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At first glance, camels may seem like a biological anomaly, a large mammalian creature somehow capable of surviving in the world’s hottest and most desolate climates. That’s because camels have been forged by the desert itself, with every piece of their biology seemingly purpose-built to survive anything Earth’s arid landscapes can throw at them. These six facts about camels will give you a deeper understanding of their astonishing biology, their importance in world history, and their surprising evolutionary roots.

There Are Only Three Camel Species

Only three species of the Camelus genus are still living today. The first two — the dromedary or Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) and the Bactrian or Mongolian camel (Camelus bactrianus) — are both domesticated species. The most obvious difference between the two is that a dromedary has only one hump, while a Bactrian camel has two. The dromedary camel has existed in the wild for more than 2,000 years, and was, like its alternative name suggests, first domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula. The Bactrian camel, named for the Persian province of Bactria around modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, was a popular pack animal in Asia and filled caravans along the ancient Silk Road.

The third camel, known simply as the wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus), is visually akin to its domesticated cousin. In fact, it was once believed that the wild camel was simply a feral version of its similarly named relative, but genetics confirmed that the two camels separated some 1.1 million years ago. With a population of less than 1,000, the wild Bactrian camel is the eighth-most critically endangered mammal on the planet. Today, it’s mostly found in the remote parts of the Gobi desert in Mongolia and China.

A Camel’s Hump Stores Fat — Not Water

A persistent camelid myth is that these “ships of the desert” store water in their hump(s). Instead of H20, camels actually store fatty tissue that can be drawn upon when food is scarce — a common occurrence when traipsing the desert. Because they store fat vertically in their humps (and not throughout their body), camels can also dissipate excess heat more quickly. These strange humps may not be the most elegant thermoregulating solution Mother Nature has ever devised, but it certainly works for them.

North America Used to Have Its Own Native Camels

Some 11,700 years ago, the last native North American camelid species, in a genus known as Camelops, went extinct — a strange end for a species that originally evolved on the continent 44 million years ago during the Eocene period. The creature stood approximately 7 feet tall, weighed around 1,800 pounds, and looked remarkably similar to today’s dromedary, though experts are not 100% certain whether Camelops had a hump like its Arabian cousin. The Camelops died out around the same time as other large mammals in North America, such as mastodon and giant beavers, likely due to increased human hunting.

Camels (imported from the Mediterranean and the Middle East) did make a small comeback in the U.S. during the mid-19th century, when the U.S. government thought they would be the perfect beasts of burden for delivering supplies to military outposts in the Southwest. The Army’s short-lived Camel Corps was soon disbanded due to the Civil War and other factors, however, and the herds were sold off or let loose, with many roaming wild for years. Feral camels were spotted in the deserts of the Southwest up until the early 20th century.

A Camel Can Drink 30 Gallons of Water in 13 Minutes

If a dromedary or Bactrian camel comes upon a chance oasis or watering hole, it’s game time. Camels don’t lap water like most mammals, but instead suck down water almost like a vacuum, drinking as many as 30 gallons of water in 13 minutes. Such a deluge of water would be fatal for humans (and most other mammals) because the increased amount of fluid would dilute our blood and cause our cells to explode, but camels don’t have this problem because they can essentially store water in their first stomach, or rumen. This stomach allows the water to be released to the blood over the course of several hours. Camels also have superpowered blood cells capable of expanding to twice their size. As a camel uses up water and fatty tissue, its hump(s) will actually begin to deflate, but give a camel some food and a lot to drink, and it’ll spring back as good as new.

Camels Are Nearly as Fast as Racehorses

They may not look it, but camelids are extremely agile, and can reach speeds of 40 miles per hour at a dead sprint. At endurance speeds, camels can maintain a speed of roughly 25 mph for an hour, or 12 mph for eight hours. This doesn’t quite match a horse in terms of sheer sprinting speed, but things change when the race moves to a camel’s home turf. A camel’s feet are much larger than a horse’s hooves, and that extra surface area helps camels stay on top of sand for easier transportation.

