Fun Animal Facts

Our random animal facts are a both fun and a little bit weird but they will keep you entertained for days!

WTF Fun Fact 13366 – Flying Chickens

Contrary to popular belief, chickens can fly. Flying chickens aren’t a common sight, but they do possess the necessary physical adaptations for brief bursts of flight.

What’s the deal with flying chickens?

Chickens are not known for sustained or long-distance flight. However, their wings, consisting of flight feathers, primary feathers, and secondary feathers, are able to provide lift and control during short flights. Strong pectoral muscles aid in wing flapping, facilitating takeoff and maintaining altitude.

Chickens achieve flight by utilizing their wings and pectoral muscles. Flapping their wings generates the necessary lift to become airborne. However, their relatively large body size and heavy frame make any sustained flight nearly impossible.

When chickens fly

Chickens can only achieve short flights, covering distances of a few meters at a time. These flights are often initiated as a response to perceived threats, to navigate obstacles, or to reach higher roosting positions. Flight abilities are more pronounced in certain chicken breeds and younger chickens due to their agility and muscle strength.

The longest recorded flight of a chicken lasted for approximately 13 seconds. While brief compared to other bird species, it is a remarkable feat considering chickens’ general reputation as ground-dwelling birds.

Flight serves various purposes for chickens beyond locomotion. It aids in escaping predators, reaching elevated perches or roosts for safety, exploring new environments, and accessing food sources that may be out of reach on the ground.

Domesticated chickens often have reduced flight capabilities due to selective breeding for specific traits. Firstly, domesticated chicken breeds have been selectively bred over generations for specific traits, such as meat production or egg-laying abilities. This breeding process has resulted in larger body sizes and heavier frames, making sustained flight challenging. Additionally, the typical living environments for domesticated chickens, such as coops or enclosures, often lack the open spaces and elevated perches that would naturally encourage flight. Consequently, chickens tend to rely more on their remarkable ground-dwelling and foraging abilities, which are better suited to their domesticated lifestyles.

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Source: “Can Chickens Fly? (How & Why)” — Farm Animal Report

WTF Fun Fact 13345 – The Australian Emu War

You may have learned about quite a few deadly conflicts in school, but have you ever heard about the Australian Emu War? Also called the Great Emu War in Western Australia, it was exactly what it sounds like – a war against emus. As in the animals.

The origins of the Australian Emu War

The Great Emu War occurred in Western Australia in 1932. It was a conflict between Australian farmers and a large population of emus. Emus are flightless birds native to Australia, in case you didn’t know.

This war was no joke. An uncontrolled emu population began to encroach on farmlands, damaging crops, and creating economic problems for the farmers. In response, the farmers requested military assistance to deal with the emu infestation.

According to Atlas Obscura (cited below):

“Western Australian farmers had been facing hard times with their crops following the Great Depression, and their difficulties increased tenfold with the arrival of some 20,000 emus migrating inland during their breeding season. The birds had been protected as a native species until 1922, but now that they were classified as ‘vermin,’ all bets were off.”

The Australian government actually deployed soldiers armed with machine guns to combat the emus. , They saw the animals as a threat to agriculture. However, emus are also fast and agile. That makes them difficult to eradicate with weapons.

A war of futility

One might think the mismatch was the result of humans having the advantage of deadly weapons. But it was really the emus who had the upper hand.

To top it off, emus don’t want to fight. So when they hear gunfire, they run. That makes them much harder to target. It also had the effect of separating the battalions into smaller and smaller groups to go after the scattering emus. That’s just bad military planning.

In the end, the army realized that using precision weapons was ineffective and called off the operation. The emus won.

The Emu War has become symbolic of human struggles against the forces of nature and the limitations of technology in dealing with wildlife. It was no doubt a humbling experience for the military.

Eventually, the government turned to other – less violent – measures. They erected fences to protect farmlands from emu intrusion.

So, it turns out violence wasn’t the answer.

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Source: “In 1932, Australia Started an ‘Emu War’—And Lost” — Atlas Obscura

WTF Fun Fact 13341 – Parrot Video Calls

Parrots are social animals. That’s why they don’t always make the best solo pets. However, recently, researchers have given pet parrots a new way to thrive after teaching the birds to use technology to make parrot video calls.

