By David J R
There are more than 5000 species of mammals on Earth. The platypus has two ovaries but only one of the two is functional i.e. the left one. An elephant's feet can weigh more than five tons which means they have big heavy feet. But they have big, soft, spongy feet that spread their weight out so well they barely even leave footprints. The sweat glands of a tree squirrel are located on their feet. Mammals are able to maintain a constant body temperature naturally, irrespective of the temperature of their surroundings. An average body temperature of mammals ranges from 90-104F. Natural predators of a squirrel include the owl, fox, wildcat, hawk, raccoon and opossum.
Did you know that a female Pacific Grey Whale gestates and delivers a 2000 pound baby, migrates over 10,000 miles, and produces 6 tons of breast-milk without eating a bite of food, using just her blubber for fuel? The lower jaw in mammals is made from a single bone. Gray squirrels are considered to be living fossils. The reason for this is that they haven't changed much in 37 million years. Shrews have so little body fat they cannot go more than a couple of hours without food. They will die if they skip a meal. The gerbil rubs its abdomen on cage accessories to mark his territory. Humans also fall in the category of mammals. The middle ear of mammals contains 3 bones. A polar bear's skin is black beneath its hair which look white but in fact are colorless and hollow. Sugar gliders are able to glide over 150 feet. Golden hamsters are also called "Syrian" hamsters, because they originated in Syria. A female hippopotamus give birth and breastfeed under water - even though almost all their predators live in the water.
David has interest in collecting facts about different topics like history, countries, space, animals etc on Interesting Facts. Mammals is one of his favorite topics to collect facts and he has a large collection of interesting facts about some interesting mammals like platypus on http://www.factsnfacts.com/living_beings_facts/mammals_facts/platypus.
Rainforest Plants and Animals - List of Rainforest Animals
By Alex Albertx
The rain forests are located around the equator, which is present between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. The rainforests are mainly located in the Central and South America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia and parts of Indonesia and Australia.
The rainforests are home to many animals. A general estimate is that almost half of the world's animal species are found in rainforests. The rainforests are the oldest ecosystems on earth. The temperature in these rainforests is around 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. With such temperature it is easy for the rainforest animals to survive even during the freezing cold or in the hot summers. Since there is an abundance of water found in these forests, the animals don't have to search for water.
You will not find mammals in the rainforest, but the majority of rainforest animals you will find are the millions of creepy crawlies living in every layer of the rainforest. There are approximately more than 50 million species of invertebrates living in the rainforests.
The regular search for food, water, sunlight and space for living is a match between the different species living there. The rainforest animals adapt to eating the plants or animals which the other species do not eat. Some animals have even developed a connection with the other species. The birds and animals like to eat the fruits that are grown on trees, and the fish of the rainforests depend on the fruits dropped by the tress. This helps the trees in spreading their seeds to the other parts of the forest.
Many times you will find that a species is so dependant on another, that extinction of one would lead to extinction of the other. This nearly happened with the trees that depended on the now-extinct dodo birds.
With time, each species has evolved with its own set of adaptations which help them to survive in the rainforest among the other animals. Mammals have developed an ability to protect themselves from becoming prey to other animals. Here are a few adaptations animals have:
• Camouflage: The colorings of some animals act as a protection from their predators. The best rainforest animals that are adapted to the rainforest are insects. The 'walking stick' is one example; it blends in with the palm tree in a way that no one would realize it lives there until it moves. Some butterflies of the rainforest look like leaves, when they close their wings. Where camouflage is done for protecting oneself from a predator, it is also used by the predators themselves to sneak up to their prey.
• Hiding: Some animals protect them selves from predators by hiding themselves in burrows, rocks, leaves, tree hollows or niches which are difficult to get to.
• Pretension: Some rainforest animals try to convince their predators that they are bigger than they actually seem to be. Like the larva of the lobster moth, its larva looks like a scorpion but is really not dangerous. Many butterflies have large eye designs on their wings so that it looks like the head of a large animal.
• Colors: Many poisonous animals are covered with bright colors or flashy patters. When an animal eats one of them, they get sick; this memory stays with the animal and it avoids that animal in the future.
This is Alex Albert, Completed MBA and interested in Animals so that also done Post Graduation of animal science degree. Now give the information about animals on http://www.animalport.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Albertx
