Animal Facts

Penguins used to be as tall as humans!

Scientists recently found what appears to be the tallest penguin ever! Two new fossilized species have been found in New Zealand and one, the Kairuku grebneffi, is almost five feet tall! The skeletons were found nearly twenty years ago and have since been studied by a group of scientists from North Carolina State University.

Over fifty different species of extinct penguins have been found, yet scientists are so astonished at the stunning size of the Kairuku, which translates to “food diver.” The species dates back around 27 million years and it looks nothing like any other penguins seen, either alive or dead.

This species was slim, had long flippers and strong rear limbs, and although they have been intensely studied, scientists remain stumped as to the reason behind their incredible size.

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Lobsters are potentially immortal!

Scientists have recently discovered that lobsters might have the potentially live forever. That is, unless it's in front of you while you're wearing a bib at Red Lobster. Scientists have described lobsters as 'eating, molting, and growing machines.'

Lobsters don't stop growing. The biggest one's they've observed weigh more than 40 pounds. However, they think there could be much bigger lobster in the ocean because it appears lobsters just wear out very slowly.

More specifically, lobsters show no signs of aging. They don't lose appetite, sex drive, energy or even experience changes in metabolism as they grow older. This means that barring predators or disease, they really could potentially live forever.

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Want to prevent a tiger attack? Wear a mask behind your head!

People in the Ganges Delta in India have found a good way to prevent being mauled by Bengal tigers: Wearing a mask behind their head. Workers in the area forests came up with the idea, arguing that tigers only attack people from behind.

In a three-year span, no people wearing masks were killed. By comparison, 29 people were killed in an overlapping 18-month period. Other methods that they have to prevent attacks are human-shaped dummies made of bamboo and mud, dressed in clothes with human scent and attached to electric wires. This, they hoped, would dissuade tigers from attacking humans, thinking they would all give them a little jolt.

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Playing a B flat on a tuba arouses male alligators.

In a 2007 news story, it was revealed that a reporter from Tampa, Florida, was successful in trying to replicate an experiment conducted on 1944. The experiment, “Response of Captive Alligators to Auditory Stimulation,” had one goal, which was to see how gators reacted to certain sounds (as the name suggests).

The experiment was conducted at Gatorland, a tourist attraction near Kissimmee, Florida. William Mickelsen, the Florida Orchestra’s star tuba player and one of his students played different notes on the tuba to see how gators reacted. When a B flat was played, alligators swam toward the tuba players.

When the tuba players went down to the boardwalk and played through the wood, the male alligators even repeated the B flat. It was also confirmed that it is only the mating male alligators who are attracted.

They are famously noisy during the spring (mating season), which could explain a link to the response to the B flat. Tim Williams, an alligator wrangler who guided the group, claims to have also heard gators respond to the sound of airboats.

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There was a rare breed of curly-haired pigs that went extinct in 1972!

Pigs are known for being relatively hairless, pink and porky. Just like any species though, there are always exceptions. The 'Lincolnshire Curly Coat,' as it's name implies, actually had a curly coat. It was also known for it's hardy nature. Unfortunately, this rare breed went extinct in 1972.

Before this, in the early 1900's, Hungarians crossed the Lincolnshire with a similar curly coated pig of theirs called the Mangalitza. The result was the "Lincolista" or the the "Curly Coated Mangalitza." They can have blonde, red or black coats.

With the support of the British Pig Association, Paradise Pig Farm, a rare big breeding organization, decided to continue to breed these Mangalitza pigs.

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