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Pets Partners and Pals
  Animal Factoids - Animal Factoids
 

Animal Factoids
Factoid  –  ‘fak‚toid’

 

Definition:  A brief or trivial item of news or information.

An assumption or speculation that is reported and repeated so often it becomes accepted as fact.

 
           ABOUT DOGS

About Dogs
  • There are approximately 10.5 million dogs in the UK
  • There are almost 60 million dogs in the United States
  • In the UK Labradors are the breed of choice, followed by Border Collies, Jack Russells, Yorkshire Terriers, German Shepherds, Rottweillers & Dalmations, Bichons Frises, Cocker Spaniels & Shitzus, Labradoodles & Golden Retrievers and Greyhounds (including Whippets) and, in tenth place, Chihuahuas
  • You can teach old dogs new tricks!
  • Dalmatian puppies do not have any spots on them when they are born. They actually develop them as they get older
  • Bloodhounds have been used since the 1600s for tracking criminals
  • There is a doggy disco held in Italy every year where owners can dance with their dogs
  • The dog with the largest ears in the world is Tigger, a Bloodhound from Illinois, whose ears are 13.75 inches long!  We are also very impressed with a Basset Hound named Mr. Jeffries whose ears are almost one foot long!
  • Nose prints are used to identify dogs, much like humans use fingerprints
  • Dogs, like cats,are either right or left pawed!
  • The fastest dog, the greyhound, can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour
  • Petra (1962) was the first Blue Peter Dog and Shep the most famous!
  • Famous Dog Lovers: Paris Hilton, Jemima Khan, Esther Rantzen, Ben Fogle, Roy Hattersley, George Michael, Sienna Miller, Audrey Hepburn, The Obamas, Zara Phillips, Zsa Zsa Gabor & The Queen!

    Happy Cat


    ABOUT CATS

  • There are approximately 10.3 million cats in the UK
  • The American cat population reached nearly 68 million in 1996
  • There is no fixed answer to how many bones a cat has because some have more than others! A long-tailed cat has more vertebrae than a Manx with no tail or a Manx mix with just part of a tail. Also, cats with extra toes ("polydactyls") have more bones than cats with normal paws. The average cat has about 244 bones!
  • The invention of the cat flap is attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, although he has omitted the finer details of his discovery in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica!
  • The first official Cat Show in Great Britain took place at the Crystal palace in London on the 13th of July 1871. It was organised by writer, artist and cat lover Harrison Weir
  • Cats don't always land on their feet!
  • Jason, a Seal Point Siamese, was the first Blue Peter Cat (1964 - 1976)
  • Blue Peter's cat 'Socks' was embroiled in controversy when the show's producers falsified the result of a viewers' vote to choose the name; viewers actually chose the name 'Cookie!'
  • A cat will hardly ever 'meow' at another cat
  • On average, cats nap for 16 hours a day!
  • When they are awake, cats spend 30% of their time grooming themselves
  • Famous Cat Lovers: Joanna Lumley, Winston Churchill, Pablo Picasso, TS Eliot, Dr Samuel Johnson (it was famously called Hodge), Halle Berry (bought her cat to prepare for her role in Catwoman), Warren Beatty & Doris Lessing (wrote On Cats).

    ABOUT HORSES

  • Humans became associated with horses about 50,000 years ago.  Horses were herded for their meat, skins and possibly milk.
  • Horses became domesticated about 5,000 years ago.  It is thought the first horses to be domesticated where in the Steppes of Eastern Ukraine and Central Russia as the people began to live more nomadic lifestyles. 
  • Przewalski horses are the only true remaining wild horse, any other wild horse is actually deemed to be feral.  The Przewalski horse is now registered as extinct in the wild, remaining ones being found in Zoo's.

    Horser Riding

  • No-one knows whether horses were first used to pull carts or ride.
  • All modern horses are descended from the two types of horse first domesticated.  The hot-blooded southerly Arab-Barb horses and the cold-blooded northerly horses.
  • The faster, lighter, more spirited breed of horses are descended from the hot-blooded Arab-Barb horse.  The heavier, slower and calmer breeds from the cold-blooded northerly horses.
  • The horse has had more influence on mankind than any other animal, having been used for work, travel, war and leisure.
  • Horses live in a harem based society with the male stallion dominating a group of females.
  • A foal can stand within half and hour of being born and stays close to its mother's side for the first few days of its life.

    ABOUT RABBITS         
            Rabbit with Carrot          

  • The domestic rabbit derives from the wild European rabbit.
  • The Romans introduced rabbits to Britain keeping them in fenced off warrens to be harvested for their meat and fur.
  • Rabbits are very adaptable and have bred so successfully in some areas they are known as pests.
  • Rabbits have a very good memory.
  • Rabbits can't vomit.
  • Rabbits really need about four hours of exercise a day to prevent them suffering from Osteoporosis.
  • When  rabbits are happy they perform a series of jumps, twists and runs which are known as binkys.
  • Rabbits can run up to 35 miles per hour.
  • Droppings of rabbits are excellent garden fertilizers.
  • Rabbits can jump up to 16 feet.

