As winter approaches here in the northern hemisphere, the nights grow longer, the trees barer, and the weather a touch gloomier. It’s the perfect excuse to stay cozy indoors and take a break from the world outside.
Still, we have to get on with life, and to do that, we require a little energy and plenty of good mood. That’s why we’ve put together a collection of fascinating animal facts from the Instagram page Animal Pulse. They’re not quite vitamin D, but they’ll definitely brighten your day and teach you something new along the way!
#1 Never Forget, Always Remember
NOTE! The Bird displayed on this picture is not a crow but it’s a Grackle and it was used because of the angry face and it’s a lil bit similar to a crow Crows never cease to amaze with their incredible intelligence, and it isn’t confined to recognizing threats and holding grudges.
Prior research indicates that crows possess the talent to devise tools and even count. Stories abound of crows dropping nuts onto busy roads, waiting for cars to crack them open, and then retrieving the food once the traffic stops.
Some crows have even figured out how to use sticks to extract insects from tree bark or fashion hooks from twigs to fish out food from hard-to-reach places. The study from the University of Washington undeniably contributes to affirming the crows’ place in the intelligence hierarchy among birds.
Crows, it appears, are creatures of memory, holding on to grudges and recalling threats even after a lengthy span of 17 years.
Prior research indicates that crows possess the talent to devise tools and even count. Stories abound of crows dropping nuts onto busy roads, waiting for cars to crack them open, and then retrieving the food once the traffic stops.
Some crows have even figured out how to use sticks to extract insects from tree bark or fashion hooks from twigs to fish out food from hard-to-reach places. The study from the University of Washington undeniably contributes to affirming the crows’ place in the intelligence hierarchy among birds.
Crows, it appears, are creatures of memory, holding on to grudges and recalling threats even after a lengthy span of 17 years.
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82points
#2 Gathering for Goodbyes
It’s pretty obvious that animals can feel grief. Dogs mourn their owners and each other, and cats mourn the food they were supposed to get 20 minutes ago but didn’t because their human servant tried to sleep in on a Saturday. But one thing that animals don’t do is hold funerals. Cats would probably think it’s sign of personal weakness.
Actually, some animals do hold funerals, and one startling example of an animal that does this is the humble magpie. According to The Telegraph, magpies have been observed engaging in behavior that not only looks like grief, but also a lot like a memorial service. A magpie that encounters the body of another magpie might approach it and peck at it carefully, as if saying, “Frank! Frank! Wake up!” If the body doesn’t respond, the magpie will fly off, and then come back a few minutes later with a few blades of grass, which it will lay next to the body. But researchers haven’t just observed a single bird doing this — other magpies will join in the ritual, each one bringing its own offering of grass. Then the magpies will stand next to the body for a little while before flying away.
This behavior has also been observed in crows and ravens, so not only is it not an anomaly, it isn’t even a behavior that’s confined to a single species. Anthropomorphism rules.
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81points
#3 Heartbeats and Hugs
Ever wondered why your heart seems to beat in sync with your dog’s? This is not a figment of imagination, but rather, a scientific fact. Pioneering research from the University of Jyväskylä has made incredible revelations about the profound physiological connection between dogs and their owners.
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76points
Animal Pulse has drawn in 23.5K followers on Instagram, and its community is growing larger by the day. It’s easy to see why—the page is packed with facts and stories that are as informative as they are fun. Curious to learn more about the person behind it, Bored Panda reached out to its creator, Solomon Lokia.
Lokia, who grew up in Nigeria, started sharing posts about animals to address how nature and wildlife are often overlooked in his country. “There’s often little emphasis on appreciating or understanding the natural world here,” he told us. “I wanted to encourage a different way of thinking by creating engaging content about wildlife and animals.”
Armed with nothing more than an iPhone 7, Lokia launched his project two years ago, determined to make an impact. “I’m still using it today because, for me, the priority is spreading awareness and sharing my love for animals,” he explained.
#4 Silent But Smart
Every day, we share our cities with an array of wildlife. From birds and insects to squirrels and raccoons, these creatures navigate the concrete jungles alongside us.
But in Los Angeles, a global city of over 18 million people, there’s another species sharing the living space – the elusive mountain lion.
A recent study from the University of California (UC), Davis, Cal Poly Pomona, and the National Park Service highlights an intriguing aspect of urban wildlife.
The researchers found that mountain lions of Los Angeles are shifting their activities, avoiding typically human-frequented spaces to maintain a safe distance.
