These amazing animals, seals, just seem clumsy. Yes, on land they appear to be such lumps, but in the water, they are swift, strong, and graceful. However, much still depends on the specific species to which the seal belongs - many of them differ vary significantly from each other. But it was thanks to these animals that such a colloquial word as "seal" appeared, that is, to wallow, relax and do nothing. But what, after all, these marine animals really often allow themselves to relax and unwind, although, of course, their life does not consist of continuous rest.
Fun facts about seals
1. Seals belong to the family of true seals.
2. Depending on the species, they can live in both salt and fresh water of the arctic, subarctic or temperate zones.
3. Currently, three types of seals are known: two of them are marine, and one is freshwater.
4. All seals, especially freshwater ones, are living relics that have been preserved on Earth since the end of the Tertiary period.
5. Seals are similar to seals, they have a spindle-shaped body, a small head and limbs that have evolved into flippers, thanks to which the seals are excellent swimmers and divers.
6. The neck of the seal is weakly expressed, sometimes it may even seem that it does not exist at all, and the body simply passes into a small, head with a flattened skull, smoothly turning into a slightly elongated muzzle.
7. In general, the seal's head is a bit similar in shape to a cat's, except for the fact that its muzzle is more elongated. The seals have no ears, they are replaced by auditory canals, which are invisible from the outside.
8. The eyes of this animal are large, dark and very expressive. The eyes of seal cubs seem especially large: huge and dark, they seem even more contrasting against the background of light wool and give the little seal a resemblance either to an owlet or some kind of alien creature.
9. Thanks to the third eyelid that seals have, they can swim and dive without fear of damaging their eyes. However, in the open air, the seal's eyes tend to water, which gives the impression that the animal is crying.
10. In the body of the seal there is a large fat layer that helps this animal survive in the harsh conditions of a cold climate and not freeze in icy water.
11. The same reserves of fat can help the seal survive a temporary hunger strike during a period of starvation, and thanks to them, the animal can lie for hours and even sleep on the surface of the water.
12. The skin of the seal is very strong and strong. It is covered with short, dense and harsh hair, which also protects the animal from hypothermia both in cold water and on ice or on the shore.
13. Between the fingers of these animals there are membranes, and on the front flippers, in addition, there are also powerful claws, thanks to which the seal makes holes in the ice in order to get to land or in order to rise to the surface of the water for a sip of fresh air.
14. The coat color of the seal, depending on the species, can be dark silver or brownish, while it is often covered with darker spots.
15. There are three types of seals. The ringed seal inhabits the temperate waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the Arctic Ocean.
16. In Russia, ringed seals are found in all northern seas, as well as in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.
17. The Caspian seal is endemic to the Caspian Sea.
18. The Baikal seal is not found anywhere else in the world, except for Lake Baikal.
19. Some scientists suggest that all types of seals are related to each other by a common origin, moreover, the ancestor of the Caspian and Baikal species is called the ringed seal, which migrated to Baikal and the Caspian about two million years ago and there evolved into two new species.
20. However, there is another version, according to which the ringed and Baikal seals simply had a common ancestor that appeared later than even the Caspian seal.
21. All three species differ from each other in color and, in part, in size.
CASPIAN SEALS
22. The Caspian seal is the smallest of them, its dimensions are approximately 1.3 meters in length and weighs about 86 kilograms.
23. The Caspian seal is found along the coastline and on the rocky islands of the Caspian Sea, in winter it can also often be seen on drifting ice floes. In the warm season, it can even swim into the mouths of the Volga and the Urals.
24. Caspian seals eat fish and crustaceans that live in the Caspian Sea. They are especially willing to eat small herring and sprat - these are the types of fish that make up the bulk of their diet. The proportion of crustaceans is small - it is approximately 1% of the total amount of food.
25. One of the species of these animals, the ringed seal, was named so because of its unusual color, in which the dark rings on its skin have a light border.
26. The ringed seal, or akiba, is the most common species of true seals in the Arctic: according to conservative estimates, there are about 4 million ringed seals in the world.
27. Akiba is distributed in the seas of the Arctic Ocean from the Barents and White in the west to the Bering Sea in the east, it lives in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Baltic Sea, the Tatar Strait, the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, and sometimes rises along the Neva to St. Petersburg.
28. This seal lives both in the coastal zone and in the open ocean, but more often it keeps in bays, straits and estuaries. This species does not make large regular migrations. In winter, the seal lives on the ice.
29. Subspecies of ringed seal: Baltic ringed seal, White Sea ringed seal, Ladoga ringed seal, Okhotsk, or Far Eastern ringed seal, Saimaa ringed seal.
30. Subspecies of the ringed seal live mainly in the polar or subpolar regions.
HISPIDA SEAL
31. The White Sea seal lives in the Arctic and is the most common seal in the Arctic Ocean.
32. The Baltic seal lives in the cold waters of the northern regions of the Baltic, in particular, it can be seen off the coast of Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Russia. Sometimes this animal even swims to the coast of Germany.
33. Two other subspecies of the ringed seal - Ladoga and Saimaa, are freshwater and live in Lake Ladoga and Lake Saimaa.
34. The body length of adult ringed seals reaches 1.5 meters, weight 40-80 kilograms. Baltic specimens are even larger - 140 centimeters and 100 kilograms. Males are usually somewhat larger than females.
35. Akiba has excellent eyesight, hearing and sense of smell, which help the animal find food for itself and hide from predators in time. These seals feed on crustaceans, molluscs and fish (spiny goby, Greenland goby, pike, navaga, salmon, salmon).
36. Ringed seals never form colonies. Most often they stay alone, although sometimes they gather in small groups, which, however, are not very stable. All year round they spend at sea, for which their body is very well adapted.
37. The Baikal seal is not only an endemic of Lake Baikal, that is, it is found only here, but the Baikal seal is the only mammal of Lake Baikal. According to morphological and biological features, the Baikal seal is close to the ringed seal that lives in the seas of the Far North and the Far East. There are some signs of similarity between this seal and the Caspian species.
38. The origin of the seal in Baikal remains an unresolved issue to this day. Most researchers adhere to the point of view of I. D. Chersky that the seal entered Baikal from the Arctic Ocean through the Yenisei-Angara river system during the Ice Age simultaneously with the Baikal omul.
39. But there is another point of view - that the entire family of true seals, to which the Baikal seal belongs, originated in large freshwater reservoirs of Eurasia. And only then did the resettlement of three sister species begin: the Caspian seal mastered the Caspian Sea, the ringed one - the Arctic Ocean, and the Baikal one - the deepest freshwater lake.
40. However, there is no doubt that the seal owes its prosperity and high numbers in Baikal to its deep water and food web features.
