C

Many cats in Halifax, Canada, have six toes.

Cats can't move their jaw sideways

Loudest purr by a domestic cat is 67.7 dB

In Scotland it is illegal to be drunk and in possession of a cow

Crocodiles can't stick their tongues out. 

3,000 cane toads were released into north Queensland, Australia in 1935, in order to control the cane beetle population, which they failed to do, but they were good at reproducing and now there are millions of them.

The cheetah can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles (96 km) an hour in three seconds.

Chimpanzees are the closest living relative to humans, sharing more than 98 percent of our genetic code.

Chimpanzees have been taught human sign language.

Chipmunks are  members of the squirrel family.

The Ancient Egyptians first domesticated cats around 4,000 years ago. 

Cows have regional accents

The oldest living animal ever was a 405 year old clam 

Some of the coral reefs in the sea today began to grow over 50 million years ago.

The primary reason chameleons change colour is social signalling, with camouflage secondary.

A cockroach can live for up to one week without its head

Cows can walk upstairs but not downstairs

Cows give more milk when they listen to music

Crocodiles swallow stones so they can dive deeper.

Cockroaches have a high resistance to radiation and could survive a nuclear war

Camels have three eyelids, the third is thin and is to protect from blowing sand in the desert

The world's 1.5 billion cows emit a massive amount of methane at least 150 to 400 billion liters a day (39 to 79.5 billion gallons)

A group of Caterpillars is called an Army

Caterpillars do not have any bones

The miniature chameleon, from Madagascar, reaches a maximum length of 29mm and can sit on the head of a match

Centipedes means 100 feet, but centipedes can have anything from 14 to 177 pairs of feet.

If you buy a crocodile in the UK it has to be microchipped.

The first cat in space was Félicette a French cat in 1963

Cats can make more than 100 vocal sounds, but dogs can only make 10 to 15 

The ears of a cricket are located on its hind legs

A cow can produce 200 times more gas per day than a human

U.S. President Bill Clinton had a cat called socks

Chimpanzees can live to be 50 years old in the wild

The scientific name for the chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes

Chimpanzees are the only animal which can smile

Chimpanzees learn secret handshakes between each other

Cats have 32 muscles in their ears (compared to a humans who have 6)

Cats have a total of 24 whiskers

Cats have 30 teeth while dogs have 42

Cats lap liquid from the underside of their tongue, rather than the top

Cats can make over 100 sounds

Stroking a cat can lower your blood pressure.

A male cat is called a "tom" and a female is called a "molly" or "queen" 

The word "camel" comes from the Latin and Greek words (camelus and kamēlos) which means "to carry"

There are 1.4 billion cows in the world

The catfish has more taste buds than any other creature, some have as many as 175,000

Cows do not have upper teeth

A chameleon's tongue is one and a half times the length of his body. 

Cows produce about 120kg of methane a year

The Sifrhippus was a horse that was the size of a cat, which lived about 56 million years ago

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The longest ears on a dog measured 34.9 cm (13.75 in) and 34.2 cm (13.5 in) for the right and left ears, respectively, on 29 September 2004. They belong to Tigger, a bloodhound.

Tallest dog living - a Great Dane, who measured 1.092 m (43 in) tall

The devil frog (now extinct) were 41cm (16 inches) in length and weighed about 4.5kg (10 pounds), they lived in Madagascar about 65 to 70 million years ago.

The fastest dog on a skateboard is Tillman the Bulldog, who covered 100 metres in 19.678 seconds in Los Angeles in 2009. 

The Brontosaurus dinosaur does not exist, they were mistaken for Apatosaurus dinosaurs at the time.

The word "dinosaur" means "terrible lizard" in Greek 

A paleontologist is someone studies dinosaurs

Laika the dog became the first animal in space in 1957

Dogs have more than 220 million smell detecting cells, compared to humans with 5 million

A dogs only sweat glands are between the paw pads.

A Dogs smell is about 1,000 times better than a humans.

