Karen Hill

If you live in North or South America, start looking up, and you might find a Porcupine. Porcupines are rodents with sharp spines, or quills, for a coat, that helps defend them from predators. They are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines grow no larger than 36 … Read more

Gerbils are illegal to own as pets in the state of California, and so are lots of other animals. The concern of the lawmakers and agencies is that if gerbils were allowed to be bought, sold, and owned in the state, some would surely get loose, run rampant and breed. Since California is primarily an … Read more

The South American capybara is the biggest rodent in the world, and can reach lengths of up to four feet. They’ve been compared to a guinea pig, a small boar, and have been nicknamed “water pigs.” We think they look more like a mutated rabbit, actually. The capybara is also known as carpincho in Spanish, … Read more

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with the most number of species in their group. There are over 2,277 species of rodents, or about 40 percent of mammal species belonging to the order. Their small size, a varied diet, and short breeding cycle have attributed to this success. About half of all mammal … Read more

Mice and hamsters have an instinctual need to run whenever they can. Their metabolism is fast, and they burn off energy almost as fast as they consume food. Fortunately too, mice are quick learners. Curiosity leads them to the wheel to explore. Once on the wheel, it doesn’t take long for them to reach upward … Read more

The Ancient Egyptians made Cat Mummies and buried artifacts to follow them in the Afterlife. Found in tombs of mummified cats were rats and mice for the cats to hunt in the afterlife. But the Egyptians didn’t want it to be all work and no play for their feline idols. They also left saucers of … Read more

Mickey Mouse’s nephews were Mortie and Ferdie. Mickey Mouse is the most popular cartoon rodent, hands down. But who’s the second most popular cartoon mouse? Just cartoon mice, or all rodents? We’d have to give Rocket J. Squirrel of Rocky and Bullwinkle the thumbs-up if we’re talking about all animated rodents. However, the mouse category … Read more

One easy way to tell if you have mice or rats in your house is to look at the poop or droppings. Mouse poop is smaller than rat poop. Now you can call the exterminator. But don’t take our word for it. The Centers for Disease Control has a nice picture guide to rodent poop … Read more

Three Blind Mice is an old English nursery rhyme and has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753. The English believed that rounds taught children to concentrate, and this was why most scholars believe “Three Blind Mice” was written. The first written mention of it appears in 1609 in a melody book titled Deuteromelia, … Read more

Veronica stands for Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Network wide Index to Computerized Archives. The software was developed specifically to search gopher space. Gopher was the precursor to the World Wide Web and was named after the mascot of the University of Minnesota, the place it was developed. Veronica and another early search engine, Jughead, were used … Read more

You will be well educated on the subtleties of the order Lagomorpha after we’re done explaining the differences between a Jackrabbit, a Rabbit, and a Hare. Rabbits and Hares are often mistakenly identified, even by the so called experts. For example, the Belgian hare is a cute little domesticated animal that has been credited with … Read more

Rabbits and guinea pigs don’t have efficient cooling systems like a dog or a human. Us humans keep our body temperatures regulated by releasing sweat from over 2 million sweat glands, and dogs are able to pant to release heat and cool down their bodies. Rabbits have a system that rushes blood to their ears, … Read more

Coney Island was formerly an island, in south Brooklyn, New York, with a beach facing the Atlantic Ocean. The neighborhood was a resort with amusement parks in the early 20th century, but it declined in popularity after World War II and had been in neglect for many years. More recently, KeySpan Park, home to the … Read more

Magicians using Rabbits in Magic Tricks is a tradition dating back to ancient Greece, who believed rabbits had magical powers, but that’s not true. Rabbits are used because they don’t make noise like other animals and therefore can’t give away the trick, not because they’re cute and easy to handle. Pet rabbits kept indoors are … Read more

The original art director for Playboy magazine, Art Paul, drew the bunny for the cover of the second edition. Hugh Hefner liked the furry rabbit because it looked frisky, playful, and had that whole multiply-like-rabbits thing going for it. Hefner was also instantly attached to it because the idea of a bunny in a tuxedo … Read more

Skunk spray or musk is not dangerous or poisonous to humans or animals such as dogs. However, to animals who depend on their sense of smell to hunt food, find and attract mates, or avoid predators, being sprayed makes them unable to pick up scents of any kind, leaving them vulnerable. There are 10 species … Read more

