13 Animal Facts To Tickle Your Inner Steve Irwin

Do you love animals? Most people do. They are lovable, furry creatures that make us happy. But sometimes they can also be a little bit naughty. We all love animals, from domesticated house pets to the wild creatures that fascinate and frighten us. Our relationships with these creatures are complex and varied, but one thing is constant: we feel something special when we connect with them.

Do you love animals? Do you have a passion for learning about new critters and their quirks? Well, this article is for you! Brace yourself as we take a look at some of the most interesting animal facts from around the world. Some of these will definitely surprise you, while others may just make you giggle. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about everything from sloths to sharks! Buckle up – it’s going to be a wild ride!

Good news! If you want your own domesticated fox, it doesn't even cost as much as a purebred Husky - it actually costs three times LESS than a Tibetan Mastiff, at just $8,000. Read about how selective breeding made foxes cuter and more below:

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Domesticated foxes didn't just get more friendly, they got cuter. CRACKED.COM The Institute of Cytology and Genetics at Novosibirsk, Siberia has been domesticating wild foxes by breeding ones with beneficial behaviors (friendly towards humans, docile, etc.). After around 35 generations of foxes they noticed that they started to exhibit physical traits not found in the wild, like floppy ears and tails that curled over their backs. — Source: NY Times

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There is a type of cheese you're supposed to eat while it is being eaten itself, by maggots. CRACKED.COM The Sardinian cheese Casu Marzu is a delacy, which is a fancy word meaning real gross. This wheel of cheese is beset by flies, which lay their eggs and make maggots that consume the cheese. People feast on the cheese, maggots and all, of their own free will. — Source: Serious Eats

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Cheetahs use dogs for emotional support. CRACKED.COM In captivity, cheetahs can be quite nervous animals. To combat this, ZOOS started to give the cats their own canine companions which make them feel safe. The calming influence of dogs gives behavior clues to the still-learning cheetah, allowing it to not fear its surroundings. — Source: Nerdist

10

Police arrested a parrot in India for verbal abuse. GRACKED.COM After an 85-year-old woman complained that a parrot had verbally abused her, police took the bird into custody. The owner of the bird had taught it, over the course of two years, to insult the woman (his step-mother) whenever she came around the house. The police were unable to get the bird to shout obscenities at the woman in their presence. — Source: Telegraph

9

A small town in Alaska had the same mayor for 20 years: a cat named Stubbs. Wha Organic CRACKED.COM Stubbs the cat was the honorary mayor of Talkeetna after a write-in campaign, from 1997 to 2017. Since the small town did not have an official mayoral office, a general store doubled as Stubbs' headquarters. — Source: Business Insider

8

The average lifespan of an adult female mayfly is five minutes. CRACKED.COM Mayflies already have a short total life span at just 24 hours, but the vast majority of that time is spent as an egg and larva. Once the mayfly reaches maturity, the males have 30 minutes to find a mate, and the females have just 5 minutes to deposit their eggs before their clock runs out. — Source: Snopes

7

It's not true that a baby bird will be rejected by their mother if handled by a human. CRACKED.COM Sorry we have to break it to you, but your parents only told you this so you wouldn't go around picking up wild animals. The notion that birds will smell you on their offspring is unfounded, as non-predatory birds do not usually have a good sense of smell. If you see a baby bird on the ground, it's probably just in the process of learning to fly. — Source: University of Florida

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Leopards love killing, and do it for fun! CRACKED.COM Not content to just hunt to survive, leopards appear to take a YOLO approach to slaughter. Of the recorded instances of leopards preying on domesticated animals, over half involve surplus killing, which involves killing and leaving the remains uneaten - sometimes with up to 50 animals dead in a single spree. — Source: Large Carnivores That Kill Livestock: Do "Problem Individuals" Really Exist?

5

One bug makes a sound as loud as an orchestra, with its penis. CRACKED.COM The water boatman is an aquatic insect about the size of a fingernail that makes a deafening call, reaching nearly 100 decibels. It achieves this impressive sound with a similarly impressive process known as stridulation, which involves rubbing its penis against its abdomen. — Source: Daily Mail

4

Sabre-toothed cats are more closely related to possums than tigers. CRACKED.COM After dying out in the Pleistocene epoch 10,000 years ago, the lineage of cats like the sabre toothed tiger diverted to small marsupials. If you're lucky, you can catch a glimpse of the family members to the terrifying beasts rummaging through your trash at night. — More: The Descendant Of The Saber-toothed Tiger May Disappoint You

3

There are scorpions that can create dozens of offspring without a mate. CRACKED.COM Using asexual reproduction, called parthenogenesis, nine species of scorpion are able to make babies without any help from a partner. These broods of several dozen baby scorpions can BE a single gender, without leading to any issue creating more arachnids in the future. — Source: A New All-Female Scorpion and the First Probable Case of Arrhenotoky in Scorpions

2

The hairy frog breaks its own bones to use as weapons. CRACKED.COM This amphibian has special muscles in its toes that allow it to snap bone away from connective tissue, pushing it through skin to make a DIY set of claws. If scientists ever find a way to graft adamantium to this frog's bones, we're screwed. — Source: New Scientist

1

Dung beetles roll around nurseries made of poop, looking for a mate. CRACKED .COM After the dung beetle finds a nice pile of poop, it rolls it into a ball and goes out looking for a mate. When he finds his better half, they bury the fecal orb and lay a single egg within it. The dung ball serves as protection and food for the emerging offspring. — Source: San Diego Zoo

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