Little Known Facts About Animals, Reptiles and Insects Quiz

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naturegirl7
Clipart Courtesy of OCAL on Clkr.com

Wild animals make perfect subjects for mousepads. While confined to your desk by work, walk on the wild side with every move of your mouse! These great mousepads from Zazzle would make a perfect gift for the animal lover in your life! Just click the image to purchase.

The hermit crab and I share some common characteristics. If you have read my lens, Proper Dress for the Professional Woman, you know that I am a reclusive type of person who also prefers hanging out in my shell...err, my computer room...so I have a deep affection for these awesome little invertebrates.

Did you know:

1. Hermit crabs live in shells "borrowed" from other mollusks.
2. There are more than 500 different species of hermit crabs.
3. Hermit crabs love popcorn!
4. All hermit crabs must return to the water to breed.
5. Hermit crabs have long, soft bodies that allow them to twist into the spirals of the seashells.

Photo Courtesy of Public Domain Pictures.net by Anna Cervova

This is an old story, but a dramatic and beautiful one. This drama took place when I was very young, living in a remote part of Missouri (USA), with little knowledge of what was going on in the world beyond my own little town. So, I was totally stunned when this story came to me, all these years later, as one of my own little known facts about animals.

John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke were two young men who had migrated from the outback of Australia to London, England. In 1969, they made a trip to Harrod's department store where it was stated that one could buy absolutely anything. There they found two lion cubs in tiny cages, instantly fell in love, and determined to rescue at least one of them.

Remarkably, they were allowed to keep the lion, who was allowed free run of the basement of the building where they worked. The young men named their new pet Christian, played with him, taught him to behave with them as you would any small child, took him out for daily romps, drove around with him in their Bentley, took him to restaurants, and loved him intensely.

However,the lion rapidly outgrew the confines of the basement and their ability to properly feed and care for him. They knew he could not remain with them. At the suggestion of friends, they made a trip to Kenya to turn Christian over to conservationist George Adamson, who would release him back into the wild. The men stayed in contact with Adamson, who informed them that Christian was doing well; and they made a few trips to just see him from a distance.

In 1972, Rendall and Bourke travelled to Kenya for a reunion with Christian. The story continues below.

Butterflies are a great inspiration for the wonderfully creative artists on Zazzle!

Another of my favorite mammals is the elephant! This majestic (although smelly) animal is loved by billions of people, especially children. Used for everything from beasts of burden to circus performers, these giants among the animal kingdom are awesome to watch. Unfortunately, this splendid animal has had cruel treatment in the past when they were slain for their ivory tusks. We are smarter now, and today many countries ban the import of ivory. This has lessened the killing of these precious animals.

Did you know:

1. The elephant is the only animal that cannot jump.
2. Baby elephants (calves) sometimes such their trunks for comfort, just like a child sucks its thumb.
3. Elephants have poor hearing despite the size of their ears.
4. Elephants use their feet to help with the hearing problem, absorbing vibrations from the ground.
5. Elephants spend 16-18 hours per day eating.
6. Elephants can live for up to 70 years, and the young animals stay with their mothers until they are 15 years old.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons by Googie man

Our desert animals are fascinating creatures, but most of us know very little about them. Here are some interesting facts about a few of these amazing desert animals.

Image Courtesy of H. Zell,, Wikipedia Commons

Giraffes

Giraffes have the distinction of being the world's tallest animals. Even though they have very long necks, they have the same number of vertebrae as man, which is seven. A giraffe usually does not drink every day, but will consume up to 10 gallons of water on days when he does drink. If necessary, they can survive a very long time without any water.

The spots on a giraffe can be used to determine age. It is not the number, color or shape of the spots that are used to make this determination. It is the darkness of the spots.

The only true predator of the giraffe is the lion. An adult giraffe can easily defend itself by kicking with its very powerful legs. However, giraffe calves are a prime target of several different predators, and only one-fourth to one-half of them survive their first year of life.(Percentage depends on who you ask.)

Sometimes I wish I was like the giraffe, who sleeps only 5 to 30 minutes per day!

Zebras

Image Courtesy of Pharaoh Hound
Wikipedia Commons

Everyone knows that zebras have both light stripes and dark stripes. What is not commonly known is that zebras have an extra layer of fat beneath the dark stripes. The purpose of that extra layer fat is often debated by zebra authorities. One theory suggests that the extra fat layer absorbs heat because of the dark color above it, and, therefore, helps regulate the animal's body temperature.

A broader question is why Zebra have stripes at all. Lots of different theories surround this topic. One authority suggests that the stripes help camouflage the animals from predators, both because they "shiimmer" in desert heat waves making them hard to target and because, when the animals move together, it is difficult to tell where one animal ends and the other begins. This makes it difficult for a predator to single out one animal to attack. Yet another theory is that the stripes serve as protection from the disease-bearing tsetse fly, which some say prefer targets that are darker in color. Because the color of a zebras stripes alternates and sunlight can cause blurring of the colors, the tsetse fly will pick a better target and leave the zebras alone. Yet another theory is that the stripes serve as an identification factor for the zebras. The stripes on zebras are said to be as unique as human fingerprints, and zebras can identify each other based on the pattern of the stripes. While we may never really understand why the zebra is striped as he is, the discussions are quite fascinating.