Six different compounds of sulfur and hydrogen make up the smelly skunk musk. The two musk glands, located near the skunk’s anus, can squirt or spray musk up to ten feet. The odor especially permeates hair or fur, including wool clothing, because it reacts with animal protein, making it smell even worse. But that’s just … Read more

A chipmunk can fit up to 34 beechnuts, each about half an inch in length, in its cheeks at one time. Chipmunk cheeks are made of very elastic tissue, allowing the chipmunk to store a lot of food. When its cheeks reach capacity, the chipmunk will bury its stash somewhere and head back to collect … Read more

Rural Louisianans have trapped and eaten the nutria, an orange-toothed rodent that inhabits Louisiana swampland, since its introduction to the bayous in the 1930s. Now the state government is encouraging nutria’s role as the next exotic food out of the swamps by instigating a five-year program that pays trappers and processors by the pelt and … Read more

The nutria’s nipples are located rather high up on her front, almost to her back, so that her young babies can suckle without drowning, as she spends much of her time in water. The nutria is fast and agile in the water but rather clumsy on land. The Coypu is often mistaken for another rodent … Read more

Surprisingly, the nutria has less fat and cholesterol than chicken or turkey and is loaded with protein. By all reports, it tastes like rabbit and is very tender. The nutria, also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semi-aquatic rodent that looks like a really big rat. It is originally native to South America … Read more

The fur around a raccoon’s eyes is black both for eye protection, the black is believed to keep out glare, and for camouflage, as it makes it difficult to see a raccoon at night, protecting it from predators. Raccoon eyes in humans, also known as panda eyes, can be a sign of a skull fracture … Read more

No one person has claimed rights to this literary gem, “Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart. The more you eat, the more you fart.” Some time in the 1600s, though, people began creating haughty, naughty little rhyming couplets to place on lavatory and brothel walls instead of the usual “Ivon woz ‘ere,” and “Georgina’s … Read more

The word Amphibian means “Double life” in Greek, referring to the fact that these creatures are both land and aquatic dwellers during the course of their lives. Amphibians such as frogs and salamanders are cold-blooded animals that either metamorphose from a juvenile water-breathing form, to an adult air-breathing form, or paedomorph and retain some juvenile … Read more

The turtle got its name from the Latin tortuca, by way of the French word tortue, both meaning “tortoise.” Tortoises are land-dwelling turtles, while turtles live in or near water. The turtle dove gets its name from the Latin turtur, referring to the soft, cuddly, cooing noises the bird makes. Until recently, however, the turtledove … Read more

A newt is a type of salamander, meaning its skin is thin, and it breathes through gills until its lungs grow and it can leave the water. Newts are lizard-like, sporting a tail and four legs. Their legs, like those of many other salamanders, are weak in comparison to those of lizards, and are better … Read more

Toads don’t spend as much time in the water as frogs do. As a result, their skin is thicker and retains moisture better, and they tend to be stockier in build than most frogs. Here are more differences between the two amphibians. Frogs have long and strong webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping … Read more

Most salamanders have gills during their larval stage. They live in water and, like fish, breathe underwater. As they reach maturity, which can take years in some species, they lose the gills, develop lungs, and leave the water. But some types of salamanders never mature and live their entire lives in the larval stage. They … Read more

The British dish, “Toad in the Hole” is similar to the American dish “pig-in-a-blanket”. Sausages are dipped in Yorkshire pudding batter, then baked, and is usually served with vegetables and onion gravy. The origin of the name is not completely clear. The dish itself is at least 250 years old and probably older. Many agree … Read more

Carnivorous plants catch bugs in the same way that flowers attract bees, with color and smell. However, a carnivorous plant also has a mechanism that traps the bug once it lands. In the case of the pitcher plant, all varieties sport a hollow tube or bowl that has downward-sloping hairs on the inside and a … Read more

Frogs legs taste like chicken with a tad of fishiness thrown in for good measure. Think of it as “chicken of the swamp” with a texture most similar to chicken wings. Frogs legs are one of delicacies of French and Cantonese cuisine, and are also eaten in other regions, such as the Caribbean, Greece, Italy, … Read more

Warts in humans come from an internal virus that some of us carry and some of us don’t. Warts can’t be contracted or passed along by touching any amphibian. Although picking up a toad can be harmful to the toad, and it’s likely to pee on you, it won’t hurt you. In other words, toads … Read more

