7 Extremely Strange Animal Facts

1. Cats are responsible for the global extinction of 33 species.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed

Just so we’re clear, these are feral cats and not your pets but still… 
Outdoor kitties murder billions of creatures every year and, in 33 known cases, have wiped them off the planet forever.

But before we blame the cats, let’s remember that it’s our fault there’s so many feral cats. 
It’s always our fault :(

2. All dogs poop facing the North Pole.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed

Some folks need a magazine. Some need to align their axis with global magnetic polarity. 
Who are we to judge anyone’s particular poop ritual?

3. There are deer in Eastern Europe that still won’t cross where the Iron Curtain was.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed

A quarter century after the fall of the Soviet Empire, their are some animals that still respect it’s borders. Researchers have noticed that red deer in the Czech Republic won’t cross where electric fences once marked the border into West Germany.

This is most likely due to genetically-inherited memory, and not their political or economic beliefs.

4. The oldest living creature was a clam that lived 507 years.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed

And her name was Ming. Some researchers found her off the coast of Iceland and determined from the rings in her shell that she lived over 5 centuries.

So I guess sitting in one place for an extended amount of time isn’t bad for your health?

5. Millions of years ago, there were 6’8” penguins that weighed 250 lbs.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed

Basically, the size of your average college football player.
Scientists: please clone some soon.

6. The first animal to orbit the moon was a tortoise.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed

We always hear about how the Russians launched a dog into orbit, but why has history forgotten that they first sent a turtle to the moon?

Unlike the dog, it came back.

7. Ants can survive a fall from any height. Even from an airplane.

Dan Meth / Via BuzzFeed