BAIKAL SEALS ON THE USHKAN ISLANDS
41. The Baikal seal is widespread throughout the lake, but it is especially abundant in its northern and middle parts. The most favorite habitat for seals is the Ushkany Islands, located on the territory of the Zabaikalsky National Park.
42. The basis of nutrition of the Baikal seal is golomyanka and gobies. She eats about a ton of fish a year. In search of food, the seal dives to a depth of 200 meters and remains under water for 20-25 minutes.
43. Previously, it was believed that Baikal seals cause great damage to the whitefish population, but, as it turned out later, they come across them only by chance and the total number of sturgeons in the seal's diet is no more than 1-2%.
44. The seal is called the symbol of Baikal, the same as the famous Baikal omul, its images are used on the emblems. This is an interesting object of ecological tourism.
45. Every year, many wildlife lovers come to Baikal to see and, if possible, photograph it. The main flow of ecotourists goes to the Ushkany Islands, where the conditions for shooting are prepared.
46. It is believed that the Baikal seal has no natural enemies in nature: only humans are a danger to it. However, not often, but it happens that these animals are hunted by a brown bear.
BAIKAL SEALS
47. Baikal seal cubs are usually safely hidden inside the den, because in the absence of a mother who has retired in search of food, they can become prey for foxes, sables or white-tailed eagles.
48. The ringed seal living in the ice of the Arctic has much more enemies. It is seals that are the main part of the diet of polar bears, and arctic foxes and large polar gulls prey on their cubs. In the water, killer whales and Greenland polar sharks pose a danger to ringed seals. Sometimes they can be hunted by walruses.
49. All seals are animals leading a mostly solitary lifestyle. Only during the breeding season do they gather in flocks. But even so, each seal tries to keep apart and drives away its relatives with an indignant snort.
LADOGA SEAL
50. The smallest among the subspecies of seals is the Ladoga seal, which lives in Lake Ladoga itself, has a body length of no more than 135 centimeters and a weight of 40 kilograms.
51. The seal spends most of its life in the water. She dives superbly and can spend up to 70 minutes underwater depending on the species. While diving, the animal's ear canals and nostrils are closed, so that under water it can breathe only thanks to the large volume of its lungs and the supply of air that fits in them.
52. Often these animals even sleep on the surface of the water, and their sleep is surprisingly strong: it happened that people, having swum up to sleeping seals, turned them over on purpose, and they did not even think of waking up.
53. The seal spends winter under water, only occasionally rising to the surface of the water in order to take a new breath of fresh air. On ice or on land, these animals begin to get out closer to the beginning of spring, when the breeding season begins.
54. Moreover, as a rule, seals have favorite places for rookeries, where they gather in order to continue their race.
55. Seals only on the ground can seem clumsy and clumsy creatures. In water, they are active, energetic and almost tireless. Under water, the speed of movement of the seal can be 25 km / h, although in a calm environment these animals swim much more slowly.
56. On the shore, seals move with the help of their front flippers and tail, sorting through them. In the event of danger, they begin to jump, while loudly slapping on the ice or ground with their front flippers and pushing off a hard surface with their tail.
57. Sea seals of cold latitudes, unlike freshwater ones, regardless of the time of year, prefer to spend most of their time on the ice or on the shore, and not in the water, where they dive only in case of danger or in order to get food.
58. Sexual dimorphism is externally expressed in the fact that individuals of different sexes differ from each other in size. Moreover, if the females of the Baikal seal are larger than the males, then the Caspian seal, on the contrary, the males are larger.
59. Depending on the species and gender, seals reach sexual maturity at 3-7 years of age, and males mature later than females. These animals bring cubs either annually or 2-3 years after the previous birth. Female seals usually give birth to one cub, but sometimes 2-3 cubs at a time.
60. It happens that a certain percentage of females after mating do not bring offspring. As a rule, 10-20% of the Baikal seals have such "vacations" every year.
61. The reasons for this still remain unclear: either this is due to the natural regulation of the level of livestock numbers, or simply not all females that have temporarily suspended the development of embryos resume it after a while. It is also not excluded that this phenomenon may be associated with some diseases transferred by the female or unfavorable living conditions.
62. Seals usually mate in the spring, and then the gestation period continues for 9-11 months. Females give birth on ice, at this time they and their newborn cubs are very vulnerable to predators and hunters.
63. The color of babies differs from the color of adults: for example, the cubs of the Baikal seal are born white, from which their name comes - pups.
64. At first, the mother feeds the baby with milk, after which the cub is gradually transferred to an adult diet consisting of fish and invertebrates. By the time this happens, he manages to completely shed and change the color of the fur to the one that is inherent in adults.
RINGED SEAL WITH A BABY
65. Even before giving birth, Baikal seals build special dens from snow, where they feed their cubs exclusively with milk for a month or a half. Depending on weather and temperature conditions, lactation can last from 2 to 3.5 months.
66. The seal is the only animal that can deliberately suspend and resume the intrauterine development of its future cubs. Most often this happens during long and very cold winters, when babies born at term simply cannot survive.
67. Males do not take any part in the upbringing of offspring, while females continue to take care of the babies until they learn to live independently. After the cubs are weaned, the female seal can mate again, but sometimes the breeding season for her comes earlier: when the previous cub is still feeding on milk.
68. In summer, ringed seals keep mainly in coastal waters and in some places form small haulouts on stones or pebble spits. In autumn, as the sea freezes, most of the animals leave the coastal zone deep into the sea and stay on drifting ice.
69. A minority of animals stay for the winter near the coast and keep in bays and bays. In this case, even at the beginning of the freezing of the sea, the seal makes holes in the young ice - loopholes through which it emerges from the water.
70. There are also smaller holes, used only to breathe through them. Often the hole in the hole is covered with a thick layer of snow, in which the seal makes a hole without an outlet to the outside. In such a convenient place, she rests, being invisible to enemies, mainly polar bears.
71. The seal is a valuable object of fishing. She gives fur skins, fat and meat. The meat of the seals is fed to Arctic foxes, hats are made from fur, and it is used to pad hunting skis.
72. Seal meat is eaten, especially tender meat in young seals, and seal flippers boiled in water are considered a delicacy. In the old days, seal fat was used in leather production and in soap making.
73. Fishing seals and eventually led to a reduction in the number of these animals. And, although every effort is currently being made to prevent the seals from disappearing, one of their species is threatened with complete extinction.
74. At present, two types of seals - Baikal and ringed, belong to quite safe species and they have been assigned the status of "Cueing Least Concern".
CASPIAN SEAL
75. But the Caspian seal is not so lucky: due to human activities leading to pollution of the Caspian Sea, this species is endangered. And, although all efforts are currently being made to restore the former number of Caspian seals, their number is steadily decreasing year by year.
76. Seals can live on average 40-55 years. Sexual maturity occurs at 4-6 years of age. Females are able to bear fruit up to 35-40 years.
