Catgut is a type of cord that is made from the walls of animal intestines. Sheep or goat intestines are usually used to make catgut, but the intestines of a hog, horse, mule, pig or donkey are sometimes used. Catgut is never made from cat intestines, even though it is possible. To make catgut, the […]

True crabs are crustaceans that have a short projecting “tail” or reduced hidden abdomen, while others such as hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs and crab lice, are not true crabs. Crabs can be found in oceans all over the world, and many crabs in tropical regions live in freshwater and on land. They are usually covered […]

You would be surprised at how quickly seventeen years can go by when you’re doing things like reading, watching TV, hanging out, facebook, and partying. But seriously, the seventeen-year cicadas essentially do the same as the thirteen-year cicadas, they live as larvae a few inches underground, sucking nutrition from the undersides of tree roots. Entomologists […]

Lions and Tigers never mate in the wild. But they sometimes do in in big cat refuges in the United States, resulting in hybrid cross-breed babies. The offspring are called ligers and tigons, or sometimes, illogically, tiglons. A liger is the result of a male lion mating with a tigress, while the tigon, or tiglon, […]

The elephant as a symbol and mascot for the Republican Party started out in 1874 as a cruel joke by political cartoonist Thomas Nast. Four years earlier, Thomas Nast had revived the equally demeaning Democrat donkey symbol, which was threatening to fade into historic oblivion, decades before, Democrat Andrew Jackson had been compared to an […]

It is not its temper that makes a rhinoceros charge an intruder, but its poor eyesight. If it cannot recognize something, it will take no chances, but rush at it like a living tank, fast and furiously, ready to bite. The “horn” at the end of the rhino’s long nose, which can vary from 1 […]

Some of us know cats are natural swimmers, and in the wild, a cat will swim to cross a stream or lake. The tolerance for water varies from cat to cat and may depend on how the cat was raised. Some house cats will play with a dripping faucet or even step into the shower […]

There is no name for a group of tigers, because groups of tigers don’t really exist in the wild or in captivity. The relationships between tiger individuals can be quite complex, and there aren’t any set rules that tigers follow with regards to territorial rights. Although tigers avoid each other for the most part, both […]

Cheetahs are currently on the US Endangered Species Act, and listed as a threatened species. Cheetah cubs have a high mortality rate because of genetic factors and predation by carnivores in such as the lion and hyena. Recent inbreeding of cheetahs that cause birth defects have led a few biologists to believe it is unlikely […]

If you can ignore the potentially lethal kicking legs, milking a cow is easy once you know how. Use a neck harness and a leg harness to keep the cow from kicking, to protect both yourself and your pail of milk. Distract the cow with some fresh hay. Wash the teats with antibacterial soap and […]

Piggy banks are storage devices traditionally used for coins and are generally used by children of all ages. Piggy banks are usually made of ceramic or porcelain, and serve to teach children the value of money by encouraging them to save money. Money is inserted through a hole in the top and traditional Piggy Banks […]

Unrefrigerated lobster meat turns bad faster than other types of edible animal flesh, including fish. This is why the cruel tradition of boiling them alive began centuries ago, before the refrigerator was invented. Nowadays they can be killed humanely without going bad before boiling. In fact, currently most lobsters are killed and frozen right on […]

The red dye known as Carmine is made from crushing the red-colored scale insect Cochineal that live on the prickly Paddle Cactus, and is native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico. The Cochineal is a scale insect that produces carminic acid that protects it from predation by other insects and animals. Carminic acid […]

Lions can climb trees, but they don’t do it very often. They are usually found resting under the shade of trees instead. Unlike some other cats, lions don’t lie in trees waiting for unsuspecting prey to come waltzing along below. Lions seem to climb trees when they want to escape from the heat of the […]

A rooster is, of course, a male chicken, and only hens, or female chickens, lay eggs. But every now and then, a disease may cause a rooster to change its gender and become a hen, or vice-versa. Some of these roosters-turned-hens have actually laid eggs. But this still does not mean that a rooster can […]

The ostrich is the fastest animal in the world on two legs. The Ostrich, also known by its scientific name “Struthio camelus”, is a large flightless bird native to Africa, and is the only living species in its family. It has a long neck and legs and has the fastest land speed of any bird. […]

It’s true that mother Penguins jump ship after laying her eggs, but to be fair to penguin mothers everywhere, it’s not the whole story. Penguins don’t normally spend much time on land, because all of their food is in the water. However, nesting changes the rules. The penguins take to the same land where they were […]

Only bears that eat more vegetation than meat, like the brown and black bears sleep through most of the winter when they hibernate. Their main food supplies die or get buried under snow in winter, so it’s a good time for them to go undercover and live off their fat for three to seven months. […]

The moose which is known as elk in Europe, and by its scientific name Alces alces, is the largest living species in the deer family. Moose can be found in all of Canada, most of Alaska, much of New England and upstate New York, and the upper Rocky Mountains. An adult moose stands about 6 […]

To our best knowledge, we believe the modern and humble blue whale is the biggest animal in the world of all time to have ever lived on earth. The huge blue whale is a marine mammal that is long and slender, and the blue whale’s body can be various shades of bluish grey and lighter […]

The giraffe has one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal. Giraffes sleep between ten minutes and two hours in a 24-hour period, averaging about 2 hours per day. Since an adult giraffe would make a good supper for a lion on the African plain, they’ve evolved some very interesting sleep patterns. When they […]