Here's Some Fun Animal Facts For Your Kids

If you’re stuck on a few fun educational games to play with your kids, then check out these amazing animal facts. No matter how large or small these creatures are, you are guaranteed that your kids will find them interesting and can’t wait to learn.

The list below are some of the most popular animals ask questions about, so we thought we would dig a little deeper and find the answers to some of their questions.

Dolphins

1. Did you know that there are over 40 species of Dolphin on our planet? Most of them live in shallow or tropical regions and temperate oceans.
2. Even though Dolphins look cute and cuddly. Did you know that they were carnivores who most eat meat? The diet consists of a mixture of squid, fish and crustaceans ( lobster, shrimp, or barnacle). Their diet is healthy, since they go through about 33 pounds of fish each day.
3. Out of all the mammals, Dolphins are the most intelligent. In fact, some would argue that they are even smarter than apes (our closest animal cousin) and their brains have increased in size at a similar rate to humans.
4. They are part of the whale family that also includes Orcas and Pilot Whales. Did you know that killer whales are actually dolphins? In fact, they are considered the largest in the Dolphin family.

Snails

1. There are species of snails that have lungs and gills depending on where they live in the world and their habitat. It is based on whether they live on land or are marine snails.
2. The vast majority of snails are vegetarian or herbivores basically living on food like leaves, flowers, and stems. It is only the larger marine type snails that can be either carnivores (an animal that feeds on other animals) or omnivores (an animal or person that eats a variety of food of both plant and animal origin).
3. Most people associate snails as being quite small in size without realising that some African snails can grow to 38 cm (15 in) and weigh 1 kg (2lb).
4. Snails are often considered to be one of the slowest species on the planet. For example, the average speed of a snail is approximately 45 m (50 yards) per hour.

Cockroach

1. Did you know that the most common cockroach’s brain is actually in its body? This means that if you cut off its head, it still has the ability to survive for over a week. However, it eventually dies from starvation or dehydration.
2. There are well over 4600 different types of cockroaches in the world. However, only 30 are considered pests. They mainly live in the forest, caves, fields, and swamps.
3. Cockroaches can eat just about anything. They eat paper, cloths other insects, glue, hair, and even wood. This means they are unlikely to run out of food anytime soon.

Butterflies

1. A butterfly goes through many lifecycles from the egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and then adult. Each of the stages has a different goal. For example, at the caterpillar stage they need to eat a lot, but, once that reaches adulthood their main function is reproduction.
2. Caterpillars (more specifically, females) lay their eggs on leaves with a special glue and are normally deposited on the underside of a leaf or plant. This means when the eggs finally hatch, they have a ready supply of food instantly.
3. A lot of people assume that butterflies don’t live that long. But, they are able to survive anywhere from a week or even a year depending on the species.
4. The vast majority of people assume that butterflies have two wings. They would be wrong. They actually have 4 wings. two forewings and two hindwings. They are extremely strong and move in a figure-eight pattern during flight to achieve lift and stability.

Cats

1. Cats are the most popular pets in the world. There are over 500 million domestic cats and counting.
2. Cats have the ability to sleep on average 15 hours per day. Not because they are lazy, but to conserve energy. You make think they are soft and cuddly. However, in their genes, they are a predator which makes them hardwired to both chase and hunt in a second.
3. Some cats sleep with one eye open. They generally sleep this way so that they are to spring into action in a second. They go through a series of deep and mild sleep.

Dogs

1. Your dog is nearly as smart as a 2-year-old toddler. That’s why you often find that dogs and children of this age get on so well. In essence, they are speaking the same language and understand a similar number of words and gestures.
2. Cats and dogs slurp water in the exact same way. Most people think they do it differently, but the only difference is dogs are messier than cats.
3. The reason why dogs miss you when you are gone is that they have a sense of time. They know what time dinner is and when it’s time to go for a walk.

Chameleons

1. Their feet work like salad tongs - With evolution, their limbs have evolved in a totally different way to most animals. Its foot consists of two fleshy pads that appose each other. One pad has three digits while the other has two fused together.
2. Almost half of them live in Madagascar and there are around 200 of them. The next most populated county is India.
3. They come in a wild variety of different sizes. The smallest is the Brookesia micra is the smallest while the largest of the species is the Oustalet’s chameleon and the Parson’s chameleon which can grow up to 27 inches.

Bears

1. Most bears are Omnivores and eat both plants and meat. Fish and meat are quite important to their diet as it is an important form of protein and fat.
2. The majority of the bear population lives in Canada and is currently under high risk. There are currently less than 25,000 polar bears left living in the wild.
3. Some grizzly bears can reach a top speed of up to 35 miles per hour. Out of all of the bears, the black bear is considered to be one of the fastest.