FUN FACTS ABOUT ANIMALS

Animals exist in this world have their own functions. Some benefits human as food, some acted as teacher that shows us how to live and survive, and surely at the end of everything, all of them exist to balance the world ecosystem. Other than those, here are some fun facts about animals adaptation to nature  that I collected through my watch to Animal Planet Channel.

1. Baby Elephant eat mother's poop!

That sounds gross at the first heard, in fact, eating poop is crucial for the survival and well being of many young animals such as hippos, warthogs, rhinos, and elephants. Elephants are hind gut fermenters. Meaning that once the food has passed through the stomachs, and into small intestines, it then enters the large intestine for the digestion process where bacteria causes fermentation helps to break down the food. However, baby elephants are not naturally born with that necessary bacteria in their gut. The best mechanism to adapt that situation (which is allow them to obtain digestive bacteria) is consuming the faeces of his/her mother or fellow herd members. This adaptation continues as long as the baby is still feeding on milk but in the same time has already consumed the plant material. This is called, transitioning stage.

Baby elephant eat mommy's poop.

2. Lungfish can live out of water!

African lungfish have some fascinating adaptations. They have two lungs and can breathe in the air like mammals do. This is a vital feature, since they live in flood plains in waterways that often dry up. To adapt this life-threatening condition, the lungfish secretes a thin layer of mucus around itself that dries into the cocoon. It can live out of water in this cocoon for up to a year, breathing through its lungs until rains refill its waterways. 

Lungfish is a non-gill fish.

3. Sloth can only move on the ground for 14 meters a day!

This species can move along the ground at just 2 meters per minute. In the trees, they are slightly faster at 3 meter per minute. Most of the time, sloths need to save their energy since they do not eat much. Sloths have four part stomach that very slowly digests the tough leaves they eat. It can sometimes take up to a month for them to digest a meal. Digesting this diet means a sloth has very little energy left to move around making it one of the slowest moving animals in the world.

There's no need for me to travel far. I just eat leave, human.

4. Emperor Penguin is a good daddy!

This Antarctic species breed during winter. The National Geographic managed to capture the emperor penguin males gathered in colonies near the coast. Apparently they are huddling together to stay warm in temperature as low as -40 degrees Celsius, wind winds as strong as 144km/hour. For the next two months, these devoted dads will each incubate a single egg that holds his offspring. Each dad will also care for his chick when it first hatches. Penguin dads do all this while surviving only on fat reserves from the previous summer. The mommy only back home a few days after the baby hatched. Back home with no empty handed but with food from the sea. Then the family is gathered together again.

Photo Credit - www.earthsky.org

5. Baby flamingo is not born already in pink!

Flamingo are born with gray plumage. They get their rosy hue pink by ingesting a type of organic pigment called carotenoid. They obtain this through their main food source, brine shrimp, which feast on microscopic algae that naturally produce carotenoids.

Mother flamingo regurgitating crop milk to feed their young ones.

6. Crocodiles eat stones to survive!

Crocodiles and several types of birds are among the animals swallowing stones. A stone that has been swallowed is called a gastrolith. The consumption of rocks is a form of geogaphy. All crocodile species have this strange behaviour. Crocodiles do not swallow stones out of appreciation for the taste. They do it because the stones help with basic digestion. Rocks in a crocodile's stomach help crush and grate food. Rock swallowing is especially beneficial for crocodiles who eat whole prey, particularly animals with tough bones and shells.

The stones also act as a weight, to make a crocodile feel heavier and fuller especially for a crocodile who's not getting enough food. Then this situation also leads the crocodile to swim better and dive deeper underwater.

The gastrolith can remain in crocodile's stomach for years.

7. A cockroach can live up to 9 days without head!

Due to their open circulatory system, and the fact that they breathe through little holes in each of their body segments, they are not dependent on the mouth or head to breathe. The roach only dies because without a mouth, it cannot drink water and eat, then dies.

This fact proved that cockroaches are some of the most adaptable creatures on earth, which makes controlling and killing a cockroach infestation all the more difficult. To get rid of cockroaches in your home, experts suggest keeping food sealed and stored properly. Particularly in the kitchen, which should be cleaned daily to prevent crumbs and trash from building up. Garbage should be disposed of regularly and stored in sealed containers.

One of the most durable animals on earth.

8. Whales and Dolphin never had a deep sleep!

Although still a matter of discussion, most researchers feel that in order to breathe, dolphins and whales must be conscious and alert to recognize that their blowhole is at the surface. Humans, of course, can breathe while the conscious mind is asleep, our subconscious mechanisms have control of this involuntary system. To cope with this situation, only half brain of these mammals are asleep.

Marine mammals need to go surface to inhale.

9. It is actually fat not water stored in camel's hump!

A camel's hump does not hold water at all like what people thought all this time. It actually stores fat that will be used as nourishment when food is scarce. If a camel uses the fat inside the hump, the hump will then become limp and droop down. So now it is known that the hump is not functioned to store water, in fact camels can survive without water for a long period of time.

A camel can carry up to 80 pounds (36 Kg) of fat on its back.

10. Rhino horn made up of hair!

Rhino horn is made up primarily of keratin. Keratin is a protein found in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves. When carved and polished, horn takes on a translucence and luster that increase as the object ages.

The horn cut may not hurt rhinos (like we trim our nails) but they could lose self defense from predators. 

There are more fun facts about animals out there but surely will continue in another post. Being a fan of Animal Planet channel is kind of advantage. Apart of gaining new info and knowledges, the documentaries provided also make myself be more loving to animals either they are predators or prey. Most of animal species have been gradually extinct. Not only occurred in certain places but can be said happened all over the world. Imbalance numbers of certain species may cause food chain interrupted.

For instance, African Rhinos population are controlled by the predator lions, leopards, crocodiles, or hyenas. However the uncertain condition like illegal poaching lead to the extinction of rhinos. If rhinos are degraded, the numbers of predators also declining. The food chain interrupted that end up resulting the end of the animal kingdom.

If we cannot protect animals, do not become the one who hurts them.

Love,

Masya.