77. The age of seals can be easily recognized by the annual rings on their fangs and claws. And this is their unique feature, not characteristic of any other animal in the world.
78. The largest concentrations of seals are observed in the spring on drifting ice during puppies, molting and mating. This is especially true for the seas of the Far East, where in one day of swimming in the ice you can observe many hundreds, and sometimes thousands of animals. More often, seals lie in groups of 10-20 heads, but there are clusters of a hundred or more animals.
79. Seals are amazing animals. They have a lively and curious nature and are easy to train.
80. In natural conditions, they like to swim up to drifting ships and follow them.
There are one trillion species of living beings on the planet today. This is slightly inferior to the number of trees, which are about three trillion on Earth. Each type of animal is unique and has its habits and characteristics. For example, did you know that chinchillas have the thickest fur of any land mammal and that turtles were the first animals to fly around the moon? We still know little about the natural world, and intelligent people still have much to learn. But we already know a lot.
Animal Facts You Won't Find in Textbooks
At Bemorepanda collected facts about animals and discovered that our smaller brothers hide a lot from us.
1. The average length of a giraffe's tongue is 45-50 cm. And they can grab branches with it, sticking it out 35-45 cm.
By the way, their tongue is dark in color (some scientists believe that the color of the language protects it from burning in the sun).
2. Sea lion cubs communicate with their mother using a unique set of vocal sounds so they can recognize each other.
Moreover, such vocalization is unique and does not resemble the sounds of other females and cubs. So the mother and her children do not confuse the sounds of other relatives. Also, each puppy and female has a unique smell that helps to recognize each other. For example, a female can find her cub by unique sounds even among hundreds of others, and when she sees it, she sniffs it as the last check.
3. "Puppy eyes" - the result of the joint evolution of dogs and people.
“Puppy eyes” or “puppy eyes” are round eyes, raised brow ridges, and a piercing, mimic look directed into a person’s eyes.
Domestic dogs have evolved two muscles that exaggerate the size of their eyes, making them appear larger and more expressive—in other words, cuter and cuter.
4. Newborn baby elephants can't see well, so they recognize their mother by touch, smell, and sound.
5. Male giraffes use their very long tongues to catch the female's urine to find out if she's ovulating.
6. The fins of the octopus Dumbo (Grimpoteutis) are like the ears of an elephant.
That's why Disney named his iconic baby elephant after the cute octopus. By the way, it is one of the world's cutest octopuses.
7. Hippos have pink sweat.
When hippos are hot, they produce unusual sweat (an oily secretion), a reddish substance that acts like sunscreen.
8. Wolves are afraid of strangers and hide. Because of this, they make poor guard dogs.
9. Ostriches swallow pebbles to grind food in their stomachs.
With no teeth, ostriches swallow pebbles, so their food is digested normally. An adult ostrich can eat about 1 kg of stones at a time.
10. Giraffes can run at speeds up to 55-60 km / h, which is quite fast for an animal that practically walks on high stilts.
Usually, their average walking speed is 15-17 km/h. Compared to a person, their relaxed walking for us is the sprint speed of a runner at maximum speed.
11. Goats and cows have their regional accent.
Cows, as a rule, moo differently depending on the country, region, and area where they live. The same applies to goats, but unlike cows, goats, once in a new place where their foreign relatives live, quickly adopt their unique “accent.”
12. Penguins settled in an abandoned minefield protected from poachers.
Penguins are too small to detonate mines, but poachers can't get through.
The mines were planted in the Falkland Islands when Argentine commandos occupied the territory in 1982 during a conflict with British forces. Magellanic penguins have lived in the area ever since. And since the rooms are well marked and fenced off, no civilian was harmed by mines.
13. Cats can feed hedgehogs.
In 2017, at the Sadgorod zoo in the suburbs of Vladivostok, a cat “adopted” them and began to feed them. Thanks to the care of the mother cat, the little orphaned hedgehogs were brought up.
14. Giraffes can live longer without water than camels.
15. Giraffes have twice the blood pressure of humans.
In just a second or two, a giraffe can raise its head from ground level up to a height of about 4.5 meters and not faint due to a lack of blood in the head. If a person could do something like that, he would immediately faint. A hard-working heart and high blood pressure keep the giraffe from fainting.
By the way, their blood pressure regulation system became a hint to aviation engineers to create a plan for maintaining astronauts' life support systems.
16. No two giraffes have the same spotting pattern, but those living in the same area tend to have the same coat.
17. Seagulls often stomp on the ground - called their "rain dance" - to attract earthworms and other insects.
Their stomp imitates vibrations from real rain, which lures insects to the surface, who think it has begun to rain, and, to protect themselves from moisture, crawl to the surface, where cunning birds are waiting for them.
18. Cats are responsible for the complete extinction of 33 animal species.
Let's be clear: we are talking about the street (feral cats) and not about your pets ...
Every year, billions of living creatures become the prey of street cats, and as a result of their hunting, 33 species of animals and birds have disappeared from our planet forever.
19. Dogs prefer to go to the toilet facing the North Pole.
One study showed that dogs use the Earth's magnetic field when they pee. While observing the dogs, the scientists found that the dogs preferred to "defecate with their bodies aligned along the north-south axis" and wholly avoided the east-west direction.
20. Your dog is probably dreaming about its owner.
According to Deirdre Barrett, a clinical and evolutionary psychologist at Harvard, there is reason to believe that animals dream the same way humans do. It is likely that dogs also have dreams where they dream of ordinary "dog joys," such as walks or the joy of the owner.
21. Zebra mothers keep their cubs in the center of the herd to keep them safe from predators.
22. The oldest living creature was a mollusk that lived 507 years.
The mollusk specimen was named Ming. It washed ashore in Iceland. Age was determined by the rings on the shell, counting their number. One call - one year of life.
23. Millions of years ago, penguins lived about 2 meters tall and weighed 115 kg.
Scientists named the giant penguin Palaeeudyptes klekowskii.
24. Ants can survive falling from any height.
Even from an airplane! The fact is that because they weigh almost nothing, they fall very slowly. In addition, they have an exoskeleton.
25. Some fish can recognize the face of their master.
Not all fish can do this. But some can learn to recognize familiar faces even though they don't have the area of the brain that humans use to recognize faces. In the study that found this fact, scientists used only archer fish. But, as biologists believe, other small fish in the world may be capable of this.
26. Giant pandas are no longer an endangered species. The tiger population is also growing.
Bamboo bear populations have increased by 17% over the past ten years, changing their status from endangered to vulnerable. Not everything is terrible with the tiger population, either. For example, in India, home to 60% of the world's wild tiger population, their number in the wild has increased by 33%.
27. When a baby elephant is born in a herd of elephants, other females trumpet to announce to the entire social group of animals about the appearance of the baby elephant.
