DO YOU KNOW …
…howlong animals live? The animal which lives the longest life is the tortoise. Itsometimes lives between 300 and 400 years. The crocodile can live for 300 years, the elephant and the eagle – for 100 years.
…thatelephants are very good swimmers?
…thatthe elephant can pick up a coin with his trunk? The trunk is everything for theelephant. The elephant can do with his trunk much of what we do with our hands.It can pick up a man and put him on his back; then it can pick up and give hima coin which fell from his pocket.
…thatwhen an elephant grows, everythinggrows on it except its eyes?
…aboutthe march of 37 elephants across the Alps?When Hannibal fought Romethirty-seven of his elephants made a march across the Alpscovered with ice and snow. We know that his elephants were African, but Hannibal’s elephants weresmaller then the African elephants of today.
…thatcrocodiles are cold-blooded? Their temperature rises and falls together withthe temperature of the air.
…thatin the old, old days, many, many years ago crocodiles lived in Europe?
…thatcrocodiles kill more people in Africa than anyother wild animal?
…thatin the eighteenth century in Francethere was a big wolf which greatly frightened the people? It killed and ate 90men before people could kill it.
…thatif you feed a bear too much, it will starve to death? When you feed a bear toomuch it will not eat roots and berries which are necessary for its long wintersleep.
…thatthe snow leopard of Tibethas a tail longer than its body?
…thatonce there lived a tortoise in Americawith a flower growing on its back?
…thatscientists think that cleverest wild animal is the chimpanzee and the second isthe orang-outang and the third is the elephant?
Lionsare cleverer than tigers and leopards.
Amongthe domestic animals the cleverest are the horse and the dog. There animalstake much from the people with whom they live.
…thatanimals can talk to one another? Of course they cannot talk as people can, butmany animals can express joy, fear, anger by their shouts. Monkeys, forexample, make many different sounds with their mouths, which have differentmeanings.