Endangered Species Facts

The number of endangered animals in the world is growing at an alarming rate. Here you will find a list of interesting facts about these threatened animals. Learn and share them with your friends and family!

• Giant pandas are on the brink of extinction, with just over 1,000 pandas left in the world.

• The giant panda is a solitary animal, which spends about two-thirds of its day feeding and the remainder resting.

• The sperm whale’s huge head, which is up to a third of its overall body length, houses the heaviest brain in the animal kingdom – up to 9kg.
  

  Some rhinos have been de-horned to make them worthless to poachers!

• The rhino’s horn is made of keratin, like human fingernails.

• Marine turtle lays eggs in the holes in the sand. These “nests” can’t be recognized easily because turtle covers them with additional layer of sand. Depending on the species, each nest contains between 60-200 eggs.

• The smallest primate is the pygmy mouse lemur, which can fit in the palm of your hand. The largest—the gorilla—can weigh more than 400 pounds.

• Because gorillas and humans are so closely related, most diseases can be transmitted from humans to gorillas and vice versa.

• The largest polar bear ever recorded was a male that weighed 2,209 pounds (1,000 kg), according to Polar Bear International.

• Chimps use tools: a rock to crack a nut, a twig to fan flies away, a stick to dig mounds of termites and ants.

• Puma cubs have spots and bright blue eyes (until they are about 6 months old.)

• A mother sea lion is pregnant for 12 months. They give birth on land.

• Amur leopards are the most endangered big cat in the world. It is estimated that there are only 20-30 in Russia and no more than 10 in China.

• A male tiger can weigh up to 650 pounds! Females can weigh up to 365 pounds.

• The lion is the only social cat. They live in a group called a pride.
  

  The beluga is able to swim backwards.

• Sumatran Elephants are the smallest of the Asian elephants, measuring 1.7-2.6m at the shoulder.

• There are approximately 55,000 Sumatran orangutans in the wild.

• Wild dogs are usually on the move over a very large range, covering for example, some 900 square miles in the Serengeti.

• After a gestation period of 3 to 4 months, the female Bengal tiger gives birth to up to 5 cubs.

• If an iguana’s tail is cut off, they can grow another one.

• A Great White Shark is capable of eating sea lions whole.

• Bluefin Tunas can live up to 30 years, but few survive this long due to rampant overfishing.

• Chimps are 7 times stronger than men.