Elephants tend to stay in close "family" groups their entire lives. Elephant herds usually consist of females (males often leave the group to mate with females from other packs but sometimes team up with other solitary males to search for elephants together).
28. Pregnant dolphin mothers sing to their babies.
According to a study by the University of Southern Mississippi, USA, mother dolphins emit an "unusual whistle" for their baby until it is born. This whistling sound is believed to be a kind of "name" that the future dolphin remembers. Thanks to this sound, they can easily find each other after birth. After the calf's birth, other nearby adult dolphins will make less of their sounds, probably helping the calf learn to correctly identify its mother's whistle and use it to call for its mother.
29. The first animals to circle the moon were turtles.
We know from school that our country was the first in the world to send animals into space. We are talking about launching dogs into Earth's orbit. Did you know we were the first to send animals around the moon?
In 1968, turtles were sent on a space flight around the moon (not in lunar orbit) aboard the Zond-5 spacecraft.
30. Giraffe in Latin is "Camelopardalis," a reference to the era of the Romans, who believed that these animals looked like a mixture of a camel and a leopard.
31. Your dog loves you, not just because you give and walk his food.
Studies that measured dogs' levels of oxytocin (a hormone that helps build social bonds - also called the hormone of affection and love), heart rate, and other biometric indicators showed that hormone levels increased. Heart rate decreased as in dogs: humans and their dogs after interacting. When you pet your dog, you and your pet release more of the same hormone in the brain that makes you fall in love with each other, making you less nervous and more relaxed.
32. Filmmakers often add tails to actor dogs.
This is done when the dogs in the frame often wag their tails. For example, computer graphics experts give some husky dogs virtual seats in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This was necessary so the dogs did not look too friendly because they actively moved their tail during filming.
33. Dogs can approximately determine what time their owner can return home.
Have you ever wondered how your dog can tell when you will come home? It turns out that they do this by the remnant of the smell of a person who is not at home. If you or someone you live with come home at about the same time every day, you have probably noticed how your dog, shortly before the arrival of a family member, sits at the door or window and waits. According to research, a dog correctly determines the arrival time of its owner or family member by how much the smell of a person in the house has decreased in his absence.
34. The fur of chinchillas is so dense that it is impossible to get wet. So instead of bathing in water, they bathe in the sand.
These funny furries have ultra-plush fur. They have an average of 60-70 hairs per follicle, which makes their fur the thickest among all land mammals. For comparison: in most mammals, including humans, there is only one hair per follicle!
Because their fur is very thick and dense, if it gets into the water, it will dry for a very long time, which is not safe for funny rodents. This is because moisture can get close to the skin, leading to several skin conditions, including pyoderma (skin infection) and dermatitis (skin inflammation). Instead of soap and water, chinchillas are "bathed" in fine dust, which helps evenly distribute skin oils, cleans dirt and debris from fur, and leaves it silky soft.
35. Giraffes give birth standing up, which means that the first thing a baby giraffe will experience is a fall from a height of almost two meters onto cold, hard ground.
36. Hundreds of trees - if not more - grow yearly due to squirrels forgetting where they buried their food.
According to Rob Swihart, a wildlife professor at Purdue University, gray squirrels bury their food (nuts, acorns, etc.) everywhere but often forget where they set up their hiding place. These buried squirrel "treasures" have a good chance of eventually becoming mature trees.
37. Scorpions glow in the ultraviolet.
Scientists don't know why this happens, but they have many theories about it.
38. It turns out that the wasps taught us how to make inexpensive paper.
They scrape wood from trees and stumps and recycle it into the paper to build a nest. The French scientist René Réaumur noticed this, and this idea became revolutionary to reduce the cost of paper, which in the 1700s was made from cotton and linen rags, ropes, old sails, etc., which made the piece too expensive.
The idea of making paper from wood was not realized immediately. Still, after a while, the German priest Jacob Schaffer wrote a treatise on producing paper from alternative fibers in 1765-1771. In his work, he talked about paper samples from wasp nests, comparing them in more detail from different types of wood.
39. Sharks "taste" everything.
Like your three-year-old nephew or small child, sharks also put everything in their mouths. And most often because they are curious. So most shark attacks are actually because predatory fish are very interested.
40. Lions love to cuddle.
This is how they build and maintain a friendship with each other.
41. Eels swim for a long time only to mate and die.
Eels migrate from freshwater to salt water to mate; this journey will be the first and last of their lives. For example, European eels, living in fresh and brackish waters of Europe and North Africa, go to spawn at the end of their lives. To do this, they swim more than 6 thousand kilometers across the Atlantic to the Sargasso Sea, mate, lay eggs and then die.
42. Pregnancy lasts 15 months for giraffes.
43. Wolves mourn when one of the pack dies.
Wolf packs are a big family; when one dies, they begin to “sing” (howl) mournfully.
44. Alligators pretend to be trees to attract birds.
American alligators have been observed using baits for hunting birds. They carry sticks and branches on their heads, thus attracting birds that are looking for nest materials.
45. Giraffes sleep a maximum of two hours a day, usually no more than 10 minutes at a time.
46. Dead ends make a couple for life.
After the birth of offspring, they equally share their parental responsibilities. Before mating, the birds do an unusual ritual: rub their beaks against each other.
47. Sheep are born with long tails.
48. Alex the parrot is the only animal in the world that asks a question about itself.
When a mirror was placed in front of him, seeing his reflection, he asked an existential question: "What color am I?"
49. Among cows, there are optimists from birth or pessimists - everything is like in people.
In the study, the scientists found that the fearfulness of cows is closely related to pessimism and is not a temporary mood of the animals.
50. Ginger cats are predominantly male, and tricolor cats are primarily female.
Who are the crocodiles? Everyone knows them, even children. After all, from our early years, we read stories about crocodiles. People have probably heard that if you ever meet this reptile, you should hit it in zigzags (although if you want to live, it's better not to engage in a fight, and just try to run as fast and further as possible). But do you know how crocodiles differ from alligators? And what can they do... climb trees? Or where did the expression «crocodile tears» come from?
Facts about large predatory reptiles
Even if you already know the answers to these questions, we are sure that in the selection that we at Bemorepanda have collected for you, you will find many fascinating facts that you have not heard about before. Moreover, they will be interesting for both adults and children.
1. When the female crocodile lays eggs, the temperature of the nest, in which the eggs are laid, actually determines the sex of the young. If the temperature is below 32 degrees Celsius, the baby crocodiles will be females, and if it is higher than this temperature - males.
2. Crocodiles have the most perfect heart in the animal world, and they actively change the direction of the blood flowing through it depending on their needs.
3. Crocodiles have very sharp hearing. So much so that they can hear their babies screaming from their eggs.
4. The expression «crocodile tears» (to show an insincere or false manifestation of emotions) comes from the fact that crocodiles shed tears while eating their prey.
