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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 11, 2019 11:13:50 GMT -6
8. BABY ELEPHANTS SUCK THEIR TRUNKS FOR COMFORT.  ~ |
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Post by lostineternity99 on Mar 12, 2019 6:11:17 GMT -6
I did not know this  |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 12, 2019 10:41:27 GMT -6
I didn't know that either, Rick. |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 12, 2019 10:42:44 GMT -6
9. TIGERS HAVE STRIPED SKIN AS WELL. EACH PATTERN IS AS UNIQUE AS A FINGERPRINT.  ~ |
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Post by lostineternity99 on Mar 13, 2019 5:25:15 GMT -6
Tigers are amazing |
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Post by Vicky G on Mar 13, 2019 8:20:31 GMT -6
I think tigers are among the most beautiful of creatures on this planet and I didn't know about baby elephants sucking their trunks for comfort either - but it makes sense look at human babies who suck their thumbs or fingers.
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 13, 2019 12:57:37 GMT -6
Babies are just babies, aren't they?
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 13, 2019 12:59:29 GMT -6
![]() 10. THERE WAS ONCE A TYPE OF CROCODILE THAT COULD GALLOP.  ~ |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 13, 2019 13:08:01 GMT -6
Well, I had to know more.CROCODILES ARE MASTERS of deception. I’m not talking about their ability to perfectly conceal themselves until the moment they burst from the water, jaws agape. I mean that they’re not as sluggish as they might seem. Yes, crocodiles often drag their bellies along the riverbank, but they get around in other ways. Not only can they push themselves into a scaly strut called a “high walk”, but crocodiles can also bound and gallop.
For experts who study animal mechanics, “bound” and “gallop” have specific meanings. A crocodilian bound is distinguished by the animal’s forelimbs hitting the ground simultaneously with the hindlimbs pushing off quickly after, while a gallop is a four-beat sequence in which the fore and hindlimbs touch off in turn. Only little crocodiles – under six and a half feet long – have been seen to take off bounding and galloping. But the behaviors have been seen across five different crocodile species, as well as in their distant cousin the gharial. And that’s what makes alligators seem strange by comparison. With the exception of one instance when researchers thought they saw an American alligator possibly trying to gallop for a split-second in the middle of a stride, no one has ever seen alligators take off the way their cousins do. Why? Muscles may be the answer. After studying 40 alligators and crocodiles representing six different species, Vivian Allen and his colleagues at the Royal Veterinary College’s Structure & Motion Lab found that crocodiles have bundles of muscle fibers better suited to bounding and galloping. Their muscle bundles are longer and thinner than those of alligators, especially in the forelimbs and chest. This means that crocodiles can cycle their limbs quicker and get a little more reach with each step, offering the flexibility to bound and gallop. Of course, someone may one day observe a little alligator galloping merrily along. But barring such a discovery, the muscular differences seem to account for why various crocodiles have been seen to bound and gallop and the well-studied American alligator never has. And the new study also cuts down to an often-forgotten truth about these reptiles. Alligators and crocodiles are not near-identical holdovers from prehistory. Alligators and crocodiles are as different from each other as we are from our closest primate relatives, if not more so, and we are only just beginning to look beyond our mammalian blinders to see the reptiles as they truly are. |
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Post by lostineternity99 on Mar 15, 2019 5:07:10 GMT -6
Crocodiles and alligators are fascinating animals |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 15, 2019 7:11:50 GMT -6
Yes, they are, Rick, and very prehistoric, as is the armadillo.
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 15, 2019 7:16:18 GMT -6
11. A GRIZZLY BEAR'S BITE IS STRONG ENOUGH TO CRUSH A BOWLING BALL.
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Post by Vicky G on Mar 15, 2019 8:42:49 GMT -6
Well I can't share your thoughts on crocodiles and alligators, along with snakes they are top of my hate list - wasps coming a close fourth. I have a couple of webcams that focus in bears in Canada during the summer and I love to watch them playing and fishing BUT I also have an Irish Canadian friend who will always say that bears are the only animals that frighten him and with strength like that I can well understand him. |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 16, 2019 10:15:24 GMT -6
They all scare me, Vicky. While we love and respect them as God's living creatures and co-inhabitors of this earth, they are still wild and never to be trusted. |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 16, 2019 10:22:27 GMT -6
12. SEA OTTERS HOLD HANDS WHILE THEY'RE SLEEPING SO THEY DON'T DRIFT APART.  |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 16, 2019 10:27:17 GMT -6
OK...again, I needed to know more. Yes, it's true, sea otters hold hands
This photo of sea otters has made its way around the internet multiple times, and usually with the caption that sea otters hold hands to keep from floating away from each other. Yes, it's true — often a mother and pup will hold on to each other while sleeping to keep from drifting away from one another. But that isn't the only strategy sea otters have. They also utilize kelp! Sea otters wrap themselves in long strands of kelp which grow from the sea floor all the way up to the surface of the water. They use the kelp as an anchor so they can sleep without worry of floating out to open ocean. This adorable photo shows mama and baby using both strategies! |
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Post by lostineternity99 on Mar 17, 2019 5:27:11 GMT -6
From powerful grizzly bears to affectionate sea otters, wild animals are fabulous.
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 17, 2019 12:00:24 GMT -6
I so wholly agree but they should never be made family pets. They are meant to be wild and free.
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 17, 2019 12:03:22 GMT -6
13. PRAIRIE DOGS SAY HELLO BY KISSING.  Nothing wrong with that. ~ |
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Post by lostineternity99 on Mar 18, 2019 5:20:23 GMT -6
Very nice habit for them and ... wild animals are meant to be wild! They are definitely not pets.
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Post by Vicky G on Mar 18, 2019 5:27:06 GMT -6
I love otters and prairie dogs but as you say they are meant for the wild and not as exotic pets.
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 18, 2019 14:27:08 GMT -6
14. ANIMAL BEHAVIORISTS HAVE CONCLUDED THAT CATS DON'T MEOW AS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. IT'S A METHOD THEY USE FOR GETTING ATTENTION FROM HUMANS.  ~ |
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Post by lostineternity99 on Mar 19, 2019 5:00:31 GMT -6
This is interesting.
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 19, 2019 9:41:01 GMT -6
So it is, Rick. I learn a lot while posting all this stuff.  |
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Post by QueenFoxy on Mar 19, 2019 9:42:52 GMT -6
15. DESPITE THEIR APPEARANCE, ELEPHANT SHREWS ARE MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO ELEPHANTS THAN SHREWS.  ~ |
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See you all more tomorrow. Happy Friday/weekend everyone