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Animal facts

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

Seahorse

  • In seahorses, the male gets pregnant and gives birth.
  • Seahorses have no true stomach.
  • Seahorses have no tail fin; they swim with their small dorsal fin.

Seal

  • Seals are semi-aquatic marine mammals that use their four flippers to move.
  • There are about 18-19 species of true seal, and about 33-35 species of pinnipeds if sea lions, fur seals and the walrus are included.
  • Seals have a thick layer of fat, called blubber, that keeps them warm in very cold water.

Shark

  • Sharks do not have a single bone in their bodies; their entire skeleton is made of cartilage.
  • There are more than 500 species of shark in the world.
  • A great white shark may take an exploratory bite to judge whether its prey is worth eating.

Siberian tiger

  • Its coat changes with the seasons: winter fur becomes longer and denser, but it never turns white.
  • Amur tigers and Amur leopards are different animals that share the same forests: one has stripes, the other rosettes.
  • Amur tigers cross the border between Russia and China.

Sloth

  • There are six living species of sloths.
  • Algae grow in sloth fur, giving it a greenish colour.
  • Three-toed sloths climb down about once a week to defecate.

Snail

  • Snails are very diverse: there are land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails.
  • When they feel threatened, snails usually pull back into their shells.
  • Snails have no backbone; they are molluscs, like clams and octopuses.

Snake

  • There are about 4,000 known species of snakes.
  • Snakes smell with their forked tongue, which carries scent particles to an organ in the roof of the mouth.
  • Snakes have no eyelids; a clear scale protects each eye.

Snow leopard

  • “Ghost of the mountains” refers to this cat’s camouflage and elusive behaviour.
  • Snow leopards can communicate through scent without meeting another individual.
  • Mothers teach their cubs to survive in mountain terrain.

South China tiger

  • No wild South China tiger has been confirmed for decades, but more than 150 live in captivity.
  • All captive South China tigers descend from just six wild-caught tigers.
  • DNA tests showed that some "South China" tigers in zoos had ancestors from other tiger populations.

Sparrow

  • Male and female house sparrows look different: males have a grey crown, black bib and chestnut back streaked with black, while females are plain brown and buff.
  • House sparrows thrive near people partly because there is always food, such as crumbs in parks and on café terraces.
  • House sparrows are not strongly territorial, but they defend their nest site from other sparrows.