Interesting Animal Facts

Camel Facts You'll Find Interesting

2010-07-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

Interesting Animal Facts
We tend to get our camel facts in bits and pieces. We know that some camels have one hump, others have two, and they are famous for being able to go long distances or periods with out water. We've heard that they can be easy to ride, or uncomfortable to ride, depending on who you talk to. We tend to associate them with desert areas, and may have even heard that they once roamed free in the state of Nevada.

While any list of camel facts can be lengthy, let's try to put together some information that gives a good picture as to where this animal comes from, what it is like, and how it is used. First of all, the camel is an ungulate, an animal that has hoofs. There are two true camels, the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) which has single hump, and the Bactrian camel (Cameulus bactrianus) which has two humps. The dromedaries are mostly found where we tend to expect them, in the arid regions of northern Africa. Nearly half of the dromedaries living today will be found in Somalia and Ethiopia, the remainder are spread across North Africa from Sudan to Morocco. The bactrain camel exists in much smaller numbers, and live mostly in northern Asia.

Both species were introduced into the United States in the 1800's, with the United States Army using them as draft animals for a short time. This experiment did not prove to be successful, as horses could not easily be used alongside the camels (horses do not like the small of the camel), and the troops never became accustomed to them. Many of the animals were simply allowed to run free and were spotted roaming free in the southwest, especially in Nevada, from time to time for a number of years. There is a feral population if the Australian Outback, thought to be several hundred thousand in number. While native to Africa and Asia, the true camels have cousins in South America, those being the vicuña, alpaca, and the llama.

Among the camel facts you may come across which are not true, are those which suggest that the camel is able to store huge quantities of water, and that is the reason for the hump(s). While the camel will drink a large amount of water when it is able to, its secret is not so much in being able to store water, but in being able to use water very efficiently. The camel can withstand very hot temperatures, and looses much less water through sweating and respiration than is the case with most other animals. Its coat tends to insulate the body against the heat of the sun, minimizing perspiration. Also, a camel can lose over 20% of its weight through dehydration before being in danger of dying. 3% is the limit for most animals. A camel can often go a week without a supply of water, and when grazing, efficiently extracts water contained in leaves and plants. The hump by the way, does have a purpose. It consists primarily of fatty tissue which serves as an energy reservoir. A camel can cover 20 mile a day in hot weather conditions, while carrying a 200 pound load.

Although used primarily for transportation, there are a few camel facts of interest regarding their use as a food source. Bedouin tribes use the camels as a source for both milk and meat. Camel milk is very rich; more so than cows milk, and the meat, which is said to taste like beef, has been served for years from Persia (Iran) to Egypt, and points in between. In some regions, camel blood is consumed, being a source of salt, iron and vitamins not always available in the usual diet. Though not food items, camel hair and hides are also valuable commodities, and are often used in fine articles of clothing and leather products. Camel poop (dung if you prefer) is often used as a fuel for heat and cooking.

Camels can move fairly quickly, and as they can maintain a speed of about 25 mph for over an hour, can cover ground fairly quickly. For short distances they can run at speeds of 40 mph, and camel racing is a very popular sport in the Middle East, as popular as horse racing. Camel races are not strictly limited to the Middle East, there is a prestigious camel race held annually at Alice Springs, in the interior of Australia. These are truly remarkable animals, well suited to a wide variety of climatic conditions, able to cover long distances, and, with their broad hooves, able to navigate fairly easily in loose sand. They truly are "ships of the desert".

Information on cockatiel training can be found at the Knowledge Bin site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sara_Le
Interesting Animal Facts

Animal Facts For Kids

2010-06-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

Interesting Animal Facts

Educating our children is one of the most important aspects of parenting. This article on animal facts for kids makes for interesting reading about little known facts about the animals that inhabit planet earth. Encourage your child to read and learn in a fun way, and share knowledge with friends and have great fun doing it. You can arrange family fun quizzes and make the learning fun!

In biology the word "Animal" comprises all species belonging to the animal kingdom; it is very interesting to read about the little known facts about these animals found in our world today.

