Which is the longest distance travelled bird?



The Arctic tern flies 71,000 km (44,000 miles) between the Arctic and Antarctica and back every year, for up to 30 years. Arctic terns migrate to follow the summer sun. Seasons happen because Earth is tilted on its axis while it revolves around the sun. During winter, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun’s warming rays. This is why it’s colder during the winter in places north of the Equator, like the United States. 



When it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, experiencing summer. In December, when people in the United States are putting on sweaters and jackets, people in Argentina are getting out their sunscreen.



Polar Regions experience less noticeable temperature changes than other parts of the globe. However, these regions experience a great difference in the amount of daylight hours. During summer, the Arctic and the Antarctic get almost 24 hours of sunlight. During winter, it is almost entirely dark. 



The arctic tern, going from Arctic summer to Antarctic summer, may experience more daylight than any other animal. Terns migrate in search of summer sunlight. Sunlight illuminates the ground and the ocean surface, so the birds can see fish or insects more clearly. Summer weather is also usually calmer at sea, allowing the birds to fly more easily. 



 



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Which is the largest animal?



The blue whale is 33 m (108 ft) long and weighs 150 tonnes (165 tons). It is roughly as big as a jumbo jet, and its heart is the size of a small car. Blue whales reach these mind-boggling dimensions on a diet composed nearly exclusively of tiny shrimplike animals called krill. During certain times of the year, a single adult blue whale consumes about 4 tons of krill a day.



Blue whales are baleen whales, which mean they have fringed plates of fingernail-like material, called baleen, attached to their upper jaws. The giant animals feed by first gulping an enormous mouthful of water, expanding the pleated skin on their throat and belly to take it in. Then the whale's massive tongue forces the water out through the thin, overlapping baleen plates. Thousands of krill are left behind—and then swallowed.



Blue whales look true blue underwater, but on the surface their coloring is more a mottled blue-gray. Their underbellies take on a yellowish hue from the millions of microorganisms that take up residence in their skin. The blue whale has a broad, flat head and a long, tapered body that ends in wide, triangular flukes.



 



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Which is the smallest mammal?



Kitti’s hog-nosed bat weighs as little as 1.5 g (1/20 oz) and is 3 cm (just over 1 in) long. It is also called the bumblebee bat. Ecologically, this bat occupies a pretty tiny niche. It only lives in limestone caves along rivers that run through coniferous or deciduous forests. And geographically, this bat is only found in a very small area of Thailand and Burma Probably using a lot of hover hunting, Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bats only forage for food for short windows of time, only about 30 min each evening and 20 min just before dawn, during which it eats small flies and spiders. Since these foraging trips can be easily interrupted by rains and low temperatures it is likely that climate change will have an effect on the foraging ability of this bat. Their restricted range, combined with the human disturbance, habitat destruction and small population size are all contributing to a downward population trend.



 



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Which is the deepest diving bird?



Emperors are the largest of all penguins—an average bird stands some 45 inches tall. These flightless animals live on the Antarctic ice and in the frigid surrounding waters. They huddle together to escape wind and conserve warmth. Individuals take turns moving to the group's protected and relatively toasty interior. Once a penguin has warmed a bit it will move to the perimeter of the group so that others can enjoy protection from the icy elements. Emperor penguins spend the long winter on the open ice—and even breed during this harsh season. Females lay a single egg and then promptly leave it behind. They undertake an extended hunting trip that lasts some two months! Depending on the extent of the ice pack, females may need to travel some 50 miles just to reach the open ocean, where they will feed on fish, squid, and krill.  The emperor penguin can dive as deep as 565 m (1,850 ft). It stays underwater for up to 22 minutes as it hunts for prey.



 



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Which is the shortest life span animal?



Adult mayflies live for only one day. They do not feed, and they die after they have found a mate and the female has laid her eggs. Winged mayflies have large compound eyes, short, bristle like antennae, and functionless mouthparts and digestive tracts. Once mayflies enter the winged stages they cannot feed. Their membranous wings include a large, triangular front pair and a much smaller, rounded hind pair. In a few species, the hind pair is extremely reduced or absent. In repose, the wings are held together upright over the body like those of a butterfly. The adult mayfly has two or three threadlike tails, usually as long as, or longer than, the body. Mayfly nymphs are preyed upon by carnivorous invertebrates and fishes. Winged stages are devoured in flight by birds, bats, and predatory insects, including dragonflies, robber flies, and hornets. When at rest, mayflies may be preyed upon by spiders, beetles, birds, and certain mammals, especially flying squirrels in North America. During their transformation to the adult stage and especially during oviposition by females, mayflies are vulnerable to predation by fishes; artificial lures used by fishermen are patterned after them.



