[Do you KNOW]

Why dolphins leap out of water

The dolphin, like all water-dwelling mammals must also surface to breathe. Both dolphins and whales have tails that are flattened horizontally not vertically like fish-tails.

Dolpines swim by sweeping their tails up and down. So, when swimming at speed they leap out of water to save energy.

This is because it is quicker and easier to move through air than water.

How many birds have become extinct

Since 1600 more than 150 birds have become extinct but we have not taken much notice about it. There could be more birds that have disappeared from the face of the Earth. In fact, there are many threatened species today.

Two of the birds that became extinct are the dodo. The dodo was a large flightless bird - a pigeon that lived in the Mauritius islands. By the middle of the 18th century they were extinct.

Presently about eleven per cent of bird species are endangered and most of them are facing this threat because of the harm done by people to the natural environment.

Why snakes have forked tongues

They have such tongues so that they can ‘taste’ their way about the world.Snakes pick up scent with their tongues. When a snake’s tongue is flicked out of its mouth, it picks up tiny particles of scent left by other animals. Now if you are wondering why a snake picks up scent from its tongue it is because inside the snake’s mouth there is a pit lined with cells that are very sensitive to smells.

The tongue flickers in the air or on to the ground, then it is pushed into the pit to test for smells that might lead to food. The deep fork means that the snake can sample a wider track than it could with a simple, undivided tongue.

Which sea creature feeds on its mate’s blood

Have you heard of a fish named the angler fish? If you have, then you’ll know that the female of the deep-sea angler fish is about 20 times bigger than the male. When a tiny male meets a female it clamps on to the body of the female fish with its powerful jaws, and does not let go. He hangs on to the side of her body with all its might and eventually becomes fused to the female’s body. Then it feeds on her blood.

What the mantis’ main weapon is

The front legs are its main weapons. They are very spiny and great for seizing the prey, rather like spiny pincers.

These are good defence weapons against any attackers and even humans can get a nasty jab from a mantis if it swivels its front legs and uses its spines to stab.

How the snowy owl babies are protected from prey

The snowy owl, which is a bird that lives in the polar regions uses camouflage to protect its babies. The chicks which hatch out in a nest on the ground in springtime do not have the same coloured feathers as their parents.

The young and adult birds have different camouflage. The mother owl has white feathers with dark speckles which help it to blend with the snowy landscape. However, as the chicks are born in springtime when the rocks and plants are exposed, it is important that the chicks have feathers that blend with the environment.

The chicks have mottled grey feathers that merge with the rocks and plants near the nest. Snowy owls feed their chicks on lemmings and other small mammals.