Some of the more interesting animal facts for kids:

o A cow can produce more milk than a single human being can consume in one lifetime - approximately 200,000 glasses of milk! Apart from this staggering figure, you will never find two cows with the exact same pattern of spots!

o Horses weighing approximately 1,200 pounds eat roughly seven times their own weight each year!

o When a lion roars you can hear the sound from a distance of about 5 miles away.

o Cheetahs are swift and merciless toward their prey. Scaring the living daylights out of man and beast but the sound they emit is anything but scary - more like a dog yelping. However you can hear them a mile away!

o Elephants are the largest land animals alive in the present age. An elephant's tusks grow all through its lifetime and can weigh as much as 200 pounds; usually tusks grow for the male species. The females are seldom found with very small tusks or no tusks at all.

o The Chimpanzee is often considered the closest of all animal species to man, with an intelligence that supersedes all other animals. Chimps as they are commonly referred to actually make tools and use them to get their food. They adopt highly refined hunting strategies to get their food. To Chimps status is important; they are also very manipulative and deceptive in their behavior patterns. They can be taught to use symbols, numbers and some aspects of the human language.

o The Giraffe is the tallest living mammal in the animal kingdom and has approximately double the blood pressure of any other animal to enable blood circulation, especially to the brain.

o Some interesting animal facts include: rats live longer without water than even the Camel does; squirrels bury their nuts and often forget where they have hidden them, inadvertently helping to plant millions of trees.

The animal facts for kids detailed above are only a tip of the iceberg; it is hoped that once a child's interest is awakened, he or she will continue to read more.

Galen spends 48 hours on the Internet every day as the Online Marketing Manager of Mediafreaks. He is currently driving the online marketing efforts of various free online adventure games and commercial projects produced by the award-winning 3d animation studio based in Singapore and China. Galen is also known fondly as 'The China Man' by his colleagues as he spent years in China running the Mediafreaks China office.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aldric_Chang
Interesting Animal Facts

Some Interesting Facts About Pets

2009-04-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

interesting animal facts
Pets are truly amazing. Not just for the reasons they make us feel as we adopt them and make us part of our families, but for so many reasons we aren’t really even aware of. These loveable animals we think we know, just how well do we really know them?

Take for example the cat. This household pet is one of the most common pets which everyone thinks they understand. Ask anyone what they consider a strange or exotic pet and I don’t’ think anyone would say the cat. Yet there is so much unknown about this very ‘common’ pet.

In fact there are also some things which people think they know which just isn’t true. For example; catgut. Catgut used to be used for strings on a tennis racket and in musical instruments. But these actually did not come from a cat at all. Catgut originated from pigs, horses, and sheep. I bet your cat will sleep better tonight knowing that piece of information!

The cat also for some reason has gotten the reputation for being independent and quite finicky. And with that reputation would you be surprised to find out that the average cat actually consumes around 128,000 calories a year. That is over 28 times its own body weight! Not only that, they drink the same amount in liquids as well. Doesn’t sound too finicky, does it?

By the way, here is another interesting fact about a cat’s diet. A cat can not survive on vegetables alone. So if your cat looks like they want to become a vegan or something because they want to make a point, don’t believe them. They really would prefer a nice fish. Maybe you can just close your eyes and let them think we don’t know.

The diet of our pets stack up some pretty staggering figures. The next time someone looks at you strange for buying that expensive pet food you just revel in the knowledge that you are not alone. You and your fellow pet lovers spend over 1.5 billion (That’s billion with a B) dollars on pet food. That is four times the amount of money spent on baby food in the US!

Speaking of pet food, if you are a parrot owner you should know that your beloved bird can actually eat almost anything you eat except for avocados and chocolate. (Why you would be eating chocolate covered avocados is beyond me!) If your parrot gets a hold of either of those it might be its last supper as both are very toxic to parrots and can prove to be fatal.

So the next time you look at your pet, just think about all you don’t know about that beloved creature. Your pet is a world of mystery and one I’m sure you will enjoy discovering!