 



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Which is the longest-living animal?



Sponges make up one of the oldest, most primitive groups of animals on Earth. Sponges have existed for at least 500 million years. Sponge cells do not have specialized purposes. Each of a sponge’s individual cells can transform to complete the job of any other cell in the body. This lack of specialization means that sponges do not have tissues, like every other type of animal. In fact, in laboratory settings, a sponge that is destroyed in a blender can reform itself as the cells swim back together and take on the form and job needed for recovery. Giant barrel sponges feed by filtering water through the body wall, trapping food particles and excreting waste materials into the inner bowl. The, now filtered, wastewater exits the sponge through the large opening at the top (called an osculum). They also obtain oxygen from the water during this process. The giant barrel sponge can live for up to 2,300 years. That is more than 10 times as long as the bowhead whale, which is the longest-lived mammal.



 



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Which is the loudest sound producing animal?



The pistol shrimp snaps its claws to make a bubble of air in water. When it bursts, the 218 decibel sound produced is louder than a gunshot. The snapping shrimp grows to only 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long. It is distinctive for its disproportionate large claw, larger than half the shrimp's body. The claw can be on either arm of the body, and, unlike most shrimp claws, does not have typical pincers at the end. Rather, it has a pistol-like feature made of two parts. A joint allows the "hammer" part to move backward into a right-angled position. When released, it snaps into the other part of the claw, emitting an enormously powerful wave of bubbles capable of stunning larger fish and breaking small glass jars. Some pistol shrimp species share burrows with goby fishes in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. The burrow is built and tended by the pistol shrimp, and the goby provides protection by watching out for danger. When both are out of the burrow, the shrimp maintains contact with the goby using its antennae. The goby, having the better vision, alerts the shrimp of danger using a characteristic tail movement, and then both retreat into the safety of the shared burrow. So far this association has been observed in species that inhabit coral reef habitats.



 



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Which is the smallest insect?



Fairyflies are too tiny to see. The smallest fairyfly is 0.16mm (3/500 in) long, and would easily fit inside the full stop at the end of this sentence. They usually have nonmetallic black, brown, or yellow bodies. The antennae of the females are distinctively tipped by club-like segments, while male antennae are thread-like. Their wings are usually slender and possess long bristles, giving them a hairy or feathery appearance, although some species may have greatly reduced stubby wings or lack wings altogether. They can be distinguished from other chalcid wasps by the H-shaped pattern of sutures on the front of their heads.



Fairyflies are some of the most common chalcid wasps, but are rarely noticed by humans because of their extremely small sizes. Their adult lifespan are very short, usually lasting for only a few days.



 



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Which is the smallest bird?



The Bee Hummingbird, which is found only in Cuba, is an absolute miniature, even among hummingbirds. It measures a mere two and a quarter inches long. Bee Hummingbirds are often mistaken for bees. They weigh less than two grams — less than a dime. That’s half the weight of our backyard hummers, like the Ruby-throated or Rufous. The female builds a nest barely an inch across. Her eggs are about the size of a coffee bean.



In flight, the Bee Hummingbird’s tiny wings beat 80 times a second. And during a courtship flight, they beat up to 200 times per second! The male’s entire head and throat shine in fiery pinkish-red, and blazing red feathers point like spikes down the sides of the breast.



 The bee hummingbird is 5 cm (2 in) long, and weighs just 1.6 g (just over 1/20 oz). It lays eggs that are smaller than a pea.



 



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Which is the tallest animal?



The giraffe is the world’s tallest living animal, stretching up to 6 m (20 ft) thanks to its long legs and extremely long neck. Typically, these fascinating animals roam the open grasslands in small groups of about half a dozen.



Bulls sometimes battle one another by butting their long necks and heads. Such contests aren't usually dangerous and end when one animal submits and walks away.



The giraffe's height also helps it to keep a sharp lookout for predators across the wide expanse of the African savanna.



