underwater.
Box turtles can close their shell completely to protect themselves from predators.
Many turtles are excellent swimmers, though some species, like box turtles, prefer to live on land.
Oh Deer
Deer have excellent night vision, thanks to a layer in their eyes called the tapetum lucidum, which reflects light.
Male deer, known as bucks, grow and shed their antlers every year. Each set typically being larger than the last.
Fawns are born with white spots on their coat, which help camouflage them in the dappled light of the forest.
Deer are incredibly fast runners, reaching speeds of up to 30 miles per hour when fleeing from predators.
Deer communicate using a variety of sounds, including grunts, and bleats to warn others of potential threats.
Otter Madness
Otters hold hands while sleeping in the water to prevent drifting apart, a behavior called "rafting."
They use rocks as tools, smashing open shellfish on their bellies to get to the tasty meat inside.
River otters can close their ears and nostrils underwater, helping them stay submerged for up to 8 minutes.
They are playful animals, often seen sliding down muddy banks or snow for fun.
Sea otters are known to wrap themselves in kelp to stay anchored while resting in the ocean.
