Wolves

Fun Wolf Facts for Kids
 
Living and hunting in packs, wolves are wild dogs that come from the same group as the dingo and coyote.

They can reach speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph) when chasing prey and include a number of species such as the gray wolf (also known as the grey wolf or timber wolf), red wolf, arctic wolf, mexican wolf and white wolf. Read on for more interesting information and enjoy our full list of wolf facts.

    

• Wolves are excellent hunters and have been found to be living in more places in the world than any other mammal except humans.
• The wolf is the ancestor of all breeds of domestic dog. It is part of a group of animals called the wild dogs which also includes the dingo and the coyote.
• Most wolves weigh about 40 kilograms but the heaviest wolf ever recorded weighed over 80 kilograms!
• Adult wolves have large feet. A fully grown wolf would have a paw print nearly 13 centimetres long and 10 centimetres wide.
• Wolves live and hunt in groups called a pack. A pack can range from two wolves to as many as 20 wolves depending on such factors as habitat and food supply. Most packs have one breeding pair of wolves, called the alpha pair, who lead the hunt.
• Wolf pups are born deaf and blind while weighing around 0.5 kg (1 lb). It takes about 8 months before they are old enough to actively join in wolf pack hunts.
• Wolves in the Arctic have to travel much longer distances than wolves in the forest to find food and will sometimes go for several days without eating.
• When hunting alone, the wolf catches small animals such as squirrels, hares, chipmunks, raccoons or rabbits. However, a pack of wolves can hunt very large animals like moose, caribou and yaks.
• When the pack kills an animal, the alpha pair always eats first. As food supply is often irregular for wolves, they will eat up to 1/5th of their own body weight at a time to make up for days of missed food.
• Wolves have two layers of fur, an undercoat and a top coat, which allow them to survive in temperatures as low at minus 40 degrees Celsius! In warmer weather they flatten their fur to keep cool.
• A wolf can run at a speed of 65 kilometres per hour during a chase. Wolves have long legs and spend most of their time trotting at a speed of 12-16 kilometres per hour. They can keep up a reasonable pace for hours and have been known to cover distances of 90 kilometres in one night

Whales

Fun Whale Facts for Kids
 
Whales are huge, warm-blooded, air breathing mammals
that live in the sea. There are many different species
including the blue whale, killer whale, humpback whale, orca and minke.

Learn more about whale conservation, their habitat, migration and other interesting information with our fun whale facts.

    

• Many whales are toothless. They use a plate of comb-like fibre called baleen to filter small crustaceans and other creatures from the water.
• There are 79 to 84 different species of whale. They came in many different shapes and sizes!
• A baby whale is called a calf. Whales form groups to look after calves and feed together. These groups are often made up of all female or all male whales.
• Whales that are found in both Northern and Southern hemisphere never meet or breed together. Their migration is timed so that they are never in breeding areas at the same time.
• The arched lower lip of a whale can often make it look like it is smiling! However, this isn’t a “real” smile as the blubber in the head of the whale prevents the muscles of the face from reaching the surface.
• You can tell the age of a whale by looking at the wax plug in its ear. This plug in the ear has a pattern of layers when cut lengthwise that scientists can count to estimate the age of the whale.
• Whales love to sing! They use this as a call to mates, a way to communicate and also just for fun! After a period of time they get bored of the same whale song and begin to sing a different tune.
• Sometimes whales make navigation mistakes during migrations. Although they may have made the mistake days before, they don’t realise it until they becoming stranded.
• Whales support many different types of life. Several creatures, such as barnacles and sea lice, attach themselves to the skin of whales and live there.

Leopards

Fun Leopard Facts for Kids
 
Part of the cat family, leopard’s bodies are built for hunting. They are solitary animals, hunting at night and often drag their food up trees for safe keeping.

Read on for more interesting information and leopard facts.

    

• Leopards are part of the cat family, Felidae. The scientific name for a leopard is Panthera pardus.
• Leopards are well known for their cream and gold spotted fur, but some leopards have black fur with dark spots. These black leopards are often mistaken for panthers.
• Adult leopards are solitary animals. Each adult leopard has its own territory where it lives and, although they often share parts of it, they try to avoid one another.
• A leopard’s body is built for hunting. They have sleek, powerful bodies and can run at speeds of up to 57 kilometres per hour. They are also excellent swimmers and climbers and can leap and jump long distances.
• A leopard’s tail is just about as long as its entire body. This helps it with balance and enables it to make sharp turns quickly.
• Leopards are mostly nocturnal, hunting prey at night.
• Leopards protect their food from other animals by dragging it high up into the trees. A leopard will often leave their prey up in the tree for days and return only when they are hungry!
• Female leopards give birth to a little of two or three cubs at a time. By the time a cub is two years old it will leave the company of its mother and live on their own.
• When a female leopard is ready to mate she will give a scent and rub her body on the trees to leave her smell there. Male leopards either smell the females scent or hear her call to know that she is ready to mate.
• Some people believe that the bones and whiskers of leopards can heal sick people. Many leopards are killed each year for their fur and body parts and this is one reason why the leopard is an endangered animal. While they were previously found in the wild in a number of areas around the world, their habitat is largely restricted to sub-Saharan Africa with small numbers also found in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China and Indochina.

Elephants

Fun Elephant Facts for Kids
 
Check out these interesting elephant facts and learn more about the biggest land mammal in the world.

Elephants are unique animals that live in parts of Africa and Asia. Scroll down for more information.

