The Notaden Nichollsi, or “Desert Spadefoot Toad,” spends half of the year underground encased in a cocoon of their own skin during the dry season. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Notaden nichollsi (Desert Spadefoot Toad) — species details | FrogWatch SA
Animals
Our random animal facts are a both fun and a little bit weird but they will keep you entertained for days!
WTF Fun Fact – Ambergris On The Beach
An 8-yr-old UK boy found a “rock” on the beach which turned out to be ambergris (sperm whale excrement). Perfumeries like Chanel prize ambergris for its ability to fix scent to skin; the blob of ambergris was worth ~$63K. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: What’s Ambergris? Behind the $60k Whale-Waste Find (nationalgeographic.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Pigeon Racing Leads To More Divorces
In 2017, an Indonesian court blamed an increase in divorce filings on pigeon racing. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Pigeon racing blamed for Indonesian divorces – BBC News
WTF Fun Fact – Shark Suction For Slurping And Swallowing
Bamboo sharks open their mouths widely and quickly and generate suction to slurp up prey. They then shrug their shoulders in order to generate additional suction in order to swallow their food into the digestive tract. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Watch how this shark shrugs its shoulders to eat – Futurity
WTF Fun Fact – African Lungfish
The African lungfish can survive up to 5 years without food or water through a process known as estivation. It has existed for ~400 million years. Their gills have evolved to obtain oxygen from the air as well as water. During estivation they get nutrients by digest its muscle tissue. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Which Animals Can Live Without Water For Years? – WorldAtlas
WTF Fun Fact – Autothysis
“Autothysis” (or suicidal altruism) is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing or explosion of an organ which ruptures the skin. Some species of termites and ants use this process to defend their colonies.– WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Spermaceti Organ And The Junk
A sperm whales head contains two large oil-filled compartments, known as the “spermaceti organ” and “junk,” that constitute up to 1/4th its body mass and extend 1/3rd the total length of the whale. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Architecture of the sperm whale forehead facilitates ramming combat (nih.gov)
WTF Fun Fact – Giraffes vs. Acacias
Acacias, a tree whose leaves giraffes feed on, release an airborne chemical called ethylene when eaten. Ethylene alerts nearby acacia trees to produce tannin, a toxin that makes the leaves poisonous. Giraffes avoid this by first eating trees downwind from others. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.tanzania-experience.com/blog/acacias-clever-species-of-trees/
WTF Fun Fact – Sharks Glow In The Dark
Over 10% of shark species (57 out of 540) known are thought to be capable of producing bioluminescence (and essentially glow in the dark). – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/glow-in-the-dark-shark-2650898314.html
WTF Fun Fact – Polar Bears Are Impressive Swimmers
Polar bears have been observed swimming continuously for several hours and covering well over 60 miles without stopping. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/polar-bear/adaptations/
WTF Fun Fact – Bear Sued By Beekeeper
In 2008, a Macedonian beekeeper sued a bear for stealing honey after attempting to keep the bear away from the beehives by blasting Serbian turbo-folk music. The bear was found guilty, and the beekeeper received 2,200 euro from the state for the damages. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Bear convicted for theft of honey
WTF Fun Fact – Umm Nyolokh
The Humr people of Sudan consume Umm Nyolokh, a drink made from the liver and bone marrow of giraffes which is believed to contain traces of the psychodelic drug DMT . The Humr people tell of hallucinations of giraffes after drinking Umm Nyolokh. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Late Sexual Maturity
Female Greenland sharks are believed to reach sexual maturity when they surpass the 13 ft. in length, which takes approximately 150 years to achieve. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – The World Mosquito Project
The World Mosquito Project cultivates and releases mosquitoes infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia which is passed down to future generations. The bacterium appears to block mosquitos from transmitting arboviruses (dengue, chikungunya & yellow fever) & Zika. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Infecting Mosquitoes With A Bacteria Could Help In The Battle Against Dengue : Goats and Soda : NPR
WTF Fun Fact – Beagles Can Smell Cancer
In a 2019 study, three beagles were trained to smell cancer from blood samples. They used their highly evolved sense of smell to pick out blood samples from people with lung cancer with nearly 97% percent accuracy. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Study shows dogs can accurately sniff out cancer in blood | EurekAlert! Science News
WTF Fun Fact – Dolphin Boy Bands
Researchers found that male bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia have formed “boy bands” that harmonize their mating calls together in order to better attract females. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Oldest Cat Ever
The two oldest cats ever recorded, Creme Puff (38 years) and Grandpa Rex Allen (34 years),were both owned by one guy. Owner Jake Perry believed the key to their longevity to be a diet of dry cat food plus broccoli, eggs, turkey bacon, coffee with cream and red wine. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Pigs Playing Video Games
A recent study involved training pigs to play video games with their snouts. The study also demonstrated that the pigs were able to “think abstractly and do fairly advanced conceptual learning.” – WTF Fun Facts