The giraffe's stature can be a disadvantage as well—it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an awkward position that makes them vulnerable to predators like Africa's big cats. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the luscious plants they eat.



Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young endure a rather rude welcome into the world by falling more than 5 feet to the ground at birth. These infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth.



 



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Which is the heaviest spider?



A female Goliath birdeater weighs about 170 g (6 oz), which is roughly the same weight as a medium-sized apple. The male is much smaller. Insects make up most of the Goliath diet, but frogs and rodents are on the menu too. Goliaths prowl the Amazon in northern South America. When a Goliath pounces on a mouse, for example, its inch-long fangs act like hypodermic needles, pumping neurotoxins into the hapless prey. The spider then drags the dying animal back to its burrow and begins the digestion process. Spiders can’t ingest solid material, so they first liquefy the prey’s insides, then suck it dry. Though they don’t spin webs to trap food, Goliaths do use their weaving skills in another way: to line their burrows under the forest floor.



It's deadly to small creatures, but the Goliath’s venom is not lethal to humans. A bite would sting about as much as a wasp’s. The giant spider is a delicacy in some parts of South America—though its urticating hairs are carefully singed away before the spider is roasted in banana leaves.



 



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Which is the strongest animal?



Dung beetles have dark, round bodies, six legs and long flying wings folded under hard, protective covers. Some male dung beetles have strong horns on their heads, too. Found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica, these brilliant bugs live in habitats ranging from hot, dry deserts to lush forests. There are three main types of dung beetle – rollers, tunnellers and dwellers – each named for the way the way the beetles use the poop they find. Rollers shape dung into balls and roll them away from the pile. They then burry the balls to either munch on later or to use as a place to lay their eggs. Tunnellers dive into the dung pile, usually working in a ‘male-female’ pair, and dig a tunnel beneath it. The female beetle then stays in the tunnel sorting out the dung brought down by the male. Dwellers, on the other hand, simply live inside the pooey pile. Female dwellers lay their eggs there, and when the larvae (or young) hatch them happily munch away on the food that surrounds them. The dung beetle can pull a weight that is 1,141 times heavier than its own body. That is the equivalent of a human pulling six buses at once.



 



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Which is the deepest diving mammal?



Cuvier’s have flipper pockets, a special adaption for diving which allows them to tuck their flippers in and make their bodies super-streamlined.



Cuvier’s beaked whales are amazing, but like so many species, they are vulnerable to human activities. They are especially vulnerable to intense noise created by military sonar. They suffer decompression sickness, or ‘the bends’, if they are frightened or panicked by man-made noise and surface too quickly.  Tragically, mass strandings of Cuvier’s beaked whales, some of whom were still alive, have occurred in places  around the world following naval sonar exercises.



 Cuvier’s beaked whale can dive to depths of almost 3 km (1.9 miles). One whale stayed underwater for a record 2 hours and 18 minutes.



 



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Which is the longest leap animal?

The snow leopard can leap as far as 15 m (50 ft) when chasing after prey such as wild goats. That is about 15 times its body length. They are insulated by thick hair, and their wide, fur-covered feet act as natural snowshoes. Snow leopards have powerful legs and are tremendous leapers, able to jump as far as 50 feet. They use their long tails for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against the severe mountain chill. Snow leopards prey upon the blue sheep of Tibet and the Himalaya, as well as the mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. Though these powerful predators can kill animals three times their weight, they also eat smaller fare, such as marmots, hares, and game birds. One Indian snow leopard, protected and observed in a national park, is reported to have consumed five blue sheep, nine Tibetan woolly hares, twenty-five marmots, five domestic goats, one domestic sheep, and fifteen birds in a single year.



 



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Which is the fastest fish in water?



The sailfish can swim at a speed of 110 kph (68 mph) in short bursts. That means it can swim 10 times its body length 9 in 1 second. They are members of the billfish family, and as such, have an upper jaw that juts out well beyond their lower jaw and forms a distinctive spear. They are found near the ocean surface usually far from land feeding on schools of smaller fish like sardines and anchovies, which they often shepherd with their sails, making them easy prey. They also feast on squid and octopus. Their meat is fairly tough and not widely eaten, but they are prized as game fish. These powerful, streamlined beasts can grow to more than 10 feet and weigh up to 220 pounds. When hooked, they will fight vigorously, leaping and diving repeatedly, and sometimes taking hours to land.



 



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