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70points
#5 Tiny Tragedy, Big Message
Animal campaigners are calling for a ban on the public sale of fireworks after a baby red panda was thought to have died from stress related to the noise.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, a conservation charity that runs Edinburgh Zoo, said Wednesday that it was likely that Roxie, a 3-month-old red panda kit, “died due to stress caused by fireworks being let off across the city centre.”
Fireworks are set off across the United Kingdom on and around Nov. 5, known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night, in celebration of the failure of a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament by a group of dissident Catholics in 1605.
The tradition is centuries old and unique to the U.K., with some towns creating huge elaborate effigies of Guy Fawkes to be burned — sometimes instead building models of contemporary figures, including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
But animal rights campaigners and pet owners have long complained that the noise causes extreme distress to animals.
The zoological society said that the red panda’s mother also died just five days earlier and that her death could also be related to fireworks noise.
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65points
#6 Wildly Adorable Mystery
Margays are small, wild cats that live in the evergreen and deciduous forests of Central and South America. They live primarily in trees and use their long, heavy tails for balance.
Mostly nocturnal, Margays hunt in trees and eat birds, eggs, fruit, and small mammals. Female Margays produce a litter of only one kitten every two years. This, along with the fact that Margays have been hunted for their coats, makes these majestic cats endangered.
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59points
For Lokia, the most fulfilling part of running Animal Pulse is connecting with an audience that shares his curiosity and enthusiasm. “It’s incredibly rewarding to bring amazing facts about animals to light and see others get excited about them,” he said.
However, updating the page with new and exciting material requires plenty of effort behind the scenes. “Gathering these facts does take time, but I rely on a combination of reputable sources such as scientific journals, documentaries, and credible publications,” Lokia added. “I also keep up with recent discoveries and trends in the field to keep everything accurate and relevant.”
“The process of research and content creation is as fulfilling as sharing it with others,” he noted.
#7 Solo Swimmer Alert
A solitary dolphin in the Baltic Sea appears to be talking to himself, potentially because he’s lonely, according to a new study.
Over 69 days between Dec. 8, 2022 and Feb. 14 2023, the researchers detected 10,833 sounds, including several usually related to communication. These included 2,291 whistles, 2,288 burst-pulses — a rapid series of clicks sometimes associated with aggression — 5,487 low-frequency tonal sounds and 767 percussive sounds. The findings were published in a new study on Oct. 31 in the journal Bioacoustics.
Among these noises, the dolphin produced three distinctive whistles. “Bottlenose dolphins have what are known as signature whistles, believed to be unique to each individual, much like a name,” Filatova said. “If we hadn’t known that Delle was alone, we might have concluded that a group of at least three dolphins was engaged in various social interactions.”
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57points
#8 Ranked and Ready
When you hear about Sgt. Stubby’s accomplishments, it’s hard to deny that he’s worthy of his title. Per the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, in 1917, Stubby was found wandering the grounds of Yale University, where the 102nd Infantry was training. The regiment adopted Stubby, and he quickly became their mascot, boosting morale with tricks like saluting with his paw. When the division shipped out for France, Pvt. J. Robert Conroy smuggled the dog onto their ship. Conroy’s commanding officer discovered Stubby, but he allowed him to stay when the dog gave him a salute.
But Stubby’s contributions weren’t limited to simple tricks. In February 1918, Stubby followed the 102nd Infantry to the front lines, where he became acutely familiar with the smell of gas. One morning, while the soldiers were sleeping, Stubby smelled a gas attack and roused the regiment with barks and bites, likely saving their lives. Later, Stubby would help locate wounded soldiers on the battlefield. At one point, Stubby even helped his regiment capture a German spy, biting the German’s legs and making him fall over.
For his contributions, Stubby was awarded the rank of sergeant, making him the first dog to be given rank in the United States Armed Forces, per the Smithsonian. In the years after World War I, Sergeant Stubby met several U.S. presidents and received many awards. He died in 1926, and his taxidermied corpse is held in the National Museum of American History.
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57points
#9 Against All Odds
Cats have nine lives — and apparently they have 900 miles in them, too.
Benny and Susanne Anguiano, a couple from Salinas, California, were reunited with their missing cat after he mysteriously traveled that far.
On a trip to Yellowstone National Park in early June, the couple’s beloved house cat Rayne Beau was spooked and ran off into the dense trees.
Distraught, they spent the rest of their trip desperately scouring the forest for him, at times getting lost themselves. They laid out his favorite treats and toys, hoping to lure him back to their campsite.
Benny Anguiano told NBC News that a Yellowstone employee came by their campsite to warn him that a pack of coyotes had attacked a small dog in the area — and that the couple would be lucky if their cat made it through the night. By the time the trip had concluded, Rayne Beau was still missing, Benny Anguiano said.
