Penguins evolved over 60 million years ago from birds who flew through the air into birds who swam through the water. While giant penguins no longer roam the Earth, as they did up until 25 million years ago, penguins continue to hold a prime spot in our love of nature. While many penguin species are …
Animals
The ancestors of dolphins are land mammals and dolphins are related to land mammals living today including, most closely, the hippopotamus. The largest dolphin, the orca, is somewhat confusingly called a killer whale. Make no mistake though, the orca, and all other dolphins may look cute, but are carnivores that eat only meat. Thankfully the …
Koalas are not bears but that doesn’t mean these aren’t interesting and amazing creatures. By some estimates, the Koala is associated more with its home Australia than its fellow marsupial, the Kangaroo. Koalas have a nutrient-poor diet that mostly consists of leaves from the Eucalyptus tree, but also eats leaves from other trees such as …
Cheetahs are the fastest land animals. This is one of the well-known cheetah facts that is sometimes disputed. Ok, we know that the Peregrine Falcon can fly at speeds of over 200 miles per hour, but the cheetah is still the fastest animal moving over the ground, and is twice as fast as the fastest …
What comes to mind when you think about cockroaches? I must say I immediately shudder – and then I remember that they are often said to be the only animal that would survive a nuclear war – neither of these are comforting thoughts! But there is quite a bit more to these little insects than …
Fish have been on planet earth for more than 500 million years, and their origin is more ancient than dinosaurs. There are more than 25,000 fish species and the Puffer Fish is one of the awesome fish species on this planet. One of the facts about the pufferfish for which it is best known is …
Only big cats (Panthera) can roar, and you may be wondering what makes panthers so special. After all, why is it that panthers can roar, but other animals can’t? It turns out that big cats have a ligament in their voice box that replaces the epihyal bone. This ligament, a tough cartilage, can be extended. When …
