People Share Interesting Wildlife Facts That Not A Lot Of People Know, Here Are The 10 Best Ones

On the surface level, we understand that animals, insects, and marine wildlife are, physically, quite different from us. But once you start to look more closely at their behavior and biology, there is a whole world of interesting and unusual parts most of us had no idea about.

Someone asked “What’s a fascinating fact about wildlife that most people are unaware of?” and people shared their best examples. From owl-head movements to the particularities of flamingo dining, get comfortable as you read through, upvote your favorites, and share your thoughts in the comments below.

10  PHOTOS

#1

There are reports of elephants finding humans sleeping under trees and the elephants think they're dead. People have woken up with elephants gently stroking them with their trunks and in some cases, they try to cover them with branches and sticks as a "burial"

Elephants are among the few animals who mourn their dead and have rituals.

#2

Vultures are really important for the ecosystems they live in, but a lot of vulture species are critically endangered due to human activity. Vultures have stomach acid so powerful that it can destroy things like botulism and anthrax, thus cleaning up the environment when they eat rotting meat that contains those things. There is evidence of a correlation between the drastic decline in India's vulture population and the boom in the stray dog population since fewer vultures mean more food for the dogs to scavenge. This has also sadly led to a rise in rabies which kills many people and animals. Many people find vultures scary, but for the most part, they are harmless and we need to have them around. Please consider supporting vulture conservation projects.

#3

Owls bob their heads up and down to help improve their depth of perception.

You can try it out yourself. Focus on an object and bob your head. It doesn't work for us, but you do look like an idiot.

#4

Raccoons have the most soft, velvety, devilish little hands.

Baby raccoons purr and knead like kittens. Did not know this myself until last spring when a wildlife rehabber posted a call to arms for people to help. (Figured I've raised enough neonatal kittens, my experience would be helpful.)

A ban has been lifted in my state and people are poisoning adult raccoons without considering the babies they are orphaning. Last year I raised and released 11. So far this year I've raised and released 27. I've also officially become a wildlife rehabber. One of the females I raised last year showed back up, babies in tow! Wasn't sure how she'd respond after being away for a bit but she let me check her out and treat her battle wounds.

#5

Elephants have a specific warning call that means “human.”.

#6

Manatees control their buoyancy by farting.

#7

Every single whiptail lizard is female. They reproduce by parthenogenesis, a natural form of asexual reproduction.

#8

Crows can mimic human voices similar to parrots. I experienced that firsthand while hunting on public land. Heard a little boy calling "MOM" "MOM!!" only to realize that the voice came from a crow flying overhead.

#9

Young goats pick up accents from each other, joining humans, bats, and whales as mammals known to adjust their vocal sounds to fit into a new social group.

#10

My favorite fact ever: penguins have knees. Will not baffle me. Knees.