In doing research for my series of articles on mules, I was interested to learn that many people believe the origin of the zebras is basically the same as the origin of mules—that they are hybrids that resulted from the mating of horses and donkeys. Indeed, just like mules, they do have traits that are common to both of these species. No one, to my knowledge, has proposed any theory as to what particular type of breeding might have caused the unique stripes.

Armadillos

Image Courtesy of www.birdphotos.com
Wikipedia Commons

Armadillos are very special desert animals. They hold several "only mammal" titles. They are the only mammals that have external bony plates, the only mammals (besides humans) who can carry and spread leprosy, and the only ones who can give birth to four identical babies from a single egg.

Armadillos have a lot of natural predators. One of these includes us, the humans who share the planet with these distinctive desert animals. The armadillo meat is said to taste like pork, and the animal is often hunted for food. Although commonly thought to curl into a ball inside their shells as a means of defense, only one of the 20 armadillos species actually do this. Others must seek protective shelters to avoid attacks by predators. The bony external plates protect them while hiding in thorny bushes that may deter the predators.

Although armadillos have poor eyesight, they have an acute sense of smell which aids them in finding food. They can smell food sources that are several inches below the ground surface. Armadillos can also swim when necessary, inhaling enough air to offset the heaviness of their shells, and holding their breath for up to six minutes.

Rhinoceros

Image Courtesy of lkiwaner, Wikipedia Commons

One really has to have a special appreciation for the beauty of nature to find the appearance of a rhinoceros appealing. These desert animals are unlike any other on earth, with large, square mouths and the bridge of their noses sporting one small and one extremely large (and dangerous) horn.

Although massive in size and weight, the rhinoceros is capable of moving at great speeds—up to 25 or 30 mph. Humans and other animals who are subjected to a full-speed charge of a rhino with that massive, menacing horn, will usually not be the winner of a confrontation. Unless, of course, he/she is armed with a high-powered gun. Man is the only natural predator of the rhinoceros! Because of the hunting of rhinos, they are now one of the most severely endangered of all species.

Rhinos frequently wallow in mud as a means of lowering their body temperatures and repelling insects. They also have a very special friend. This is a small bird called an Oxpecker. The rhino will allow this bird to perch and ride on his back because the small bird will clean his hide of ticks in exchange for letting him "hitch-hike". The bird also serves as an "early warning system" for the rhino, alerting him to any nearby dangers.

Jaguars

Image Courtesy of Cburnett
Wikipedia Commons

When a law was passed allowing the creation of a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, a fury arose among those concerned with protecting wildlife environments. One of the desert animals at the center of this controversy is the jaguar. It is believed that the jaguars, along with a host of other animals and birds, came into many of the Southwestern states from Mexico. These ecologists and environmentalists believed that construction of a barrier that made it impossible to humans to cross over the border would also prevent the animals and birds from doing so. During the ensuing years, the wall (in the opinion of most) has done little to turn away illegal immigrants, but has severely impacted the habitats of the animals and birds. At the crux of this argument is the fact that animals such as jaguars need vast expanses of land in which to roam and live. They need to be able to cross the border easily in the same manner as they always have. The controversy is still a hot issue today.

Not all people are sensitive to the fact that jaguars are an endangered species (in the U.S.). In the Southwest, vast numbers of people depend on raising livestock for a living. Jaguars are natural predators for cattle. Therefore, men become natural predators of the jaguars who kill and eat their cattle and other livestock.

Although jaguars are the largest and most powerful of the "big cats", little is known about them. They are seldom seen in the wild and certainly not often enough or for long enough periods of time to develop any accurate studies of them. Jaguars in the U.S. are, I think, primarily desert animals. In other parts of the world, they also live in rainforests and grasslands. Often you will find them living near water sources because they are one of the few members of the cat family who truly enjoy swimming.

The need to protect our country from terrorists and others who would do harm within our borders is in direct opposition to the need to preserve wildlife habitats. The controversy will continue until a satisfactory solution for both can be found. By that time, the jaguar may truly be gone from the United States.

Much of this information about the desert animals was gleaned from the DesertUSA website. Please visit them for much more information about all the desert animals of the U.S.

guardianstar77 is a writer, graphics design artist, nature enthusiast and lover of everything that resembles a horse. She lives in Central Arkansas and shares her life with a husband of almost 40 years, 2 sons, and 4 fabulous grandchildren. guardianstar77 is not domesticated, finding that spending time doing almost anything else beats doing housework. Her passions include recycling, frugal living, feeding the hungry, old-fashioned vintage everything, nature, reading, writing, flea markets and yard sales, Christmas, mystical creatures, carousels, and artwork filled with glorious earthy colors or nature's warm, soothing colors of green and blue.

guardianstar77 is a devout Christian, a staunch conservative, a passionate American, and a defender of capitalism. Although she is, by her own definition, somewhat of a "professional hermit crab" , guardianstar77 is deeply loyal to her family and those she chooses to have as friends. When not pursuing writing and artistic goals, she spends her time deepening those relationships.

guardianstar77 is a long-standing member of Squidoo, and she shares her royalties with many Squidoo charities. View all my lenses!