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40 Adorable, Ferocious and Delicious Facts From the Animal Kingdom

Fishy, furry, and feathery facts

40 Adorable, Ferocious and Delicious Facts From the Animal Kingdom

March 01, 2025

Enough about us humans, let’s give you some facts about millions of other animal species who can’t speak for themselves. We sadly can’t give you a list with one fact per species, but hey, lists of 40 facts at a time could add up pretty quickly.

Start with this one, and we’ll go track down some more.

40

The Rock Hyrax

The closest living relative to the elephant is a rabbit-like animal. CRACKED COM Rock hyraxes are small, stub-tailed, rabbit-like ani- mals native to Africa. Though rock hyraxes resem- ble rodents, their closest liv- ing relatives are actually el- ephants and manatees. — Smithsonian National Zoo

39

Teeth

Apparently, teeth come from our fish ancestors. Ancient fish had dermal denticles -- small, spiky scales that some fish, like sharks or mantas, still have. Scientists think that, as those fish evolved into land animals, the denticles moved from the skin and into the mouth, where they became teeth. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

38

Whiptails

There is a species of all female lesbian lizards. GRACKED.COM New Mexico whiptails are 100% female. They are nicknamed as the Lesbian Lizards, they still participate in mating rituals in which they mount each other. This stimulates egg production without any gene transfer. — BBC

37

Snakes

You can drink snake venom, although you probably shouldn't. Unlike poison, snake venom is generally not effective when swallowed, since venom is meant to go directly into the bloodstream to cause damage. CRACKED.COM — Science Direct

36

Sharks

SHARK SUPERPOWERS CRACKED.COM There's been several recorded virgin shark births. Shark Jesuses? Extremely rare, but there's been several known cases of parthenogenesis, when a female shark Lorem Ipsum who hasn't had access to a male gives birth. The shark pups have identical genetics to the mother. — Source

35

Herons

Black Herons CRACKED.COM A black heron expands its wings to block sunlight entering the water. The shadow tricks fish into thinking night and safety have arrived. The bird picks them out one by one. — Audubon

34

Crows

CRACKED THE ANIMAL: Crows have been known to intentionally bend wire to fish out treats, and researchers say they're as intelligent as 5-7 year old kids. THE PITCH: THE CROW: SAVIOR In this film, a wounded hiker is saved by a crow, who fishes for him until help arrives. — Vox / Perky Pet

33

Anglerfish

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM BECOME ONE In the greatest love story ever told, the male anglerfish eats a hole in side of his much larger female partner and implants himself, fusing together with her and essentially becoming a parasite with his one job to occasionally provide sperm. — Source: BBC Earth

32

Sunbeam Snakes

There is a rare snake that has iridescent rainbow colored scales called a sunbeam snake. CRACKED COM The scales of this Thai- land snake are very smooth and the snake has a texture like rub- ber. Dirt doesn't ар- pear to stick to the scales. — Thailand Snakes

31

Eagles

An eagle can attack, kill, and carry away an animal as large as a small deer. CRACKED.COM Only a fully grown ea- gle can, as its toes and legs are strong enough to firmly hold and bear the weight of the heavy prey. — National Geographic

30

Mating Rituals

Male lyrebirds deceive females into mating GRACKED.COM Some lyrebirds will imitiate the alarm calls of birds spotting a predator when a potential mate is about to leave, scaring her into staying with him to mate. — Scientific American

29

Hummingbirds

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM LEARN AERIAL MANEUVERS Broad-tailed hummingbirds do dives of over 100 feet to impress a lady. As he impressively synchronizes his dive to reach a perched mate, the male achieves maximum speed, makes a sexy noise with his tail feathers, and shows off those irresistible iridescent throat feathers. — Source: Princeton

28

Lions

Lionesses abandon their litter when only one cub survives THE LION KING CRACKED.COM Sorry, Simba, but Mommy would have left you for dead long before Scar. Female lions have more reproductive success by abandoning single cubs and investing only in larger litters. — Source: Parker and Pusey

27

Birth Control

Apes in ZOOS take human birth control as a means of animal population control. CRACKED.COM Other ZOO animals eat hormone-spiked food or have slow-releasing hor- mones implanted in their bodies. — American Association for the Advancement of Science

26

Zoo Animals

CRACKED ANIMAL-MADE ITEMS A zoo in Japan raised money through crowdfunding by selling items made by the animals. These include paintings and cards made by monkeys, seals, and goats, jeans ripped by lions, coasters chewed by beavers, and so on. — Inquirer

25

Foley Facts

CRACKED THE DINOSAUR NOISES IN JURASSIC PARK WERE CREATED BY MANIPULATING ANIMAL SOUNDS. The T. rex roar was created by mixing the sounds of a baby elephant, a tiger, and an alligator. — Universal Pictures,
paula french/Shutterstock
Mental Floss

24

Mating Rituals

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM DRINK THEIR PEE A male giraffe will whack the female until she pees, then taste her urine to see where she is on her cycle. If she's in heat, he'll follow her around for a few days until he can successfully mate with her. — Source

23

Ground Squirrels

CRACKED COM The ground squirrel has been known to hide their scent from their most dangerous predator, the snake, by chewing an outer layer of snakeskin and rubbing it all over their fur. — Source: 28 Animals With Superhero Level Abilities

