20 Weird But Unexpectedly Cool Animal Facts

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 26, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

As people who absolutely love animals more than anything in the world, one of the things we like the most is learning more things about them. Whether it's learning the secrets of the fossils in the Appalachian mountains, learning about the fact that octopuses like to punch fish for no reason whatsoever every once in a while, or reading about cool and underrated wild cats. 

We like to learn all of it, and listicles of funny, amusing, and kiiinda ridiculous animal factsare some of our absolutely favorites. The funnier they are and the weirder they are, the more we like them. And you're about to read a whole new collection of 20 weird but unexpectedly cool animal facts and stories. 

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  • 01
    Water - Tigers can, and will, take revenge on those who have wronged them. They are one of the most vengeful animals on the planet. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird

    If only we can have a smidge of their confidence. Yes - we can and will have that terrifying conversation with our boss or our teacher or our parents that we have been avoiding, and we will get through that conversation without bursting into tears. We will. And then, we will get vengeance on all those who have wronged us. Baby steps.

  • 02
    Cat - A cat in New Zealand tricked two different women into owning him. Neither knew they had the same cat until after he went to the vet for stitches. The cat got to keep both names as well as both owners through a shared custody agreement. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird

    Why are we not even a little bit surprised? We mean, cats domesticated themselves, they know that we are whipped for them, why wouldn't they take advantage of it? But, this is a new level of impressive, and we have to give credit where credit is due. Again, ugh, if we could only have an itty bitty bit of their confidence, we will get vengeance- fine, conversation with mom first. Baby steps. 

  • 03
    Water - In 1935, fishermen caught a tiger shark and put it on display in an aquarium in Sydney, where it vomited a human arm. A shark expert concluded that the shark had not bitten it off, and the limb had been cleanly removed with a blade. The arm also had a tattoo, which revealed that it belonged to a man who had gone missing a few weeks earlier, resulting in a murder investigation and arrest of the criminals. Photo courtesy of Albert kok / wikimedia weird-facts.org
    via @factsweird, Albert kok / wikimedia
  • 04
    Insect - Mosquitoes are the only creature responsible for the deaths of more humans than humans themselves. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 05
    Cat - Siamese cats change colors depending on temperature. They have a gene that inhibits pigment, but only when above a certain temperature. That's why they typically have color around their ears, paws, and tails – the coolest parts of their bodies. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 06
    Photograph - The difference between poisonous and venomous animals: If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it's venomous. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 07
    Water - Larger crocodiles can go for over a year without eating a meal. In extreme situations, crocodiles appear to be able to shut down and live off their own tissue for a long period of time. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 08
    Water resources - The mugger crocodile has been documented balancing sticks and branches on its head to lure in birds searching for sticks for their nests. This is the first known example of tool use in a reptile. Photo courtesy of Vladimir Dinets weird-facts.org
    via @factsweird, Vladimir Dinets
  • 09
    Nose - When a dog sees its owner, their brain releases oxytocin – The same chemical found in humans who are in love or bonding with friends. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 10
    Sky - Owls make almost no noise when flying, even when tested in a room with multiple microphones. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 11
    Organism - Honeybees can be trained to locate landmines due to their acute sense of smell. Croatian scientists mixed a sugar solution with a small amount of TNT – and after about five minutes of hunting for this doped sugar solution, the honeybees were trained to flock to the smell of TNT. - weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 12
    Matador - ENT COR Wpr Bulls don't hate the color red. In bullfights, they charge at the cape because of the motion it makes when the matador waves it. The reason the capes are red is to mask the bloodstains from the fight. Photo courtesy of Hans Watson / Flickr weird-facts.org
    via @factsweird, Hans Watson / Flickr
  • 13
    Organism - The world's 1st cat video is credited to Thomas Edison, and shows 2 cats boxing inside a tiny ring. The 20 second video was filmed in 1894, which makes cat videos older than cheeseburgers. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 14
    Bird - Crows love to pull tails. It's a strategy they use to distract an animal from eating so they can steal its food, but they've also been known to do it just for fun. Photo courtesy of Julie Edgley / Flickr @factsweird
    via @factsweird, Julie Edgley / Flickr
  • 15
    Nature - Honey badger eats porcupines and poisonous snakes, raids beehives for honey, kidnaps baby cheetahs, and steals food from hungry lions. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 16
    Bird - The first poisonous bird to be recorded is the Hooded Pitohui, with its feathers, skin and tissues having a dangerous neurotoxin called Batrachotoxin. In high enough doses, such toxins can lead to paralysis and death. The only other animal known to have the same poison is the Dart Frog. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Freeman / wikipedia weird-facts.org
    via @factsweird, Benjamin Freeman / wikipedia
  • 17
    Dog - In 2010, a man in England was arrested for recording his neighbor's noisy dogs and replaying the noise at full volume over the neighbor's fence. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 18
    Cat - There's an entire breed of dwarf cats with abnormally short legs. They are called Munchkin Cats. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird
  • 19
    Bird - Bald eagles are pretty romantic animals and usually mate for life. They also share parenting duties, and they both feed their young. Photo courtesy of marneejill / flickr weird-facts.org
    via @factsweird, marneejill / flickr
  • 20
    Nature - Sergeant Stubby, the 'Hero Dog of WWI,' once caught a German soldier by the seat of his pants and held him until American soldiers came. He also served in 17 battles, saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, and helped locate wounded soldiers. weird-facts.org @factsweird
    via @factsweird

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nature cool hilarious wtf facts lol amazing ridiculous silly funny weird animals fun facts
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