All posts in Odd Animal Facts

Although an average goldfish only lives for 20 years, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest goldfish ever recorded lived to be 43 years old.  The goldfish was a male named “Tish” who was won by a 7 year old named Peter Hand at a fanfare in 1956 in  Yorkshire, England.  Tish grew to 11.5cm over the course of his lifetime and his color faded from bright orange to silver as he aged.  Tish passed away inside his bowl in 1999 of natural causes, 2 years after he had surpassed the previous world record holder, Worthing (41) who had held the title since 1980.

Have you heard the old tale that a goldfish memory span lasts only up to 3 seconds?  The media has tricked us into believing that goldfish are forgetful creatures through such characters as Dory from the popular film, Finding Nemo.  Come to find out, this is completely false.  According to scientists, a goldfish can store memories and recall them for up to 5 months.  This was tested and proven with a series of trials by researchers from the Technical Institute of Technology in Israel.  The fish subjects were taught to respond to certain sounds in captivity, then several months later, still recognized those same sounds (even in the wild)!  So, the next time someone says, “You’ve got the memory of a goldfish,” don’t take it so hard.

There’s more chickens than humans in the world.  In fact, it’s estimated that there are 45,000 chickens for each individual person on the globe.  That’s a grand total of more than 30,000,000,000,000,000 chickens worldwide.

You’ve probably heard the popular myth about sharks and their immunity to cancer, but these tales are often told by profiteers looking to cash in on shark cartilage and it’s ability to cure or prevent cancer.  The fact is, although rare – sharks DO get cancer.  Studies of cancerous tumors inside sharks have been researched since as early as 1908, with 18 cases out of 1,168 species of sharks.

Roof Rat

Norway Rat

House Mouse

There are many different types of rats but the more common rats among humans are known as the:  Commensal Rodents.  The Commensal species are primarily made up of the Norway Rat (a.k.a Sewer Rat/House Rat/Wharf Rat or Barn Rat), Roof Rat, and house mouse because of their relationship with humans.  The Norway Rat and the Roof Rat look and live in different ways but they have a lot in common such as:  they’re both good swimmers, climbers, they both like to eat, and they’re constantly gnawing on something.

So why do rats need to gnaw on something all of the time? Rats in general have large incisor teeth that grow some five inches a year, so they must constantly chew in order to keep them from getting too large and unmanageable.

How often does a rat reproduce?  On average a female rat has six litters a year but higher litters have been recorded.  A rat can begin breeding around 3-4 months old, and in a year with some luck one female can produce 60-70 babies.  Research suggests that in a three year span, given the right conditions a pair of rats can produce 3.5 million offspring.

Do rats carry diseases?  Yes, rats carry and spread at least 35 different diseases along with mites, lice, fleas, and ticks.  Some diseases rats spread to humans are:  salmonella, rabies, ringworm, jaundice, typhus, etc…

Want to know more then visit, Center For Disease Control & Prevention at:

http://www.cdc.gov

Have you ever wondered how rat poison really kills a rat?  Rat poison kills a rat because it can’t vomit.  The main reason for this is that rats don’t have the neural connection that coordinates the muscles involved in the vomiting process.

Is it a myth that cheese is a rat’s favorite food?

Yes, a rat does like to eat cheese but I don’t think it would be considered their favorite food.  Instead, research suggests that domesticated rats tend to like veggies and meat more but wild rats are very cautious with what they eat but they tend to enjoy oats, peanut butter, and sugars.  A rat is a very intelligent and cautious animal by nature and it uses smell and taste to protect itself from eating things that will make it sick.  For example:  a rat uses smell and taste when trying a new food and if the food makes the rat sick and doesn’t kill the rat it will remember not to eat that food again in the future.

Additional Facts:

• A rat never gets heartburn.
• A rat never burps.
• Rats are colorblind.
• A rat can jump 48” sideways.
• Rats can jump up onto an object that is 38” higher than the surface they are standing on.
• A rat can survive a 50 ft. drop without getting severely injured.

Yes, a snail can hibernate 2-4 years before beginning its sluggishly slow journey looking for food.  Snails don’t like cold weather so they hibernate by building a door at the entrance of their shell with slime that hardens and this helps keep out cold weather and predators.

No, an elephant is the only animal on Earth that cannot jump.

A butterfly uses its feet to taste things.