Because camels are so impressively fast — the Greek root word within “dromedary” means “running,” after all — camel racing is a popular sport in many parts of the world, and has been for millennia, especially in the Arabian Peninsula. Camel racing became more formalized in the late 20th century, and is now a major sport drawing participants from around the globe.

Camels Are Perfectly Built for the Desert

Camels, both Bactrian and dromedary, are purpose-built for the desert. Yes, their fat-storing humps, impressive thermoregulation, oval-shaped blood vessels, and wide feet all aid these incredible creatures as they traverse some of the world’s most arid landscapes — but that’s really only the beginning of a camel’s fine-tuned, desert-ready biology.

For example, camels have three sets of eyelids, and two sets of eyelashes for batting away sand and dirt. Although it may seem counterintuitive, a camel’s furry coat keeps it from sweating, insulates it from the heat, and also keeps it warm when the temperature drops (it can get deathly cold when the sun sets in the desert). Also, because the sand can sometimes be scorching, camels have leather-like, heat-resistant pads on their knees, elbows, feet, and sternum, so they can lay down without getting burned. They even lack a certain skin fold found in other animals so that air can continue circulating under their bodies when lying down. Even their lips and tongues are extra hardened so they can eat prickly desert plants that other animals have to give a hard pass. Thanks to millions of years of evolution, the camel is truly one of the desert’s greatest masterpieces.

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Cats have strange habits that defy easy explanation. No matter how much water you put out for your kitty in his own fancy bowl, he’ll insist on drinking from a faucet. Despite buying Princess (or Luna, or Bella) a steady supply of expensive toys, she still prefers the shipping boxes they came in. Scientists have tried to get to the bottom of some of these bewildering behaviors. Let’s take a look at what they’ve found.

Why Do Cats Purr?

Purring is a specialty among cats in the subfamily Felinae, which includes domestic cats (Felis catus) as well as lynxes, bobcats, and other small wild cats. In these species, a bone in the throat called the hyoid is fixed in position; in non-purring cats like lions and jaguars, the hyoid is somewhat flexible. This difference suggests the bone has something to do with purring, but scientists are still debating the mechanism behind it. One theory holds that laryngeal muscles can rapidly open and close around the vocal cords, resulting in a purr.

Cats purr for several reasons: when they are content, want food, feel nervous, or are in pain. Experts say cats also purr just after they give birth or when they’re injured or sick, leading bioacoustician Elizabeth von Muggenthaler to suggest that purring might be a way for a cat to heal itself.

Why Does Catnip Make Cats High?

About 70% of cats are susceptible to the intoxicating effects of nepetalactone, the active compound in catnip. One whiff and these kitties are temporarily reduced to drooling, meowing messes, often rolling around in or rubbing their faces on the catnip source. That’s because nepetalactone is a volatile organic molecule that binds to receptors in a cat’s nose, stimulating neurons that activate the olfactory bulb, amygdala, hypothalamus, and other areas of the brain, causing a euphoric effect. The buzz seems to wear off after 10 or 15 minutes, leaving cats extremely chill thereafter.

Why Do Cats Love Boxes?

Not just boxes — cats will gladly jump into an open suitcase, storage bin, paper bag, or even a square-shaped optical illusion painted on the floor. Cats have an instinct to hide, and boxes offer a semi-enclosed space where they can huddle into a corner and have a good vantage point for spotting danger. Boxes also present a cozy spot to curl up for a nap. In the past decade, a few researchers have looked into how cats seem to squeeze themselves into uncomfortable or too-small containers. One 2014 paper even asked if cats were actually liquids since they appear to adapt their shape to fill a container. More research is needed.

Why Do Cats Knead?

A nursing kitten often presses its mom’s belly with its front paws; this kneading action stimulates the flow of milk. But many full-grown cats continue the behavior, “making biscuits” on pillows, soft blankets, towels, or their owners. Veterinarians think adult cats knead when they’re feeling safe and relaxed and to show affection to humans and other cats. The act of kneading can also calm cats, like a form of feline self-care. Making biscuits may also be a sign that a cat is marking its territory with the scent glands located between its toes.

