#animals
Questions about “animals”.
30 articles
Are mushrooms plants?
Mushrooms are sold next to the vegetables and sprout in the shade of the forest, so most of us lump them in with plants. Their true identity lies somewhere more surprising.
Why is wombat poop cube-shaped?
On a rock in an Australian forest sits a little dropping shaped like a die. The people who cracked the mystery were, surprisingly, engineers.
Why are yawns contagious?
See someone yawn, and before you know it, you’re yawning too. How many times will you yawn before you finish reading this?
How do bats fly in the dark?
They dart through pitch-black caves without hitting a thing and snatch tiny insects out of the air. How they do it puzzled scientists for more than 200 years.
How many hours a day do giraffes sleep?
Ever heard that giraffes hardly sleep at all? Look into it, and the answer depends a great deal on how you count sleep, and where the giraffe lives.
Why do koalas sleep all day?
Visit a koala at the zoo and it is almost always curled up asleep in a tree. It isn’t just laziness. The length of a koala’s sleep has a lot to do with what it eats.
How smart are crows?
Crows have a reputation as pests that raid garbage bins. But peek into researchers’ experiments, and a surprisingly rich world opens up inside those small heads.
Do goldfish really have a three-second memory?
Every lap around the bowl wipes the slate clean—or so the story goes. Let’s hold that familiar claim up against what experiments with goldfish actually found.
Are elephants really afraid of mice?
The largest land animal cowering before a creature that fits in your palm. How much truth is there in this cartoon classic?
Where does the Japanese word “baka” come from?
From playground squabbles to doting parents, Japanese speakers hear it daily. In kanji it is oddly written “horse” and “deer.” What did those animals do?
Why are flamingos pink?
Everyone knows the flamingo as the pink bird. But one look at a flamingo chick tells you that color isn’t something they’re born with.
Were animals the first to ride in a balloon?
People were rising into the sky in hot air balloons 120 years before the Wright brothers’ airplane. So who were the very first passengers to climb aboard?
Can a turtle climb out of its shell?
In cartoons, turtles slip out of their shells and dash around unencumbered. So what is really going on inside a real turtle’s shell?
Do dolphins really sleep with half their brain at a time?
When and how do mammals that live in the sea get any sleep? It turns out they have a remarkable trick for swimming and breathing while they rest.
Why do cats purr?
That low rumble vibrating on your lap is so familiar you barely notice it. Yet researchers are still arguing about where it comes from.
Did goats really discover coffee?
Goats eat some red berries and start to dance: the world’s favorite coffee origin story. Follow it back and you find a late record and people praying all night.
Do sea otters hold hands while they sleep?
Floating on their backs, holding paws as they doze: sea otters are internet stars for this pose. But is it something you would actually see out on the open sea?
Why are sloths so slow?
They hang from trees most of the day and move in slow motion. Behind the animal named for laziness lies a thoroughgoing energy-saving strategy.
Do naked mole-rats never grow old?
Wrinkled, hairless and decidedly odd-looking, this small rodent has become a favorite of aging researchers around the world. Why do some call it the animal that doesn’t age?
Why do chameleons change color?
Chameleons are famous for shifting color to melt into their surroundings. But when researchers took a closer look, the story turned out to be rather different.
What are a zebra’s stripes for?
On an open savanna, a bold black-and-white coat seems made to stand out. After puzzling scientists for over 150 years, the mystery is yielding a surprising answer.
Do cows really have four stomachs?
At a Japanese barbecue restaurant, the menu may list mino, hachinosu, senmai and giara. All four are cow stomach. So what exactly is going on inside a cow?
What is the giant panda’s “sixth finger”?
Giant pandas grip bamboo with surprising dexterity as they munch away. Hidden in their front paws is a tool that no other bear has.
Do honeybees talk by dancing?
In the pitch-dark hive, one bee starts to whirl and shimmy, and her sisters gather around. Packed into those moves is information of astonishing precision.
Can tardigrades survive in space?
A tiny animal about half a millimeter long that lives in moss. Sometimes called the toughest creature on Earth, it has actually been sent into space. What happened when it got there?
How many ants are there in the world?
Ants bustle around underfoot almost everywhere. If you could count every ant on Earth, what would the total be? Here is what a serious attempt at an “ant census” found.
What is the oldest zoo in the world?
A family day out to see the elephants and giraffes. But when did people first start gathering unusual animals and keeping them?
Why do we replace our teeth only once?
Sharks go through tens of thousands of teeth in a lifetime, yet we swap ours only once, in childhood. Here’s why, and where research into regrowing teeth stands today.
Can a cockroach live without its head?
Cockroaches are practically a byword for toughness. Is the rumor that they keep living after losing their heads just an exaggeration?
Do male seahorses really give birth?
A dragon-like face and a neatly curled tail. The seahorse, an aquarium favorite, splits family duties in a way almost no other fish does.