Frogs blink their eyes when they swallow their food because they don’t have teeth and blinking helps them get their food down. This may not sound like an explanation on the face of it, but it is. Here’s how: a frog’s eyes, not unlike those of a hippopotamus, are bulgy, big, and located on the … Read more

Toad Suck is the name of a dam in Conway, Arkansas. Legend has it that back in the 1800s, river men were regulars at a saloon near the ferryboat landing, and local lore had it that these men would suck so much from the liquor bottle that they would swell up like toads. Today, Toad … Read more

Although the poison is in the mucus that the frogs secrete onto their skins, human skin can’t pass the poison into the bloodstream through touch alone. However, if the person has cuts or abrasions or accidentally rubs his mouth or nose after touching a frog, he might become ill or die. Some of these frogs … Read more

Frogs do drink water, but not with their mouths. Like all other amphibians, frogs have naked skin, lacking hair, scales, and feathers, making it perfectly suitable for absorbing water. Their skin soaks up what they need, then filters it out through their kidneys, like the rest of us. Some toads don’t even need actual water, … Read more

There’s no supposed about it. It really did happen. Potassium cyanide, a lethal cyanide-based chemical found in photographic darkrooms, among other places, was placed inside Tylenol capsules in and around the Chicago area in 1982. Seven people were murdered, and the culprit was never found. In 1986 a woman in Seattle, Washington, after a failed … Read more

There are more poisonous plants on earth than you can imagine. Here’s a partial list of them. Rhubarb—the leaves are fatal. Even cooked, they’ve been known to kill. Buttercups—all of these plants can cause damage to the stomach and intestines. Oleander—the leaves and branches are extremely poisonous. They act as a heart palpitation drug and … Read more

No, not all flowers are Bisexual with Both Male and Female Reproductive Parts and Capable of Playing Either Role in Reproduction. Here’s a quick flower primer: There are actually three types of flowers. The “perfect” flower, also known as a Bisexual flower, which is what you’re familiar with when it comes to plant reproduction, is … Read more

The word smutty came from pure-hearted farmers. Really. Smut is the name of a mold that grows in corn ears. The mold breaks off into fine dirt-like powder when the corn is shucked. Therefore the word smut became synonymous with dirt, or dirty. When dirty came to describe sexual talk or writing, calling the same … Read more

Considering how violent some reactions to its oils can be, it’s hard to imagine poison ivy serving any good purpose for anyone. The English colonist John Smith, in 1609, wrote home about his run-in with this dreaded toxic plant: “The poisonous weed, being in shape, but very little different, from our English Yvie; but being … Read more

Can our English ivy cross-pollinate with the poison variety? No, they belong to two separate plant families, despite the similar name English ivy belongs to the ginseng family and is considered true ivy. As nutty as this may seem, poison ivy is a member of the edible cashew family. The shells of the cashew nut … Read more

In general, it takes anywhere from twelve to forty-eight hours for a rash to appear after contact with poison ivy. The rash can hang around, though, itching like crazy, for ten miserable days or up to two unbearable weeks. If you do get a bad rash, see a doctor. Poison ivy grows throughout much of … Read more

The lizards that climb walls and ceilings don’t tend to fall off. But it’s not because they have great suction, as a matter of fact, they’re not really using suction at all. Here’s how the feet work: on the bottom are dozens and dozens of tiny grooves, which you can see if you’ve ever looked … Read more

Once, long ago in the course of their evolution, snakes had legs. They are actually descended from the same family as lizards. However, they gradually lost their legs as it became more efficient for them, in terms of energy conservation, to slither. Some primitive snakes, like the boa constrictor and the python, still have remnants … Read more

A group of legless lizards erroneously called glass snakes lives in grassy and forested areas all over the world. Although they are called snakes, and even look like snakes with ears, if you pick them up, their bodies are much more rigid, like lizards, than bendable, like snakes. By the way, they get the “glass” … Read more

The Pit Viper is actually just another name for the common rattlesnake, which has highly sensitive pits located between its eyes and nostrils. These pick up even minute changes in temperature, so that the snake’s ability to locate prey is very good. Viper is just a shortened version of Viperidae, the scientific name for the … Read more

