We think animals are awesome and could easily watch cat videos on YouTube for ages, without even reaching for a snack. There’s so many species to learn about, we can never say we’re bored. Learn them all and impress your friends or any animals you might meet!

1. Giraffes eat their own snots!

Giraffes use their giant tongues to go rummaging for bogies, which is absolutely disgusting! Their tongues measure around 21 inches long and it’s normally used for eating stuff off trees instead.

2. The blue whale is a mammal!

This ocean giant is actually a mammal, not a fish. That’s because, like all other mammals, they need to breathe air. When a blue whale surfaces to take a breath, it exhales pressurised vapour from its blowhole. The vapour cloud can blast up to nine metres high – that’s around twice as tall as a giraffe! 

3. Goblin sharks existed millions of years ago!

Goblin sharks are often called a living fossil, this fearsome fish’s existence can be traced back several million years. The goblin shark is a rare deep-sea shark, and it can extend its whole jaw about 7cm to catch prey! 

4. Amazon Milk Frogs can be poisonous!

When Amazon Milk Frogs are threatened, they can release a milky liquid that is poisonous to any attacker! 

5. You’ll never see a frog drinking from a glass of water!

Frogs don’t drink water like we do. They absorb it through their skin. 

6. Bat poo can be explosive!

Bat poop was used during World War II to make explosives! The potassium nitrate in it is the same stuff that makes fireworks. 

7. Ghost sharks aren’t exactly sharks!

They certainly deserve credit for looking weird! Despite their name, ghost sharks are chimaeras. Chimaeras are a type of cartilaginous fish. They’re deep-sea dwellers and very rarely spotted… but they have haunted the planet for hundreds of millions of years!

8. The whiskers on a walrus have a special name!

The whiskers on a walrus are called vibrissae (vih-brih-say) and they have 400 – 700 of them surrounding their tusks that can grow up to 30cm long. Because the ocean floor is so dark and their vision poor, they use them to feel around for food. 

9. Badgers use poo and wee as a form of protection!

Families of badgers protect their territory by building a communal toilet so intruders will smell it and steer clear. 

10. Catfish whiskers aren’t made of hair!

They may look like cat whiskers, but they’re actually called barbels made from skin. Covered in thousands of taste buds, they’re used to smell food from miles away! Catfish come in all shapes and sizes, one was caught in Thailand that was as big as a grizzly bear

11. Don’t stand near a Humboldt penguin!

Humboldt penguins can project their poo over a metre! Sometimes it’s pink too depending on what they’ve eaten. We can guarantee it’s not candy floss.

12. Sloths have some serious moves when they need the loo!

When sloths need to do a number two, they perform a dance and wiggle their butts to dig a hole in the ground. 

13. The ornate horned-frog has a huge mouth!

They’re nicknamed Pac-Man for its ginormous mouth and round shape! It can swallow lizards, snakes, rodents and birds whole by grabbing them with its super-sticky giant tongue! 

14. The Golden Poison Dart Frog is extremely dangerous!

It’s the most poisonous frog on the planet, with skin so toxic it could kill two African bull elephants! Indigenous tribes in Colombia used the poison for the tips of their darts which is where the name came from!

15. Elephant poo can come in handy!

You can make paper out of elephant dung. They only digest about half their food so their poo is mostly made of fibre. One elephant can generate enough to make 100 pieces of paper a day

16. Lobsters store wee in their head!

A lobster’s bladder is in its head! When males fight, they squirt each other in the face with their pee. Ew! 

17. Rats can’t vomit!

Rats can’t puke so it’s dangerous for them to eat anything poisonous. When they find something safe, they pee on it to let other rats know it’s okay to eat. Can’t they just leave a note?

18. Bonobo monkeys cleared haven’t heard of tissues!

Bonobo monkeys clean out their babies’ nostrils by sucking out the bogies! 

19. The Emperor Tamarin was named after a German emperor!

The Emperor Tamarin after the German Emperor Wilhelm II as its white moustache looked just like his. They let other monkeys know they’re annoyed by sticking out their tongue at them. Cheeky!

20. Scientists haven’t named every animal yet!

Scientists estimate there are 8.7 million species on Earth with only 1.2 million having been identified so far! Get a move on, boffins!