Encyclopaedia Britannica@Britannica · Sep 25, 2026

Not on our watch. Here are a few of our favorite animal facts: Besides humans, the only mammal known to have a sense…

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Summary

A collection of fascinating animal facts covering everything from the Indri lemur's sense of rhythm to how scientists determine blue whale age through earwax layers, highlighting the remarkable diversity of animal abilities and behaviors across species.

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#1
Not on our watch. Here are a few of our favorite animal facts: Besides humans, the only mammal known to have a sense of rhythm is the Indri lemur of Madagascar. 🧵⬇️
Bull@Bullincrisis_ · Sep 23, 2026
Animal twitter is dying🥲
#2
The domestic cat has been named at least partly responsible for the extinction of 63 species: - 40 birds - 21 mammals - 2 lizards They pose an existential threat to 367 more.
#3
Squirrels were once incredibly rare in U.S. urban areas. In 1856 the sight of one in a New York City tree was written about in a newspaper (the commotion-causing squirrel was an escaped pet). Squirrels were reintroduced en masse to bring more “nature” to city parks.
#4
When Mourning Doves take flight, air rushes through their feathers, causing vibrations. That's the “coo” sound you hear.
#5
When nine-banded armadillos have babies, they are always identical quadruplets.
#6
Carl Linnaeus, who developed animal taxonomy, classified the raccoon as a long-tailed bear. Raccoons were later reclassified in the genus Procyon, meaning “before dog.”
#7
Scientists believe fossilized skulls of elephant relatives found by ancient Greeks were the basis for the mythological Cyclops.
#8
Dog urine contains salts and ammonia that can be corrosive to metals. In some extreme cases, streetlights have fallen over because they’ve been weakened by repeated dog visits. Experts recommend having the dogs go on fire hydrants, which are made of more resistant cast iron.
#9
By volume, ostrich eggs are the largest single cells on Earth.
#10
The African tigerfish has been recorded leaping out of water to prey on birds in flight.
#11
Only about 1 in every 3,000 calico cats is male.
#12
Six-foot-long scrapes in the ground, found in Colorado, suggest that dinosaurs may have wooed mates by dancing, like birds do today.
#13
Bumblebees can survive underwater for up to 7 days. Scientists mistakenly submerged a few queen bees in water, and when they discovered the error some days later, they were surprised to find the bees had survived.
#14
There is evidence that sea turtle babies communicate with each other from INSIDE their shells to coordinate a synchronized exit. Hatching as a group makes it safer for the little ones on their journey to the water.
#15
CPAP machines, used to help people with sleep apnea, were first tested on notoriously loud snoring dog breeds like pugs and bulldogs.
#16
Scientists are able to determine the age of a blue whale by studying its earwax, which becomes dark during migration. Each pair of dark and light earwax layers represents one year of life.