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Animal facts

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

Turtle

  • A turtle's shell is part of its skeleton: its backbone and ribs are joined to it, so a turtle can never leave its shell.
  • There are more than 350 species of turtles and tortoises.
  • Tortoises are turtles that live on land; they have sturdy legs instead of flippers or webbed feet.

Vultures

  • Bearded vultures can drop large bones onto rocks to break them into pieces they can swallow.
  • Egyptian vultures can use stones to break large eggs.
  • Turkey vultures use smell to help locate food; this ability should not be assumed for every vulture.

Wallaby

  • Wallabies are smaller relatives of kangaroos.
  • The word wallaby comes from Dharug, an Aboriginal language of the Sydney area.
  • A wallaby joey stays in its mother's pouch for about 6-9 months.

Walrus

  • Its scientific name, <em>Odobenus</em>, comes from Greek and means "tooth-walker".
  • Walruses can live for about 40 years.
  • Tusk size helps decide a walrus's place in the herd's pecking order.

Wasp

  • Wasps fall into two main groups: solitary wasps and social wasps. Most species are solitary, and each female raises her young alone. Social wasps live in colonies that can contain thousands of wasps.
  • Females of many stinging wasps can sting more than once; this does not apply to males or to every wasp group.
  • The pain and swelling of a wasp sting usually fade within a day or so, but in a small number of people the venom can cause anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal. Anyone with a severe reaction to a sting needs urgent medical help.

Water shrew

  • The water shrew is one of the few mammals with venomous saliva.
  • The tips of its teeth are red because they contain iron.
  • Air trapped in its fur makes it look silvery when it dives.

Weasel

  • Weasels may look cute, but they are fierce hunters. Because their metabolism is so fast, they must catch and eat about a third to half of their body weight every day.
  • In winter, weasels keep warm by curling up in nests lined with the fur and feathers of their prey.
  • Female weasels can breed at about 3-4 months old. Mating usually takes place in spring and summer.

Whale

  • The number of recognised cetacean species changes with taxonomic research; whales, dolphins and porpoises are all cetaceans.
  • Belugas use a wide range of sounds, but an apparent response to music does not show a human-like musical taste.
  • The blue whale is the largest living animal. Exact size records require reliable measurements.

White stork

  • Their nests are large platforms of sticks built on trees, rocks, roofs, chimneys and poles; several pairs sometimes nest close together.
  • Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the chicks.
  • The white stork is one of about 19 species in the stork family.

Wild boar

  • A wild boar's coat has two layers and can be brown, reddish, black or grey. The outer bristles are coarse, while the underfur is much softer.
  • Adult males usually live alone, except in the breeding season, when they fight other males for access to females, using their tusks.
  • The ancient Greeks admired wild boar for their ferocity.