Why Do Cats Drink Out of Faucets When Their Water Bowl Is Right There?

You take great care in providing fresh, filtered water to your finicky feline. But they still prefer to perch on the bathroom sink and awkwardly drink from the faucet. The reason might be linked to domestic cats’ evolution from their desert-dwelling ancestors. According to veterinarian Marty Becker, cats may sense that still water is stagnant and unhealthy. Kneeling down at a water bowl to drink might make them feel vulnerable, especially if they can’t see other cats or people behind them. Running water might signal a fresher source of hydration, and the sound and movement of a dripping faucet may pique their interest. On the other hand, your cat might simply prefer the taste of the dripping tap, or just doesn’t like the water bowl you picked out. To keep your cat out of the sink or bathtub (and save water), try a recirculating fountain.

Why Do Cats Typically Land on Their Feet?

In his book Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, Gregory J. Gbur suggests that falling cats land on their feet due to a combination of four movements identified by earlier physicists: pulling in paws to rotate its body, tweaking its momentum by extending paws at certain moments, bending at the waist to counter-rotate the front and hind sections of its body, and rotating its tail to change direction. The key movement, he told Ars Technica, is the “bend and twist”: “The cat bends at the waist and counter-rotates the upper and lower halves of its body in order to cancel those motions out. When one goes through the math, that seems to be the most fundamental aspect of how a cat turns over.” The whole chain of movements is called the cat righting reflex — and though they instinctively land right side up, they don’t always land on their feet.

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Animals are not normally known for exercising restraint when it comes to reproduction. But for all the attention paid to the promiscuity of busy breeders like dogs and jackrabbits, some critters display a different side of animal nature by mostly sticking with one partner. Scientists call these animals “socially monogamous” — a male “pair bonds” with a female to mate, raise young, and spend time together for the duration of their lives. (Occasionally, one may “cheat” with another mate but quickly return to their partner.) Here are 11 such creatures who know a thing or two about long-term relationships.

Bald Eagles

Although Benjamin Franklin once disparaged (possibly in jest) the bald eagle’s “bad moral character,” America’s national bird upholds a high standard for family life by (mostly) remaining faithful. Following a kamikaze courtship ritual in which two birds lock talons and tumble end-over-end until they nearly hit the ground, the male and female settle into a period of domestic bliss marked by dad’s willingness to undertake incubation and feeding duties. The “divorce” rate for these birds is less than 5%, according to scientists. And while they spend large chunks of the year alone, bald eagles mark their fidelity with a shared long-term commitment to nest building: One such home put together by an eagle couple in Florida was found to measure 9.5 feet long and 20 feet deep. It holds the record for the​​ largest bird’s nest ever documented.

Gray Wolves

Monogamy plays an important role in keeping the peace in gray wolf packs. All of the members of a pack fall into a strict social hierarchy, at the top of which is a dominant couple formed when a leading female chooses her mate; they become the only wolves in the pack that breed. This pair guides the group’s daily hunting, resting, and pup-rearing activities (the entire pack contributes to raising the dominant pair’s young) while making sure the younger and subdominant wolves, which may include aunts, uncles, and cousins, stay in line. Gray wolf monogamy may be an evolutionary advantage: A 2019 study of gray wolves in Idaho found that the longer a dominant pair stayed together, the better their offspring’s odds of survival, likely because the parents were able to share valuable knowledge with each other and their pups over time.

Shingleback Lizards

Also known as sleepy lizards or two-headed lizards, shingleback pairs are a common sight on the back roads of southern Australia. As with bald eagles, these bulky reptiles largely prefer to remain alone, until reuniting with the same partner for the mating season. Unlike those raptors, however, shinglebacks share virtually no child-rearing duties (there aren’t any — the offspring quickly strike out on their own), so it’s unclear what draws the same couples back to one another. One theory suggests that it’s simply a matter of safety with these slow-moving animals, who trust their partners to be on the lookout while they fill their bellies.

