Animals can be a lot of things. Cute, scary, majestic, clumsy, and the list goes on. Today we are going to look at what makes them both weird and hilarious, and appreciate the little quirks we love about them. Join me to look at a few hilariously weird facts that make the animal kingdom so endlessly fascinating and wonderful!
1. Acrobatic Geckos
Gecko’s are incredible climbers due to tiny hairs in their feet that allow them to stick to most surfaces, even the walls of your house. If a gecko falls while climbing, it will twist its tail to right itself and land on its feet. This maneuver takes on 100 milliseconds! If you’d like to know the science behind it check out this research, and here’s a video if you’d like to see them in action.
2. Spit Soup
When a bird builds their nest they scavenge for the best materials they have available to them. Sticks, grass, mud, even rocks. But some birds have found a way to avoid all that extra work; they use their own spit instead! The edible-nest swiftlet is found in South-East Asia, and they construct their nest by layering their saliva and allowing it to harden.
Humans have taken to harvesting their nests to make bird’s nest soup, a delicacy that can be expensive but is said to have medicinal benefits such as improved kidney health. However, this practice is beginning to threaten the species due to increased demand of bird’s nest soup that has led to overharvesting.
3. Horn of Hair?
Did you know that a rhinoceros horn is made of hair? Keratin is a protein that forms your hair and nails, as it does the hair and nails of animals. This same protein is found in rhino horns. The horn is very tightly packed hair, and these hairs are all held together by a matrix of dead skin cells. Who knew? For a detailed scientific explanation and some information on the making of artificial rhino horns, visit this page.
4. Owls Without Eyeballs
Did you know that owls, one of the most famous birds of prey, don’t have eyeballs? That’s because their eyes aren’t shaped like a sphere, instead they are more like tubes. Because of this shape owls are unable to move their eyes from side to side and up and down like we can.
Due to this handicap, owls must swivel their heads regularly to see what is around them and identify prey. Luckily for them they have a lot of mobility in this region, with the ability to twist their heads 270° in both directions. Click here for more information on the subject and other facts about owls eyes.
5. “Joey” the Dolphin
Everyone knows that dolphins will whistle and make other sounds to communicate with one another, but a study found that dolphins may also call each other by name. They have been found to associate a signature whistle with themselves, just like humans respond when called by their name.
What makes dolphins different from dogs reacting to their name is that these whistles are in their own “language” and they may use unique whistles to identify other dolphins. Here is a short National Geographic article on the research.
6. Chimps Love to Party!
Chimpanzees have been compared to people because they often display emotions and perform actions similar to that of young humans. A study that lasted 17 years observed chimps in Guinea that seem to enjoy having a drink or two with their buddies.
This particular region of Guinea is home to palm wine farms, where palm trees are tapped for naturally fermented sap. Sometimes when workers are not present, groups of chimpanzees will swoop in with leaf sponges they made in order to soak up the sap and drink it.
The sap contains about 3-7% alcohol by volume and the chimps would ingest about a liter at a time, enough for some to display behavior associated with intoxication. Scientists do not know for sure that this behavior is due to a love of alcohol or if the sap is simply an easy food source, but regardless of the motivation they are not deterred by the taste or inebriating effects of the sap.
7. Sea Otters: Too Cute?
I cannot imagine anyone looking at a sea otter and not commenting how adorable they are. Fluffy, chubby and friendly, they are one of the cutest sea creatures out there. I did not think that anything could make them more lovable, but I was proven wrong!
Sea otters often use kelp forests and other seaweed as an anchor point, by wrapping themselves up in it or holding on they can rest without worrying about being separated from the group. But it turns out that when kelp and seaweed are not an option, they will often hold hands while sleeping instead! Here is a quick video about otters and their hand holding habits.
8. The Great Impersonator
Blue jays are beautiful birds. I grew up seeing them everyday in my front yard, either chirping away at one another or sneakily stealing our dogs food from under her nose. Although I spent so much time around them as a child, I never knew one of their secret talents: impersonation!
It turns out that blue jays like to imitate the calls of several different predatory birds, and they do it quite well. Their most well known impersonation is that of the red-shouldered hawk and red-tailed hawk.
The reason they do this is still being debated in the scientific community, with some believing it is to scare off other birds in order to snag food. Click here to learn a bit more about blue jays and listen to a few of their different calls and imitations.
9. Wombats Poop Cubes
Wombats are the only animal in the world that is known to produce square, or cube shaped, feces. This is such a strange phenomena because it is found in no other species, and cubes are such a rare occurrence in nature. It was unknown why these cubes formed for many years, but scientists are getting closer to having a definitive answer.
Scientists believe that moisture plays a role, because in nature every drop of water counts and nothing is wasted, so their poop comes out relatively dry. In captivity the cube shape is less pronounced in wombat feces, and scientists believe this is due to an abundance of water. The cube shape may also be helped along by their intestinal tract which features two grooved areas where it is stretchier. For a short National Geographic article outlining this research, visit this page.
10. Snorkeling Insect
Did you know that water scorpions not only swim, but can breathe underwater too? Well, not in the same way that fish do, instead they snorkel! These fascinating insects use a breathing tube that transports oxygen from the surface of the water to a bubble of air that is held against their abdomen.
This bubble is formed because of water-repelling hairs on their body that keep the air from escaping. The breathing “tube” that transports air from the surface is actually formed by two cerci (appendages) that are also covered in this water-repelling hair. This article gives more information on water scorpions and explains how they gauge depth while diving!
I hope you found these facts as interesting and funny as I did. I learn more about animals every day and I encourage you to continue expanding your knowledge of the animal kingdom and this planet we all share together anytime you can. Thank you for joining me!
