8203 best r/Awwducational images on Pholder | Despite its name, the crabeater seal does not feed on crabs. Rather, it is a specialist predator on Antarctic krill. In fact, their finely lobed teeth are adapted to filtering their small crustacean prey.

Despite its name, the crabeater seal does not feed on crabs. Rather, it is a specialist predator on Antarctic krill. In fact, their finely lobed teeth are adapted to filtering their small crustacean prey.

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A small elephant was found in Sri Lanka. His height is about 1.5 meters. This is considered proof of dwarfism in the wild.

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The Pallid Bat mostly eats ground dwelling arthropods, such as desert scorpions and centipedes, rather than catching insects in the air. But pallid bats have also been found visiting cactus flowers and are effective pollinators!

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Only two dwarf giraffes have ever been documented. This is one of them. His name's Gimli.

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The resplendent quetzal is a sacred symbol in Mesoamerica and Guatemala's national bird, pictured on the country's flag. They favor eating fruit in the avocado family, eating them whole before regurgitating the pits. Essentially making them the avocado gardeners of their forest habitats.

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The Buff-Tip Moth: the resting posture, shape, and color/pattern of the buff-tip moth allows it to mimic a broken birch twig; the moth's buff-colored head and the patches on its hindwings even resemble freshly-snapped wood

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The fossa is Madagascar's top predator. It is the only animal that hunts the island's lemurs, able to move swiftly through the trees. Unlike most animals, it isn't active at a set time, making it cathemeral - it wakes and sleeps whenever it feels like it.

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Bat toes are specially designed to relax in a locked position. This means that when bats are clinging on to the roof of a cave or tree, they are actually relaxing their feet. It takes energy to release their grip and open up their little toes before taking off to fly in the night

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Arguably the most colourful spider in the world, Chrysilla Volupe is a jumping spider native to Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Thought to be extinct for 150 years, it was rediscovered in 2018.

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Because of high mortality in the first year of life, a robin has an average life expectancy of 1.1 years; however, once past its first year, life expectancy increases. One robin has been recorded as reaching 19 years of age.

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Manatees are found in freshwater and saltwater and often pass through narrow, shallow tidal creeks.

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Done brushing your dog? Birds love using the hair to build nests. Set aside one birdfeeder to fill with hair.

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Unlike most other ducks, the wood duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season—the only North American duck that can do so.

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Manatees will eat almost any vegetation they can reach, not just sea grass.

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The Indian Giant Squirrel can grow to a full length of over a metre

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Burrowing owls are unique in that they nest underground. They often utilize abandoned burrows dug by ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and other mammals!

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Japanese honey bees (Apis cerana japonica) have a unique defense against raiding “murder hornets”. They mob the intruder and vibrate so intensely that they boil the hornet alive.

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Due to their diet, it is not possible for pregnant bats to acquire sufficient calcium. Mother bats donate the calcium from their own skeleton to their developing infant and experience osteoporosis for a time. At birth, bat pups may already be 20% or more of their mother’s mass.

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Tigers are carnivores, but will eat fruit in order to ease digestion

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Penguin chicks, because of their fat insulation, when they get too hot, they pant and stick their legs out, which cools them off

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It takes bald eagles about five years to obtain their white head! These pictures are of the same bird taken years apart, illustrating the difference between juvenile and subadult plumage.

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Scientists taught pet parrots to video call each other. The parrots that learned to initiate video chats with other pet parrots had a variety of positive experiences, such as learning new skills including flying, foraging and how to make new sounds. Some parrots showed their toys to each other.

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Rats giggle when you tickle them. Their voices are so high-pitched you need special equipment to hear them, but when you do, their laughs are immediately evident.

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Seagulls stomping on grass is called, the rain dance. This mimics rain by vibration, and brings earthworms and other bugs to surface.

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The Sword-billed hummingbird has the longest beak to body ratio of any bird [OC]

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Bats are too small and their hearts are too powerful for blood to pool in their heads while hanging upside down.