Eurasian Beavers

Eurasian beavers are not only eager but ready to settle down. In each beaver colony, only one adult pair breeds. The couple will mate once a year and have one to six kits in spring or early summer. In autumn, all members of the group gnaw down small trees and collect mud and brush to build their lodges (though some colonies prefer to burrow into riverbanks). The structures are usually placed in the middle of a pond, swamp, or bog and have underwater entrances leading to a dry and cozy inner chamber, where the whole family helps raise the youngest kits and spends the winter snacking on tree bark.

Coyotes

Unlike some of their human counterparts who enjoy “playing the field” amid the social opportunities of big-city life, urban-dwelling coyotes have demonstrated that they’ll stick with one mate for the long haul. This likely has to do with the large litters birthed by females, who need help feeding and caring for the young’uns. It also explains why coyotes are known to be unusually aggressive during and after the winter breeding season; as devoted family animals, the males are simply doing their best to divert danger from the dens of their vulnerable partners and pups.

Atlantic Puffins

These adorable “clowns of the sea” don’t joke around when it comes to long-term relationships. Atlantic puffins gather in large colonies on rocky cliffs overlooking the sea during the breeding season. Males attract females’ attention by hunching their bodies and grunting near a chosen nest site, usually a burrow in a rock crevice or under a boulder. Once a male and female puffin pair is bonded, they’ll stay monogamous and reunite each year to mate, greeting each other by rubbing their orange and yellow bills. A pair may even return to the same colony and burrow over multiple seasons. When not actually breeding and raising chicks, these pudgy seabirds embark on transatlantic migrations from coastal Maine and eastern Canada to Iceland, Ireland, and other parts of Western Europe, and then back again.

Prairie Voles

Although the lives of prairie voles can end after a few months in the unforgiving wild, these North American rodents make the most of their brief time on Earth by forming powerful connections with a mate. This attachment becomes even more pronounced in captivity, with voles showing signs of empathizing with a stressed partner or grieving after the partner’s death. Thanks to decades of research, scientists have a good idea about the hormones that fuel such strong animal bonds, and even use them as clues to help decipher the ongoing mystery of human relationships.

Kirk’s Dik-diks

A tiny African antelope with a funny name, Kirk’s dik-diks live in dry shrublands from southern Somalia to Namibia. At only 12 to 16 inches tall at the shoulder, they can easily feed on and hide among the vegetation when they’re not spending time with their monogamous mates. Male dik-diks vigorously defend their territories by urinating all over the place, thereby leaving their scent to warn away interlopers. This protective urge extends to their female partners: When the female of a pair urinates, the male follows closely behind her and covers up the female’s scent with his own, so no other males might be tempted to intervene.

White’s Seahorses

Fish in general aren’t wired toward mating for life, but certain species of seahorse, including the White’s or Sydney seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) in Australia, are known to engage in such behavior. This can be explained by factors such as a shrinking population and poor swimming capabilities, which make finding another mate difficult, as well as the quirk of nature that thrusts the burden of seahorse pregnancy on males. While the guys are tied up in a gestation process lasting from two to four weeks, female seahorses continuously prepare another round of eggs for insertion, ensuring the propagation of the species with an invested partner.

Gentoo Penguins

The third-largest penguin species, gentoos are best known for a distinct mode of courtship in which the male presents the female with a pebble. If accepted, the pebble marks both a symbolic gesture of a lifelong relationship and a practical tool for family building, as pebble nests serve to keep eggs and hatchlings off the cold ground. As with many other would-be monogamous animals, gentoo penguins are known to occasionally stray from their long-term mates, particularly in the controlled, predator-free environs of captivity. Regardless, the penguins almost always return to the same nesting site, suggesting that maybe it’s all about the pebbles, after all.

