Here are 50 facts from FunFact's “Animals” topic, all checked. Each one cites its source (britannica.com, australian.museum, fisheries.noaa.gov…) and the date it was checked. This topic is free in the app.
Born in 1967 in Texas and died in 2005, she appears in the 2010 Guinness World Records as the oldest cat ever recorded.
Her owner credited her long life to this diet, along with broccoli and a drop of red wine. But coffee and alcohol are toxic to cats, and her age was never independently verified.
Source: Guinness World Records — Oldest cat ever · Checked on October 26, 2026
The male builds an avenue of twigs and carefully decorates it with blue feathers, flowers, berries and bits of plastic.
This color is rare in the Australian bush, which makes it especially appealing to the female when she comes to inspect his work.
Source: Australian Museum — Satin Bowerbird · Checked on October 24, 2026
Birds have no vocal cords: they produce sounds with throat muscles and membranes, with the syrinx as the key organ.
This system is very flexible, but birds have no lips, which limits the sounds they can imitate, human speech included. Some parrots come surprisingly close, though.
Source: BBC — How can birds teach each other to talk? · Checked on October 26, 2026
Each year, this seabird travels from its Arctic nesting grounds to the edge of Antarctica and back again.
Over a full year, its zigzag route across the oceans can exceed 70,000 km (43,500 mi).
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Arctic Tern Overview · Checked on October 24, 2026
The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the one in beekeepers’ hives; the others, often solitary like the mason bee, are wild.
There are about 20,000 bee species in the world. The wild ones nest in the ground, in dead wood or in hollow stems, and also pollinate our crops.
Source: Humanité et Biodiversité · Checked on October 24, 2026
This silvery, ribbon-shaped giant of the sea can reach an exceptional length of nearly 8 m (26 ft).
Living in deep water, it often swims vertically, head pointing up, to spot crustaceans against the light.
Source: NOAA Fisheries — Giant Oarfish · Checked on October 24, 2026
A beekeeper at Australia's Parliament says guard bees turn away drunk foragers, to keep honey from fermenting in the hive.
When it gets hot, the nectar of some flowers ferments. According to the beekeeper, this doesn't apply to Australia's native bees. The story comes from a specialist, not from a study: no scientific study could be found.
Source: VICE : « Bees in Australia are Getting Drunk on Fermented Nectar and Being Refused Re-Entry to the Hive » (2019) · Checked on October 26, 2026
The test came from a zoo official (Wildlife Conservation Society); since then, this fragrance has attracted big cats in front of camera traps, such as jaguars in Guatemala.
The cats rub against, sniff and drool on scented objects. Researchers think the musky smell resembles a territory marking. The footage is used to estimate jaguar populations in the Maya reserve.
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society (communiqué, 2010) · Checked on October 26, 2026
Its horizontally elongated pupil gives it 330° panoramic vision, but it can’t see directly behind it.
Like many prey animals, it has eyes on the sides of its head, which favors vigilance. As a result, it judges uneven ground and distances right in front of it poorly, hence its hesitation before a shadow on the ground.
Source: Ohio State University — Beef Cattle Handling: Physiology and Behavior · Checked on October 24, 2026
It contains copper-based hemocyanin and clots immediately on contact with bacterial toxins.
An extract from its blood cells (the LAL test) is a standard biomedical reagent for detecting endotoxins, components of bacteria, in injectable drugs, including vaccines.
Source: Marine Biological Laboratory — Atlantic Horseshoe Crab · Checked on October 24, 2026
Cattle see colors very poorly, and a matador's muleta is red mostly to hide bloodstains and out of tradition.
The bull reacts mainly to what moves, not to color. Cattle are not completely colorblind: they see a few colors, but have trouble telling red from green.
Source: Snopes — Does the Color Red Trigger Bulls to Attack? · Checked on October 26, 2026
They slice off a tiny flap of skin with their razor-sharp incisors, then lap up the blood with their grooved tongue.
Their saliva contains an anticoagulant nicknamed “draculin,” which keeps blood from clotting. Heat sensors on the nose help them find a blood vessel close to the skin of their prey.
Source: National Geographic Kids — Vampire bat · Checked on October 26, 2026
They pick suitable plant stems, carefully remove the leaves that get in the way and insert them into the openings of termite mounds.
