Interesting and Unbelievable Facts

Groundhog is one of the 14 species of marmot, a giant ground squirrel . It is also called the woodchuck. Groundhogs are present only in North America, from Canada to the continental USA. Groundhogs are one of the few  true hibernating   animals . During the hibernation period in winter, their heart rate decreases from 75 beats to 4 bps. Their breathing rate and body temperature also reduce considerably. Groundhogs eat a large amount of food in the summer and autumn seasons. It assists them in developing fat reserves before hibernation in winter. The  Woodchuck hepatitis virus  (WHV) in groundhogs was the first such virus discovered after hepatitis B (HBV). Due to its similarity with HBV in humans, laboratory testing of groundhogs played a vital role in finding treatment for HBV in humans. ( Source ) Groundhogs usually inhabit meadows, open fields, and forest edges. Sometimes, they are present in forests . Groundhogs produce a  whistling sound  when scared...

Jackals belong to canines. These medium-sized mammals are closely related to wolves, dogs, foxes , and coyotes. There are three species of jackals. Golden jackals are native to Eurasia, while black-backed and side-striped jackals are present in parts of sub-Saharan Africa . The African golden wolf was previously considered a jackal. However, a study in 2015 established they are wolves and separate from the golden jackals of Eurasia. ( Source ) Jackals usually live alone or in pairs. However, they sometimes form small packs. These packs can hunt relatively large animals like sheep or antelopes. Jackals are opportunistic animals that eat small animals and carrion. They usually follow lions and other big cats to eat the carrion of their hunt. All three jackal species are  nocturnal . Apart from side-striped jackals, the other two species are also active at dusk and dawn.  Side-striped jackals are the only true nocturnal species These mammals have a gland on the base of thei...

The horse is a one-toed, hoofed mammal. Its closest relatives are donkeys and zebras. Most of the horses are domesticated. However, there are feral and wild horses as well. The only truly wild horse breed that survived today is Przewalski’s horse. Approximately 2,000 of these horses now exist. The highest number is in Mongolia (where it is called takhi), while smaller populations are present in Kazakhstan, Russia , and China . ( Source ) Apart from wild horses, there is a large population of feral horses in various parts of the world. These horses were domesticated earlier but later left in the wild. Their highest population is in Australia . ( Source ) The initial horse-like mammal appeared on earth around 50 million years ago. The era of the ancestor of modern equines (horses, asses, and zebras ) was nearly 4 million years ago. The domestication of horses started around 6,000 years ago in the steppe area between modern-day Ukraine and Kazakhstan . In 2019, archaeologists uneart...

Equatorial Guinea is a small country on the western coast of central Africa. It shares land borders with Cameroon on the north and Gabon on the east and south. Equatorial Guinea consists of the continental mainland area (Rio Muni) and five islands. Malabo on Bioko, one of the five islands, is the capital city. The literacy rate in Equatorial Guinea is 95%, the highest in Africa alongside Seychelles and  South Africa . It has Africa’s  highest literacy rate  (98%) for the population between 15 and 24 years. ( Source ) The goliath frog is the  largest living frog  species. It is present only in Equatorial Guinea and its neighboring country Cameroon. The first European to view Equatorial Guinea was a  Portuguese explorer . He saw the island of Bioko in 1472. Equatorial Guinea remained under the control of  Portugal , Spain, Britain, and  France  in later centuries. It  gained independence  from Spain in 1968. French and Spanish are t...

The blue whale is a marine mammal that belongs to baleen whales. Its closest relatives are fin whales, humpback whales, and sei whales. The blue whale is the biggest animal to have ever lived on earth . It can reach a length of up to 98 ft. and weighs 200 tons. The blue whale has the largest lungs, heaviest tongue, and largest heart in the animal kingdom. Its heart rate is the slowest among mammals . ( Source ) The blue whale has five subspecies : Northern blue whale (in North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans), Antarctic (or Southern) blue whale, Indian Ocean blue whale, South Pacific Ocean blue whale, and Pygmy blue whale. The Antarctic blue whale is the largest, and the pygmy blue whale is the smallest among blue whales. Blue whales have the  smallest and narrowest flippers  relative to their size compared to other whales . Their flukes also cover the smallest area according to body length. ( Source ) Blue whales are one of the  loudest animals  on earth. Their...

Indonesia is an island country in Southeast Asia. However, it also controls the western part of New Guinea, an island in Oceania. Therefore, it is also known as a transcontinental country . Indonesia is the world’s  largest island country , with around 17000 islands, including 6000 inhabited islands. It covers an area of more than 1.9 million km 2 . Java in Indonesia is the world’s most populous island. In 2010, its population was 136 million. ( Source ) Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is the world’s  second most populous urban area  after Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan . Its population is more than 33 million. Indonesia’s Grasberg Gold Mine is the world’s  second-largest gold mine . It has gold reserves of 30.2 million ounces (Moz). ( Source ) There are  121 volcanoes  in Indonesia, 3rd most in the world after the USA and Japan. However, this Southeast Asian country has the highest number of active volcanoes. ( Source ) The largest supervolcanic eruption in the last...

Wolf is the largest living member of the Canidae ( dog-like carnivores ) family. It is also known as grey or gray wolf. There are other types of wolves , along with gray wolves. These include red wolves, Ethiopian wolves , and Eastern wolves (or timber wolves).  Nearly 5% of mammals mate for life , and grey wolves are one among them. Alpha male and female wolves lead their pack. Wolves are social animals that usually form packs of 6 to 10 members. This family unit contains a male and female wolf and their offspring. These groups can sometimes have up to two dozen members. Wolves  howl to communicate  with other members of their pack or to warn other packs from entering their territory. Wolf howl is audible up to 10 miles in open areas. Wolves can use different tones while howling. It helps them to deceive their rivals by pretending to be a larger pack. Wolves can howl aggressively on the  nights of a full moon  as they can see and hear better on these nights...