Table Of ContentSenior editor Ashwin Khurana
Senior art editor Rachael Grady
Editors Annie Moss, Georgina Palffy
Editorial support Ann Baggaley, Carron Brown
Designers Chrissy Barnard, Mik Gates, Kit Lane
Illustrators Stuart Jackson-Carter, James Kuether,
Kit Lane, Peter Minister, Simon Mumford,
Charlotte Prince, Simon Tegg, 358 Jon @ KJA-Artists
Creative retouching Steve Crozier
Picture research Deepak Negi
Jacket design Akiko Kato
Jacket editor Emma Dawson
Jacket design development manager Sophia MTT
Producer, pre-production Jacqueline Street-Elkayam
Senior producer Jude Crozier
Managing art editor Philip Letsu
Managing editor Francesca Baines
Publisher Andrew Macintyre
Art director Karen Self
Associate publishing director Liz Wheeler
Publishing director Jonathan Metcalf
Written by Andrea Mills
Editorial consultant Derek Harvey
First published in Great Britain in 2020
by Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
Copyright © 2020 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–310219–February/2020
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the
prior written permission of the copyright owner.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-2413-4068-4
Printed and bound in China
A WORLD OF IDEAS:
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW
www.dk.com
002-003_310219_Imprint_title.indd 2 14/10/2019 12:38
IItt CCAANN’’TT BBee TTRRUUEE!!
ANIMAL S!
002-003_310219_Imprint_title.indd 3 14/10/2019 12:38
S
T
Skills and Unbelievable
senses bodies
N
How far can a shark sense prey? 8 How heavy is a blue whale? 48
Which fish shoots its prey Which octopus is a master
with water? 10 of disguise? 50
E
Which ant explodes? 12 What is the longest animal? 52
Why do skunks make a stink? 14 Human-sized jellyfish 54
Drinking tears 16 Which fish ties itself in knots? 56
Which bird can peck Brilliantly blue animals 58
T
through a tree? 18 Which is the longest snake? 60
What animals have fingerprints How big is a bear? 62
like a human? 20
What animal vomits
N Which bird is super brainy? 22 its stomach? 64
Are locusts the only swarmers? 24 Which crab is the biggest? 66
Caterpillars in fancy dress 26 Costumed crabs 68
From predator to prey 28 Putting off predators 70
How do whales sleep? 30 Which reptile is the heaviest? 72
O
Rise of the chimps 32 Who has the most teeth? 74
Which fish can walk? 34 Swimming with rays 76
How far can a wolf howl? 36 Bald animals 78
What mammal has a What bird has the biggest bill? 80
duck-like bill? 38
C What’s got the biggest horns? 82
Which mammal can fly? 40
Riding on a dragonfly 84
What animal is the loudest? 42
What animal has the
Skills and senses facts 44 longest tongue? 86
Unbelievable bodies facts 88
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Strength Homes and Growing
and speed hideaways and breeding
Which bird flies higher than How big is an ant colony? 116 Which is the smallest dog
an aeroplane? 92 What animal lives at the in the world? 142
Creature combat 94 highest altitude? 118 What animal grows smaller? 144
A good catch 96 Are birds the only nest builders 120 What is the hungriest animal? 146
What animals are Find the seahorses 122 How much nectar do
survival experts? 98 Which spider can plug hummingbirds drink? 148
What animal is the its burrow? 124 What animal has a
fastest swimmer? 100 Pandas in the wild 126 supersize brood? 150
What animal is the What’s the biggest living thing? 128 Mass spawning 152
best hunter? 102
Creatures of the deep 130 What’s the oddest couple? 154
Soaring kestrel 104
Mysterious web 132 Which parent gives its life
How strong is an ant? 106 What animal has the for its young? 156
Pirate prey 108 biggest feet? 134 Sandy survivor 158
What animal moves Why do wild animals move Courtship displays 160
the slowest? 110 to cities? 136
Getting a lift 162
Strength and speed facts 112 Homes and hideaways facts 138
What animal can grow
a new body? 164
What animal is a living fossil? 166
Growing and breeding facts 168
Glossary 170
Index 172
Acknowledgments 176
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006-007_310219_Skills_Senses.indd 6 09/10/2019 15:11
Skills
and senses
Animals have incredible abilities
that help them hunt, communicate,
and keep safe. From sensing prey
through electric signals to making
and using tools, the animal
kingdom is full of extraordinary
creatures with a special skill
or a super sense.
The basilisk lizard has an amazing
talent for walking on water. When
pursued by a predator, this lithe lizard
uses its large, paddle-like feet to dash
across the surface. It can travel in this
way for up to 4.5 m (15 ft), covering
1.5 m (5 ft) a second.
006-007_310219_Skills_Senses.indd 7 09/10/2019 15:11
8
How far can a
shark sense prey?
Blacktip reef sharks are expert hunters,
equipped with a heightened sense of
smell that can detect prey over a distance
of 1 km (0.6 miles).
Blacktip
reef sharks
can smell prey
as far away as
the length of six
superyachts.
The blacktip
reef shark has
quick reactions and
a streamlined body to
speed towards its prey.
The blacktip reef shark of the Indian
and Pacific oceans uses its exceptional sense
of smell to detect a drop of blood or fish oil in a
volume of water 10 billion times greater. This is all
the shark needs to move in on its prey at high speed.
008-009_310219_SharkSenses.indd 8 14/10/2019 12:38
SKILLS AND SENSES 9
FAST FACTS
Salmon sharks find strength The great white shark is the
in numbers, hunting in groups biggest of all predatory sharks,
of up to 40 individuals. at 6 m (20 ft), and hunts alone.
The longest superyacht measures
a whopping 180 m (590 ft) long.
e s )
m il
6
0 .
m (
k
1
Dead remains or injured
prey, such as this dolphin, leave
a scent trail. The blacktip reef
shark scavenges these animals,
but also hunts smaller fish.
ON IMPULSE
The hammerhead
shark has sensory
Blood droplets
can flow a long organs along its wide
distance through the head that detect the
water, creating a perfect electrical impulses of
trail for the blacktip reef
its prey. This helps the
shark to find the injured
shark to locate prey,
prey. The blood from
such as stingrays,
the injured prey thins to
mere droplets over 1 km that hide under the
(0.6 miles) – just enough sand on the seabed.
for the shark to detect.
008-009_310219_SharkSenses.indd 9 14/10/2019 12:38
10
10
2 m (6½ ft)
hits with orce pple nch.
water jet e insectmes the fded to tom its bra
The th10 tineeit fro y
n e
ee r
zz u
of display g” to hypnotiseemingly frosy to kill. white winter f prr?ture’s arp- rey uth .n
t puts on a and “dancint, leaving it spot and ea ping stoat in shs teng na his sh ting p ts mo ecisio
A stoaleapinga rabbito the Lea fiitaamo . Ts pec om i d pr
r s r
FAST FACTS have ways Some other animals of catching prey that are as smart as the archerfish’s sharpshooting. The margay, a wild catof the Amazon jungle,lures tamarin monkeysinto pouncing distanceby mimicking the cryof their infants. Which shootswith wThe ranksarcherfish most accurate hunte shooter unsutargets by fsquirting water with deadly speed an
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