49 Adorable Animal Facts That We Bet Will Melt Your Heart

Slow lorises are the only known venomous primates. The venom comes from brachial glands on their forearms and from their saliva. When threatened, the slow loris will lick the brachial patch prior to biting the aggressor.

27. The black heron uses a hunting method called canopy feeding. It uses its wings like an umbrella, creating shade that attracts fish.

28. Bushbabies pee on their hands to have more traction on branches and to be able to find their way back to their nests.

29. Some stoats (also known as weasels) turn completely white in winter - except for the tip of their tail, which remains black. Their name is thought to have derived from the Dutch word for "naughty."

30. Luzon bleeding-heart is a species of a ground dove which has a reddish hue extending down the belly, furthering the illusion of blood having run down the bird's breast. They are shy and secretive, and very quiet, and rarely leave the ground except when nesting.

Japanese macaque wash their food in saltwater before they eat in order to both clean it and enhance the taste. They also make snowballs for fun.

32. Huskies have a lot of special adaptations for dealing with cold weather. For instance, when they sleep, they put their tails over their noses. The tails are specially adapted to act as warm air filters so the dog only breathes warm air.

33. The shoebill is noted for its slow movements and tendency to stay still for long periods, resulting in descriptions of the species as "statue-like." 

34. Pangolins have soft, pale scales when born, which begin to harden by the second day. They are the only mammal with scales and it’s also the most illegally traded wild mammal on the planet, and is in danger of being eaten to extinction.

35. Southern viscacha is a species of viscacha, a rodent which is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. It is a colonial animal living in small groups in rocky mountain areas. They do not venture far from rocks so that they can plunge underground if danger threatens.

Prairie dogs have such a complex means of communication that they can embed descriptions of predators within their calls, and even have a specific call to describe a man with a gun.

37. The laughing falcon is a bird that has a loud cry that sounds like happy/sad/crazy laughter, and it specializes in eating snakes.

38. Helicocranchia pfefferi a.k.a piglet squid is a funny looking squid that is about the size of a small avocado and can be found most commonly in the deepwater (greater than 100 meter or 320 feet) of virtually all oceans.

39. There are birds called "sociable weavers" who construct nests which can weigh 2,000 pounds, measure 20 feet wide, and house up to 500 birds. Birds that shirk their duties on creating the nest’s main thatch structure, and focus instead on their individual chambers, are chased away from the nest.

40. The Dumbo Octopus lives 7000 meters down in the ocean. They are about 20 centimeters long and use their ears to swim.

The Nicobar Pigeon is the closest living relative of both the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire. It is the only living member of its genus, Caloenas.

42. The Matschie's tree-kangaroo lives high up in the trees of Papua New Guinea. Their long, sharp claws allow them to scale tree trunks like a cat. These kangaroos have been observed jumping to the ground from up to 30 feet high in a tree without getting hurt.

43. The Norwegian Lundehund is one of the world’s rarest and oldest dog breeds. It has six toes, extremely flexible joints and was bred specifically to fetch puffin eggs.

44. The hoatzin is the last surviving species of a line of birds that diverged from all other birds 64 million years ago, just after the dinosaur extinction event, and that hoatzin chicks have claws on their wings.

45. By placing stones, bones and shells in and around his nest by size — from small to large — the male bowerbird creates an optical illusion, known as forced perspective, making his nest appear larger than it actually is from the point of view of prospective mates.

Pygmy Seahorses which measure only about the size of a human fingernail, change color after birth to match whatever seafan they land on, regardless of the color of their parents.

47. Megapodes are birds that hatch fully feathered and active, already able to fly and live independently from their parents.

48. The Manul (or Pallas' cat) of Central Asia has the longest and densest fur of all the cat species.

49. The Golden-Tailed Gecko, native to Australia, is known to shoot a sticky, foul-smelling substance from its tail when threatened.