This article was contributed by http://www.hotfact.com/ you can read more about animal facts here. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hak_Ty

interesting animal facts

Interesting And Funny Animal Pictures

2009-04-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting Facts And Stories About The Wolf

2009-04-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

interesting animal facts

It is estimated that North American and Eurasian wolves have only been known about for about 150,000 years.

A wolf is a predator, which hunts and eats other animals and belongs to the same genus as the dog, Some considering it to be actually the parent species of the dog, It is a fact, that wild dogs often look more like wolves, than they do their domestic brothers. Actually, Wolves will sometimes breed with dogs, or coyotes, when the wolf family is reduced, for one reason, or another.

The greatest number of wolves are found in northern Europe, North America and northern Asia and are part of the Canidae family - canis lupus.

The wolf found in Europe, also northern Asia is more of a grayish yellow colour, It has fairly long, coarse hair and a bushy tail. It moves very swiftly, often in packs when hunting bison and other animals. Rarely attacks man unless driven to it by extreme hunger.

In the north-western states of America the dusky wolf is the most noticeable species. The black, white and rufous wolves are more often seen in the south.

The black wolf is the more often seen, found in the Pyrenees, Spain areas. Was quite common in Russia. Canada is home to the grey wolf, and is occasionally seen in the forests of the New England area.

The coyote, sometimes spoken about as 'the prairie wolf', is not really a proper wolf at all, but a creature similar to the jackal.

To survive, the wolf has to be very nimble minded and thankfully, are not easily trapped. They have even been known to bite off the trigger, close to a set-gun and then eat the bait. They have even been known to actually drag up a set fishing line from out of ice holes and eat the fish.

Wolves survive anywhere that has sufficient food, plus human tolerance. Humans should learn to share this planet with all creatures. After all, wolves are simply animals fighting to survive here, as we are.

Wolves have very social instincts. They have a complex facial and body language. It helps them to intercommunicate with each other. Their howl, is used to communicate with other wolves.

Packs of wolves are great travelers, often covering more than 30 more miles in a day, while seeking food, during winter.

But at any time they are territorial creatures and need extensive areas in which to hunt for their food. What is not well known, is in truth, the fact that wolves are are not an efficient killing machine, when it comes to pulling down big and healthy prey, which have a capable defence. In fact, the kill rate, under those conditions can be as low as only one in five.

The wolf is a very mobile animal. Years ago when the wolf population had dropped a pack left Yellowstone Park each winter and travelled 300 miles, in a two way journey up to the Crazy Mountains, Yellowstone National Park has long been the epicenter, of debates over the wolf.

There have been documented cases of wolves killing cougars and vice versa in and around Yellowstone National Park. When camping at parks, such as Yellowstone, remember that Wolves are wild animals and should be treated as such. In other words, treat them with respect and do not feed them. Wolves are an endangered species Happily though they seem to be making a comeback in some several National Parks and the northern Rockies.

Sadly, outside the parks protection, there are some places in which wolves are cruelly trapped. This occurs in areas mostly where it is legal, using cruel snares, or inhumane and despicable leg traps. This causes unimaginable suffering to these noble animals and should be outlawed, as it has been, for many years, in more civilized areas of the world.

In Alaska, the so called, cowardly 'sportsmen', have once again taken up hunting and killing wolves from aircraft. Often, they only injure the poor creatures and just fly away, abandoning them to die a slow, lonely and painful death. This abomination, which they call 'sport', has the blessing of the governor of Alaska, a particularly odious and cruel person. The citizens of Alaska have what they deserve - a despot, but certainly not a man of honor - or even one worthy of the name, 'man', in charge.

Hopefully, mankind will learn to share his world with wolves and all other sea and land creatures, thus allowing our future generations to be able to experience wild creatures living in their natural habitats. Not only through television wildlife shows, or at zoos.

Ray Cunningham, enjoys all animals and birds.Has built a new web site at http://www.raygc.com/Wildlife/ Where these and other beautiful and exclusive, wildlife prints, may be obtained. He is also adding to his Squidoo sites, where he hopes to show you some videos of these and other animals. Go here: http://www.squidoo.com/Wolves
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Cunningham

interesting animal facts