National Network for Equitable Library Service

From strange behaviour to interesting prey-vs.-predator relationships to fantastical creatures, the animal world is full of fascinating facts about our furry, feathered and scaly friends:*The wood frog burrows into the leaf litter in winter; its heart, brain and eyeballs freeze, and they defrost again in the spring.*In 2006, a hunter shot and killed a hybrid of a grizzly and a polar bear, dubbed a grolar or pizzly bear, the first to be found in the wild.*The bombardier beetle protects itself by expelling a boiling hot chemical spray from its rear end.*A woodpecker's tongue is so long that it rolls up in the bird's skull like a tape measure in its case.*Rabbits produce two kinds of stool: one that the animal eats, which is rich in vitamins and nutrients, and another that is waste matter.*Some clever crows drop nuts onto roadways so that passing vehicles drive over them and break the shells open.*The horned lizard defends itself by squirting blood from its eyes.*Canada was home to 2.5-metre-long giant sea scorpions 400 million years ago.*And so much more.