“We had to leave without him,” Susanne Anguiano said in an interview with NBC affiliate KSBW of Salinas. “That was the hardest day, because I felt like I was abandoning him.”
But as they were leaving Yellowstone, she spotted a special symbol.
“We were driving along and out of nowhere, these double rainbows appear, and it just knit it all together for me,” she told KSBW.
She said she took her cat’s namesake in the sky as a sign to remain hopeful for Rayne Beau’s return. Sixty days later, her wish on the rainbow came true: Her furry friend had been found.
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56points
Through his work, Lokia hopes to encourage more support and involvement in wildlife protection. “The beauty of our world lies in its diversity, and animals are a vital part of that,” he said. “To educate ourselves about them is to step closer to understanding the delicate balance of life on Earth.”
He’s particularly passionate about drawing attention to species that are endangered or struggling because of habitat destruction. “Loving animals isn’t just about admiration—it’s about action. Protecting habitats, supporting conservation efforts, and spreading awareness are how we ensure their survival,” he went on.
“Every creature, from the tiniest insect to the largest predator, plays a role in sustaining ecosystems. When we respect and care for them, we’re also securing our planet’s future.”
“Remember, saving one species could mean saving countless others, including ourselves,” Lokia said. “Let’s act now!”
#10 Mind Games in the Meadow
The old English proverb “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” has been used since the 16th century to describe the difficulty of getting someone to act in their own best interests.
Now, research by equine scientists suggests the use of this phrase has been inadvertently maligning horses for centuries.
Horses have the ability to think and plan ahead and are far more intelligent than scientists previously thought, according to a Nottingham Trent University study that analysed the animal’s responses to a reward-based game.
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55points
#11 Next-Level Animal Care
A wildlife center has developed a way of stopping an abandoned newborn red fox from becoming too used to humans: By feeding it wearing a fox mask.
The Richmond Wildlife Center in Richmond, Virginia, shared a video of the center’s founder, Melissa Stanley, feeding milk to the tiny female kit — the term for a juvenile fox — while wearing the mask in an attempt to prevent imprinting, where animals form a strong bond shortly after birth with the first other animal it receives care from.
“It’s important to make sure that the orphans that are raised in captivity do not become imprinted upon or habituated to humans,” the center said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
“To prevent that, we minimize human sounds, create visual barriers, reduce handling, reduce multiple transfers amongst different facilities, and wear masks for the species,” the update said.
The center added that it was able to find other fox kits the same age and weight as the rescued fox.
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54points
#12 Rare Feathered Comeback
New Zealand’s birds must love the ground. The round-faced kākāpō, also known as an owl parrot, is another species of endemic flightless bird, the only flightless parrot on Earth. It’s wings help with balance and to ‘parachute’ when jumping from tall trees to the forest floor. The birds are known to freeze when they feel threatened, to blend into the forest greenery and escape predators. Māori and European settlers used to keep the birds as pets. They’re now listed as Critically Endangered, largely due to habitat loss and predatory invasive species.
Where to see? The small number of remaining kākāpō exist on a handful of predator-free, sanctuary islands, under close supervision, mostly near Stewart Island, Fiordland and Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The general public’s currently unable to view this species in the wild, due to restrictions on protected habitats.
Where to see? The small number of remaining kākāpō exist on a handful of predator-free, sanctuary islands, under close supervision, mostly near Stewart Island, Fiordland and Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The general public’s currently unable to view this species in the wild, due to restrictions on protected habitats.
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53points
#13 Unintended Consequences
In 1958, Chairman Mao waged war on an unlikely enemy. Noticing that tiny sparrows frequently stole a little bit of grain, he saw an opportunity to increase grain production. ‘Birds are public animals of capitalism’ roared Mao’s government, launching a campaign to exterminate them. Professional hunters and ordinary folk alike chased sparrows, leading many birds to die of exhaustion. People destroyed their nests and smashed their eggs. Unfortunately, Mao didn’t realize sparrows also ate insects that did far more damage to agriculture. The resultant ecological imbalance exacerbated the Great Chinese Famine, which k*lled between 15 and 45 million people.
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53points
#14 Leafy Little Wonder
The leaf sheep sea slug (Costasiella kuroshimae), also known as the “leaf slug,” is a tiny, adorable marine creature that resembles a cartoon sheep with leafy “ears.” Found in waters around Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, it’s famous for its unique ability to perform photosynthesis, a process more common in plants. The leaf sheep feeds on algae and absorbs the chloroplasts from it, allowing the slug to harness energy from sunlight – a rare ability called kleptoplasty. Its vibrant, green leaf-like appearance and cute features make it popular among marine enthusiasts and on social media.