    

• There are two types of elephant, the Asian elephant and the African elephant (although sometimes the African Elephant is split into two species, the African Forest Elephant and the African Bush Elephant).
• Elephants are the largest land-living mammal in the world.
• Both female and male African elephants have tusks but only the male Asian elephants have tusks. They use their tusks for digging and finding food.
• Female elephants are called cows. They start to have calves when they are about 12 years old and they are pregnant for 22 months.
• An elephant can use its tusks to dig for ground water. An adult elephant needs to drink around 210 litres of water a day.
• Elephants have large, thin ears. Their ears are made up of a complex network of blood vessels which help regulate their temperature. Blood is circulated through their ears to cool them down in hot climates.
• Elephants have no natural predators. However, lions will sometimes prey on young or weak elephants in the wild. The main risk to elephants is from humans through poaching and changes to their habitat.
• The elephant’s trunk is able to sense the size, shape and temperature of an object. An elephant uses its trunk to lift food and suck up water then pour it into its mouth.
• An elephant’s trunk can grow to be about 2 metres long and can weigh up to 140 kg. Some scientists believe that an elephant’s trunk is made up of 100,000 muscles, but no bones.
• Female elephants spend their entire lives living in large groups called herds. Male elephant leave their herds at about 13 years old and live fairly solitary lives from this point.
• Elephants can swim – they use their trunk to breathe like a snorkel in deep water.
• Elephants are herbivores and can spend up to 16 hours days collecting leaves, twigs, bamboo and roots.

Giraffes

Fun Giraffe Facts for Kids
 
Giraffes are the tallest land animals on earth thanks in part to their distinctive necks which alone can reach almost 2 meters in height.

Find out more about their habitat and other fun giraffe facts.

    

• A male giraffe can weigh as much as a pick up truck! That’s about 1400 kilograms.
• Although a giraffe’s neck is 1.5 – 1.8 metres, it contains the same number of vertebrae at a human neck.
• A giraffe's habitat is usually found in African savannas, grasslands or open woodlands.
• The hair that makes up a giraffes tail is about 10 times thicker than the average strand of human hair.
• The distinctive spots that cover a giraffe’s fur act as a good camouflage to protect the giraffe from predators. When the giraffe stands in front of trees and bushes the light and dark colouring of its fur blends in with the shadows and sunlight.
• It is possible to identify the sex of the giraffe from the horns on its head. Both males and females have horns but the females are smaller and covered with hair at the top. Male giraffes may have up to 3 additional horns.
• Giraffes are ruminants. This means that they have more than one stomach. In fact, giraffes have four stomachs, the extra stomachs assisting with digesting food.
• Drinking is one of the most dangerous times for a giraffe. While it is getting a drink it cannot keep a look out for predators and is vulnerable to attack.
• Male giraffes sometimes fight with their necks over female giraffes. This is called “necking”. The two giraffes stand side by side and one giraffe swings his head and neck, hitting his head against the other giraffe. Sometimes one giraffe is hit to the ground during a combat.
• A female giraffe gives birth while standing up. The calf drops approximately 6 feet to the ground, but it is not hurt from the fall.
• Giraffes have bluish-purple tongues which are tough and covered in bristly hair to help them with eating the thorny Acacia trees.

Cheetahs

Fun Cheetah Facts for Kids
 
Learn more about the cheetah by reading these fun cheetah facts. Cheetahs are part of the big cat family and while they can’t climb trees, they can run faster than any other land animal. Read on for more interesting cheetah information.

    

• The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. They can reach a top speed of around 113 km per hour.
• A cheetah can accelerate from 0 to 113 km in just a few seconds.
• Cheetahs are extremely fast however they tire quickly and can only keep up their top speed for a few minutes before they are too tired to continue.
• Cheetahs are smaller than other members of the big cat family, weighing only 45 – 60 kilograms.
• One way to always recognise a cheetah is by the long, black lines which run from the inside of each eye to the mouth. These are usually called “tear lines” and scientists believe they help protect the cheetah’s eyes from the harsh sun and help them to see long distances.
• Cheetahs are the only big cat that cannot roar. They can purr though and usually purr most loudly when they are grooming or sitting near other cheetahs.
• While lions and leopards usually do their hunting at night, cheetahs hunt for food during the day.
• A cheetah has amazing eyesight during the day and can spot prey from 5 km away.
• Cheetahs cannot climb trees and have poor night vision.
• With their light body weight and blunt claws, cheetahs are not well designed to protect themselves or their prey. When a larger or more aggressive animal approaches a cheetah in the wild, it will give up its catch to avoid a fight.
• Cheetahs only need to drink once every three to four days.

Frogs

Fun Frog Facts for Kids

Frogs are fascinating animals that feature unique behaviors and characteristics.

Keep reading for more interesting information and frog facts.

    

• A frog is an amphibian. They lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into a tadpole which lives in water until it metamorphoses into an adult frog.
• Tadpoles look more like fish than frogs, they have long finned tails and breathe through gills.
• An amphibian can live both on land and in water.
• Although frogs live on land their habitat must be near swamps, ponds or in a damp place. This is because they will die if their skin dries out.
• Instead of drinking water, frogs soak it into their body through their skin.
• Frogs breathe through their nostrils while also absorbing about half the air they need through their skin.
• Frogs use their sticky, muscular tongue to catch and swallow food. Unlike humans, their tongue is not attached to the back of its mouth. Instead it is attached to the front, enabling the frog to stick its tongue out much further.
• The common pond frog is ready to breed when it is only three years old.
• Frogs in the wild face many dangers and are lucky to survive several years. In captivity however, frogs can live for much longer.  
• Frogs can see forwards, sideways and upwards all at the same time. They never close their eyes, even when they sleep.
• Remarkably, frogs actually use their eyes to help them swallow food. When the frog blinks, its eyeballs are pushed downwards creating a bulge in the roof of its mouth. This bulge squeezes the food inside the frog's mouth down the back of its throat.