dolphin facts

• Dolphins can swim up to 260 meters (853 ft) below the surface of the ocean.
• Dolphins can stay up to 15 minutes under water.
• Its name comes from the Greek word δελφίς (delphís), "a 'fish' with a womb".
• Dolphins use a technique called echolocation to find food and navigate.
• Dolphins are closely related to whales and porpoises.
• The largest dolphin is the “killer whale” (also known as Orca).
• Dolphins lack an olfactory nerve and lobes, and thus are believed to have no sense of smell.
• Dolphins are warm-blooded.
• Dolphins are the only animals other than humans that develop a natural form of type 2 diabetes.
• Dolphins breathe through a blowhole on top of their head.
• Some species have up to 250 teeth.
• The dolphin's head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation.
• There are almost 40 species of dolphin in 17 genera.
• Dolphins vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui's dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes (killer whale).
• Dolphins mostly eating fish and squid.
• Dolphins are among the most intelligent animals, and their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture.

Read More

Interesting facts about cougars

These cats have many names: Cougar, puma, mountain lion, catamount, mountain cat and panther.

The puma holds the Guinness record for the animal with the highest number of names. It has over 40 names in English alone.

Mountain lions can weigh between 100 lb (45 kg) – 145lb (66 kg). They have thick fur, and very little body fat.

The cougar is a mammal of the family Felidae, native to the Americas. 

Cougars eat up to ten pounds (4.5 kg) of meat a day.

It is the second heaviest cat in the American continents after the jaguar.

Cougars may live for 15 - 18 years in the wild.

Mountain lions are the largest cats that can purr.

They can leap vertically over 16 feet (5 m), and horizontally more than 45 feet (13.5 m).

Cougars can run up to 40 miles (65 km) per hour.

The mountain lion is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people.

In other uses

Cougar (slang), an older woman who prefers intimate relationships with younger men.

Read More

Facts about house flies

• Female houseflies lay up to three thousand eggs in their lifetime of 30 days.
• The house fly (Musca domestica) is the most common of all domestic flies, accounting for about 90 percent of all flies in human habitations.
• True flies are insects of the order Diptera (two wings).
• The average house fly lives about one month.
• In colder climates, houseflies survive only with humans.
• This insect vomit on food before eating it.
• Domestic flies are capable of carrying over 100 pathogens.
• Fly's wings beat up to 200 times per second.
• Each adult female fly lays several hundred eggs in decaying vegetable matter, including manure, compost, and garbage.
• Domestic flies lay eggs on their food.
• Flies defecate every 4-5 minutes.
• Extensive use of insecticides has caused many housefly populations to develop resistance to chemicals that formerly killed them.

Read More

Facts about frogs

• Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura.
• The order Anura contains 4,810 species.
• Frogs are unable to live in the sea or any salt water.
• Frogs typically lay their eggs in puddles, ponds or lakes.
• Frogs are able to absorb water through their skin.
• The name frog derives from Old English frogga
• Frogs use their long sticky tongue to capture their food.
• About 88 percent of amphibian species are frogs.
• Most frogs eat small insects like cockroaches and flies.
• Compared with other amphibians, frogs are unusual because they lack tails as adults and their legs are more suited to jumping than walking.
• Some frogs are able to jump up to twenty times their own body length.
• In France, frog’s legs are considered a delicacy.
• There is no taxonomic distinction between frogs and toads.
• Goliath frog is the largest known frog with a body length that exceeds 1 ft. (30 cms).
• Frogs have many predators. Animal predators include fish, birds and reptiles.

Read More