Elephants are now being trained for bio-detection in South Africa. They are being tested to see if they can utilize their heightened sense of smell to look for poachers, land mines, and explosives. Elephants have 1,948 genes dedicated to smelling, whereas dogs only have  811 and humans have under 400.

In 2006, an analysis of cats’ tongues showed that they do not have the taste receptors that react to sweet-tasting things. Every feline from lions to tigers down to the domestic house cat cannot taste anything sweet.

The octopus, the squid, and the salmon all die soon after giving birth. For the most part, males die soon after fertilizing the females’ eggs, and the females only live long enough to birth their young before dying.

Baby hedgehogs are born with quills but they are soft and flexible.

Crocodiles can hold their breath underwater for up to two hours if they need to. The colder the water, the longer they can stay under because a cold crocodile uses less energy and oxygen than a warm one.