Parrot playtime with video calls

Researchers from Northwestern University, MIT, and the University of Glasgow conducted the study. With the help of some parrot parents, the team successfully trained parrots to communicate with each other.

Over several months, participants taught captive African grey parrots to use a custom-built video-calling system. First, researchers trained the birds to use touchscreens mounted inside their enclosures with easy-to-understand symbols and icons representing different contacts. The researchers rewarded their interactions with food treats. As the birds grew more comfortable with the devices, they were gradually introduced to video calls, first with their handlers and later with other parrots.

Parrots embrace technology

The African grey parrots demonstrated a remarkable ability to learn and adapt to the use of the video-calling system. Not only were they able to initiate calls, but they also showed preferences for specific contacts, indicating that they understood the purpose of the technology and were actively seeking social interaction through the calls.

The study found that the parrots were more likely to engage in video calls when they were alone in their enclosures. This suggests that the video-calling system provided social stimulation and companionship, especially in the absence of human interaction. The introduction of video-calling technology in captive settings could potentially improve the quality of life for these intelligent and social animals.

So, it turns out parrots like to video chat with one another just like humans do, and that it makes them feel less lonely. Many birds in the study stayed on the calls for the maximum allotted time and still choose to call their buddies from the research study over a year later.

According to Northwestern University:

“The most popular parrots were also the ones who initiated the most calls, suggesting a reciprocal dynamic similar to human socialization. And while, in large part, the birds seemed to enjoy the activity itself, the human participants played a big part in that. Some parrots relished the extra attention they were getting from their humans, while others formed attachments for the humans on the other side of the screen.”

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Source: “Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Other—and the Birds Loved It” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 13338 – Monkey in the Mirror

It’s not until we’re around 2 years old that we figure out what the mirror is showing us. And not all animals can recognize their own reflections. But if you train a rhesus monkey in the mirror, it will the first thing it’ll do is check out its genitals.

The monkey in the mirror

A 2015 study found that rhesus monkeys are capable of recognizing themselves in mirrors and engaging in self-exploration behaviors, but only after some training. The research helps shed light on the cognitive abilities of non-human primates and their level of self-awareness.

The researchers trained a group of rhesus monkeys to touch a red dot on their faces after seeing it in a mirror. This task is commonly used to test an animal’s ability to recognize itself in a mirror and is considered a measure of self-awareness. It’s called the “standard mark test.”

It took several weeks of training for rhesus monkeys to pass the standard mark test. But, eventually, they were able to recognize themselves in the mirror and understand that the reflection was a representation of their own bodies.

The first thing the monkeys did after that? Umm. Let’s just say they engaged in a range of self-exploration behaviors.” And they started with their own genitals.

Monkey see

The rhesus monkeys didn’t spend all their time “down there” though. They eventually moved on to the nose and mouth, behavior similar to what has been observed in chimpanzees and orangutans.

The act of inspecting their own genitals may seem amusing, but it actually provides insight into the cognitive abilities of non-human primates. The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror is considered a measure of self-awareness. And that’s a crucial component of consciousness.

Self-awareness allows animals to engage in complex social behaviors, such as empathy, cooperation, and deception.

Rhesus monkeys’ ability to recognize themselves in mirrors and engage in self-exploration is significant because it suggests that they have a level of self-awareness that we previously thought unique to humans.

The study also has implications for our understanding of animal welfare. Animals that are self-aware are more likely to experience emotions, including pain, fear, and stress. This means that they may be more susceptible to negative welfare impacts, such as confinement and isolation.

If we understand the cognitive abilities of non-human primates, we can work towards improving their welfare.

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Source: “Monkeys Learn to Recognize Themselves in a Mirror – And Promptly Check Out Their Butts” — Discover Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 13333 – Dead Bird Drones

In a somewhat morbid turn of events, scientists are reportedly making dead bird drones. Researchers at the University of New Mexico are using taxidermy techniques to preserve dead birds in order to outfit them with drone components, such as motors, propellers, and sensors.

Why dead bird drones?

Drones have long been modeled on birds and their flight mechanics. In this sense, it’s no surprise that engineers would try to improve drone design using birds so their machines can navigate through difficult terrain and adapt to changing conditions with ease. But the zombie bird thing gives us pause.

