Animal Facts for Kids

Did you know the cheetah is the fastest land animal? It’s not just fast, it’s lightning fast! They can zoom up to 120 kilometers per hour, or 75 miles per hour!

Imagine this: that’s faster than most cars on a highway! To do this, their stride length is an incredible seven meters long when running full out.

They need their specialized, semi-retractable claws—like track shoe cleats—to grip the ground and not slip while chasing prey.

If you thought one heart was enough, think again! Octopuses have three hearts beating inside their squishy bodies.

Two of those hearts are called branchial hearts, and their only job is to pump blood to the gills to grab oxygen.

The third, the systemic heart, is the main one that sends that oxygen-filled blood to the rest of the body. It’s a whole circulatory team!

The blue whale isn't just the biggest animal ever—its heart is HUGE! It can weigh around 180 kilograms, which is about 400 pounds.

That’s as heavy as a full-grown gorilla! When it dives deep, this giant muscle only needs to beat about twice per minute to keep the whale going.

To compare sizes, its tongue alone can weigh as much as a full-grown elephant! Talk about a record-breaker for size!

The smasher mantis shrimp has a punch so fast, the water around its club actually boils! This is called cavitation.

The acceleration of its punch is similar to that of a .22 caliber bullet in a gun.

It delivers a massive blow of about 15,000 newtons of force, which can smash open snail shells and even crack aquarium glass!

Tardigrades, or 'water bears,' are the microscopic champions of survival. They can enter a dry, almost frozen state called a 'tun.'

In this state, they can survive temperatures as low as minus 272 degrees Celsius (minus 458 degrees Fahrenheit)—that’s super close to absolute zero!

They can also survive getting super hot, up to 149 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit) for short times!

When it comes to long-distance travel, the tiny Arctic Tern is the ultimate world traveler for kids to learn about.

This small bird flies an astonishing 55,923 miles (about 90,000 kilometers) annually, moving between the Arctic and Antarctic for summer.

That trip is like flying around the Earth more than twice! They do this every single year to follow the best sunlight and food.

Elephant tusks are not horns; they are actually giant, forever-growing teeth! They grow about 17 centimeters (7 inches) per year.

The longest tusk ever recorded for an African elephant was an amazing 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long—that’s the length of a small car!

The heaviest single tusk found actually weighed almost 120 kilograms (264.5 pounds), which is heavier than many grown-up people!

While we think of camouflage, some animals use color change for mood! Chameleons can shift their skin color in seconds.

They use special cells called chromatophores, which have tiny sacs of pigment. Nerves and muscles let them expand or contract these sacs instantly.

They don't just use it to hide; they flash colors to warn rivals or show off to potential mates!

Your blood is red because it uses iron in a protein called hemoglobin. Guess what? Octopus blood is blue!

They use a different protein called hemocyanin, which has copper instead of iron to carry oxygen around their bodies.

This copper-based system is actually more efficient at grabbing oxygen when the water is cold and the octopus is moving slowly.

These microscopic tough guys have been around for about 500 million years, which means they’ve seen the Earth go through HUGE changes.

Scientists believe they have survived all five major mass extinction events that wiped out most other life.

Their secret weapon is the 'tun' state, which lets them survive even the blast from a supernova, making them almost impossible to defeat!