Crazy Animal Facts

Forget About The Zombie Apacolypse

Forget about the zombie apocalypse! Wake up Earth! The real threat is all around us. Here are some crazy things that animals can do!

Some chimps dance in front of fires. 

 Source: Linville, Susan. "Why Are Chimps Unafraid Of Fire?" Indiana Public Media, Indiana Public Media, 8 Apr. 2010, indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/why-chimps-unafraid-fire/.  

Ravens can hold grudges.

Source: Gibbens, Sarah. "Ravens Hold Grudges Against Cheaters." National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 6 June 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/.

Ravens even teach their prejudices to their offspring.

Source: Castro, Joseph. "Grudge-Holding Crows Pass on Their Anger to Family and Friends." Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 30 June 2011, blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/06/30/grudge-holding-crows-pass-on-their-anger-to-family-and-friends/#.Wn4VZehKvrc. 

 One group of Capuchin monkeys kept a "pet" marmoset for over two years!

Source:

 Izar, P, et al. "Cross-Genus adoption of a marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) by wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus): case report." NCBI, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2006, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16786521.

Duckling are abstract thinkers; they can understand the concept of same and different.

Source: Botkin-Kowacki, Eva. "Ducks might be capable of abstract thought, say scientists." The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 July 2016, www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0714/Ducks-might-be-capable-of-abstract-thought-say-scientists. 

Chimps make spears out of branches and use them to hunt.

Source: Douglass, Michelle. " Incredible tool use in the animal kingdom." BBC, BBC, 10 Nov. 2014, .

Crows will actually teach other how to make tools and individual crows will prefer certain tools over others.

Source: Douglass, Michelle. " Incredible tool use in the animal kingdom." BBC, BBC, 10 Nov. 2014, .

Animals will come up with their own ideas (why do I even have to argue this?) and spread them. Basically, one humpback whale invented a new way of hunting and it became super popular.

Source:Yong, Ed. "On Copycat Whales, Conformist Monkeys and Animal Cultures." National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 25 Apr. 2013, phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/25/on-copyca-whales-conformist-monkeys-and-animal-cultures/.

 Animals have cultures! Social norms vary between different chimp groups.

Source: Hogenboom, Melissa. " Humans are nowhere near as special as we like to think." BBC, BBC, 3 July 2015, .

Bush dogs live in societies without hierarchies and share everything. Bush dogs are Communists!

Source: Langley, Liz. "Mysterious Bush Dogs to Be Bred: Behind the Elusive Species." National Geographic , National Geographic Society, 4 Nov. 2013,

Some animals even practice democracy. African wild dogs sneeze to cast their votes!

Source: "How African wild dogs 'sneeze to vote'." BBC News, BBC, 6 Sept. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-wales-41167927/how-african-wild-dogs-sneeze-to-vote. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

Margays (small spotted South American cats) will mimic baby monkeys to get an easy dinner.

Source: Dell'Amore, Christine. "Jungle Cat Mimics Monkey to Lure Prey-A First.  National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 15 July 2010, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100712-cats-mimics-monkeys-prey-science/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
 

 Wolves dabble into politics. No dictator lasts long in a wolf pack.

Source: Angier, Natalie. "Political Animals (Yes, Animals)." The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Jan. 2008, . 

Kanzi the bonobo can roast smores.

Source: Raffaele, Paul. "Speaking Bonobo." Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Nov. 2006, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/speaking-bonobo-134931541/.

Australian raptors (black kites and brown falcons) are using fire to flush out prey.

Source: Pachniewska, Amanda. "Ruthless Raptors Use Fire, Prisons & Mind Games." Animal Cognition, Animal Cognition, 3 Nov. 2016, www.animalcognition.org/2016/02/26/ruthless-raptors-hunt-with-fire-prisons-mind-games/. 

Rats can tell when they don't know enough to solve a problem.

Source: Hamilton, Jon. "From Rats To Humans, A Brain Knows When It Can't Remember." NPR, NPR, 28 July 2017, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/28/539761740/from-rats-to-humans-a-brain-knows-when-it-cant-remember. 

When Kelly the dolphin figured out that picking up litter meant free food, she started to stash paper and rip it into pieces to get more treats.

Source: Rohan, Anuschka de. "Why dolphins are deep thinkers." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 July 2003, . 

 Kelly also learned to lure gulls with fish; she later taught her offspring.

Source: Rohan, Anuschka de. "Why dolphins are deep thinkers." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 July 2003, .

One experiment found that dolphins learned that new behavior was rewarded far faster than humans.

Source: Rohan, Anuschka de. "Why dolphins are deep thinkers." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 July 2003, .
 

 Orangutans make musical instruments out of leaves to outwit predators.

Source: Reynolds, Aline. "Study: Orangutans Play Leaf Instruments to Fool Predators." Discover. August 5, 2009. Accessed December 10, 2017. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/08/05/study-orangutans-play-leaf-instruments-to-fool-predators/#.Wi2tVVWnHrc.