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Mandarin duck. They have been known to cover 500 miles in 24 hours.

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Young hedgehogs have to learn how to fully ball up as they grow, it isn't an immediate process but an important step in their development.

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Most primates have flat nails and opposable thumbs for grasping objects. Pygmy marmoset fingernails are like claws to help them climb tree trunks and they do not have opposable thumbs.

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While yawning is considered an involuntary reflex in many vertebrates, there is evidence that yawning can be contagious in the social context of promoting group bonding. Just after the mother caracal yawns, the baby instinctually copy cats her in order to create a stronger familial relationship.

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Native to India, Sloth bears are the only Ursids known to carry their young for extended periods. Cubs will ride on their mother’s backs for six to seven months after leaving the den.

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There are more than 530 species of flowering plants that rely on bats as either their major or exclusive pollinators.

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Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is the smallest cat in Africa (up to 5 lbs) and can hunt preys bigger than himself.

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Dogs sneeze while playing to let other dogs know they are playing and aren't trying to be aggresive

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The Dracula parrot is a large, heavy bird, stretching to almost half a metre from beak to tail and weighing in at almost a kilogram. It maintains all that bulk by feeding almost exclusively on figs, which researchers suspect is why it ended up with its strange semi-bald head.

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Bohemian Waxwings have an uncanny ability to find fruit nearly everywhere, almost like they have a GPS tracker for berries. Flocks sometimes turn up in desert areas, find an isolated shrub, devour its fruit in minutes, and move on.

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There are only 880 mountain gorillas left...

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A baby king crab clinging to a sea pig. Baby king crabs are known to seek refuge with sea pigs, and the sea pigs don’t seem to mind. They have a symbiotic relationship.

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The great eared nightjar is the largest species in the family in terms of length, which can range from 31 to 41 cm., making it the second heaviest species in the family after the nacunda nighthawk

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Horseshoe Crabs swim upside down

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Aardwolves are neither aardvarks nor wolves. They are actually related to hyenas, but with one big exception - aardwolves feed mainly on termites, around 200,000 a day. This diet helps aardwolves maintain their protein and moisture needs in some of the driest places in Africa.

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In most deer species, only the males grow antlers. For reindeer, both the males and females grow them. A female reindeer begins growing antlers in May and keeps them all the way until after the Winter birthing season to protect their young from predators (perfect Mother's Day fact) :)

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The wings of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) are covered in tiny scales. For some butterflies, such as this Rhetenor Blue Morpho, their coloration comes not from pigmentation but from the refraction of light off the shape of these tiny structures.

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Elephants are intelligent, social, empathetic animals who display 'ah ha' spontaneous problem solving behaviour. As babies they tend to be helpless, relying on their moms until they're three.

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An American woodcock and her two chicks are searching for food together using a remarkably bouncy walk, which resembles a dance, that helps them stir up worms. The younglings are mimicking their mother's actions as they motion forward and feel for the movements of worms in the soil with their feet.

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When there’s a threat nearby, baby gharials crawl onto the back of a large parent that’s designated as the “guardian.” These endangered crocodiles nest in communities and the guardians are like babysitters, overseeing dozens of hatchlings.

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Pigs are known for being very sociable and intelligent, and this is especially the case for Vietnamese potbellied pigs (pictured on left with a family of pups).

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In most western cultures, black cats are considered a bad omen. But in Scottish lore, the arrival of a strange black cat signifies prosperity.

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When you tickle rats, they laugh. Their voices are so high-pitched that you need special equipment to hear them, but once you do, you can hear their laughter right away.

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The pink-colored Amazon river dolphins inhabit river systems throughout South America. The reason for their color isn't fully known. Pinkness varies between individuals but seems to increase with age and is more prominent in males. They have also been observed to flush bright pink when excited.

