ANIMAL FACTS First robin of spring
From robins in winter to the whiskers of cats, there’s a lot crazy things in the world of critters
Even if you seldom venture into the wild, you probably know a fair number of facts about animals. Bees make honey, squirrels love nuts, roosters crow at the break of day. But there is so much more to animals than that.
Here are nine things about common living creatures that might surprise you.
We always can tell when spring truly is here when we see our first robin of the season, pecking at the ground in search of juicy worms. Except, robins are permanent residents throughout most of the continental United States and never really fly south for the winter.
The reason we don’t see them much in the colder months is because they migrate only short distances in search of food. Keep your eyes peeled this winter and you’ll likely find robins scoping out the berries on your shrubs.
Hungry, hungry mantids
Praying mantises are best known for the females’ habit of killing her mate, and while researchers are dispelling that theory — turns out the females kill the males usually when they are nervous, possibly from having researchers peering at them through magnifying glasses — they now are focused on something even more terrifying. A number of mantises capture, kill and consume small birds.
A new study by zoologists Martin Nyffeler, University of Basel; Mike Maxwell, National University at La Jolla; and James Van Remsen, Louisiana State University, documented 12 species and nine genera of mantids preying on small birds in 13 different countries and on all continents except Antarctica.
“The fact that eating of birds is so widespread in praying mantises,” says Nyffeler, the study’s lead author, “… is a spectacular discovery.”
Give opossums some respect
Many people get a little freaked out if they encounter an opossum. The creatures usually put on a good display, baring their teeth — of which they have 50 — and hissing, but when it comes down to it, they’d rather play dead than get into a fight.
They also have powerful immunity systems that help them survive deadly snake bites and protect them against contracting rabies. You’ve got to admire that.
Raccoons are other creatures that have a bad reputation for tearing up lawns, messing with garbage cans and menacing you if you get too close. However, raccoons have a lot of redeeming qualities.
For one, they have such nimble fingers and hands that they can open complicated locks and pick up something as thin as a dime. They also can rotate their hind feet 180 degrees, allowing them to climb down out of a tree with ease.
They also are extremely smart. Researchers say the IQ of a raccoon is higher than a cat’s and just below that of a monkey.