Albatrosses

These huge, graceful seabirds in the family Diomedeidae are paragons of partnership. Over their long life, albatrosses spend most of their time gliding over the open ocean, but will rejoin their mate once a year to breed. Many species, such as the black-footed albatross and Laysan albatross, return to the same nesting colony and even the same nest for decades. Both parents share the work of incubating their single egg and raising the chick.

The arrangement may seem like marital bliss, but recent research has shown that “divorce” may be rising among the socially monogamous birds. In a population of wandering albatrosses with fewer females than males, a 2022 study discovered that aggressive males broke up bonded pairs — a move called “forced divorce.” Another study linked climate change to increased divorce in a colony of black-browed albatrosses, suggesting that rising ocean temperatures made food scarcer and led to more breeding failures, after which the couples went their separate ways.

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If you know one thing about the platypus, it’s probably that it’s one of the planet’s weirdest species. These Australian creatures are furry mammals, but they reproduce by laying eggs — and if that wasn’t odd enough, they’re also amphibious. Their strange circumstances are matched by their goofy looks, which include duck-like bills, beaver-like tails, and dense fur.

Platypuses (yes, that’s a correct plural, although “platypi” is fine too) have a lot of wild things going on, and these seven facts show just how fascinating they can be. They’re bottom-feeders, but how do they hunt without being able to see, hear, or smell underwater? How do they chew with no teeth? Why should you, at all costs, avoid male platypuses’ feet during mating season? Read on to more fully grasp just how weird and wonderful these animals are.

Early British Naturalists Didn’t Totally Believe in Them

Imagine seeing a platypus for the first time with absolutely no context. When a group of British naturalists first laid eyes on a (lifeless) platypus specimen shipped from Australia in the late 18th century, they thought it could be a kind of taxidermy prank.

“It naturally excites the idea of some deceptive preparation by artificial means,” wrote English zoologist George Shaw in 1799, although he concluded, after “the most minute and rigid examination,” that it was the real deal. He also noted that the creature appeared to be a combination of a duck and perhaps a small otter or a beaver. And one of the early British colonizers of Australia thought it was an amphibious species of mole.

Shaw dubbed the creature the Platypus anatinus, or “flat-foot duck.” A few years later, a German naturalist named it Ornithorhynchus paradoxus, or “paradoxical bird-snout.” It turns out there was already a genus of beetle called Platypus, so science reconciled the two names to Ornithorhynchus anatinus, which is still its scientific name today.

“Platypus” stuck as the common name in the Western world. Aboriginal names for the animal have been around for longer, and include “boondaburra,” “mallingong,” and “tambreet,” depending on the region.

Their Fur Is Waterproof

Like many animals, platypuses have two layers of fur for insulation — but unlike in most species, the top layer is waterproof. Their undercoat is incredibly dense, which keeps the platypus warm in cold water. It’s covered by a coat of long, coarse hairs that trap air and keep the inner layer from getting wet, even after hours submerged in the water. The insulation effect, according to the Australian Platypus Conservancy, is comparable to a neoprene wetsuit about three millimeters thick.

They’re Equipped With Built-In Earplugs, Nose Plugs, and Goggles

Platypuses spend a lot of time hunting underwater and are able to swim far more gracefully than they can walk. Their front claws have retractable webbing for optimal paddling, and they use their hind feet and beaver-like tail for quick and easy turning.

Because they’re also land mammals, though, their bodies are built to protect their less-waterproof features while submerged, with specialized skin flaps that cover their ears and eyes, and nostrils that are able to close completely and create a waterproof seal. They’re bottom-feeders, and this allows them to spend plenty of time in muddy lakebeds gathering insects, worms, and small shellfish. Fortunately, they don’t need to see, smell, or hear to track that prey down, because…

Platypus Bills Have a Sixth Sense

Platypuses gather food without sight, smell, or hearing underwater, making even alternate navigation systems like sound-based echolocation impractical. Luckily, they have a sensory organ that’s rare in the animal kingdom: They sense electric fields with their bills.