7 out of 10 dog owners in Britain give their dog a Christmas present

The basenji is an African wolf dog and the only dog that cannot bark, instead it makes a yodel like sound 

Queen Elizabeth II introduced a new breed of dog, the “dorgi” when her corgis mated with a dachshund

Queen Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 corgis

Dolphins can communicate with each other by clicking and whistling 

President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles called Him and Her

The tallest dog ever is Giant George a blue Great Dane from Tucson, Arizona, at 110 cm (43in) tall and weighs 111kg (245lb)

Dalmatian puppies are born with completely white coats

There are 5680 different types of dragonfly in the world

Dogs can pick up their owner's accent

Currently about known 5000 species of dragonfly 

It takes dogs 4 seconds to shake off 70% of the water from their coats

In the UK a dog can be best man at a wedding.

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E

The elephant is the largest living land animal

Electric eels are not actually eels, they can emit a burst of electricity of at least 600 volts

The eel has two hearts

An elephant’s brain weighs 6kg, more than 4 times a human brain at 1.4kg

Elephants use their tusks for digging and finding food.

An Elephants ears help it regulating temperature, the blood circulating through their ears help cool them down

An elephant’s trunk is made up of about 100,000 muscles

A group of Emus is called a Mob

Echidnas are one of 2 manuals that lay eggs, the other being a platypus 

Emus cannot walk backwards

99% of species that ever lived on the Earth are now extinct

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The Wallace's Flying Frog can glide 15 meters (50 feet) from tree to tree or to the ground 

The fennec fox is the smallest of all the foxes, but has the largest ears, measuring 15 cm (6 inches)

Flying squirrels do not fly, but they can glide.

Frogs and toads always blink when they swallow

A group of frogs is called an army

Frogs don't normally swallow water, they absorb it through their skin.

Fleas can jump up to 18cm (7 inches), which is equivalent  to a person jumping 238m (780 feet)

Purple Finch are not purple, the male is red and the female is brown

In Singapore on the 22nd February 1861 it rained fish

The Golden poison frog can kill 15,000 humans with one gram of its poison

The goliath frog is the world's largest frog it can grow up to 33 cm (13 in) in length

Frogs in captivity can live for more than 20 years.

There are over 4,900 species of frogs in the world

Koi fish can live for over 200 years, the oldest was Hanako, who died at an age of 226 years

An Australian researcher has named a horse fly species after the singer Beyonce

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The golden poison dart frog is one of the most toxic animals. It has enough venom to kill ten men. 

Giraffes sleep up to 2 hours a day.

Giraffes can not cough 

The giraffe is the worlds tallest animal

A group of Grasshoppers is called a Cloud

A grolar or pizzly is the crossbreed of a grizzly bear and a polar bear.

A Geep is the crossbreed of a goat and a sheep

Goldfish can see infrared and ultraviolet light.

Giraffes have no vocal cords, they communicate by wagging their tails.

Goats can have regional accents.

Kidogo, a gorilla in Krefeld zoo in Germany, can walk a tightrope 

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Hippopotamus is ancient Greek for "river horse"

Hippos produce pink milk

A group of Hippopotamuses is called a Bloat

There are about 75 million horses in the world

Part of a horse's hoof is called a "frog"

Every spring Brown hares compete in a boxing show-down between the males and the females

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There are 30 million estimated species of insect

The average person will eat 14 insects while in their asleep.

The Chan's megastick is the world's longest insect at 567mm (22 in)

World's biggest insect is the giant weta from New Zealand, it can be up to 10cm (4in) has a wing span of 7 inches

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The word 'Jaguar' come from the Native American word 'yaguar', which means "he who kills with one leap."

