Billions of animals live on this stunningly beautiful planet we call home. And they all deserve to be celebrated every day — and especially on International Animal Rights Day.
Here are some incredible animal facts to give a little extra love to our furry, feathery, scaly (and every other kind of skin/shell!) friends.
Because all beings everywhere should be treated with love and gratitude.
Friends not food, always. ❤️
25 incredible facts about our amazing animal friends
- Octopuses have the ability to see with skin. And they have 9 brains, 3 hearts, and blue blood.
- Thanks to their adorable snout, pigs have an excellent sense of smell.
- Turtles can hold their breath for 5 hours underwater.. and breathe through their butts.
- A group of hedgehogs is called an “array.”
- Horses use their ears, eyes, and nostrils to express their mood, along with facial expressions to communicate their feelings.
- Elephant pregnancies are about 22 months long. And at birth, elephants are about 200 pounds.
- Mountain lions are the largest cats that can purr.
- Narwhals change color as they age, going from blue-gray to eventually white.
- Females llamas usually give birth with all the other females in the herd gathered around to protect the newborn from potential predators.
- While all clownfish are born male, they have the option to turn into females to mate. But, once they change they cannot turn back!
- Blowfish, also known as pufferfish, have eyes that move independently from one another.
- Toucans curl into little balls when they sleep.
- Cats use their whiskers to find out if they can fit through a space.
- Ants are known to be the longest living insect.
- Koalas can sleep up to 18 hours per day (zzz).
- Dolphins can recognize themselves in the mirror.
- Wolves in a pack help raise and take care of all the pups.
- Threatened ladybugs sometimes play dead.
- Honeybees can fly for up to 6 miles (and reach speeds of 15mph).
- Young polar bear cubs live with their moms for about 28 months to learn the survival skills of the far north.
- Each frog has a unique ribbit.
- A puffin’s beak changes color during the year — going from grey in winter to orange in the spring. The theory is that it helps them assess potential mates.
- While sloths are sweetly slow on land, they’re super at swimming.
- Rabbit teeth never stop growing!
- Chipmunks stash food in their cheek pouches, which can be three times the size of their head.
Read more amazing animal posts here!