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52points
#15 Behind Those Eyes
In a refreshing attempt to understanding animal consciousness and emotions, a group of researchers from various disciplines have come together to share their thoughts.
The research team was led by Dr. Marcela Benítez, assistant professor of anthropology at Emory University.
“As far as we know, this is the first assessment of how animal behavior researchers across a range of disciplines think about emotions and consciousness in non-human animals,” said Professor Benítez.
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51points
#16 Fluff Alert Incoming
The Japanese flying squirrel is a tiny, nocturnal creature that looks like something out of a fairytale. With its big, round eyes and soft, fluffy fur, this squirrel is irresistibly cute. Its small paws and puffy tail make it look like a living plush toy, while its gliding membrane allows it to effortlessly glide between trees. When perched, its wide-eyed expression and petite size create an endearing sight, making it one of the most charming animals in the wild!
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50points
#17 Behind Closed Doors Breaking the Chains Silent Victims Speak Freedom Finally Found The Cost of Control No More Dancing Pain Rescue and Rebuild Unseen Suffering Exposed A New Beginning Beyond the Performance
In a major victory for animal welfare, 31 macaque monkeys have been rescued from Indonesia’s last remaining ‘monkey dance training village’ by the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), with support from World Animal Protection. The rescued troupe, formerly used in cruel street performances, has been relocated from Cirebon to the JAAN rehabilitation center in Cikole, West Java.
These long-tailed macaques, some as young as eight months old, were horrifically torn from the wild and subjected to months of brutal training designed to force them to dance for money in front of tourists and shoppers.
The abusive training process involved starvation, beatings, and chaining the monkeys by their necks. Forced to wear masks and doll outfits, the animals were made to stand on two legs for hours at a time under the constant threat of choking. When not performing, the monkeys were confined to small, single cages, deprived of adequate space and care.
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47points
#18 Hop To A Better Cause
Petco has recently announced the implementation of a new adoption-only policy for rabbits, acknowledging their status as the third-most popular companion animal in the U.S.
As a result of this progressive step, Petco is ending its prior limited pilot program that allowed the sale of commercially bred rabbits. This positive shift underscores Petco’s dedication to fostering connections between caring families and pets in need of loving homes.
“Petco is doing right by rabbits by recommitting to an adoption-only policy. We celebrated the company’s decision years ago to commit to a humane business model that offers adoptable cats and dogs instead of puppies and kittens from massive commercial breeding operations,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
“Adding rabbits to this policy reflects a commitment to animal welfare and sets an example for other retailers,” continued Block. “There’s simply no need for puppy, kitten, or rabbit mills when there are already so many wonderful adoptable companions in need of homes.”
HSUS has been at the forefront of the movement to end puppy sales in pet stores, with eight states and over 475 localities now prohibiting such sales, many of which also include kittens and rabbits.
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44points
#19 Frozen Feline Flashback
Researchers have pulled the mummy of a newborn saber-toothed cat that died at least 35,000 years ago from Siberia’s permafrost — and the kitten still has its whiskers and claws attached.
A new analysis of the kitten’s stunningly-preserved head and upper body shows it was just 3 weeks old when it died in what is now Russia’s northeastern Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia. Scientists found pelvic bones, a femur and shin bones encased in a block of ice together with the mummy. The circumstances of the animal’s death are unknown.
It is extremely rare to find well-preserved remains of saber-toothed cats, and this one belongs to the species Homotherium latidens, according to a study published Thursday (Nov. 14) in the journal Scientific Reports. Saber-toothed cats of the extinct genus Homotherium lived across the globe during the Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago) and early Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) epochs, but evidence suggests this group became less widespread toward the end of the Pleistocene (also known as the last ice age).
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40points
#20 Cats Outsmarting Toddlers Again
Cats can definitely recognize the sound of words coming from people, and more and more studies prove that cats rely on interaction with humans in problem-solving,” Dr. Carlo Siracusa, a veterinary behaviorist at the University of Pennsylvania, told Live Science. There is even limited evidence that cats can respond to pointing, and research in the past five years has shown that cats can recognize not only their own names but also those of familiar humans and animals. But can they associate words and objects more generally?
To test this theory, Saho Takagi and her team at Azabu University in Japan gave 31 adult cats a simple word game used to investigate the same ability in babies. The cats were shown two nine-second cartoon clips with recordings of their owners repeating a made-up word over each image. The sequence of clips — a red sun labeled “paramo” and a blue unicorn with the word “keraru” — was repeated until the cats appeared to get bored and paid 50% less attention to the screen.
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40points