The Jellyfish "Turritopsis nutricula" is immortal, it can regenerate itself and in theory live forever

A group of jellyfish is called a fluther or a smack

In Bath, England a Jellyfish fell from the sky in 1894

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The koala bear is not a bear it is a marsupial

Koalas have fingerprints like humans 

Young kangaroos are called joeys

The average hopping speed for red kangaroo is about 20–25 km/h (13–16 mph) 

Kangaroos are only 2.5cm (1 inch) in size when they are born

The word "koala" comes from the Dharuk (an extinct Australian Aboriginal language) which means "doesn't drink"

Kangaroo cannot walk backwards.

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Lobsters have ten legs 

Leopards can swim and eat fish or crabs.

The llama is a relative of the camel, but does not have a hump. 

Lemmings do not jump off the tops of cliffs, this is a myth 

A group of Leopards is called a Leap

The record for the longest jump riding a lion is 2.30 m (7 ft 6 in), by Askold and Edgard Zapashny of the Russian State Circus Company

A Liger is a cross between a lion and a tiger, ligers are the largest known cat in the world

The lion is the national animal for Belgium, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Sweden and England

A group of lions is called "A pride"

In some parts on the world llamas are used by golf caddies

A group of lambs is called "a fall"

A group of leopards is called "a leap"

Female Lorises (a small, nocturnal primate) licks poison onto their babies before sending them off to them to hunt, to protect them from predators

Lobster blood is colourless

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There are more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes

The creature with the fastest wing beat is the midge at 62760 beats per minute

A group of Mice is called "a mischief"

Millipede means 1000 feet, but most millipedes have anything from 36 to 400 feet.

Meerkat is Dutch for lake cat

A group of magpies is called "a tiding"

A group of monkeys is called "a tribe"

A group of moles is called "a company"

Mole tunnels can be over 70 metres long

The three wise monkeys all had names, Mizaru (see no evil), Kikazaru (hears no evil) and Iwazaru (speaks no evil)

Patas monkeys can run a 100m race 3 seconds faster than a human

Moths will walk around after landing to find a surface matching their colour.

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'Nightingale' comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'nihtingale'. Which means 'night songstress.'

A group of nightingales is called "A watch"

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The great horned owl is the most common owl in the Americas 

The ostrich is the world's largest bird and grows to a height of 2.1-2.7 m (7-9 ft)

Ostriches do not Stick Their Heads in the Sand when trying to hide, this is a myth

A group of Owls is called a Parliament

The pupil in the eye of an octopus is rectangular.

A group of owls is called  "A parliament"

Florence Nightingale had a pet owl

An ostrich's eye is twice the size of its brain

An octopus can be taught to unscrew the lids of jars

The octopus has blue blood

Octopuses have three hearts

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Poodle-clipping was an event in the 1900 Paris Olympics, the winner trimmed 17 poodles in two hours

There are 16 different species of penguin

Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins at 115cm (45 inches) tall and can survive in conditions of -60°C (-76°F)

Pandas have protruding wrist bones that acts like a thumb.

Only peacocks are male, the female of the species is called peahens and together they are called peafowl.

The giant panda eats bamboo for 12 a day

The Porcupine's Latin name means "quill pig"

It is not impossible for pigs to look up into the sky 

Pigs can not sweat

Penguins can jump 6 feet

The largest of the penguin species is the Emperor penguin, at 1.2 metres (4 feet) tall 

Polar bear fur is not white, it is pigment-free and transparent with a hollow core.

A group of Porcupines is called a Prickle

A group of parrots is called "A company" 

Polar bears are the only mammal with hair on the soles of its feet.

Pigeons are the only birds that can suck.

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R 

A group of Raccoons is called a Gaze

A group of Rattlesnakes is called a Rhumba

A group of Ravens is called a Unkindness or a Storytelling

A group of rhinoceroses is called "a crash"

A group of rooks is called a clamour 

The horn of a rhinoceros is made from hair and not bone

Santa's reindeer Donner and Blitzen are named after the German for thunder and lightning

Raccoons put their food in water before eating it as their mouth does not produce enough saliva

S

Scorpions are fluorescent under ultraviolet light.

Seahorses are the only animal which the male bears the unborn young.

Seahorses have no teeth and no stomach. 

