Animal Facts, Trivia, and Resources

What do most of us know about animals? Animals are highly complex and responsive compared to other forms of life. The animals that are able to learn from experience and are unique to the animal world, are those animals with well developed nervous systems. The worlds largest living animals, baleen whales can live up to 25 meters long and weigh 120 tons. The different body sizes allow animals to live in different ways. Insects on the other hand are easy prey for many animals and their small size means that their bodies are not as energy efficient as large animals. Almost all of the world’s largest and most familiar animals are vertebrates; these are animals that have backbones. They include the fastest animals on land, sea and air and also the world’s most intelligent species. The vast majority of species are invertebrates – animals without backbones.

This difference in body temperature has some far reaching effects on the ways that animals lead their lives; this is because animal bodies work best when they are warm. Reptiles, amphibians and insects are cold blooded animals. However in ecological terms the most important colonial animals are reef building corals, which create complex structures that provide havens for a range of other animals. Animals obtain their energy from organic matter or food. The majority of animals are either herbivores who eat only plants, omnivores which eat both plants and other animals and carnivores which eat other animals. All animals, regardless of their lifestyle ultimately provide food for other animals. All are connected by food chains which pass food and energy to one another.