This culturally transmitted use of modified tools varies from one chimpanzee community to another.
Source: Smithsonian’s National Zoo — Chimpanzee · Checked on October 24, 2026
This worm lives at a depth of about 2,500 m (8,200 ft), on the hydrothermal vents of the East Pacific Rise.
It was long believed to withstand 80 °C (176 °F), but those measurements probably came from worms that had been pierced. Its proteins begin to break down above 50 °C (122 °F). Its blood would stay around 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 °F).
Source: Wikipédia (Alvinella pompejana) · Checked on October 24, 2026
Within an anemone, the group is led by a single breeding female along with the largest male.
If the female dies, the dominant male permanently changes sex to take over the group, a phenomenon called protandrous hermaphroditism.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Clown fish · Checked on October 24, 2026
An Ipsos survey for Anses (France’s health safety agency) found 11% of households, regardless of income level.
The average cost of an infestation is about €866 per household. Anses attributes the resurgence to the rise in travel and to bed bugs’ growing resistance to insecticides.
Source: Anses (relayé par sante.fr) · Checked on October 24, 2026
Nine are on display at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels: eight Iguanodon bernissartensis and one Mantellisaurus.
Louis De Pauw, under the direction of Louis Dollo, mounted the most complete ones from 1882; the first was displayed in 1883 in the courtyard of the Nassau Palace. They are among the first nearly complete dinosaur skeletons shown to the public.
Source: Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique · Checked on October 26, 2026
This phenomenon, heteropaternal superfecundation, is common in cats, dogs, and sheep.
A female cat ovulates at the time of mating. If she mates with several males in a short time, each egg can be fertilized by a different male: a litter can therefore have several fathers.
Source: Popular Science — Kittens from the same litter don't always have the same parents · Checked on October 26, 2026
The LPO (France’s bird protection league) estimated about 8,000 birds in 2021, descended from pet birds that escaped from captivity.
According to the Louvre, they have so far had no significant negative impact on other birds in Île-de-France, although data remain limited. The species settled in France in the 1970s from birds that escaped from captivity or were released.
Source: Musée du Louvre · Checked on October 24, 2026
It weighs 1 to 2.75 kg (2.2 to 6 lb) and measures 34 to 50 cm (13 to 20 in) without the tail. Its name comes from the soles of its feet, which are black.
It lives in arid areas and savannas of southern Africa, up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above sea level. It is rare and split into small populations: the IUCN lists it as “vulnerable.”
Source: Animal Diversity Web (Université du Michigan) · Checked on October 26, 2026
About 500 g (1.1 lb) of polar bear liver would be an acutely toxic dose of vitamin A for a human, according to a 1943 estimate.
Bears accumulate this vitamin by eating seals. Tolerance varies from person to person, and children are more sensitive. The Inuit have long avoided eating this liver. The figure is an estimate, not an exact threshold.
Source: Biochemical Journal — The vitamin A content and toxicity of bear and seal liver · Checked on October 26, 2026
These snakes of the genus Chrysopelea launch themselves from a branch and flatten their bodies into a disc shape to glide through the forest.
They don't truly fly: they glide. The snake spreads its ribs and pulls in its belly to hollow out its body, then undulates from side to side in the air to stabilize itself and steer a little.
Source: National Geographic — These snakes can jump—and scientists want to know why · Checked on October 26, 2026
Females reach about 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in length and 6.3 cm (2.5 in) in wingspan. Rediscovered in Indonesia in 1981, then photographed alive in 2019.
Discovered in 1858 by Alfred Russel Wallace, it lives in the North Moluccas, Indonesia, and nests in tree termite mounds. Males are much smaller, about 2.3 cm (0.9 in). In 2018, two specimens were sold on eBay, a sign of the lack of protection.
Source: Journal of Insect Conservation — Wallace's Giant Bee for sale: implications for trade regulation and conservation · Checked on October 26, 2026
A sharp spine sits on each side of the base of its tail; it extends when the fish is stressed and can inflict deep wounds.
These spines are used only for defense. Surgeonfish get their name from these blades, compared to scalpels. Handled carelessly, the fish can seriously injure even a human.