Three different receptor cells in their bills detect motion, changes in pressure, and electric signals produced by muscle contractions in their prey. They move their heads from side to side to gather this information, figure out direction and distance, and ultimately go for the catch.

This is called electroreception, and only a handful of species have the capability. Besides monotremes, i.e. egg-laying mammals — a category that includes only the platypus and anteater-like echidna, also native to Australia — a few species of fish have it, too, and, to a lesser extent, bumblebees.

They Chew Their Food Using Rocks They Pick Up While Hunting

When the platypus reaches its dinner and scoops it up from the bottom of a lake or river, it makes sure to take a little gravel with it — after all, platypuses have no teeth, and need to masticate their food somehow. The hunter tucks everything into pouches in its cheeks and comes back up on land to dine, using the rocks to mash it all up in its mouth. After swallowing the soft parts of its prey, it spits out any leftover exoskeletons, along with the gravel.

While this might seem similar to what some birds, like chickens, do by picking up grit, it’s not quite as sophisticated. Birds use rocks to digest food in a second part of the stomach called the gizzard; platypuses literally just crunch them around in their mouths. In fact…

Platypuses Have No Stomachs

When platypuses eat, their food goes directly from the gullet to their intestines, with no stomach to break down food further. It’s not unheard of in mammals — they share this trait with their fellow monotremes — but most stomachless animals are species of fish.

The intestines have their own enzymes that break down food, and many stomachless species eat diets rich in calcium carbonate from sources like coral and shellfish. One theory is that with such an acid-neutralizing diet (imagine if you ate large quantities of Tums for every meal), acid-rich stomachs essentially became worthless wastes of energy somewhere along the evolutionary line.

Male Platypuses Store Potent, Painful Venom in Their Heels

Platypuses are pretty cute, in a weird way — but don’t let that deceive you. While they’re not on par with other Australian horrors like the box jellyfish, they have the dubious distinction of being one of the few venomous mammals on Earth, along with slow lorises, vampire bats, and some animals from the order eulipotyphla, which includes moles, hedgehogs, and shrews.

However, unlike most venomous mammals, they have a unique ability to really ruin a human’s day. Platypuses attack by viciously and repeatedly jamming specialized hind leg spurs into their opponents. When inflicted on people, these attacks cause extreme pain, which has been described by researchers as “immediate, sustained, and devastating.” One attack can cause near-total immobility for weeks, with lingering effects like increased sensitivity to pain and decreased mobility for months. Even morphine won’t dull the pain; those unlucky enough to experience platypus venom require nerve blockers for relief, sometimes for days.

Fortunately, there have been no reported fatalities in humans. The venom is present only in males and only during mating season, and researchers are not 100% clear about what its purpose is; the usual assumption is that the males primarily use it on each other to eliminate competition. While the attacks can be brutal, they’re not fatal to other platypuses, and usually only result in temporary paralysis.

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From leopard-print clothing to tabby cats to ladybugs, we’re surrounded by beautiful animal patterns. While some provide obvious camouflage for their wearer, others have more mysterious origins. Some are more complicated than they seem, or make more sense in the context of the food chain. One well-known animal, generally thought to be a solid color, has a pattern hiding in its fur that is far more obvious under infrared light.

What does your house cat have in common with wild cheetahs? Which big cat’s pattern goes way beyond just its fur? Why are peacock feathers so mesmerizing? These seven facts about animal patterns could help you see the animal kingdom in a new light.

Zebra Stripes Could Be Pest Control

It can be tricky to pin down just why an animal’s coat looks a certain way, and scientists have a few ideas about why zebras evolved to have their trademark black and white stripes — they might act as thermoregulation, or as a unique, confusion-based kind of camouflage, to name just a couple of examples. But one of the more promising, consistent theories — although scientists are still ultimately divided — is that the striped pattern keeps dangerous flies away.

