Looking at the world through the eyes of children makes it so much more fascinating and awe-inspiring – just one of the many reasons why they’re a joy to have around.
Here are 15 facts about animals that your children, and the child in you, will enjoy.
1. Cats have three eyelids: an upper and lower lid just like us, plus a third lid that looks like clear plastic. It helps block out dust and keep their eyes from getting dry.
2. Snails have hundreds of thousands of teeth that they drag along the ground as they search for food.
3. Giraffes can go for days without drinking water.
4. Sea otters live their whole life in freezing cold water. But they don’t mind: They have two layers of fur to keep them warm.
5. All cats are not equal: Lions and tigers can’t purr, but cougars can.
6. Ostrich eggs are the biggest eggs in the world.
7. Grasshoppers’ blood is green.
8. A hippopotamus lives both under water and on land. Baby hippos are born under water.
9. Baby camels don’t have humps until later when they start eating food.
10. Skunks use a stinky spray to scare off enemies.
11. A chameleon’s tongue can be longer than its body.
12. Cats cover up their poop with dirt or kitty litter by instinct. No one has to ask them to do it.
13. Snakes smell with their tongue.
14. Dogs sweat through their feet.
15. Whales are mammals, so baby whales drink milk from their mother’s nipples, just like baby humans. The difference is that they do it under water.