Source: Live Science — Facts About Regal Blue Tangs · Checked on October 26, 2026
During mating, the fertilized eggs sink into the mother's spongy back skin, which closes over them.
After several months of development, fully formed froglets emerge directly from the pockets on her back.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Surinam toad · Checked on October 24, 2026
Few mammals their size can do this. Their front paws are very sensitive, and become even more so when wet.
A thin horny layer covers their front paws: when wet, it softens and the sense of touch sharpens. Nearly two-thirds of the sensory area of their brain is devoted to touch, more than in any other animal studied.
Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife — Raccoon · Checked on October 26, 2026
A University of California, Berkeley study (2015) links elongated pupils to plant-eating animals with eyes on the sides of the head.
This shape lets in light from the front, back and sides, and limits glare from the sun. When a goat lowers its head to graze, its eyes rotate by 50° or more to keep the pupils horizontal.
Source: Université de Californie à Berkeley · Checked on October 26, 2026
Adults kill or weaken the prey, often by removing the scorpion's stinger, then make it harder as the pups grow.
If a pup hesitates, the adult pushes the prey toward it and catches it again if it escapes. The study by Thornton and McAuliffe, carried out on wild meerkats in the Kalahari, appeared in the journal Science in 2006.
Source: Université de Cambridge · Checked on October 26, 2026
Myostatin slows muscle growth. Without this brake, the breed yields on average about 20% more meat.
The mutation was described in 1997 by several teams. The trade-off: calves are large and births are difficult, often by cesarean section: a cow may have five or six.
Source: Nature Genetics (PubMed) — A deletion in the bovine myostatin gene causes the double-muscled phenotype in cattle · Checked on October 26, 2026
The tunnels go several meters underground and lead to chambers lined with bedding, where a family clan sleeps.
The clan includes adults and their young; badgers renew their bedding of moss and leaves several times a year. A single sett can thus serve for several generations, sometimes several hundred years.
Source: Futura Sciences · Checked on October 24, 2026
These fleshy tentacles hold more than 25,000 Eimer’s organs that can detect prey in milliseconds.
It is one of the densest and most efficient touch organs seen in mammals.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Star-nosed mole · Checked on October 24, 2026
Kangaroos swim well and often flee toward waterways. There, they use their front paws to hold the predator underwater.
This tactic is described against dogs. Nothing suggests it targets humans. On land, a kangaroo can also grab its attacker with its front paws and kick it with its powerful hind legs.
Source: ABC News — Do kangaroos really drown predators? We bust more animal myths · Checked on October 26, 2026
This structure of five pyramid-shaped calcite teeth is worked by powerful muscles to scrape off encrusting algae.
The teeth grow continuously from the base to make up for the wear caused by repeated rubbing against stone.
Source: NOAA Ocean Service — What is Aristotle’s lantern? · Checked on October 24, 2026
Extinct in 1809, the ibex returned thanks to poachers from Italy's Aosta Valley, hired by zoologists from St. Gallen.
The king of Italy, a keen hunter, refused to sell ibex to Switzerland. Two females and a male were therefore snatched from Gran Paradiso. With the Confederation's backing, a colony was set up before the first releases.
Source: swissinfo.ch · Checked on October 26, 2026
In Jigokudani park, these monkeys sit in “onsen” (hot springs) to warm up during the winter.
The park is in a mountain valley with harsh winters. The macaques come down from the cliffs and forest. In the 1950s, ski resorts and land clearing shrank their mountain habitat.
Source: TheSnowMonkeys.com — Guide to the Nagano Snow Monkeys · Checked on October 26, 2026
This aquatic spider collects air bubbles at the surface with the hairs on its abdomen to supply its submerged shelter.
The silk acts like an artificial gill, exchanging the oxygen dissolved in the water for the carbon dioxide that builds up inside.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Water spider · Checked on October 24, 2026
A line can include several dozen individuals touching one another with their antennae.
In autumn, these lobsters move to deeper water in long, tight single-file lines, each keeping its antennae in contact with the tail of the one in front. Earth’s magnetic field acts as their compass.
Source: Lohmann Lab (UNC) — Spiny Lobsters · Checked on October 24, 2026
The color comes from nanostructures on microscopic scales, shaped like Christmas trees, that reflect only blue light waves.