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The average monarch butterfly will increase their mass by 2000x in the caterpillar stage, taking 9-14 days. This is only 7 days of growth!

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Happy Squidtember! I'm a squid biologist here to answer all your squid questions. AMA!

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Black otter rex rabbits, the breed stock of which was developed in France in 1919, are jet black on their upper sides and pale buff on their bellies. Their reputed velvety, super softness derives from the downy hairs of the undercoat growing just as long as the guard hairs of the top coat.

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Deer and other grazing animals with horizontal pupils rotate their eyes while they graze so the pupil remains parallel with the ground. They're on a constant lookout for predators.

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The Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari) is a small harmless, mainly nocturnal snake with eyes that are small and are located on the top of the head.

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Decorator crabs pick up plants and animals in their environment and stick them onto their body to camouflage themselves and look fabulous.

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The Vietnamese mossy frog spends most of its time mimicking a clump of moss, almost undetectable to predators. It can be found in mossy caves as well as in mountain streams with only its eyes protruding to keep watch. When frightened it will roll into a ball and play dead.

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Lynx have evolved enormous paws to distribute weight better in snow, acting like natural snowshoes.

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The concept of alpha wolves is wrong, that concept was based on the old idea that wolves fight within a pack to gain dominance and that the winner is the ‘alpha’ wolf. However, most wolves who lead packs achieved their position simply by mating and producing pups, which then became their pack.

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Red Pandas can stand on their hind legs to make themselves appear larger. They also have false thumbs, which is an extension of the wrist bone, to aid them in grasping their food.

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Despite the name, Musk Ox are actually more closely related to Sheep and Goats than they are to Oxen or other Cattle.

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A newborn Chinese Water Deer is so small it can almost be held in the palm of the hand. When it matures, instead of growing antlers, they grow long upper canine teeth gaining them the name Vampire Deer.

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Gharials fathers are extremely devoted to their young. Carrying over 100 hatchlings on his back and protecting them from predators.

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Here's Twinzy, a half-sider budgie, half-siders are budgies with a condition called chimerism which, in genetics, means that it's the result of non-identical twins fusing together early in their development to become one!

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Unlike most turtle species, female Blanding's turtles typically have several mates per season who collectively guard her nest.

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The Australian Western Pygmy Possum is actually one of the largest pygmy possums in the world despite being no larger than a typical kiwi fruit.

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Arctic Foxes Are 'Ecosystem Engineers' Who Grow Beautiful Gardens. Organic waste from the foxes & their kills make the area surrounding their dens more fertile, leading to almost three times as many dune grasses, willows & wildflowers to sprout up, compared to the rest of the tundra.

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New study shows “Rollie Pollies” remove heavy metals from soil and protect groundwater. Thank you to these little helpers!

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Plateau pika, Ochotona curzoniae, use domestic yak feces as a food supplement, that help pikas survive the harsh winter of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

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Songbirds like this indigo bunting use the stars to navigate while migrating. Studies show that the birds especially rely on the North Star, Ursa Major, and Cassiopeia

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No bat species is blind and flying foxes rely on their large eyes and nose to navigate. They are unable to echolocate.

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The giant wood moth is one of the largest moth species in the world. According to the Australian Museum, adult females are about twice as large as males, can weigh up to 30 grams, and have a wingspan of up to 25 centimeters. They live in the forests of Australia and New Zealand

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Asian Elephants will gestate young for 18 to 22 months. Meaning they have one of the longest pregnancy of any land animal, only rivaled by African Elephants. They typically only have one calf, but for a female at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in New York, she was carrying double the cuteness!

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Captain Cook collected quolls along the east coast in 1770, and recorded 'quoll' as their local Aboriginal name. Quolls were often seen by early settlers, who called them 'native cat', 'native polecat' and 'spotted marten', names based on familiar European animals.

