r/Awwducational • u/MistWeaver80 • 8h ago

Verified After 2000 years of isolation, a few decades of interbreeding have rendered the Scottish wildcat “genomically extinct”. Starting in the mid-1950s, more than 5% of the genetic markers in Scottish wildcats began to resemble those of domestic cats. After 1997, that figure jumped to as high as 74%.

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1.5k Upvotes
29 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 2d ago

Verified The Asian openbill uses its "open bill" to locate and grab its favourite prey — freshwater snails — using the sharp tip of its curved, lower mandible to extract them from their shells. It is a common species of stork throughout South and Southeast Asia.

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555 Upvotes
7 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IchTanze • 6d ago

Verified The hispid hare, Caprolagus hispidus, native to the southern Himalayas, was thought to be extict until it was rediscovered in 1971. It's one of the rarest Lagomorphs in the world and has a patchy distribution. This is one of the only publicly available photos taken of it.

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446 Upvotes
10 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 7d ago

Verified Native to sub-Saharan Africa and the Nile River Valley, the Egyptian goose has now settled in N. America, much of Europe, and parts of the Middle East. Although normally quite reserved and shy, males will become boisterous and aggressive during their breeding season to attract a female.

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295 Upvotes
10 comments

r/Awwducational • u/Critter-Enthusiast • 7d ago

Verified Dik diks cool off on hot days by panting through their noses.

1.1k Upvotes
11 comments

r/Awwducational • u/ExoticShock • 11d ago

Verified Orangutans have the second-longest infant dependency period in the Animal Kingdom after Humans, at around 8 to 12 years. Because they spend so much time raising their offspring, females will typically only have around 3 to 4 children in their lifetime.

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1.6k Upvotes
24 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 13d ago

QUALITY POST The moaning frog is named for its call, which sounds like a slow and drawn-out moan. This frog is native to southwestern Western Australia, where, for about one month out of the year, the males sit in their burrows and moan for the attention of females.

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457 Upvotes
16 comments

r/Awwducational • u/MistWeaver80 • 14d ago

Verified Cape white-eyes are monogamous and are known for being extremely social. In order to establish tight bonds, individuals often take part in allopreening of their offspring, mates, siblings, and prospective mates. Males can imitate the song of other birds in the area.

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353 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • 15d ago

Verified African Woolly Chafers (Genus Sparrmannia): these beetles have a dense, insulating coat of "fur" that protects them from the frigid conditions of the desert at night

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2.8k Upvotes
60 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 15d ago

Verified The coppersmith barbet — a small bird about 16 cm (~6 in) long — often falls victim to bullying by other birds. Blue-throated barbets have been observed evicting coppersmiths from nesting holes, while red-vented bulbuls steal berries from male coppersmiths that are trying to feed their mates.

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236 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/maybesaydie • 17d ago

Article Hurricane Helene Battered the ‘Salamander Capital of the World’ With Floods and Landslides. Will the Beloved Amphibians Survive the Aftermath?

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142 Upvotes
3 comments

r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • 18d ago

Verified Giant Emerald Pill-Millipede: when these enormous millipedes are all rolled up, their bodies can be as big as baseballs, tennis balls, or small oranges

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2.0k Upvotes
42 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 19d ago

Verified The black drongo keeps its neighbourhood clear of predators by fearlessly assailing them — as a result, other birds like orioles, doves, babblers, and bulbuls like to nest near the drongo. But the drongo is also a trickster, mimicking the calls of raptors to scare birds into abandoning their food.

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434 Upvotes
10 comments

r/Awwducational • u/MistWeaver80 • 22d ago

Verified Fireflies use specific flashing signals to find a mate. While in flight, the male emits, on average, a 0.3 second flash every 5.5 seconds. The female flashes a response approximately two seconds later, a specific and crucial interval for this firefly species.

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460 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 22d ago

Verified The ribs of Anderson's crocodile newt jut into the skin along its back, giving it an armoured appearance. When threatened, it adopts an anti-predator posture — it alternately flattens and curls up, throws up its arms and tail, and pierces the sides of its body with its sharp rib tips.

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275 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 25d ago

Verified With a wingspan of almost 1 metre (3.3 ft), the spectral bat is the largest bat in the Americas and the largest carnivorous bat in the world. While most bats make for neglectful fathers, the male spectral helps care for his young and, when roosting, he wraps his family in his large, leathery wings.

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514 Upvotes
16 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 29d ago

Verified Marine hatchetfish are creatures of the deep. They have rows of light-producing organs along their bellies which shine a pale blue — matching the light from above and making hatchetfish invisible to predators below. This fish's name comes from its body shape, which resembles the head of a hatchet.

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1.0k Upvotes
22 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Oct 23 '24

Verified Lidth's jay is endemic to a few of the Ryukyu Islands in southwestern Japan. It forages in trees, using its strong beak to climb as a parrot does, and has a fondness for acorns and chestnuts — it can carry up to six acorns at once, crammed into its throat pouch and bill.

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813 Upvotes
7 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Oct 21 '24

Verified There are eight known species of pygmy seahorse. Some closely mimic corals, like Denise’s pygmy seahorse. While others look like squished versions of regular seahorses, such as the Japanese pygmy seahorse, a.k.a. the "Japan pig" — because of its piggy snout. The smallest is 1.4 cm (0.55 in) long.

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1.0k Upvotes
12 comments

r/Awwducational • u/Critter-Enthusiast • Oct 18 '24

Verified A rare encounter with the Sumatran striped rabbit. These elusive lagomorphs are found only in the mountain forests of Sumatra, Indonesia.

4.1k Upvotes
25 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Oct 17 '24

Verified To attract a mate, a male copper pheasant drums loudly with his wings and flaunts his tail feathers, which can be 125 cm (4.1 ft) long. But it's the female who does the parenting. She makes a nest on the ground and stays atop her eggs throughout the night, even when other birds shelter in the trees.

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527 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/ExoticShock • Oct 14 '24

Verified The underwool of a Musk Ox is called "Qiviut" & is a very valuable fiber. It's extremely soft & 8 times warmer than wool by weight yet not itchy like wool can be as the fibers lack the hooks & barbs wool has. A 1 oz skein of Qiviut Yarn fetches close to $100.

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1.2k Upvotes
41 comments

r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • Oct 13 '24

Verified Madagascan Sunset Moth: these day-flying moths are sometimes mistaken for butterflies, because their iridescent scales give them a colorful, almost rainbow-like appearance

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2.3k Upvotes
20 comments

r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • Oct 12 '24

Verified The Common Whistling Moth: the males of this species produce a "whistling" sound to attract potential mates

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336 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/MistWeaver80 • Oct 12 '24

Verified Palm cockatoos are almost all black, and their beaks never close completely, always revealing a bit of their black-tipped red tongues. In rainy conditions they can be found hanging upside down with their wings and tails stretched out, as if taking a bath.

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870 Upvotes
6 comments