After finding that zebra stripes are more pronounced in areas of Africa with more horseflies and tsetse flies (which can transmit deadly diseases among equines), an evolutionary biologist assembled a team for a new experiment. They observed horses, some dressed up in zebra-striped coats, next to some especially tame zebras, and found that while flies hovered around all of them, they rarely landed on zebras or the striped horses compared to the horses without coats. When flies would approach zebra-striped surfaces, they would behave as if they couldn’t find a good spot to land.

Black Panthers Have Spots

Black panthers aren’t a distinct biological species. Depending on the region, they’re technically either black leopards (Africa and Asia) or black jaguars (Central and South America), and often live in different regions than their tan-coated brethren, perhaps because black is more effective camouflage in those environments. But just because their black and near-black coats don’t show off their spots doesn’t mean they don’t have them. They’re just far more subtle.

Sometimes the spots are visible by just looking closely in good light, but researchers have been able to see black panther spots in the vast majority of cases using infrared light. Viewed that way, most black leopards just look like black-and-white portraits of higher-contrast cats.

Tiger Skin Is Striped, Too

There are very few reasons for someone to shave a tiger, but when they do (for example, if a tiger needs veterinary care), the animal’s skin matches the pattern of their coat, almost like it has been tattooed on. (And the pattern of each tiger’s stripes is unique.)

Because tigers are apex predators, they don’t usually need to hide from potential threats, but their striped pattern gives them an advantage in hunting. Many species that the tiger hunts as prey, including deer, are colorblind, so tigers actually appear green to them — and the stripes keep them from sticking out too much from the trees.

Ladybugs Come in Different Patterns

The ladybug (or ladybird or lady beetle)’s red and black dots are iconic, but they’re just one of many possible ladybug looks. In addition to red, their hard outer wings can be yellow or even black, and come in a variety of patterns. The yellow 22-spot ladybird, native to Europe, has (as its name suggests) 22 black spots. The Australian transverse ladybird has a vertical black band at its center and a more wavy pattern on its wings. In North America, the three-banded lady beetle is red with three thick black stripes, outlined in a more beigey color, on each of its wings.

Dalmatians Are Born Unspotted

You might remember this factoid from 101 Dalmatians. While adult Dalmatians are known for their many-spotted coats, their puppies are typically born all white, although some are born with patches. Most puppies start to show their spots in a few weeks. Each Dalmatian’s spots are unique, like a human’s fingerprints, so no two pups have the same pattern.

Speaking of 101 Dalmatians, this rambunctious breed is not one to take on lightly. After the release of the 1996 live-action film, Dalmatians began flooding animal shelters as adopting families realized they were in over their heads. This breed has been running alongside carriages for centuries — a normal walk is not going to cut it.

The “Eyes” on Peacock Feathers Don’t Move (Much)

How do you feel about prolonged eye contact? Peacocks, or male peafowl, are known to show off their famed colorful plumage, especially during courtship rituals. When a peahen is nearby, the peacock will start rattling his feathers at around 25 times per second, creating a noise to go along with the brilliantly hued show.

But as his feathers move, his eye spots, the circular blue and green shapes toward the top of each feather, stay mostly still. This part of the feather is created by feather barbs that are locked together. (Some researchers describe it as like Velcro.) This makes it much denser, and less ready to move, compared to the rest of the feather, making the whole display a bit more mesmerizing.

Spots and Stripes Can Be Just One Genetic Mutation Away

For a long time, cheetahs, which have spots, and king cheetahs, which have stripes on their backs, were considered separate species. Eventually scientists realized they were the same species, but now we know why they look so different: King cheetahs have variations in a gene researchers call Taqpep, which makes the cheetah’s ordinary spots “coalesce” into stripes and larger blotches. This distinct breed — not species — is found only in small populations in southern Africa.

This very same mutation affects the coats of domestic tabby cats, too. Many tabby cats, especially those in America, have the “mackerel tabby” pattern, which has tidy stripes. Cats with the same mutation that gives a king cheetah its stripes have the “blotched tabby” pattern, which is more, well, blotched, and are more common in Europe.