Dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans can

The nose is very important for a dog. “A dog’s nose is as important as our eyes are to us,” says Dr. Brian Janke a veterinarian in Rolla, Missouri. Although a dog brain is very small compared to that of the human brain, the regions of the brain responsible for smell interpretation and perception, called the olfactory bulbs, are four times larger in dogs than in humans. The dog’s nose is also an extremely developed receptor organ. It is usually wet on the outside and the dog keeps the nose moisturized by licking it frequently. This allows molecules to stick on the nose that can help it smell more effectively.The dog sniffs, draws air up through the turbinate bones and to the back of the nose. An olfactory bulb at the end of each nasal passage then sends information about the scent to the dog’s brain.

Reference:
-Barbara Baird(August 2002). A dog's nose. Outside In, volume number 3, Retrieved from http://mdc.mo.gov/kids/out-in/2002/03/3.htm
- Image Retrieved from http://www1.dogbreedinfo.com/images14/GalleryDogNose2.JPG

Camels have three eyelids

Camels live in one of the most harsh and rigid environment on earth, the desert. Other than the extreme heat and water shortage, Camels have to move in sandstorms with extremely heavy winds that pick up sand which could be eye blinding for a human but that is because, like most animals, humans have only two eyelids but camels, like dogs and cats for example, have three eyelids that protects their eyes from sand particles very effectively. Other than the upper and lower eyelids equipped with eyelashes, a third one is a thin membrane that they can see through in a sandstorm.

Reference:
- Alex (2008, January 11). Trivia:Camel has 3 eyelids. Message posted to http://www.neatorama.com
- Image retrieved from http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/m/ma/maartenuil/908449_camel_eye.jpg

A snail can sleep for three years

Snails sleep long periods of time because they, like many other animals, hibernate. When extreme changes in the snail’s environment occur, like extreme change in temperature for example, a snail uses hibernation, which is sleep, as a way of survival. A snail will bury it self in dirt soil and close its shell with its own slime as to isolate itself from the environment and thus reduce the effects of that environment on its body. Some species of desert snails hibernate very long periods, years, and eventually die.

Reference:
-Kristie Borchert (2009, January 14). Snails can sleep for 3 years, Associated Content. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1367384/snails_can_sleep_for_3_years.html
-Image retrieved from http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/SnailMesodonClausus01.jpg

A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night!

In dirt soil a mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night. At tunnel entrances, the dirt is kicked out by the hind feet into mole hills. In long, deep tunnels the dirt is compacted into the walls by the mole's body. In shorter tunnels the mole can turn around and push some of the loose soil out with its nose. Also there is a popular belief that the mole is blind which a misconception. A mole has eyes but they are very small and thus protect them from dirt and infection. Their eyesight is poor because we know they can’t detect color, but a mole's eyesight is sensitive to movement and light which helps it when emerging from beneath ground. Changes such as these in a mole's environment will also tell it certain things about where it is in relation to its burrow.

Reference:
-Lauren Vork, How does a mole know where it's digging?, ehow, Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4580189_mole-its-digging.html
-Image from http://www.clivejames.com/files/images/kendrickmole.jpg

Butterflies taste with their feet

When one thinks about taste one often relates it to the tongue or sensors in the mouth. However, weird as it may seem, a butterfly doesn't have a mouth to begin with. So how does it taste and eat its food? Well nature gave her something special: the ability to taste with its feet. So basically by just standing on a leaf, or any food, she could taste it. The taste sensors that are usually found in the tongue of a human, for example, are located on the bottom of the feet of the butterfly. And instead of having a mouth that allows it to bite or chew, a butterfly has what’s called a proboscis which is a long straw-like structure. It uses this structure to drink nectar and juices that it has already tasted with its feat.

Reference:
-Biology (2007, January 15), Butterflies taste with their feet. Message posted to http://biointerestingfacts.blogspot.com/2007/01/butterflies-taste-with-their-feet.html
-Image taken from http://www.yorkblog.com/teentakeover/img/ag-butterflies.jpg