However, the project is still in its early stages. the researchers are experimenting with different types of birds to see which ones make the best drones. So far, they have tested the concept using quails and doves.

They’ve found that bird drones can fly and maneuver in ways that traditional drones cannot. For example, bird drones are able to fly close to the ground and through narrow gaps. This could eventually be useful for tasks such as search and rescue or inspecting infrastructure.

Isn’t this morbid?

While the concept of turning dead birds into drones may seem macabre, the researchers behind the project believe that it could have important implications for the future of drone technology. For example, bird-like drones are more energy-efficient than traditional drones.

“If we learn how these birds manage … energy between themselves, we can apply (that) into the future aviation industry to save more energy and save more fuel,” said Dr. Mostafa Hassanalian, a mechanical engineering professor who is leading the project at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro.

Bird drones can also be less obtrusive than traditional drones, which may be noisy and disruptive. Since they’re quieter, bird drones could even be used for wildlife monitoring or scientific research without disturbing the animals being studied.

Of course, there are still many challenges to overcome, including the ethical considerations of taking an animal (even a dead one) and turning it into a tool.

Right now, the taxidermied prototype the engineers have built can only fly for 20 minutes.

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Source: “Scientists Turned Dead Birds Into Zombie Drones to Spy on Humans” — Popular Mechanics

WTF Fun Fact 13326 – Sloth Poop

How much do you know about sloth poop? Did you know that sloths only defecate once a week?

What’s interesting about sloth poop?

Because they only poop once a week, sloths can lose up to one-third of their body weight in a single bowel movement.

While most animals poop once or a few times a day, sloths are infrequent poopers. That’s because sloths have a unique digestive system that processes food very slowly. In fact, it can take up to a month for a sloth to digest a single meal. That’s why they don’t need to eat as often as other animals.

The sloth’s digestive tract is designed to extract as many nutrients as possible from food. That means there’s relatively very little leftover to produce waste. Waste is stored in a special sac in the lower part of the sloth’s large intestine. This builds up over time until the sloth is finally ready to poop.

When a sloth has the urge to go, it makes a trip down from the trees to the ground. Because they’re slow-moving, this is a dangerous trip that makes them vulnerable to predators on the ground. But the urge to go is so strong that sloths take the risk.

Once they reach the ground, sloths dig a small hole to “make their deposit.” The feces of a sloth is a valuable source of nutrients for the ecosystem. It’s important to other animals like moths and beetles that feed on it.

Other infrequent poopers

Armadillos are primarily insectivores, meaning they mostly eat insects such as beetles, termites, and ants. And because insects are high in protein and nutrients, armadillos don’t need to eat as frequently as other animals, so their digestive systems have adapted accordingly.

The slow metabolism of the armadillo and its unique digestive system also give the animal the ability to conserve water. This is an important adaptation for living in hot and dry environments. By holding onto their waste for longer periods of time, the animals are able to absorb more water from their food. This reduces the amount of water they need to drink.

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Source: “Sloths Only Poop Once a Week — But They Make It a Good One” — How Stuff Works

WTF Fun Fact 13317 – The History of the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is a beloved symbol of Easter. But where did this tradition come from? Well, the history of bunnies (or hares) symbolizing spring religious observances can be traced back to pre-Christian times. Ancient civilizations celebrated the spring equinox and the return of fertility and new life and hares played a central role. Of course, that’s not the same as the history of the Easter Bunny.

The importance of the hare

According to Smithsonian Magazine (cited below), the hare was a symbol of new life in ancient Egypt and was associated with the goddess of fertility and motherhood, Eostre. But it may have dated back even further. As the note:

“In European traditions, the Easter bunny is known as the Easter hare. The symbolism of the hare has had many tantalizing ritual and religious roles down through the years.
Hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe. Archaeologists have interpreted this as a religious ritual, with hares representing rebirth.
Over a thousand years later, during the Iron Age, ritual burials for hares were common, and in 51 B.C.E., Julius Caesar mentioned that in Britain, hares were not eaten due to their religious significance.”

The veneration of hares is practically prehistoric!

