The world’s oldest animal on land at 187 years old: Born circa 1832 – five years prior to the coronation of Queen Victoria – Jonathan the tortoise is due to turn 187 years old in 2019. That makes him the oldest-known land animal alive today. This puts him just one year away from the title of oldest chelonian…
Greyhounds are universal blood donors. Most greyhounds have a blood type that can be given to almost any other breed of dog on the planet. While not technically accurate, it is true that over 85% of greyhounds have a blood type that allows their blood useable in all other dogs. And greyhound blood has additional advantages of being…
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that dogs often take on the same personality traits as their owner. The study revealed that dogs are like humans in that they have personalities that are shaped over time. “When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs –…
A big, hairy Spider skitters across the floor of your room; its eight, long, rangy legs moving almost robotically. It stops. Horrified, you picture its fangs clicking together, and its many eyes jerkily twitching to and fro. Suddenly, the spider scuttles under your bed. Though you wait five minutes for it to reappear, it does…
Through their evolution, sharks have shaped our oceans into the rich habitats we know today. As apex predators (animals that are at the top of the food chain), sharks play an important role in the ecosystem by maintaining the species below them in the food chain – helping remove the weak and sick, helping keep the…
First, the male and female scorpion grab each other with their pincers, and ‘dance’ – a process which allows the female to test the strength of the male, and the male to lead his partner around to find a suitable spot to leave his sperm packet for her to take. Scorpions have four pairs of legs, two pinchers and…
When humans get hot, we sweat. Our bodies need to stay about the same temperature — 98.6° F — all the time. To keep our bodies at the correct temperature, our sweat glands secrete sweat (also called “perspiration“) when we get hot. Sweat is mostly water with small amounts of salts and amino acids. As you sweat, the water evaporates into the air and cools the skin beneath it. Unfortunately, pigs have…
Dolphin’s sleep in a very different way to the way we humans do as they must still continue to surface to breathe. Humans have prolonged periods of unconscious sleep and we are not aware of our surroundings for periods of time while sleeping. Humans have a breathing reflex and when we sleep or become unconscious,…
Of the many curious facts about this highly-studied creature, its ability to live without a head… for a while anyway… has got to be one of the creepiest. But before outright telling you how long a cockroach can survive without a head, let’s look at the science behind why it’s possible at all. Because there’s…
Dolphins are thought of as one of the most intelligent species in the animal kingdom – and experts believe they have put their ingenuity to use in the pursuit of getting “high”. In extraordinary scenes filmed for a new documentary, young dolphins were seen carefully manipulating a certain kind of puffer fish which, if…