Rattlesnake rattles are not, as many people believe, tiny pebbles or other rattling things inside the snake’s tail. A baby rattlesnake is born with a tiny, keratin-based hard shell at the end of its tail. Every time the baby sheds its skin, a new shell, slightly bigger, appears below, loosely attached to the one before … Read more

In all seriousness, the basilisk lizard got its nickname because it can walk on water. Its feet are webbed just enough that when it’s running at fast speeds, the lizard can skate above the water line. If the other lizards had sufficient faith, perhaps they could do it, too. The Common Basilisk is a lizard … Read more

Snakes don’t have ears, they can hear you coming though. They “hear” by being close to the ground, and feeling vibrations move up through their bones. Other than that, their main method of gleaning information from the world around them is by smelling with their tongues. The tongue darts out, picks up chemicals and other … Read more

It’s a pretty impressive act, those snake charmers. From the cobra basket, the snake rises as the crowd shrinks back. The charmer plays his pungi, swaying to the music, and the snake undulates with him, seemingly entranced. The crowd, equally mesmerized, throws coins into the snake charmer’s basket. Like other street performers with a good … Read more

Out of every 10 million people who are bitten by snakes, only 2.9 will die from snakebites. That’s roughly a 1 in 3,448,276 chance. Your chances increase if you live in a jungle in the tropics. Of course, if you did, you’d know what to do if you were bitten by one. And perhaps more … Read more

As far as we know, the turtles and tortoises live longer than any reptile, or any other animal, for that matter. An adult turtle found on the island of Mauritius in 1766 by the French explorer Marion de Fresne lived for another 152 years. Since the turtle was thought to have already been in its … Read more

The turtles in our local parks are more than likely the same species, the red-eared terrapin, as those little guys everyone kept as a kid. Those kept as pets usually never reach maturity and die while still young, due to poor environment and nutrition. The ones in your local pond are full-grown adults, who may … Read more

Like the skunk, the stinkpot turtle, and other turtles in the musk turtle family, have musk glands located on the fronts of their legs. If threatened or scared, they will release foul-smelling musk as a defense. While they’re not uncommon, you just don’t see them very often. When they emerge from the murky stream bottoms … Read more

Eagles do sometimes catch tree monkeys, swooping down and grabbing them with their powerful talons. That’s about it for predators for monkeys in the trees. Other than ants and bugs, and the occasional snake, nothing really bothers monkeys when they’re hanging out or sleeping in the trees. It’s where they’re safe and seek refuge from … Read more

The pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world, and is about the size of a small squirrel and weighs about as much as a Quarter Pounder, bun and all. In fact, marmosets clamber up trees like squirrels, they’re one of the few monkeys that have claws instead of fingers and toenails. While up … Read more

The howler monkey is the Loudest Monkey and animal in the World. A small band can make as much noise as a stadium full of people and can be heard three miles away. That’s really loud. Better bring your earplugs. The howler monkey’s loud sound or call is a form of communication and is an … Read more

It’s sad but true, male Chimpanzees have bigger testicles than humans, and they’re even bigger than a Gorillas. Most people think that a gorilla would be hung like an ape, and they’re surprised to find out that they’re wrong. Despite being the largest primate, weighing in at 350 to 450 pounds, the gorilla has testicles … Read more

The Gibbon normally walks on Two Legs only, holding its arms up and out for balance, and is the only ape that does so. Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae, and can be found in tropical and subtropical rain forests in northeast India, Indonesia, China, and even the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java. … Read more

Baboons are adapted to living on solid ground. They generally avoid forests, spend little time in trees, and are most comfortable traveling in herds on open land. Gorillas are also ground dwelling apes and do not hang out or live in the trees. Another great ape species, the Orangutan, spends more time on the ground … Read more

Tail-Twining is an affectionate practice of the tiny titi monkeys of the Amazon. Two, three, or four titis sit on a branch while resting or sleeping and wrap their tails together into a friendly, loving spiral. Titi monkeys are the New World monkeys of the genus Callicebus. They are tiny creatures and grow to only … Read more

Do crocodiles really cry without meaning it? Most do, and that’s where the phrase and expression “Crocodile Tears” came from. Saltwater crocodiles shed tears often, and sea turtles and a number of seagoing birds do the same. It’s how they’ve adapted to drinking briny sea water, they shed the salt through their tear ducts, which … Read more

Mugger Crocodile, or Mugger for short, is the name of a crocodile species that lives in India and Pakistan. The name eventually got generalized to include human predators, as well. The mugger crocodile’s scientific name, Crocodylus palustris literally means “crocodile of the marsh”. It is also called the Indian, Persian, or Marsh crocodile, and is … Read more

The Crocodile’s name comes from the ancient Greek krokodilos, meaning “worm of the pebbles.” Why they thought this was a good name instead of something like “monster lizard of the water” is quite unclear. Maybe the crocodile looked like a worm when it was first discovered, and the name stuck.