5. Crocodiles like to have fun – play with random objects (floating trash, noisy ceramics), swim on ocean waves or slide down slopes.
6. Crocodiles have a second tooth, which is in reserve under the outer tooth, which can replace a lost tooth. That's a spare tooth row.
7. Crocodiles can change 4000 teeth in a lifetime.
8. The lifespan of crocodiles in different species varies from 25 to 70 years. It is known that captive crocodiles reach 100 years of age.
9. Crocodiles – the largest reptiles on Earth.
10. The longest crocodile caught alive in Agusan del Sur province, Philippines, was 6.17 m long and weighed 1075 kg.
11. It is known that crocodiles sometimes eat smaller crocodiles.
12. According to estimates, crocodiles kill about 1000 people a year in the whole world.
13. The feeding ratio of crocodiles varies greatly depending on whether they are in a limited space or not.
14. Crocodiles are not as agile as monkeys, but they can regularly climb trees.
15. The eyes of the crocodile are located very close to each other and are directed forward. This allows them to estimate the distance very precisely so that they can determine the exact location of their prey before the attack.
16. A simple way to distinguish a crocodile from an alligator: when the crocodile closes its mouth, all the teeth are visible, as the upper and lower jaws have the same width.
17. Crocodiles can hold their breath under water for more than a hour.
18. Crocodiles can sleep with their eyes wide open.
19. The eyes of the crocodile are protected by the third eyelid, and the eyeballs themselves can be pulled into the eyeballs during the attack.
20. Black spots around the alligator's mouth are the sensory organs it uses to detect changes in water pressure caused by the movement of potential prey.
21. Crocodiles kill and eat their prey, drowning it.
22. Crocodiles are carnivorous animals, which usually means that they eat only meat. However, a recent study showed that they also sometimes like the taste of fruit.
23. Crocodiles swallow small stones to improve digestion. These stones help to digest food in the stomach.
24. Crocodiles can be found on all inhabited continents, except for Europe and Antarctica.
25. Crocodiles can hold their jaws open under water.
26. Crocodiles can find their home at a great distance.
27. Sea crocodiles can ignore excess salt.
28. Alligators annually kill about one person in the United States, while crocodiles annually kill about 1,000 people in Africa alone.
29. The crocodile's tongue is attached to the bottom of its mouth, so it never moves.
30. Crocodiles don't sweat. To preserve cold blood, they open their mouths, which is known as "open mouth", which is very similar to difficulty breathing.
31. Crocodiles perform a «death throw» to defeat the prey, clamping its jaws and powerfully rotating.
32. Crocodiles are quite universal reptiles, which means that they can live in the most diverse environments, including lakes, rivers, freshwater bodies, salt water and brackish water (combination of salt and fresh water).
33. The ancestors of crocodiles (prehistoric crocodiles) were much larger.
34. Crocodiles have good night vision..
35. The heart of the crocodile has four chambers.
36. Crocodiles have a keen sense of smell, an evolutionary advantage that makes them very successful predators.
37. Crocodiles are closely related to dinosaurs and birds.
38. Crocodiles carry their babies in their mouths.
39. An average crocodile egg is about the size of a goose egg.
40. The ancient Egyptians and some tribes of New Guinea are just two cultures that revered crocodiles.
41. Crocodiles are very fast in the water - they swim at speeds up to 35 kilometers per hour.
42. Crocodiles hunt from ambush; even large mammals such as small elephants, hippos, sharks or large felines can become their victims.
43. Crocodiles make sounds to communicate. The young of some species squeak and grunt, while adult crocodiles may growl, hiss or roar at each other.
44. Larger crocodiles can go without food for more than a year.
45. Most young crocodiles are eaten in their first year of life by other predators such as lizards, other crocodiles, hyenas and even fish.
46. Crocodiles coexisted with dinosaurs.
47. Crocodiles wake up from hibernation when it starts to warm up, and live their lives until it gets cold again.
48. These giant geniuses can use tools to trick prey, such as holding branches with their snouts to attract birds building nests.
49. Hunting crocodiles for their skin is illegal.
50. Crocodiles are aggressive by nature and even more aggressive during mating season.
51. Crocodiles have relatively weak jaw opening muscles and can be kept closed with a rubber band or bare hands.
52. The key difference from the alligator is the shape of the muzzle. Alligators have a wider, U-shaped muzzle, while crocodiles have a more pointed, V-shaped muzzle.
53. Crocodiles have the most acidic stomach of all vertebrates.
54. There are 24 recognized species of modern crocodiles, divided into three families.
55. Ancient species of crocodiles probably hunted human ancestors.
56. Crocodiles eat without chewing. Their jaws work in such a way that they cannot move sideways, so they cannot grind food with a traditional chewing movement. That is, they do not know how to chew!
57. There is a species of crocodile called "dwarf crocodile" - the smallest crocodile in the world.
58. Saltwater crocodiles have the strongest bite - they close their jaws with a force of 1680 kg per 6.5 square meters. cm.
59. Each species has a unique combination of snout proportions, dorsal bony structures, and scale arrangement.
60. The oldest crocodile was a freshwater crocodile named Mr. Freshy, who lived to be 140 years old.
61. Crocodiles mate during the rainy season.
62. Like most reptiles, crocodiles are cold-blooded animals and prefer to settle in tropical areas near wetlands. They cannot generate heat on their own, so they go into a period of long sleep until it gets warmer again.
63. Crocodiles are mostly nocturnal.
64. Male crocodiles can use their tails to get attention, and when attacking, they can wag their tails to knock out their targets.
65. The brain of a crocodile is capable of learning to a greater extent than that of any other reptile in the animal kingdom.
66. A crocodile can only swim with its eyes and nostrils open.
67. Despite the thick skin, crocodiles are surprisingly touchy.
68. Crocodiles can run on land at speeds up to 17 kilometers per hour for short distances.
69. Crocodile paws are webbed.
70. If the temperature is below 32 degrees Celsius, the cubs of crocodiles will be females, and if above this temperature - males.
There are many types of sharks in the world, although the word "shark" most of us think of a huge killer fish from some Hollywood horror movie, terrifying the coastal waters. In fact, not all types of sharks are dangerous to humans, and even those that can harm or kill do not often cause the death of a careless diver.
More than 550 species of sharks live on our planet, and we periodically meet information about sharks from news sources. However, we know little of the interesting facts associated with them, such as the fact that sharks have been living on the planet for more than 400 million years. So sharks are older than dinosaurs.
Interesting facts about sharks
1. The body of a shark produces a special substance that blocks all its pain sensations.
2. Up to 30 tons per 1 sq. cm is the largest shark bite force.
3. About 3.5 years is the gestation period for a shark.
4. The speed of large sharks can reach up to 50 km / h.
5. A shark can't stop abruptly.
6. No more than 15% of its own weight is the average weekly diet of a shark.
7. 15 cm is the smallest shark size, and 12 meters is the largest.