    ABOUT PARROTS
    PetsPartnersAndPals Parrot Pets
  • Birds were first kept as pets 4,000 years ago, arising probably from the need to use them as a source of food.
  • Egyptian hieroglyphics show images of pet birds, including parrots.
  • Parrots were highly prized by the Ancient Greeks
  • Wealthy Roman households kept parrots as pets and it was the job of the slave to look after the parrot and teach it to talk.
  • In 1493, Christopher Colombus returned from South America bearing a pair of Cuban Amazon parrots as a gift for Queen Isabella of Spain.
  • Henry VIII kept an African Grey Parrot at Hampton Court.
  • Depending on the species parrots can live in captivity for 40 to over 100 years.
  • There are 358 different species of parrot.
  • The majority of parrots are monogamous and a pair will retain a close bond even out of breeding season.
  • African Grey parrots are the best mimics.

    ABOUT GUINEA PIGSGuinea Pig


  • Domestic Guinea Pigs are also called "Cavies" and are descended from the wild Guinea Pits (Cavia Aperea) of Brazil and Peru.
  • Guinea Pigs were domesticated by the Incas over 500 years ago and brought to Europe by the Spanish.
  • Guinea Pigs are used as a source of food in their native regions.
  • Folk Doctors in the Andes use Guinea Pigs to detect illness in people.  They believe if they hold the Guinea Pig up against a sick person it will squeak when it is near the source of disease.
  • Guinea Pigs cannot make their own Vitamin C, so need to be fed lots of fresh vegetables.
  • A baby Guinea Pig can run 3 hours after being born and survive on its own after 5 days.
  • In the wild they roam round together in groups of 5 to 10.
  • They have been used a great deal for medical research, which is where the term 'Guinea Pig' for someone who volunteers to be used in a test comes from.
  • There are different ideas as to why they were called Guinea Pigs, one thought is because they were sold for a Guinea in England another is that they were brought to Europe from a place in South America called Dutch Guiana by Spanish Sailors.
  • Guinea Pigs are born with fur and with their eyes open.

    ABOUT GOLDFISH
    Goldfish Family
  • Goldfish originate from a species called Crucian Carp.
  • The first evidence of them being domesticated comes from Ancient Chinese Art and Literature suggesting they have been kept in Chinese homes since 800 A.D.
  • Goldfish were brought back to Europe during the 1600's because of the trading market between Europe and China.
  • Originally Goldfish were kept in outside ponds and were not kept inside until the late 1800's.
  • Bubble Eye, Black Moor, Shubunkin, Panda Moor and Raukin are a few of the wonderful names given to types of Goldfish.
  • The Tang Dynasty (approx. 618 - 907 A.D.) was famous for its beautiful goldfish ponds.
  • The fancy tailed goldfish is thought to have originated during the Ming Dynasty (approx. 1368 - 1644 A.D.).
  • In America Goldfish became incredibly popular during the 1920's and 1930's with 'Competition' Goldfish selling for hundreds of dollars.
  • No other fish has been manipulated and developed as much as the goldfish which was originally a bronze/green colour.
  • Goldfish can't close their eyes.

    ABOUT PETS & PET OWNERSMan & Dog

  • There are 27 million pets in the UK
  • 60% of single people in the UK have a pet for companionship
  • 39% of London’s pet owners purchase their pet for companionship, despite living in the UK’s highest populated city of over 7 million people.
  • The East Midlands has the most pet lovers, with 14% of the pet population living in the heart of the UK
  • Dogs and cats are the most popular pets; in third place are Rabbits followed by Birds, Hamsters, Horses/Ponies, Snakes, Gerbils, Tortoises/Turtles and ... Rats!
  • Over a quarter (27%) of the UK’s pets were bought or acquired from an animal welfare or rescue centre
  • Dog owners are the most likely to allow their four-legged friends to sleep in their bedroom
  • Four out of ten pet owners are unaware that horses do most of their sleeping standing up
  • Pets are good for us - they keep us relaxed and happy!

Dog & Cat Pet population stats courtesy of National Pet Month (PFMA Survey 2008) & Blue Cross Pet Census


      MORE ANIMAL FACTOIDS

Frog

  • It is possible that cows moo with a regional accent. (research by John Wells – Professor of Phonetics of London University)
  • Some species of Poison Arrow Frog  produce a type of batrachotoxin so powerful that only 1/100,000 of an ounce can potentially kill a human.
  • There are more chickens in the world than humans.
  • A tiger and zebra has striped skin as well as striped fur.
  • An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
  • A crocodile cannot stick out it’s tongue – the tongue is attached to the roof the mouth
  • Butterflies taste with their feet
  • Emus can run upto speeds of 30 miles per hour
  • An adult elephant can hold about 4 litres of water in his trunk and  use it to carry nearly 270 kilograms of weight
  • A giraffe has the same number of bones in its neck as a human
  • A giraffe can clean it’s ears with it’s half a metre long tongue
  • Oysters can change from one gender to another and back again, depending on which is best for mating.

 

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