Zoology
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ArticleCan an octopus get to know you? Yes. An octopus, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Photo Library An octopus is a marine animal that has a soft rounded body with eight long flexible arms... -
ArticleCan zebras be domesticated? No, zebras cannot be domesticated. Grant’s Zebra Gary M. Stolz, photographer, Kenya, 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Gallery. They are unpredictable and are known to attack people. To be... -
ArticleCan a groundhog's shadow really predict if there will be six more weeks of winter? No, the shadow-observing lore has no scientific basis and will not tell you if there will be six more weeks of winter. However, seeing wild groundhogs out and about during winter months... -
ArticleHow are millipedes and centipedes alike and how do they differ? While both millipedes and centipedes belong to the phylum Arthropoda and to the subphylum Myriapoda, millipedes belong to the class Diplopoda and centipedes belong to the class Chilopoda. Read on to discover... -
ArticleHow can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth? One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth is to look at the antennae. A butterfly’s antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a... -
ArticleHow did cats become domesticated? Domesticated cats all come from wildcats called Felis silvestris lybica that originated in the Fertile Crescent in the Near East Neolithic period and in ancient Egypt in the Classical period. National Photo... -
ArticleHow do cats communicate with each other? Cats have different ways of communicating with other cats and with humans. Cats communicate vocally (meowing, purring, and hissing) and with their bodies and behavior. Frances Benjamin Johnston’s cats, Herman and Vermin,... -
ArticleHow do spiders avoid getting tangled in their own webs? Spiders are able to spin sticky and non-sticky silk. They avoid walking on the sticky silk. In addition, spiders have moveable claws on their feet that grip and release the web’s threads... -
ArticleHow high can a nine-banded armadillo jump? Three to four feet into the air. Armadillo. Gulf Islands National Seashore, 2013. National Park Service, NP Digital Asset Management System. Of the twenty species of armadillo that exist throughout the Americas,... -
ArticleHow long is the life span of a flea? 30-90 Days (Average). A drawing of a flea by microscope pioneer Robert Hooke. Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses. With observations and inquiries thereupon, p.334. 1665.... -
ArticleHow much water does a camel's hump hold? None. Egypt, Pyramids. Pyramid & camel rider reflected in Nile overflow. Matson Photo Service, between 1950-1977. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress A camel’s hump does not hold water at all... -
ArticleIs a polar bear's fur transparent? Yes! Most sources indicate that the long, coarse guard hairs, which protect the plush thick undercoat, are hollow and transparent. The thinner hairs of the undercoat are not hollow, but they, like... -
ArticleWhich is the largest bear species on earth? The polar bear. Large Polar Bear, Alaska. Mike Lockhart, photographer, 2009. USGS Science Explorer. It is a close call, but the polar bear is generally considered the largest bear species on Earth.... -
ArticleWhy and how do cats purr? No one knows for sure why a domestic cat purrs, but many people interpret the sound as one of contentment. Our understanding of how a domestic cat purrs is becoming more complete;... -
ArticleWhy do bats live in caves? Why don't they fly into objects at night? Most bats are nocturnal. Bats in a Texas evening sky. Insect-eating Brazilian Free-Tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) provide a great pest-control service to agriculture and natural ecosystems. Paul Cryan, USGS photographer, 2009. USGS... -
ArticleWhy do geese fly in a V? Energy conservation and visual assurance. Geese flying in classic V formation. Ben Mieremet, NOAA photographer. 1995. NOAA Photo Library. Why do geese fly in a V? Because it would be too hard... -
ArticleWhy do mosquitoes bite me and not my friend? Recent evidence suggests that some people give off masking odors that prevent mosquitoes from finding them. Known as a vector for the West Nile virus, this Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito has landed on... -
ArticleWhy do pigeons bob their heads when they walk? Most evidence suggests that the head bobbing serves a visual function. Rock Pigeon. Introduced to North America from Europe in the early 1600s, city pigeons nest on buildings and window ledges. In... -
ArticleWhat is the world's most dangerous bird? The cassowary is usually considered to be the world’s most dangerous bird, at least where humans are concerned, although ostriches and emus can also be dangerous. Cassowary (Queensland, Australia). Photo by Gilles...