More Fun with Animals

I, down to a cellular level (no, really!), feel that today is a good day for more random animal facts! Fer instance, did you know ...

Blue whales are the largest animals to have EVER lived! 🐋 They’re larger than any of the dinosaurs.

Let’s look at the argentinosaurus. 

They were GIANT-ASS motherfuckers. Coming in at 100-130 feet long, 70 feet tall, and weighing 80-100 tons. They’re definitely a bit longer than our whaley buds (who measure 80-100 feet long) and argy’s have got it all going on in height (blue whales are a mere 15 feet tall) BUT in the weight category whales are the clear winners. Female blue whales can weigh up to ~209 tons!

Ants don't breathe through lungs – they don’t even have lungs. So how do they breathe? They have small openings called spiracles along the sides of their bodies. This also means that ants don’t have noses. Not a lot of call for rhinoplasty specialists in the ant community, I guess. 🐜

🦇 The bumblebee bat is the world’s smallest mammal and weighs less than a penny. It’s full government name is "Kitti's hog-nosed bat" which is way less cute, don’cha think? They’re only found in Thailand and Myanmar and have a body no larger than a thumb.

Photo by Lori Mazzuca

Dolphins and humpback whales apparently play together. Waddyaknow? Posted on Threads by Sarcastic Ferret (they can also be found on TikTok as FerretFluff):

Researchers in Hawaii documented bottlenose dolphins approaching humpback whales and allowing the whales to lift them completely out of the water on their heads. In one encounter, the same dolphin was lifted six times in 8.5 minutes. It didn't try to escape, it stayed on the whale's head, slid back into the water, and came back for another ride. 🐬

The researchers considered several explanations, including aggression, but concluded that interspecies play was the most likely one. So apparently if you're a dolphin and you find a 30-ton whale, one possible reaction is: giant fucking water slide.

The Wedge-tailed Eagle has the largest verified wingspan of any living eagle, reaching up to nine feet. It’s Australia's largest bird of prey. 

Corn Snakes don't have ears, they hear through their lower jaw, the bone of which responds to sounds in much the same way as the bones of our inner ears. 

Fascinating. I wonder if there could be any human application. YES, of course I’m wondering if there’s a way to science back some of my damn hearing!

The rock hyrax is the closest living relative to the elephant. They weigh 4 -12 pounds and measure 12 to 23 inches long. These are the elephant’s VERY tiny cousins. The hyrax, like their giant kin, have tusks. How CUTE!

Manatees control their buoyancy by farting. Ya know, with my ultra serious balance problems, I should try that. Secondary benefit would be that I’d clear the room. Fewer people I'd have to deal with and shit – a misanthropic introvert’s dream. Ya know?

A tortoise shell is part of its skeleton NOT a literal shell the body hides in. Bugs Bunny lied to me! I feel so betrayed. 🐢

A female Papuan epaulette shark (AKA the walking shark) at the Tennessee Aquarium recently laid fertile eggs after spending years in isolation, resulting in a healthy pup believed to be a clone of its mother.  🦈

Penguins have knees. 🐧

Hippos can't actually swim, too dense, they actually walk/bounce on the riverbed. While they nap underwater, they have a reflex that allows them to surface for air and stay asleep. 🦛

African painted dogs, AKA African wild dogs, AKA painted wolves, have one of the highest predation success rates of all animals at 80-90% success (a lion in contrast is about 25%, while dragonflies top the list at 95%).

They’ve also been known to take care of their sick, wounded, and elderly instead of discarding them like many other large social carnivore groups (including humans). Their survival is based on teamwork through and through.

So then, they’re more civilized than humans.

Frogs can breathe through their butt and lobsters pee out of holes on their faces. 🐸

A Rhinoceros can run and swim faster than a human so if you're competing in a triathlon against a rhinoceros, you’d better be really good in the bicycle stage. 🦏

When wombats are threatened, they'll retreat to their dens and use their butts as a "door". Their butts are actually a rock-hard, bone-dense shield made of fused plates, cartilage, and dense fur that protects it from predators and helps it survive in the wild.

An octopus has 3 hearts and 9 brains. Each arm has its own brain allowing it to taste move and react independently. 🐙 I want brains in all my appendages! I could def use a few spares.

 Now then, don't you feel enlightened, more rounded, and well informed about some of our fellow Earth dwellers? Also, didn't your joie de vivre get just the teensiest of boosts? Mine sure did.

‘scuse me, I’m gonna go watch more Dean Schneider big cat videos. He’s the dude from Zurich who dropped out of finance, moved to South Africa and established the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis, an animal sanctuary for rescued wildlife. It includes lions, cheetahs, capuchin monkeys, meerkats, hyenas, and reptiles. The location is kept private AND no tourists are allowed in. YEAH Dude!