8. The minimum speed of a shark is 2.5 km / h.
9. To regulate the salinity of water, the body of a shark can produce special means.
10. To conserve energy, a shark can turn off part of the brain.
11. In the water column, the scales of the skin of a predator help to move faster.
12. Thanks to its large liver, the shark stays on the water.
13. This predator has a low level of blood flow activity.
14. Shark skin is lubricated with a special oily secret to reduce resistance when moving in water. mybook.ru advertising | 16+ More
15. Some species of sharks may have glowing eyes.
16. The lateral line helps sharks navigate in space.
17. A shark's eating habits can be affected by the phases of the moon.
18. Sharks never stop moving or sleep.
19. Warm-blooded species include the blue, great white, and mako sharks.
20. Sharks never blink.
21. There is a species of shark that emits photophores on its fins.
22. Along the intestine there is a special valve in the form of a spiral to increase the absorption surface of the large intestine.
23. Two whirlwinds in one muscle movement can create a shark's tail fin.
24. The osmotic pressure of a shark provides half the salt content in the sea water of the ocean.
25. Sharks can suffer from food fever.
26. Some sharks can rest on the ocean floor.
27. If you pull the shark by the tail for a long time, then it can drown.
28. A shark's sense of smell is one of the best on the planet.
29. A shark can experience a voltage of 0.01 microvolts.
30. Even above the surface of the water, a shark can smell.
31. In 360 degrees, the hammerhead shark is able to inspect the space.
32. The shark is perfectly oriented in space.
33. The Earth's electromagnetic field serves as a "compass" for sharks.
34. The structure of the eye in sharks has the same configuration as in humans.
35. The muscles of the diaphragm in a shark are responsible for focusing the image.
36. At a distance of up to 15 meters in opaque sea water, a shark is able to see.
37. Shark sees 45 frames per second.
38. Shark eyes are able to distinguish colors.
39. 10 times the quality of a shark's vision compared to a human.
40. A shark can swim safely in the dark and with its eyes closed.
41. A shark can feel sounds with its entire skull.
42. In the range of 10-800 hertz, a shark is able to distinguish sound signals.
43. The white shark has the best hearing.
44. Sharks are able to detect changes in water temperature thanks to sensitive skin receptors.
45. Among the possible threats to humans in the water, the shark is the last on the list.
46. A double shark attack on the same person is known.
47. Every year, sharks make up to ten attacks on ships.
48. Sharks, attacking ships, often get stuck in them.
49. Florida's New Smyrna Beach is the place where most shark attacks have been recorded.
50. Shark often attacks inedible objects that impede its movement.
51. A shark uses a special system to warn people of an attack.
52. Predators often attack the male half of the population.
53. A dressed person in the water attracts the attention of a shark more than an undressed one.
54. In 1873, the white shark received its official name.
55. A juvenile white shark feeds exclusively on fish.
56. At the age of 15, a white predator reaches sexual maturity.
57. Killer whale often hunts the great white shark.
58. The great white shark closes its eyes at the last moment of the attack.
59. More than 10 meters in length reached the largest sharks caught.
60. Young predators survive on their own without the support of their parents.
61. About 47% of all shark attacks end successfully.
62. Waiting and many hours of tracking down prey is part of the shark's hunting strategy.
63. In one year, on average, a white shark eats up to 11 tons of food.
64. A great white shark can live without food for three whole months.
65. Often in captivity, a shark refuses to eat.
66. The "scavenger" of the ocean is called the tiger shark.
67. Powder kegs and cannonballs were found in the stomach of a tiger shark.
68. Compared to bull skin, tiger shark skin is 10 times stronger.
69. A tiger shark is considered a nocturnal predator.
70. A bull shark can live in fresh waters.
71. About half of all attacks on humans are carried out by a bull shark.
72. In India, the dead are thrown into the water with voracious bull sharks.
73. A bull shark is considered an almost immortal predator, which can eat its own insides.
74. The largest amount of testosterone is produced in the bull shark.
75. Only in the back row do new teeth grow in a bull shark.
76. The maximum length of a shark's teeth is 18 cm.
77. Up to 15,000 pieces can be the number of teeth in a shark.
78. A shark renews up to 24,000 of its teeth in one decade of life.
79. Only 6 mm is the size of the teeth of the whale shark.
80. About 5 cm is the length of the white shark teeth.
81. The only bone tissue in the body of a shark is the teeth.
82. Shark can determine the fat content of the victim with the help of teeth.
83. Each type of shark has its own shape of teeth.
84. A shark jumps up to three meters in the water while hunting.
85. The fox shark has an unusual way of hunting.
86. The wolf is the terrestrial brother of the shark.
87. The gray shark hunts in an original way.
88. A dolphin can attack a shark to protect its offspring.
89. The tiger shark has characteristic teeth and a very large mouth.
90. Large crocodiles are among the shark's enemies.
91. A shark can hunt a whale.
92. Sperm whales and porpoises can attack a shark.
93. Shark attacks only obviously weak opponents.
94. The whale shark is the largest species.
95. About 15 tons is the weight of the largest shark.
96. In the shape of a rectangle, the whale shark lays its eggs.
97. About 100 kg on average weighs a baby whale shark.
98. A female whale shark can carry 300 new embryos at the same time.
99. About 200 kg of plankton are eaten daily by a whale shark.
100. The speed of the whale shark often does not exceed 5 km / h.
We all know tigers as striped predators. But what else? They live in Africa. And you will be wrong because most tigers live in Asian countries, especially India. Did you know that despite their ferocious appearance, tigers are considered vulnerable due to habitat loss and poaching for illegal trade? Or can you name any of their physical characteristics besides the fact that they have a tail, fangs, and stripes on their skin? In the meantime, they are pretty impressive. For example, tigers are so strong that they can kill a person with one blow of their paw.
Facts about tigers prove how little we know about wild cats
So if you're not a feline expert, you might be interested to know some of the facts Bemorepanda found about these majestic animals. Putting together information from various sources will help you get a much better understanding of tigers and save you a lot of time because you don't have to hunt for them yourself.
So, who are they really - tigers? Dangerous predators or an endangered species? Or both?
1. White tigers have enzymes that are activated at low temperatures and can make their fur darker.
2. Carnivores such as tigers have an easier process of converting meat into protein, providing them energy compared to herbivores that need to process grass. This is because carnivores don't need as many gut microbes to break down plant cellulose. As a result, tigers and other predators have small and light stomachs that do not slow them down when chasing prey.
3. Tigers hunt alone, not in groups. Even though they can live alongside other tigers, they prefer to hunt on their own. Their hunting style is quiet and stealthy, so it's better for them to be alone.