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Golden pheasants, also known as 'rainbow pheasants' due to their ornate colours, are shy birds native to forested mountains in China. The courtship rituals of these birds are intense. While not generally aggressive, the males have been known to fight each other to the death for the right to mate.

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The male of the purple-gold jumping spider (Irura bidenticulata) is recognized by its striking, shiny magenta-gold patterned body. It was discovered in 2011 in southeast Asia. The purple-gold jumping spider typically measures 5–6 mm. It is not considered harmful to humans.

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Newborn sandgrouse chicks are covered with thick, highly-camouflaged down that matches their surroundings and leave the nest soon after hatching. Since they are precocial, the parents do not provide them with any food, however, the chicks learn, with parental guidance, what is and is not edible.

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Arctic Fox yawning, unperturbed by the cold thanks to its thick, insulating coat which allows it to survive temperatures that other organisms cannot

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Blue carpenter bees, native to southern Asia, make honey like European honeybees, but it’s much thicker and denser than the honey we’re used to, like cookie dough or peanut butter consistency. The female bees mix this honey with pollen to create ‘bee bread’ upon which they lay their eggs.

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This is the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. It lives in sub-alpine forests in Japan and feeds on leaves, bark, fruit and seeds.

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Researchers at the Tel Aviv University found out that bat squeaks are not random. They actually argue with each other. They even use different to es of voice while talking to different individuals.

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The least weasel is the smallest member of the order Carnivora, an order of mammals which includes cats, dogs, bears, hyenas and seals. While it is usually brown with a white underside, in the northern parts of its range it changes its color to pure white in the winter.

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When the weather is hot, zebra finches in Australia sing to their eggs - and these incubation calls change the chicks' development.

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B ats use their voices to echolocate, but they also use them to croon. The more biologists look at bat courtship behaviors, the more they are finding accomplished singers.

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Seals will perform the banana pose when they are feeling safe and content. Lifting their heads and flippers into to the air also helps to regulate their body temperature and keeps their extremities dry when close to water.

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Hippos were thought to ‘sweat blood’. A thick red substance containing hipposudoric acid, which is red, and norhipposudoric acid, which is orange oozes from glands over its skin helping to control body temperature , and acting as a sunscreen and antibiotic.

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Silver foxes are the melanistic versions of Red foxes. In total, Silver foxes make up roughly 10% of the total red fox population.

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The lowland paca is considered an ecosystem engineer due to the behavior of excavating multiple burrows on its territory, these burrows sometimes provide shelter for other species. It will also disperse seeds throughout its territory; several tree species depend on it for distribution.

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Kakapo: A large flightless forest-dwelling parrot, with a pale owl-like face. Kakapo are moss green mottled with yellow and black above, and similar but more yellow below. The bill is grey, and the legs and feet grey with pale soles. Kakapo was chosen as the bird of New Zealand in 2020.

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Virginia opossums have a gestational period of only 12 days. They are weaned off their mother’s milk after 70 to 125 days, after which they lead mostly solitary lives.

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The spiny hill terrapin, native to southeast Asia, is largely a forest dwelling turtle, inhabiting hill areas above 900m above sea level. It is well camouflaged amongst the leaf litter, but it will make occasional forays to streams and puddles. The species is listed as endangered.

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The Pudu Deer is the world’s smallest deer. They live in bamboo thickets to hide from predators.

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The marine iguana is the only ocean-dwelling lizard on the planet. While grazing on seaweed in the ocean, it ingests a lot of extra salt. It has special glands that filter salt from its blood, allowing it to sneeze it out through its nose. This leaves it with a crown of encrusted salt on its head.

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An albino Galapagos giant tortoise baby was recently born at a Swiss zoo, and it is considered the first albino of this species ever observed, both in captivity and in the wild. The Galapagos giant tortoise, native to seven of the Galapagos Islands, is the largest living species of tortoise.

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Marine iguanas have a mutualistic relationship with lava lizards, as the lizards often scurry over them to hunt flies. As the iguanas are herbivores, they rely on the lizards to remove the flies.

