Did you know that there are over 8.7 million species of animals on Earth? It would take more than 1,000 years to identify them all. Some of these creatures are so strange that we still aren’t entirely sure how they got here. Others are just plain bizarre. Many animals and birds have weird fascinating facts. Here are some of our favorite strange, bizarre, and weird animal facts.

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Crocodiles swallow stones for deeper, longer dives.

Crocodiles consume stones to enhance diving ability, using the added weight as ballast to increase underwater time.

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Less than 0.1% of all animal species have ever been fossilized.

Fossilization is an exceptionally rare event, with conditions favoring organisms with hard parts like bones or shells. It’s estimated that less than 0.1% of all species that ever lived have been preserved as fossils, often requiring rapid burial and specific sediment types to prevent decay​​​​.

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Cicadas are the loudest insects on the planet.

The African cicada called Brevisana brevis is the loudest of them all. It produces an alarm call with a mean sound pressure level of 106.7 decibels at a distance of 50cm. That is almost as loud as a chainsaw!

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The Silent Flight of Owls

Owls are known to fly so silently that they don’t make a noise. No noise could be captured even when the flight of the owls was tested in a room with multiple microphones.

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The Unique Life Cycle of the Barramundi Fish

Barramundi fish are protandrous hermaphrodites. They start their life as males, but after a few years, transition into females.

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A Peculiar Phenomenon in Army Ant Colonies

Army ants sometimes mistakenly follow chemical trails from other ants, leading them to endlessly walk in circles. This phenomenon is called “spiral” or “ant milling,” and if too many ants join in, it may even result in the entire colony being wiped out.