The facts of wildlife and the beastly lies

1. True: Flamingos feed with their heads down so the bill is held upside-down in the water.

2. False: Bandicoots are born after just 11 or 12 days. They are then carried in their mother’s pouch for around three months until they can live independently.

3. True: Ridges in their fingers are thought to help them grip branches.

4. False: Elephants and lions are among the other animals that also live in a matriarchy.

5. False: They can reach speeds of up to nearly 110mph when diving.

6. False: It can spin a web larger than two double-decker buses.

7. False: They can fly right, left, up, down, backwards and upside down.

8. True: Two of the hearts allow blood to circulate to the gills, the third through the body. 9. False: A peacock can fly, but not for a long time. 10. True: Flat sides stop it rolling away when wombats mark their territory. 11. True: Sea otters mainly use rocks, but have been seen using glass bottles and cement blocks to help them build and feed. 12. False: Bees are not found in Antarctica. 13. True: Starfish are controlled by nerve cells. 14. True: They have outlived dinosaurs by 65 million years. 15. False: The poison dart frog expels its poison through its skin. 16. True: Penguins filter sea water through a gland. When the gland is full, they knock their beak against a rock to empty out the salt.

17. False: Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria, opened in 1752.

18. True: Red bellied piranhas let out a barking noise, meant as a warning sign to other fish.

19. False: The domestic fainting goat’s muscles freeze for around three seconds when it panics. It may fall over, but does not lose consciousness.

20. True: The layer of black skin helps to soak up the sun’s warming rays.

21. True: Besides humans, they are the only creatures known to do this.

22. True: The earliest contraceptives for women were pessaries made of crocodile dung, honey, and sodium carbonate. 23. False: Beavers may not see well, but they have transparent eyelids that work like goggles. 24. False: Elephants can snorkel without aid, holding just the tips of their trunks above water. 25. True: Distinct pitches are heard in town and country birdsong. 26. True: They can survive for up to two years. 27. False: They go into a paralysed state called tonic immobility, caused by the male tipping them on their backs. 28. True: This may have helped them invade salty environments. 29. False: Rats laugh when tickled. 30. False: Poisoning is the biggest threat to vultures, primarily from chemicals or lead in carcasses.