This optical effect, constructive interference, produces a metallic shine visible from several hundred meters away.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Morpho · Checked on October 24, 2026
He gets up only to turn the eggs, about ten times a day, and can lose up to a third of his weight.
He lives off his fat reserves, with a little dew within reach of his beak. According to some sources, he neither eats nor drinks at all while brooding. The emu is a large flightless Australian bird.
Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo — Emu · Checked on October 26, 2026
American paleontologist Othniel Marsh described the animal in 1877. He imagined plates that overlapped like roof tiles.
We now know the plates stood upright in two rows on the animal's back. Their exact role is still debated: temperature regulation, display, or defense, depending on the hypothesis.
Source: Natural History Museum — Stegosaurus · Checked on October 26, 2026
This reef fish uses a mirror to inspect a colored mark placed on its throat and tries to scrape it off on the surroundings.
This finding suggests unexpected forms of body awareness in aquatic vertebrates that were once underestimated.
Source: Australian Museum — Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse · Checked on October 24, 2026
Wiped out from the Alps in the 19th century, it was reintroduced: 26 young birds were released in the Swiss National Park between 1991 and 2007.
Its wingspan of nearly three meters (about 10 ft) got it mistaken for a threat. The Alpine program started in 1986. Of the 26 birds released in Switzerland, eleven paired up and bred.
Source: Parc national suisse · Checked on October 26, 2026
It forms in the intestines of sperm whales, of which only about 1% produce it. It can float for years before washing ashore.
Perfumers long used it as a fixative because it makes scents last. Today, a synthetic molecule, ambroxide, has replaced it almost everywhere, so it is no longer a “key ingredient” in perfumes.
Source: Natural History Museum — What is ambergris? · Checked on October 26, 2026
Sheaths of connective tissue store mechanical energy before launching the tongue at over 20 km/h (12 mph) in a few hundredths of a second.
This lightning-fast acceleration can reach several hundred times Earth’s gravity, to catch insects from a distance.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Chameleon · Checked on October 24, 2026
The last pair of great auks was killed on June 3, 1844, on an island near Iceland; the bird was often confused with the penguin (“manchot”).
The “manchot” (penguin) lives in the Southern Hemisphere and cannot fly; “pingouins” (auks) live in the Northern Hemisphere. The “petit pingouin” (razorbill), which flies, is at most 40 cm (16 in) long and still exists.
Source: Larousse · Checked on October 24, 2026
Pale axolotls come from breeding. In the wild, almost all are brown or beige with olive highlights and golden dots.
The wild axolotl lives almost only in Lake Xochimilco, near Mexico City. It is critically endangered: city growth, invasive fish and polluted water have shrunk its population.
Source: ExoPetGuides — 18 Types of Axolotl Colors You Can Own (Axolotl Color Guide) · Checked on October 26, 2026
Each eye, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, focuses light with a parabolic mirror made of guanine crystals, not with a lens.
Their retina has two layers: one responds to light, the other to sudden darkening, which helps detect movement. Their image sharpness remains limited, however.
Source: Science News — Scallops’ amazing eyes use millions of tiny, square crystals to see · Checked on October 24, 2026
Depending on the breed, it covers 270° to 320°. A sheep's pupil is a horizontal slit, not round like ours.
In breeds with no wool on the face, the average reaches about 313°. For a prey animal, seeing all around makes it easier to spot a predator sooner. Wool in front of the eyes can shrink this field (“wool blindness”).
Source: The Open Sanctuary Project — The Ewe-nique World of Sheep Sight · Checked on October 26, 2026
The rock dove originally nested on cliffs; old buildings, full of cavities, play that role today.
They are domestic pigeons that returned to the wild, known as “feral” pigeons, and they are the ones that colonized cities. A few wild rock doves survive on natural cliffs, notably in Corsica.
Source: INPN – Muséum national d’histoire naturelle · Checked on October 24, 2026
Every night, billions of these small bioluminescent fish leave the aphotic zone, where no sunlight reaches, to feed on plankton near the surface.
Before daybreak, they dive back down several hundred meters to escape the sight of daytime predators.
Source: NOAA Fisheries — Lanternfish · Checked on October 24, 2026
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