Animal facts
Discover the remarkable lives of animals, one fact at a time.
Animals 151–160 of 244
Monkeys and apes
- Monkeys and apes are not the same: apes, such as gibbons, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees, have no tail.
- The pygmy marmoset, the smallest monkey, weighs only about 100 g.
- Howler monkeys are among the loudest land animals; their calls can be heard several kilometres away.
Moose
- Moose occur naturally across northern parts of Eurasia and North America; they are not a normal native component of New Zealand fauna.
- Indigenous peoples of North America made dried moose meat, which was easy to carry on long journeys.
- Moose numbers differ between regions and change over time, so population totals should always be read with a date.
Mosquito
- It would take roughly a million mosquito bites to drain all the blood from a human body.
- There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes.
- A female mosquito can drink about 2-3 times her own weight in blood.
Moth
- There are about 160,000 known species of moths, far more than butterflies.
- Butterflies evolved from moths.
- Many moths can hear the ultrasound calls of bats.
Mouflon
- Domestic sheep descend from the Asiatic mouflon.
- The mouflon is one of the smallest wild sheep in the world.
- Male mouflon have thick horns that curl in a near circle.
Mouse
- By flattening their bodies, mice can squeeze through gaps of about 6 mm, about the width of a pencil.
- In autumn and winter, mice often move into homes and sheds to escape the cold and find food.
- Like other rodents, mice have front teeth that never stop growing; they grow about 0.3 mm a day.
Narwhal
- The narwhal's tusk is a tooth, not a horn.
- A narwhal's tusk can be up to about 3 metres long.
- The tusk usually grows from the upper left side of the jaw.
Nightingale
- Unpaired male nightingales sing at night, probably to attract females migrating overhead.
- A male nightingale can sing more than 150 different song types.
- Female nightingales do not sing.
Octopus
- Studies have shown that octopuses learn easily, including by watching another octopus.
- Common octopuses collect shells and other objects to build "gardens" or walls around their dens, and some octopuses carry shells for protection.
- Because octopuses have no bones, they can slip through tiny gaps, which makes them masters of escape.
Okapi
- Okapis and giraffes are related, although they live in very different habitats.
- The velvety coat helps water run off the body.
- Scent marks are important to an animal living a solitary forest life.