22

Bowerbirds

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM LIE ABOUT YOUR HEIGHT Male bowerbirds spent 80% of their day building structures to impress their mate. They arrange bones, shells, and stones by size to create an optical illusion. When the female bird views in the male in his dome, this forced perspective makes him appears larger. — Source: Nature

21

Bullfrogs

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM GET IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT African bullfrogs will fight, sometimes to the death, in shallow pools. To avoid the smaller males who get pushed to the side, a female frog will swim underneath the group and emerge in the middle of the dominant males, ready to mate with the strongest male. — Source: BBC Earth

20

Birds

Many bird species rub ants on themselves to rid their feathers of parasites. CRACKED.COM Called anting, the formic acid released by the ants helps to kill the parasites on the bird when they roll in ant hills or pick ants up by their bill and rub them on their feathers. — Biodiversity Library

19

Snakes

One in three snake bite victims is drunk. One in five is tattooed CRACKED.COM Researchers found male victims outnumbered females 9-to-1. The aver- age age was 24, 57% were handling a venom- ous snake, and 28% had appeared intoxicated. — LA Times

18

Mating Rituals

DROOLING BE OVER HER CRACKED COM Female scorpionflies are wooed by spit and choose a mate based on saliva secretion. The male draws her in by hacking up a drippy gift, then reuses whatever's left to romance new conquests. — Source: time

17

Wingmen

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM GET A WINGMAN The dominant male swallow-tailed Manakin will grab a friend or two to join his mating dance to impress a female. When the female is aroused, he dismisses the others and performs a solo dance that leads to breeding. — Source: Birdwatching

16

Ants

An Amazonian ant species has evolved to reproduce without sex. The females basically clone themselves to produce an all-female ant colony. It's the first time this behavior has been recorded in ants. While diversity and the longevity of the species could be an obvious problem here, it's fascinating to note that these female colonies grow a greater number of crops than other ant species. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Animals With Envy-Inducing Biology

15

Dolphins

MALE DOLPHINS WILL MURDER BABY DOLPHINS IN ORDER TO MATE WITH THE MOTHER. A new mother is unavailable for mating for years while she cares for her young. CRACKED.COM — Source: 21 Horrific Facts About Adorable Animals

14

Flamingo

WEIRD WORLD A flamingo that escaped from a Kansas ZOO 17 years ago has been spotted in Texas. The bird escaped from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita on a stormy night in June 2005. It has been spotted several times in Wisconsin, Louisiana and Texas, sometimes with other wild flamingos. CRACKED.COM — AP News

13

Spiders

CORPSE OFFERINGS B CRACKED.COM The male nursery web spider comes bearing gifts of insect carcasses wrapped in silk, which he gives to the female before mating. Scientists believe this could either be a thoughtful show of parental investment, or it's meant to prevent her from eating him. — Source: cbc.ca

12

Whales

Lone male sperm whales sometimes start attacking pods of killer whales. In one instance, a killer whale pod was following a trawler to eat fish that got caught, and a sperm whale tried to drive them off (probably to get that fish). CRACKED.COM — Source

11

Deer

In North America, the most dangerous wild animal species are probably deer. They're involved in lots of car crashes, which sometimes kill drivers - plus, they carry deer ticks, which are very harmful to humans. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — SentinelSource.com

10

Kangaroos

Male kangaroos like to strike poses and show off their biceps to attract female roos. CRACKED.COM — Animals That (Eerily) Demonstrate Human-Like Behavior

9

Blanket Octopuses

Female Blanket Octopuses can grow up to 2 meters or 6 feet 6 inches. Their male counterpart, however, can grow only up to an inch. It's the largest known size difference between genders in the animal kingdom, with the female being 10,000 to 40,000 times heavier than the male. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Spiny Mouse

The African spiny mouse is the only known mammal that can lose up to 60% of its skin, and grow It all back. Their skins are brittle and can easily tear to help them escape their predators. While mammals will grow scar tissue when their skins are removed, spiny mice can fully regrow skin, hair follicles, sweat glands, and even cartilage. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Animals With Envy-Inducing Biology

7

The Pangolin

There's only one mammal that's completely covered by scales: the pangolin. They use those scales to instantly go into what's basically fortress mode if a threat appears, they curl up into a tight, scaly, well-armored ball. CRACKED.COM — Source: WorldWildlife.org

6

The Mouse-Deer

The female Lesser mouse-deer can conceive 85-155 minutes after giving birth. This means that if the mouse-deer (which is nei- ther mouse, nor deer) gives birth at the begin- ning of Avengers: End Game, she'd be with child again before Thanos is de- feated. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

5

Turtles

Alligator Snapping Turtle CRACKEDCOR The alligator snapping turtle engages in a tactic known as lingual luring. It wiggles its worm-like tongue as a lure, attracting gullible fish right between its jaws. — Source: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

4

Rats

40 Adorable, Ferocious and Delicious Facts From the Animal Kingdom — Source: BBC

3

Caterpillars

Elephant hawk moth caterpillars will quickly transform... into an adorable looking snake. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED COM

2

Hens

40 Adorable, Ferocious and Delicious Facts From the Animal Kingdom — Source: Live Science

1

Thorny Devil Lizard

Thorny Devil Lizard The Thorny Devil Lizard has the ability to absorb water from its scales on any part of its body. It presents a false head on the b

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