30 Amazing Animal Facts To Share With Your Students

Animals are everywhere! The Earth is home to over 8 million species of animals. We as humans may think that we are the most exciting creatures on the planet-but think otherwise! From the smallest ant to the biggest whale, our fellow creatures have amazing abilities and complete incredible feats every day just to ensure their survival!

Below you will find some truly amazing animal facts to share with your students that will give them ‘paws for thought!

1. The Giant Pacific Octopus has 9 brains, 3 hearts, and blue blood

Octopuses have nine brains because each of their eight tentacles has its own ‘mini-brain’ that allows them to each work independently of the other.

Learn More: Facts about Octopus

2. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward

The hummingbird can move its wings 180 degrees in all directions, allowing it to fly backward, upside down, sideways, change directions mid-flight, and even hover in place! It is the only bird in the world that can do this!

Learn More: Hummingbird Flying

3. The largest spider in the world is the South American Goliath bird eater

It is the largest spider in history by length and weight of approximately 6.2 ounces and measuring 5.1 inches long!

Learn More: Live Science-Worlds Biggest Spider

4. Sloths spend most of their lives living in a tree (about 98%)

The word sloth means ‘lazy.’ Sloths eat, sleep, breed, and even give birth, all while dangling from the tallest branches of the trees in Southern and Central America, with the help of extremely specialized claws.

Learn More: Sloth Facts

5. Flamingoes are not actually pink

These clever birds are born grey but turn more pink colored over time because of the food they eat. The algae, brine shrimp, and larvae that flamingos love to eat are filled with a special red-orange pigment called beta-carotene.

Learn More: Flamingo Bird

6. A cheetah can reach speeds from 0 to 113 km/hour in a matter of seconds

This is even faster than a sports car accelerates!

Watch their super speed in action here and learn more about the world’s fastest animal: All About Cheetahs

7. Lions are very lazy creatures

Lions love to snooze and can rest for around 20 hours a day.

Learn More: The Real School, Amazing Facts about Animals

8. If you cut off a snail’s eye, it will grow a new one

Not that we recommend cutting off a snail’s eye, but if it does happen to lose one, it can cleverly grow a new one. Handy!

Learn More: Eye Regeneration of the Mystery Snail

9. Sea turtles never meet their parents

After a sea turtle lays its eggs, they return to the sea, leaving the nest and the eggs to grow and develop on its own. Their parents never live around them to teach them the important lessons of life. Luckily baby turtles are born with a clever instinct and work it out on their own.

Learn More: Baby Turtles

10. There are one species of bird that can fly for 6 months without landing

The Alpine Swift is able to stay airborne for over 6 months before touching down. It takes up huge amounts of energy, but this bird can spend 200 days flying through the air without stopping!

Learn More: Nature.com

11. Koalas and humans have very similar fingerprints

Koalas’ and humans’ fingerprints can sometimes be so identical that even under a microscope, it is still difficult to distinguish which belongs to who. There have even been a few reported cases of a koala’s fingerprints confusing forensics at crime scenes!

Learn More: Live Science

12. The U.S. military trained bottlenose dolphins.

The US Navy worked with bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions from around 1960 to help with mine detection and design new submarines and underwater weapons. They tested numerous underwater animals, including some sharks and birds, to find out which would be most suited to the job!

Find out more about the military and dolphins here: Forces.net

13. Bats are not actually blind

You may have heard the phrase ‘blind as a bat,’ but this is all nonsense. Bats can actually see perfectly well using some pretty interesting adaptations!

Learn More: Science Daily

14. Polar Bears are not white

I’m sure if you asked many people the color of a polar bear, they would say white, but this isn’t entirely true. Their skin is a very different color- it’s BLACK!

Learn More: Earth Rangers

15. Starfish are not actually fish

Find out exactly what they are and the different types in this fun video: STEMHAX

16. A butterfly has about 12,000 eyes

The monarch butterfly, one of the most beautifully patterned of them, is known for having 12,000 eyes! I bet they never miss anything! I wonder why they would need so many.

Find out more fascinating facts about monarchs here: Mindblowing Facts

17. Penguins ‘propose’ with a pebble

Gentoo penguins may possibly be the most romantic in the whole animal kingdom. When they are ready to mate, they look all along the beach for the smoothest pebble to give their mate!

Learn More: Penguins Propose with a Pebble-Ned Hardy

18. The chicken could be the closest related animal to a T-Rex

Scientists have compared the DNA of a 68 million years old Tyrannosaurus Rex to several modern-day species of animals, and it was concluded that chickens are the closest match. How about that for a terrifying relative?

Learn More: Earthbuddies.net

19. An animal called the Flying Fox isn’t a fox at all

This interesting creature is, in fact, a type of bat or megabat! It reaches lengths of up to 1.5 meters. That’s the size of a human adult! I wouldn’t want to come across one of them in the dark!

Learn More: Fact Animal-Flying Fox

20. Sea Otters hold hands when sleeping, so they don’t drift apart

They don’t, however, hold any otter’s hands! They will either pick their mate or an otter from their family. They do this to avoid getting lost or swept away by strong currents when they fall asleep.

Learn More: Nature Beauty

21. Cows have “best friends” and are happier when they’re with them

Studies have shown that cows’ heart rates increase with a cow they know and recognize; just like humans, they develop connections with fellow “friends.”

Discover some other interesting facts about cows here: Charitypaws

22. Rats laugh when you tickle them

Although inaudible to human ears, tickling does make them “giggle.” Just like humans, though, the rat will laugh when tickled only if it’s already in a good mood.

Find out more and the science behind this: Newsy

23. Not all dogs bark

One particular type of dog, called the Basenji dog, doesn’t bark. They will instead make an unusual yodel-like sound, unlike all other dog breeds.

Learn More: Basenji Adventures

24. Cats can’t taste sugar

If you feed a cat something sugary, it can’t taste it! Cats are the only mammals who can’t taste sugar or other sweet flavors. Since cats do not need carbohydrates in order to survive, they do not need to be able to taste sweet tastes!

Learn More: The Spruce Pets

25. Whales sleep with half a brain, so they do not drown

These clever aquatic mammals must periodically return to the surface to breathe as they cannot breathe underwater. So… how do they sleep? Well, they can, but only half of their brains sleep at a time, leaving the other half still alert and ready to adapt to their surroundings.

Learn More: Whale Scientists

26. Quokkas can survive for up to one month without water

These cute and clever Australian rodents store fat in their tails.

Check out this website for more cool quokka facts: WWF Australia

27. The Alaskan wood frog freezes itself

Literal freezing is definitely not recommended for humans or other mammals since it leads to death. For the Alaskan wood frog, freezing two-thirds of their bodies helps them survive the Winter. They then thaw and carry on with their existence in early Spring!

Learn More: The Weather Channel

28. Slugs have teeth

Slugs have approximately 27,000 ‘teeth’. They need so many teeth because, instead of chewing their food, they have a band of microscopic teeth called a radula which acts like a circular saw- cutting through vegetation and eating as they go.

Learn More: Slug Facts

29. Worms have 5 hearts

The heart of worms functions in almost the same manner as a human heart. The difference is that humans breathe oxygen through their mouths and noses, while worms breathe oxygen through their skin.

Learn More: Animal Fate

30. Emus can’t walk backward

Emus can only walk forward and not backward. They can sprint forward over a long distance because of the presence of a calf muscle which is not present in other birds.

Learn More: Emu Facts