Although the brain of a crocodile or alligator is quite small, zigzagging when one is chasing you probably won’t outsmart it. The most important thing to do if there’s a huge reptile following you is put distance between you and the crocodilian, refers to both alligators and crocodiles. Logically, the fastest and easiest way to … Read more

In the book Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, the crocodile hooks his supper in the end. Seeing that he had been bested by Peter and overrun by all of the boys, Captain James Hook goes overboard to be consumed by the hungry crocodile. If only Disney would stop changing the true endings of classics, … Read more

Here’s the thing. If you’ve encountered any crocodilian in Florida, chances are it’s an American alligator. While American crocodiles do live in the salty, brackish waters of the southernmost tip of Florida, they are extremely secretive and almost never spotted in the wild. In contrast, alligators live in fresh water along riverbanks and in swamps, … Read more

Delve into the fascinating realm of alligator anatomy as we explore the size of an alligator’s brain. Uncover the mysteries behind these reptilian cognitive wonders. Key Takeaways: Understand the relative size of an alligator’s brain compared to its body. Explore the significance of brain size in relation to alligator behavior and survival. Gain insights into … Read more

You might not be able to make an alligator let go if it’s chomping on your arm. An alligator’s jaws are extremely strong and once it bites down, it’s a real pain to get it to let go. The opposite is true and when the alligator’s jaws are closed, it takes relatively little power to … Read more

This is sort of strange. Alligators, like many other reptiles, don’t have sex chromosomes. As a result, gender isn’t determined by the genes of the parents. Instead, whether Mama gator will be blessed with a baby girl or boy is completely decided by temperature. When it’s egg-laying time, the female finds a nice large area … Read more

At its loudest, when it bellows, an alligator about as loud as a small plane. At a distance of sixteen feet, that measures about 92 decibels. Bet that’s louder than you can scream. Bellowing occurs throughout the year to attract mates and is also a show of hostility among males, but is most frequent during … Read more

An alligator chews its food only to break the food up into pieces it can swallow. Although the alligator sports very strong jaws and teeth sharp enough to crush bones and other hard matter, it prefers prey it can swallow whole. Inside the alligator’s belly are small pebbles it has swallowed that help grind up … Read more

Alligator Pear is another name for an avocado. The avocado, aguacate or palta in Spanish, also known as butter pear, is a tree native to Mexico, the Caribbean, South and Central America. It is technically a berry, and originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The oldest evidence of avocado use by man was found … Read more

Digging through a list of New York Times stories over the years will turn up a dozen instances in which alligators or crocodiles have mysteriously shown up in the New York City area, usually in Westchester County, for some reason. However, almost none of the stories has anything to do with sewers, and most or … Read more

There are only four main groups of reptiles left on earth: Crocodilians, snakes and lizards, turtles and tortoises, and the tuataras, an old lizard form found in New Zealand. All of them run the risk of extinction due to human encroachment, and due to humans wanting to turn them into pets, food, and ornaments. Of … Read more

Although the Roosevelt White House had a number of exotic and unusual pets, the alligator belonged to an earlier president, John Quincy Adams. Adams explained that he kept it around because he enjoyed “the spectacle of guests fleeing from the room in terror.” His foreign policy was only slightly better. In 1826, the Marquis de … Read more

A few lizards have tails that can break off when predators attack, and then grow an extension back again. The new growth is cartilage, not bone like the original tail. While this may seem like a cool thing to show to the neighborhood gang of kids, this parlor trick comes at great cost to the … Read more

Two of the primates are major meat eaters, humans and chimps. You already know what people eat. A study of chimpanzee populations found that about 75 percent of the meat that chimps consumed consisted of red colobus monkey babies taken from their mothers. But researchers found that a chimp’s main motivation for hunting is often … Read more