You Learn a New Thing Every Day…
January 22nd 2009 21:00
Photo by Appaloosa. Used in accordance with the terms of Wikimedia Commons’ GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
As they say, you learn something new every day.
Flicking through my latest acquisition to my cat book collection, I discovered lions do not grow manes if they are desexed before puberty (If Your Cat Could Talk…by Dr Bruce Fogle). It turns out the mane is a secondary sexual characteristic.
Another discovery I made over the weekend was elephants sleep on their side, just like humans. Until my sister mentioned it, I hadn’t even given it a thought. My sister is a TV addict so she was watching something on TV which showed what elephants do during night time. It was so cute to see their large grey bodies resting on the ground. Actually, when you think about it, their behaviour makes perfect sense, despite my bemused sister’s surprise.
“I thought elephants sleep standing up,” she explained. With bodies that heavy? I don’t think so. Can you imagine how tired they’d be when they woke up?
Speaking of animals sleeping, my sister’s goldfish never seem to sleep. My sister says they do and when it’s bedtime, they simply rest their bodies on the bottom of their fish tank.
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Comment by Cheryl J
Rhythmatism
Zentertainment
Budget Centsability
Here is another interesting fact for you. cheetahs are the only big cats that purr. My brother and I gave my mum a 'Meet a cheetah' experience from the canberra zoo and while she was petting it, it purred really loudly and the ranger told her that no other big cats have the capability to purr. If you want to see a photo of my mum petting the gorgeous big puss, I have it in my photo collection HERE.
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
Thanks for your post. I didn't know cheetahs can purr. I thought all big cats were purr-less just as baby ones can't roar.
I am so envious of your mum. How lovely that she could get close enough to touch one. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.