4. When tigers feel safe, they close their eyes as a sign of satisfaction or calm, as they cannot purr.
5. Tigers and other cats cannot taste sweetness because their taste buds do not recognize it. Even if they are given sweet food or treats, they will not be able to taste the sweetness on their tongue.
6. Despite the fact that tigers are endangered, they still make up the largest population among big cats. The lions are in second place, and the jaguars are third.
7. Tigers can interbreed with other wild cats, creating hybrid breeds such as tigons (male tigers and female lions) and ligers (male lions and female tigers). In addition, scientists believe that many other feral cat hybrids have yet to be discovered.
8. The belief that Bali tigers were evil spirits led to their hunting and eventual extinction along with the Caspian and Javanese tigers. This is a terrifying fact about these majestic creatures.
9. The tiger's skull is strong and rounded, which helps support its powerful jaws.
10. India has the highest population of wild tigers, with about 3,000 individuals living in the country.
11. Although seeing black tigers is rare, there have been cases of tigers with very thick stripes that give the impression of a completely black coat.
12. The Bali tiger was last seen in the mid-1930s. A few individuals probably survived into the 1940s and possibly 1950s.
13. Tiger saliva contains an antiseptic protein that helps prevent infection when the animal licks a wound. This helps tigers heal wounds quickly and speed up recovery.
14. While lions don't usually share their prey with others, tigers tend to be more cooperative and share their prey with other group members, even taking turns eating to give others a chance to get food.
15. The roar of a tiger is heard at a distance of three kilometers.
16. One hit of the paw can break your bones and kill you. Just in case you need a reminder not to get into a fistfight with a tiger.
17. Tigers, of all the wild cat species, are the most reserved and tend to roar loudly only for long distance communication or when defending their territory. They also display more nurturing behavior, allowing their young and females to eat ahead of them.
18. One of the amazing features of tigers is their ability to imitate the sounds of other animals. This skill allows them to trick their prey into approaching while hunting.
19. India initiated Project Tiger in the 1970s to protect the Bengal tiger population and continues to work towards the conservation and rehabilitation of these animals.
20. The speed at which tigers can move varies from 49 to 65 km/h.
21. There have been reports of blue tigers, although there is limited evidence to support the existence of such a color variation in this species. However, since the blue color trait is indeed present in some lynx families, this is not entirely ruled out as a possibility.
22. Tigers are one of the oldest animals on our planet.
23. Each tiger has a special fur pattern that is different from all other tigers. This is similar to how humans have unique fingerprints. Even if a tiger loses all of its fur, its stripes will still be visible.
24. Tigers are big cats and eat a lot. They can eat about 40 kg of meat at a time and feast on their prey for several days or bury it to eat later.
25. Adult Amur tigers are about 3.3 m long.
26. Tigers have eye-like markings on the back of their ears. There are two theories behind this: some believe that these markings help the tiger look larger and scare off predators approaching from behind. Others think that they help the tiger in aggressive communication.
27. The Bengal tiger subspecies has the most stable population of all tiger subspecies, with about 2,500 living individuals.
28. The fur of many tigers varies from light yellow-orange to dark reddish-orange.
29. Tigers have the largest fangs of any species of big cat. These teeth can be 6.3 to 7.6 cm long. The fangs also have nerves that help the tiger feel where to bite in order to gnaw through the neck of its prey.
30. Female tigers often give birth in a litter of 3-4 tiger cubs during their lifetime. These cubs are born blind and rely on their mother to care for them until they are old enough to hunt on their own, which usually takes about 2-3 years.
31. Tigers mark their territory, which can be as long as 100 km, using scent to let other tigers know they are in the area.
32. In the wild, tigers can live up to 26 years.
33. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of all tiger species.
34. The length of the tiger's tail is about one meter, and it helps to maintain balance when the animal makes quick turns in pursuit of prey.
35. The surface of the tiger's tongue is covered with papillae which give it a rough and rough texture. These papillae allow the tiger to easily strip feathers, fur, and flesh from its prey.
36. Female Amur tigers usually weigh between 100 and 167 kg.
37. The bones in the paws of a tiger are tightly connected by ligaments, which help soften the impact of landing when running and jumping.
38. Tigers have a small clavicle. This helps them take longer strides while running because the small collarbone allows the shoulder blade to move more freely and with a wider range of motion.
39. Reports of white tigers seen in the wild date back to the 1800s. The first white tiger was captured in India by Maharaja Marthand Singh, then the ruler of the state of Rewa. The tiger was named Mohan and used to breed more white tigers. Some experts believe that all white tigers living today can trace their ancestry back to Mohan, but this has yet to be proven.
40. Tigers are known for their love of swimming, which is unusual compared to other types of cats. They often go to streams and ponds to cool off, and have been seen swimming in the wild after a successful hunt.
41. In the past, there were 9 different types of tigers. Now only 6 remain. These are the Bengal, Sumatran, South China, Indochinese, Malayan and Amur tigers. The remaining 3 species - the Bali, Caspian and Javan tigers - no longer exist. Human activity, like industrialization, has affected tigers over time.
42. Tigers are more active at night as this is when they usually hunt and patrol their territory. They tend to avoid interacting with humans during the day, so they engage in this activity at night.
43. Along the border between Bangladesh and India, there is a swampy forest where the largest number of Bengal tiger attacks on people is recorded. About 100 people die in this area every year.
44. In addition to the pronounced stripes, tigers have glands that secrete unique odors. These glands allow them to mark their territories.
45. Tiger incisors tear off small pieces of meat and feathers from prey.
46. White tigers are rare and used by zoos, circuses and private owners to make money. These enterprises breed white tigers so that their cubs are also white. This is dangerous as the cubs can develop health problems such as strabismus and spinal deformity and tend to be more likely to get sick.
47. Saber-toothed tigers are now extinct felines that many believe were a type of tiger. They became extinct about 10,000 years ago and belonged to a family of feline cousins called the Machairodontinae.
48. The Indochinese tiger lives in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. They tend to inhabit forests surrounded by hills and mountains, making them difficult to study widely by scientists. Consequently, less is known about this species than about others.
49. The Malayan tiger is very similar to the Indochinese tiger, and apart from Malaysia, they can also be found in Thailand.
50. The Amur (Siberian) tiger is the largest subspecies of the tiger: the body length of males is at least 3.3 m, and the average weight is 300 kg or more. Female Siberian tigers, although usually smaller than males, are larger than other subspecies of tigers.
51. The rear teeth of a tiger are specially shaped to help the tiger cut meat from its prey like a knife. The tiger can then swallow large chunks of this sliced meat whole.
52. Tigers are known to protect prey they have killed and often cover the carcass with leaves, dirt, grass or even rocks before leaving to drink or move to another location. Instead of eating at the scene of the kill, they usually drag the prey to a more secluded place to eat.
