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Animal facts

Discover the remarkable lives of animals, one fact at a time.

Manatee

  • There are three species of manatees: West Indian, Amazonian and African.
  • Manatees are related to elephants.
  • Manatee teeth are replaced throughout life, moving forward like a conveyor belt.

Mandrill

  • The mandrill is the largest monkey in the world.
  • Adult male mandrills have one of the most colourful faces of any mammal.
  • The brightest colours belong to the most dominant males.

Marmot

  • There are about 15 species of marmots.
  • The groundhog is a type of marmot.
  • Alpine marmots hibernate for about six months a year.

Marten

  • Martens are among the best climbers of all carnivores.
  • Stone martens are famous for chewing car cables in parts of Europe.
  • Martens have delayed implantation, so their young are born in spring even though they mate in summer.

Meerkat

  • The meerkat is a member of the mongoose family and comes from southern Africa.
  • Meerkats depend on their group to survive; a group usually has 10-30 members, sometimes up to about 50.
  • The group is led by a dominant pair, and the female is usually the leader.

Mink

  • There are two mink species: the European mink and the American mink.
  • The European mink has white on both lips; the American mink usually only on the lower lip.
  • Mink have partly webbed feet.

Minke whale

  • The minke whale is the smallest rorqual, the group that also includes the blue whale, fin whale and humpback whale.
  • In the Northern Hemisphere, common minke whales usually have a bright white band across each flipper.
  • Its blow is low and hard to see, so minke whales are easy to miss at sea.

Mole

  • There are about 40 species of moles and their relatives in the family Talpidae.
  • Moles' fur can lie in any direction, so they can move backwards through tunnels easily.
  • A mole can dig up to about 20 metres of tunnel in a day.

Molluscs

  • There are about 85,000 known living species of molluscs.
  • Molluscs are the second largest group of animals after the arthropods.
  • Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood.

Mongoose

  • The meerkat is a member of the mongoose family.
  • Some mongooses have nerve receptors that reduce the effect of certain snake venoms, but they are not fully immune.
  • The common dwarf mongoose is the smallest mongoose and weighs only about 200-350 g.