37 Interesting facts about animals

The world has a surprising amount of animals. There are millions of species that populate land, sea and air. The diversity in the animal kingdom is truly astounding; here is our collection of interesting facts about animals.

Here are some interesting facts about animals you may find interesting:

1. Elephants have the longest pregnancy of any mammal, lasting 22 months
2. A group of giraffes is called a tower or herd
3. Giraffes can live up to 26 years in captivity and about 15 years in the wild
4. The word “elephant” comes from two Greek words meaning “ivory” and “animal”
5. Male lions are typically larger than females, but they don’t usually have manes until they reach maturity at around 3-4 years old
6. A group of bears is called a sleuth or sloth

7. A group of kangaroos is called a mob, troop, or court
8. The blue whales tongue can weigh as much as an elephant
9. There are more than 1 million ants for every human on Earth
10. Cats have over 100 vocal sounds while dogs only have about 10
11. Male lions do not usually hunt with their female counterparts (female lions) but will sometimes help them to protect their cubs from predators like hyenas and wild dogs

12. A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance
13. An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain
14. The world’s smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua, weighing in at just 2lbs
15. There are around 1 billion cows on earth and they produce 200 million gallons of milk each day
16. In 2013, there were over 8 million dogs living in households with children under 18 years old in the United States alone
17. Horses can sleep standing up because their eyes have horizontal pupils that allow them to see behind themselves while sleeping or resting without having to move their head much at all
18. There are around 8.7 million different species of animals
19. The word “animal” comes from the Latin word animalis which means to be animated or having life
20. Animals can’t speak but they do communicate in their own ways- some use sounds and others use body language
21. An animal’s sense of smell is much stronger than a human’s sense of smell because an animal has many more olfactory cells than humans do
22. Cats have whiskers on their face that help them detect objects in front of them and gauge how far away they are
23. Pigs don’t sweat like humans do so when it gets hot outside pigs roll around in mud to cool down
24. A group of monkeys is called a troop, herd, or band; a group of kangaroos is called a mob; and a group of whales is called a school

25. The giraffe is the tallest animal on land
26. Sea otters hold hands while they sleep so that they don’t drift away from each other
27. Giraffes can go for days without drinking water because of their long necks and ability to reach leaves high in trees
28. Some animals, like cats, have a third eyelid that protects their eye when it needs time to heal or recover from an injury
29. There are more than 1400 different species of bats in the world
30. Dolphins sleep with one eye open at all times, which means they never really sleep deeply enough to dream
31. The blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on this planet, weighing in at 200 tons and measuring up to 100 feet long
32. A honeybee can fly at speeds of up to 19 miles per hour
33. The average life span for a house cat is about 15 years, while an average dog’s lifespan ranges from 10-12 years
34. Elephants have the longest gestation period out of any mammal (22 months) and give birth only once every three or four years
35. There are around 8 million dogs in America, but only 4 million cats!
36. Cats have been domesticated for 5,000 years longer than dogs have been domesticated (i.e., since 10,000 BC)
37. An elephant’s trunk has over 40 000 muscles in it! That’s as many muscles as an entire human arm or leg has!