This is a question that people have asked for many years. It’s easy to see how the myth started since when tigers are in captivity, they are fed once or twice per day, and they can often go long periods without eating. However, this doesn’t prove anything about whether or not they can go without […]
Snakes can survive high falls. Snakes fall from trees all the time and can right themselves in mid-air, spread their body out, and glide gently down. Snakes do not have any muscles in their skeleton that make them stretch out on purpose. The reason they can relax their muscles is because of a reaction that […]
Lions are built for the heat, not cold. African lions evolved in the hot savanna of Africa, where temperatures stay around 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) through most of the year. To survive in colder climates, lions would need to grow thick fur coats like tigers, leopards, and jaguars. They would also need to hibernate […]
Lions are big cats, and like all big cats, they avoid humans. Since we’re not their prey or natural predators (some lions do occasionally eat people), it’s more that we’re simply far too large for them to consider us as anything but an unusual threat. They would never view your average human the same way […]
A group of lions is technically referred to as pride. This term is also used colloquially to describe groups of people. If your friends are being loud and obnoxious, you might call them “buncha lions.” In general, pride is defined as several lions who cooperate with one another to pursue shared goals. The lion’s Latin […]
Scientists have been interested in the diet of hippopotami since they are long-lived and do not seem to experience any significant natural mortality. Hippos live up to 60 years, so scientists studied their diets to know how much data is necessary for them if there needs to be an intervention like changing habitats or offering […]
I have seen images of lions without manes. Do they become males when their hair falls out? Even if it seems so, the “manelessness” does not indicate being a male. The lack of hair around the neck and head is part of genetic variability within the species present in both sexes, although more often in […]
The hippopotamus is an incredible aquatic mammal; it shuts off its lungs to avoid drowning when it dives underwater. The reflex mechanism that activates this response allows for a steady supply of oxygenated blood so they don’t lose consciousness before resurfacing again. The Hippo is one of the only animals that can shut off its […]
Because they outshine the male. Most incidents occur when a female lion takes over pride after an adult male has died or abandoned it. When this happens, the new males in the pride will often kill any existing cubs fathered by other males. They do this because if the cubs were allowed to mature, they […]
