10 Lesser-known Facts About AnimalsThat Made People Say‘Aww’

葉伶俐

1. Trained African giant pouched rats have foundthousands of unexploded landmines and bombs. Researchershave also trained these rats to detect tuberculosis. And mostrecently they are training them to sniff out poached wildlifetrophies being exported out of African ports.

2. In most Western cultures，black cats are considered abad omen. But in Scottish lore，the arrival of a strange blackcat signifies prosperity.

3. Cheetahs are so shy that zoos give them their ownemotional“support dogs”.

4. Opposums get a lot of hate，but they clear manyunwanted bugs and parasites from the ecosystem.

5. A sloth’s claws work the opposite way that human handdoes. The default position is a tight strong grip，and sloths mustexert effort to open them up. This is why sloths don’t fall out oftrees when they’re asleep.

6. A University Of Chicago study found that rats are just ascapable of empathy as humans.

7. The Northern Cardinal is probably the most“romantic”bird species：they mate for life，travel together，sing beforenesting，and during courtship，feed seed beak-to-beak.

8. Tigers are carnivores，but will eat fruit in order to easedigestion.

9. The Mangalica is the only pig species covered in a longwool coat，similar to a sheep’s.

10. Secretary birds are famous for its snake- stompinglegs;a single kick delivered some 195 newtons of force. Theyare also famous for their long eyelashes.

1. 經(jīng)過訓(xùn)練的非洲巨囊鼠已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了數(shù)千枚未爆炸的地雷和炸彈。在研究人員的訓(xùn)練下，非洲巨囊鼠已經(jīng)可以檢測(cè)出肺結(jié)核。最近研究人員正在訓(xùn)練巨囊鼠在非洲港口嗅出偷獵的野生動(dòng)物。

2. 在多數(shù)西方文化中，黑貓被視為不祥之物。但是在蘇格蘭傳說中，神秘黑貓的到來預(yù)示著繁榮。

3. 獵豹天性十分害羞，所以動(dòng)物園會(huì)給它們配備“狗狗朋友”陪伴其長(zhǎng)大。

4. 很多人都很討厭負(fù)鼠，但是它們會(huì)在生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中清理掉大量煩人的蟲子和寄生蟲。

5. 樹懶的爪子和人手的工作原理正好相反。樹懶爪子的默認(rèn)姿勢(shì)是緊握，樹懶必須用力才能將爪子打開。這就是為什么樹懶睡著時(shí)不會(huì)從樹上掉下來。

6. 芝加哥大學(xué)的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，老鼠和人類一樣有同理心，能夠感同身受。

7. 北美紅雀很可能是最浪漫的鳥類，它們一生只有一個(gè)伴侶，兩只鳥會(huì)一起旅行，筑巢前會(huì)唱歌，談戀愛時(shí)還會(huì)嘴對(duì)嘴喂食。

8. 老虎是食肉動(dòng)物，但是會(huì)吃水果來幫助消化。

9. 曼加利察豬是唯一一種全身被長(zhǎng)毛覆蓋的豬，就和綿羊一樣。

10. 蛇鷲以能夠踩死蛇的長(zhǎng)腿而聞名，腿的踢力可達(dá)195 牛頓。它們還以長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的眼睫96 毛著稱。