The starfish is not a fish. It’s an echinoderm

St. Bernards do not carry brandy around their necks to rescued people, this doesn't happen in real life

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes, most fish do not have eyelids. 

Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating

Slugs have 4 noses

The Starfish hasn't got a brain

There are about 50,000 spiders per acre in green areas.

A group of Sardines is called a Family

Snakes will only eat other animals. They do not eat any type of plants.

A Snake’s scales and a person's fingernails are both made from Keratin

A shrimp has its heart is inside its head.

The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world at 27cm (10.5 inches)

Snakes do not have ears.

A dead rattlesnake can still bite, as the snake's heat sensors still remain active for a day or two

The venom from one Cobra's bite is enough to kill 100 people 

The giant squid can measure up to 18 metres (59 feet) in length and weigh nearly 900 kg

The Giant squid has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, 25cm (10in) in diameter

A shrimp's heart is in its head 

The Greenland Shark can live up to 400 years

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A group of Thrush birds is called a Mutation

A group of Tigers is called a Streak or an Ambush

Tigers can swim up to 6 km (3.7 miles)

Tigers can jump over 4.5 metres (15 feet)

The total weight of all of the termites in the world is more than the weight of all the humans in the world.

A group of toads is called "a knot"

A group of trout is called "a hover"

A group of turkeys is called "a rafter or raffle"

A group of tigers is called "an ambush"

Tigers will never roar when they are attacking

Most tigers have yellow eyes

Each tiger has a unique set of stripes 

Tigers squint when they are happy

A tortoise called Tu'i Malila lived for 188 years (1777 - 19 May 1965) it was given to the royal family of Tonga by Captain James Cook

Adwaita a male Aldabra giant tortoise in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India lived for 256 years (1750 – 23 March 2006)

Termites produce more methane than any other creature

U

The Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland

A group of unicorns is called "a  blessing"

V

A group of Circling Vultures is called a Kettle

W

Many whales are toothless. They have a plate of comb-like fibre called baleen to filter their food from the water.

You can tell the age of a whale by the wax plug in its ear. The plug is made of layers when cut lengthwise can be counted to estimate the age of the whale.

The heart of a Blue Whale weighs 600 kilograms (1,300 lbs)

The loudest sound produced by an animal is the blue whale which can produce sounds up to 188 decibels, in comparison a jet engine is only 140db

There are more than 180 species of woodpecker

Woodpeckers can peck up to 20 times per second

A group of Woodpeckers is called a Descent

The longest species of worm is the bootlace worm. In 1864, at St Andrews in Fife, Scotland was found to measure over 55 m (180 ft) long

A Wholphin is the crossbreed of a Dolphin and a Whale 

A group of weasels is called "a sneak"

A group of whales is called "a school" 

A group of woodpeckers is called "a descent"

An acre of soil can contain between 250,000 and 1,750,000 earth worms

Killer whales are not whales, they are Orca dolphins

The call of the blue whale can reach levels up to 188 decibels.

The call of the humpback whale can be heard from 500 miles away

A whale once exploded in British Columbia, Canada due to a build-up of gas inside it

The Bowhead Whales can live for at least 200 years of age, making them the world's oldest mammals.

The world's smallest winged insect is the Tanzanian parasitic wasp. 0.254 mm (0.01 inch) long

The blue whale is largest known animal on Earth, they can weight up to 180 tons

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There's an African frog called 'Xenopus' which means strange foot

A Xoloitzcuintli is a hairless dog from Mexico

Y 

Wild yaks can survive in temperatures of - 40°C

A female Yak is called a Nak

Z

A Zonkey is a crossbreed of a donkey with a zebra

A Zony is the crossbreed of a pony with a zebra

A Zorse is the crossbreed of a horse and a zebra

London Zoo is the oldest scientific zoo in the world opening in 1828, it was also the first public zoo in the world

The 2nd Baron Rothschild drove a carriage harnessed with six zebras to Buckingham Palace to prove that zebras could be tamed

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