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An Elephant Recognizes The Vet Who Saved Him When He Was About To Die 12 Years Ago.The researchers concluded that elephants can recognize and track as many as 30 of their companions.

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Sea otters have baggy pockets of loose skin under their armpits that they use to store food or their favorite rocks which they use for cracking open mollusks or clams.

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Manatees have a prehensile upper lip, each side is capable of moving independently of the other. This helps them grab vegetation & algae.

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Beavers are a keystone species, meaning they have a large impact on their environment. Their dams make cleaner water, more nutrient dense soil, increase ground water storage, create more wetland habitats, and are responsible for the cycle of the forest!

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Pangolins, despite looking similar to anteaters and armadillos, they are actually closer related to bears, cats, and dogs.

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Pygmy hippos are critically endangered, with less than 3,000 in the wild. The San Diego Zoo has bred one for the first time in three decades. His name is Akobi, and he’s two months old.

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This is a brown long-eared bat pup (Plecotus auritus). When fully grown, they use those large ears to the locate insects it feeds on. They are found throughout Europe and will sometimes roost in human structures, such as bridges and buildings.

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King cheetahs are variety of cheetahs with a rare mutation caused by a recessive allele. Their cream-colored fur are marked with large, blotchy spots and three dark, wide stripes extend from the neck to the tail.

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Some Wolves in British Columbia are known as “sea wolves” and they swim several miles every day to find food. As much as 90% of their diet comes from the sea. They have a distinct DNA that sets them apart from other wolves.

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This little African Crested porcupine is only 4 weeks old. They are born precocial, so their eyes are open, their teeth are well-formed and they can run around with their parents right after birth.

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These guys are goldcrests, the smallest birds in Europe. They weigh 1/100th of a pound and their eggs are the size of peas. They also looks really grumpy all the time.

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Black-footed ferrets are among the most endangered and rarest mammals native to North America. In fact, the species was declared extinct in 1979, however, in 1981 a residual wild population was discovered in Wyoming. This ferret, born in 2020, was the first ever U.S. endangered animal to be cloned.

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Polar Bears are born with Pink Tongues, which after a few months turn a darker Blue/Black color. (Photo Credit: Rick Little - Instagram)

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This is a volcano snail. Their shells are made of iron and they live around hydrothermal vents that can reach up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Some frog species such as the four-eyed frog (top) have evolved poisonous glands that serve as 'eyespots' on their rears. Raising their rears, and sometimes inflating them like the Cuyaba dwarf frog (bottom), they trick predators into thinking they're the heads of larger animals.

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Gerenuks are long-necked antelopes, with small heads and large eyes and ears. They will stand up straight on their hind legs gracefully when feeding to reach the best vegetation, often using their front legs to lean on the tree trunk. They can even walk on their hind legs for short distances.

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Binturongs, also known as bearcats, mark their territories using scent glands under their tails by rubbing them against foliage. This communicates to other binturongs that the area is occupied and helps potential mates find each other. To humans, this scent smells like buttered popcorn.

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Smallest cow was born in Bangladesh; meet Rani

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Caracal kittens are born with their eyes closed and their ears curled up. It takes three full weeks for their characteristic ears to unfurl.

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Kodkods are the smallest wild felid in the Americas and have the smallest distribution of any cat in the Americas. They occur only in Central and Southern Chile, with marginal populations in adjoining areas of Argentina.

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Red pandas eat up to 30% of their body weight in bamboo every day, although they can supplement this with higher calorie foods such as fruit, eggs and insects

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The male cardinal fiercely defends its breeding territory from other males. When a male sees its reflection in glass surfaces, it frequently will spend hours fighting the imaginary intruder.

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Viscacha are rodents native to South America. They look like rabbits due to convergent evolution.

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Due to a thermolabile enzyme involved with melanin production, Siamese cats are literal heat maps of themselves

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