53. Tigers use two main methods of killing prey: blood loss and strangulation. They attack the neck, using their sharp teeth to pierce a large artery. This often causes the victim to die from blood loss within seconds. Otherwise, the tiger will choke the victim by the neck until she suffocates.
54. Although it is commonly believed that white tigers are albinos, in fact this is not so. Rather, the white coloration of these tigers is due to recessive genes that affect the pigmentation of their skin, which is slightly different from albinism. Most white-skinned tiger species also have blue eyes.
55. India has a high concentration of tigers - 75% of the world's population lives in the country. Tourists can even visit places in India where large groups of tigers can be seen. Therefore, it is quite logical that in 1973 the tiger was declared the national animal of India.
56. Adult tigers can fetch up to $10,000 on the black market, resulting in ongoing illegal tiger hunting and poaching.
57. Tigers can retract their claws back into their protective skin when not in use, thanks to the ligaments that hold the claws in place, which relax when the claws are retracted. This allows the tiger to keep its claws sharp and ready to use and to move silently while tracking prey, and it also allows the tiger to quickly and efficiently extend its claws when needed and retract them when they are no longer needed.
58. Tigers have fewer teeth than other carnivores. For example, dogs have 42 teeth, while tigers have only 30.
59. White tigers need a lot of space to live, roam and hunt - usually around 20 square miles (32 sq km). This helps them find enough prey to survive. White tigers are easier to spot than orange ones because they stand out more in their surroundings.
60. Siegfried and Roy were German-American entertainers known for performing with white tigers in Las Vegas. However, in 2003, one of the tigers attacked Roy during a performance, ending his career as an entertainer. Roy survived, but suffered very serious injuries.
61. Tigers usually have only one main meal per week, usually deer. However, if given the opportunity, they will also eat other animals such as wild boars, birds, fish, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and insects.
62. Tigers living in southern China are distinguished by a characteristic stripe on their foreheads. This stripe, reminiscent of the Chinese character for "king"/"king", is a distinctive feature of the South China tiger.
63. It is unclear why white tigers get bigger and grow faster than their orange cousins.
64. Male Bengal tigers typically weigh around 220 kg (480 lb) and are 2.9 m (9.5 ft) long when fully grown. Females are slightly smaller, with an average weight of 140 kg (300 lb) and a length of 2.5 m (8 ft).
65. White tigers sometimes have unusual reactions to anesthesia. For example, a male white tiger named Cheitan died at the San Antonio Zoo in 1992 due to complications from anesthesia during root canal treatment.
66. In 2013, a Bengal tiger mauled his trainer during a circus performance in Mexico. The American trainer later died from his injuries and the tiger was killed. This incident and others like it led some circuses to stop working with dangerous animals.
67. The Caspian tiger, which used to live in Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, became extinct in the 1970s.
68. The South China tiger is probably on the verge of extinction - there are only 47 individuals left, which can only be found in zoos in China. Perhaps some of them remained in the wild, but their number is unknown.
68. The South China tiger is probably on the verge of extinction - there are only 47 individuals left, which can only be found in zoos in China. Perhaps some of them remained in the wild, but their number is unknown.
69. The number of tigers in captivity in the US exceeds the number left in the wild.
70. Tiger urine seems to smell like buttered popcorn.
71. Tiger cubs stay with their mother, following her scent. Unfortunately, this is not always enough to ensure their survival, as many cubs remain on the hunt and do not survive the harsh conditions of cold or starvation.
72. Taiwan has banned the crossing of tigers on its territory in order to preserve the protected species. Those who violate this ban in Taiwan may face fines. The practice is now legal in various countries, including China, Iran, Argentina, the United States, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Russia.
73. The Bengal tiger is the most well-known subspecies of the tiger, perhaps due to its depiction as the main antagonist, Shere Khan, in Disney's The Jungle Book.
74. Tigers are responsible for more human deaths than leopards and lions combined. In the 19th century alone, more than 100,000 people were killed by tigers. Tigers generally try to avoid human contact as much as possible. However, certain circumstances can lead them to attack, such as when they are provoked or have a shortage of food, which leads them to seek food from people.
75. Despite all efforts to protect Amur tigers, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they are still among the endangered species. Although their numbers have now stabilized, there is a possibility that they may soon become extinct.
76. Tasmanian tigers, once the largest carnivorous marsupials, became extinct in 1936 when the last of them died at the Tasmanian Zoo in Hobart.
77. Tigers have developed the ability to see clearly at night due to their nocturnal hunting habits. They have developed unique eye structures that allow them to see in the dark 6 times better than humans.
78. Tigers have long been revered as symbols of strength and determination. In some Asian cultures, they are also seen as symbols of intelligence and power, and are revered as the undisputed rulers of those territories.
79. Tigers can starve to death in just 2 weeks due to their size and appetite.
80. Unlike other types of cats, tigers have thick, spiky bristles on their tongues.
81. Tigers can inhabit a wide variety of environments, including mangrove swamps, rainforests, savannahs and grasslands. As long as they have access to basic resources, they can survive.
82. Tigers can jump at least 30 feet (9 m) forward in a single jump.
83. The subspecies of the tiger determines the density of its stripes.
84. Tigers have two types of coat: outer coat and undercoat. The outer hair is longer and stronger than the undercoat and primarily performs a protective function. The main purpose of brindle fur is to keep the animal warm, and the undercoat helps achieve this by trapping air and insulating the body.
85. Male South China tigers typically weigh about 150 kg and are about 2.5 m long, while females are smaller, weighing about 110 kg and measuring about 2.3 m in length.
86. Tigers have four claws on each paw and a special claw called a dewclaw. The dewclaw is located farther on the paw and does not touch the ground when the tiger walks. It functions similarly to the human thumb and is used for prey capture and climbing.
87. The curved claws of the tiger allow them to effectively grab and hold large prey, as well as easily climb trees head first. However, the combination of curved claws, size, and weight can make it difficult for tigers to climb down trees. As a result, they must either slide down the tree or jump down, making them the least skilled climbers among the big cat family.
88. In tigers, powerful jaw muscles are attached to a bony ridge on the top of the skull called the sagittal crest. These muscles allow the tiger to quickly grasp its prey with crushing force, helping it to subdue and kill it.
89. White tigers are often found in zoos and can be very popular with visitors. However, many zookeepers do not allow these tigers to breed and they may also be neutered to prevent this. In the wild, white tigers are sometimes illegally hunted for their valuable white fur. There are programs to protect white tigers from illegal hunting and provide them with proper living conditions.
90. It is widely believed in China that various body parts of tigers, such as whiskers, bones and tail, have medicinal properties. These beliefs have greatly contributed to the illegal trade in tigers.
