Weird but True Animal Facts
Discover surprising animal abilities, unusual bodies, and clever ways to survive.
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Questions with solutions-
1. Scegli la risposta corretta.
Which animals fit this description?
These animals can fly, are often active at night, and feed their babies milk.
- Owls
- Bats
- Moths
Feeding babies milk is a feature of mammals.
Show solution
- Bats
Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. Flying squirrels glide rather than fly.
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2. Scegli la risposta corretta.
Why does the dolphin need to do this?
A dolphin lives in water, but it regularly comes up to the surface.
- To fill its gills with water.
- To get oxygen through its skin.
- To breathe air into its lungs.
Dolphins are mammals, not fish.
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- To breathe air into its lungs.
A dolphin breathes through a hole on top of its head, so it does not need to lift its whole head out of the water.
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3. Completa lo spazio vuoto.
A camel's hump stores ___, which its body can use for energy when food is hard to find.
- fat
- water
- milk
The hump holds an energy supply, not a drink.
Show solution
A camel's hump stores fat, which its body can use for energy when food is hard to find.
A camel's hump can become smaller as the camel uses its stored fat.
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4. Scegli la risposta corretta.
Which body part can the butterfly use to taste the leaf?
A butterfly lands on a leaf before deciding whether to lay its eggs there.
- Its wings
- Its eyes
- Its feet
This body part touches the leaf when the butterfly lands.
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- Its feet
Taste sensors on its feet help a butterfly find plants that its young can eat.
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5. Scegli la risposta corretta.
How many hearts does an octopus have?
An octopus has more than one heart to move blood through its body.
- Two
- Three
- Four
Two hearts serve the gills, and another serves the rest of the body.
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- Three
Two hearts send blood to the gills to collect oxygen. The third sends that blood around the body.
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6. Scegli la risposta corretta.
Where does their pink color mainly come from?
Young flamingos are usually gray. Their feathers become pink as they grow.
- Natural colors in their food.
- Sunlight changing their feathers.
- The color of the water they swim in.
Think about what enters the bird's body when it eats.
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- Natural colors in their food.
Flamingos get their color from substances in foods such as algae and tiny shrimp.
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7. Scegli la risposta corretta.
What unusual shape do wombat droppings have?
Wombats are Australian mammals. Even their droppings have a surprising feature.
- Round balls
- Long, thin tubes
- Small cubes
They look a little like tiny boxes.
Show solution
- Small cubes
Parts of a wombat's intestine stretch differently, helping form the flat sides of its droppings.
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8. Completa lo spazio vuoto.
Unlike most fish, sharks have skeletons made mainly of ___, the flexible material also found inside your nose.
- muscle
- cartilage
- bone
This material supports body parts but bends more easily than bone.
Show solution
Unlike most fish, sharks have skeletons made mainly of cartilage, the flexible material also found inside your nose.
Cartilage is lighter and more flexible than bone. Rays have cartilage skeletons too.
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9. Scegli la risposta corretta.
What happens inside the male's pouch?
A female seahorse puts her eggs into a special pouch on the male.
- The young develop until they are ready to be born.
- The eggs wait there until the female takes them back.
- The eggs become food for the male.
The pouch protects the developing young.
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- The young develop until they are ready to be born.
The male seahorse gives birth. After leaving his pouch, the tiny young must survive on their own.
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10. Completa lo spazio vuoto.
A honeybee uses a special dance to share information about the ___ of food.
- taste
- color
- location
The other bees need to know where to go.
Show solution
A honeybee uses a special dance to share information about the location of food.
The bee's movements give information about both the direction and the distance to the food.
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11. Scegli la risposta corretta.
What did the crows recognize?
Crows learned to fear a person wearing a particular mask. Later, they reacted to the same mask on someone else.
- The first person's voice.
- The face shown by the mask.
- The new person's real face.
The person changed, but one visible feature stayed the same.
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- The face shown by the mask.
Crows can remember human faces and warn other crows about people they see as dangerous.
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12. Scegli la risposta corretta.
How does changing positions help the penguins?
Emperor penguins gather closely together in cold weather. They move between the warmer center and the colder edge.
- More penguins get time in the warmer center.
- The same penguins stay in the center all the time.
- All the penguins move away from the group.
A penguin at the cold edge does not always stay there.
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- More penguins get time in the warmer center.
Standing close together reduces heat loss. Moving within the group helps the birds share the warmth.
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13. Scegli la risposta corretta.
What could happen even if a nearby person hears nothing?
Elephants can make very low sounds outside the range of human hearing. Some of these calls travel long distances.
- The elephants would have to be completely silent.
- The elephants could communicate only by touching.
- Two distant elephants could still be communicating.
Human ears cannot detect every sound that animals use.
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- Two distant elephants could still be communicating.
These low calls help elephants keep in touch even when members of the group are far apart.
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14. Scegli la risposta corretta.
What does the extra sugar help the frog do?
In winter, a wood frog can survive while part of its body freezes. Its body makes extra sugar to protect its cells.
- Keep every part of its body warm.
- Survive freezing temperatures.
- Stay active throughout the winter.
Protection from freezing is different from preventing all freezing.
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- Survive freezing temperatures.
The frog's heart can stop while it is frozen and start again as it warms up.
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15. Scegli la risposta corretta.
Why can this make the cuttlefish harder to find?
A cuttlefish can quickly change its skin color and pattern to match the sand or rocks around it.
- Its body looks like its surroundings.
- Its body becomes completely clear like glass.
- Its skin makes the surrounding water dark.
Imagine looking for a brown animal against brown rocks.
Show solution
- Its body looks like its surroundings.
This is camouflage: the animal is still there, but it is harder to notice against the background.