Pet dogs and elephants are the only animals that seem to instinctively understand human gesture.
14
When Washoe, the first chimp to use sign language, was told that her caretaker's baby had died, she signed "CRY."
20
A tortoise named Adwaita lived to 255 years old. To put it into perspective, he was born before the United States of America existed and his death was announced on CNN (1750-2006).
12
A giraffe's kick is so powerful that it can decapitate a lion.
216
The reindeer is the only mammal that can see UV light.
17
Dogs sometimes fake being sick to get attention.
26
In 1918, a homing pigeon saved over 190 American soldiers by delivering a message to nearby support despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood, and with a leg hanging on by just a tendon.
22