The history of the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny as we know it today is thought to have originated in Germany in the 16th century. The first recorded mention of the Easter Bunny was in a book by Georg Franck von Franckenau. He was a physician in Frankfurt who wrote about the Easter Hare bringing eggs for children to find.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, German immigrants brought the Easter Bunny tradition to the United States. The first edible Easter bunnies, made of pastry and sugar, were produced in Germany during the early 19th century. After that, the tradition of giving chocolate bunnies as Easter gifts spread throughout Europe and North America.

Today, the Easter Bunny is a central part of many Easter celebrations. In many countries, people still hold Easter egg hunts where children search for colored eggs that have been hidden around a park or other public space.

The tradition of the Easter Bunny continues to be a fun and beloved part of Easter celebrations around the world.

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Source: “The Ancient Origins of the Easter Bunny” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 13307 – Project Pigeon

During World War II, the United States government developed a program to train pigeons to guide missiles to their targets. This program was known as Project Pigeon or Project Orcon. It was developed by psychologist B.F. Skinner and was intended to provide an alternative to radio-controlled guidance systems, which were vulnerable to jamming and interference.

Using animals in technology

The idea behind Project Pigeon was simple: Skinner would train pigeons to peck at a target on a screen, and their pecking guided a missile to its target. To prove this, Skinner trained the pigeons to associate the target with food and were able to peck accurately and consistently, even under stressful conditions.

The military ultimately discontinued the program in favor of other guidance systems. But the concept of using animals to guide technology has continued to be a topic of interest and research in modern times. Today, researchers are exploring the use of trained animals such as dogs, rats, and even bees to detect and respond to various stimuli, including explosives, drugs, and diseases.

What was Project Pigeon?

During World War II, the United States government needed to develop an effective guidance system for missiles and other weapons. Radio-controlled systems had proved vulnerable to jamming and interference, and researchers were eager to explore alternative approaches.

Psychologist BF Skinner believed that he could train animals to guide missiles to their targets. His idea was based on the principle of operant conditioning, which he had developed through his work with laboratory animals.

The basic idea behind Skinner’s approach was to train pigeons to associate a target on a screen with the release of food. He then placed the pigeons in the nose of a missile, where they would peck at the target on the screen. This would send signals to the missile’s guidance system and steer it toward its target.

Skinner’s idea eventually received support from the military. The military developed it into a program known as Project Pigeon or Project Orcon. They trained of hundreds of pigeons, housing them in special compartments in the nose of the missile.

While the program never saw actual use in combat, it did succeed in demonstrating the potential of animal-guided technology.

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Source: “B.F. Skinner’s Pigeon-Guided Rocket” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 13305 – Caesar’s Giraffe

What do you know about Caesar’s giraffe? Well, in ancient Rome, wealthy people collected exotic animals as possessions. Of course, the Roman Emperors has the most diverse menageries since they could afford them. For example, Julius Caesar was known for his love of giraffes.

What do we know about Caesar’s giraffe?

According to historian Cassius Dio, Caesar was the first emperor to bring a giraffe to Rome. He reportedly received the animal as a gift from the king of Egypt in 46 BC. Caesar kept his giraffe in a special enclosure in his palace, where it was fed a diet of hay and acacia leaves.

Caesar was not the only Roman emperor to keep giraffes as pets. His successor, Augustus Caesar, was also known to have a menagerie of exotic animals, including several giraffes. In fact, the giraffe became a popular symbol of Roman power and wealth as a result. It was frequently depicted in art and literature of the time.

Understanding “new” animals

Despite their popularity, giraffes were not well understood by the ancient Romans. Some believed that they were a hybrid of a camel and a leopard.

The reason for this confusion was likely the animal’s unique physical appearance. Its long neck, spotted coat, and tall legs made the giraffe unlike any other animal that the Romans had seen before. In other words, they had no frame of reference to compare it to. As a result, they tried to make sense of it by likening it to animals that they were more familiar with.

The Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote about giraffes in his Natural History. He described them as “the tallest of all quadrupeds” and noted that they were “spotted like a leopard, with the head of a camel.”

Cassius Dio noted, “This animal is like a camel in all respects except that its legs are not all of the same length, the hind legs being the shorter. Its skin is spotted like a leopard, and for this reason, it bears the joint name of both animals.”

Yep, they basically called it a “cameleopard.”

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Source: “When Julius Caesar brought the first giraffe to Europe, the perplexed Romans called it a ‘cameleopard'” — The Vintage News