Did You Know That ... ? ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.

The following is a listing of straight facts on wild- and marinelife, companion and other domesticated animals, exotic birds, animal abuse, agriculture, science, hunting, and the fur industry. Did you know that ...

Animals ...

Human and chimpanzee brains are remarkably similar in circuitry, and the genes of humans and chimpanzees are 98.4% identical.

Captive elephants have been known to unscrew bolts to dismantle their cages.

Dogs are instinctive joiners, which is why when one dog barks, dogs all over the neighborhood start to bark.

Certain monkeys know how to lie. Male vervet monkeys have been observed attracting females by uttering the vervet word for "food," when in fact they have nothing to offer except a twig or leaf.

New research indicates that parrots can master complex intellectual concepts better than children under the age of five. One parrot in a study could name 50 different objects and differentiate colors, numbers up to eight, and the concepts of same and different.

Scientists who have successfully taught pigs to play video games have concluded that pigs may be as smart as chimpanzees and other non-human primates.

Companion Animals ...

About 22% of the world's catch of tuna goes into cat food in the United States.

When a dog licks you with a straight tongue, he's saying "I love you."

74% of companion animal caregivers would go into debt for their companion animal's well-being.

27% of caregivers who have made out a will have included provisions for their companion animals.

37% of caregivers talk to their companion animals on the telephone or answering machine.

44% of caregivers have acquired a companion animal to keep their companion animal company.

78% of dog caregivers and 68% of cat caregivers allow their companion animal to lick their face.

18% of caregivers let their companion animals sleep on the same bed with them.

44% of caregivers have purchased souvenirs for their companion animals while on vacation.

39% of caregivers have furniture that is reserved for their companion animal's use.

Nearly one-third of dog caregivers have dressed their canine in clothing.

52% of caregivers provide more exercise for their companion animals than for themselves.

The most common cause of ill health in canines is obesity. Approximately 60% of all adult dogs are overweight or will become overweight due to lack of physical activity and overfeeding. Much like humans, the medical consequences of obesity include liver, heart, and orthopedic problems. As little as a few extra pounds on a small dog can lead to health related complications.

The domestic dogs dates back more than 50,000 years.

According to a survey, 90% of dog caregivers speak to their dogs like humans, walk or run with their dogs, and take pictures of them; 72% take their pups for car rides and discuss them with their friends; 51% hang Christmas stockings for their dogs; 41% watch movies and TV with their pooches; 29% sign their dogs' names to greeting cards; and more than 20% buy homes with their dogs in mind, carry photos of their dogs with them, and arrange the furniture so that their dogs can see outside.

Frederick the Great owned an estimated 30 greyhounds. His love of these animals led him to coin this saying: "The more I see of men, the more I love my dogs."

Lewis and Clark traveled with a 150 pound Newfoundland named "Seaman," whose antics were included in the diaries of the famous explorers.

Only 2% of lost cats who enter US animal shelters are returned to their caregivers.

As many as 64% of animals who arrive at US shelters are euthanized. That's more than 20,000 cats and dogs killed a day, 7 days per week. (See Stop Abuse! Don't Litter - Spay and Neuter.)

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

Nationwide, grandparents annually spend an average of $195.24 on their companion animals and $178.68 on their grandchildren.

Recent studies have shown that interacting with companion animals may speed recovery from illness, reduce stress, and promote family bonding. (See Pet Therapy: Healing, Recovery and Love.)

Cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400.

The US pet store industry is now a $25 billion a year market.

Every year Americans spend more on cat food than on baby food.

In 2000, US households included 68 million dogs and 73 million cats, 19 million birds, 19 million small animals, 9 million reptiles, and 165 million fish.

Worldwide, retail pet food sales totaled more than $25 billion, of which more than $11 billion was spent in the US.

Abuse ...

In a 1999 Decision Research poll, 74% agreed that an animal's right to live free of suffering should be just as important as a person's right to live free of suffering.

There's a clear link between animal abuse and domestic violence. In a 1995 Wisconsin survery, 4 out of 5 victims of domestic violence in homes with companion animals said their pets were also abused.

Wisconsin made some form of animal cruelty a felony offense in 1986. Since then, 32 states have passed similar laws. (Webmaster's note: As of November 1, 2000 there are ONLY 16 states which carry a felonious violation to any animal - pets, strays, all domesticated species, wildlife, etc. - on a FIRST offense. The remaining 15 of the 32 only have felony violations for cruelty toward an animal working with the law (i.e., a police dog or horse) and/or repeated animal abuse offenses - in other words, the abuser got off once because he was charged with a FIRST animal abuse offense.)

Agriculture ...

Meat-linked disease cause 60% of American deaths.

The United States slaughters approximately 47,000 horses each year for export to Europe and Asia for human consumption.

260 million acres of US forests have been cleared for cropland to produce a meat-centered diet.

Livestock producers in the United States use 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics for routine non-therapeutic use every year. Of this, about 3.5 million pounds is given to cattle, 10.3 million pounds to hogs, and 10.5 million pounds to poultry.

Cattle produce nearly 1 billion tons of organic waste each year.

In a lifetime, the average American meat-eater consumes 2,600 animals, including 2,450 chickens, 118 turkeys, 33 pigs and sheep, and 12 cattle and calves.

According to the US General Accounting Office, more plant species in the United States have been eliminated or threatened by livestock grazing than by any other cause.

In 2000, more than 8.8 billion animals were killed for food in the United States. These included:

8.424 billion chickens

269.9 million turkeys

98.1 million pigs

37.5 million cows and calves

24.4 million ducks

3.5 million sheep and lambs

More than half of all water used in the United States is devoted to meat production. To produce one pound of beef takes as estimated 2,500 gallons of water. (Only 25 gallons of water is needed to produce one pound of wheat.)

In nature, cows live 20-25 years, but a typical factory-farmed cow is used up in three or four years. Then it's off to the slaughterhouse.

In the US, 70% of all grain produced is used to feed farm animals. The reason for this huge grain requirement is the most inefficient way of producing protein. One way of measuring protein production efficiency is the number of pounds of protein derived per acre. Soybeans produce 360 pounds of protein per acre, while beef produces less than 40 pounds per acre of good land.

Thirty US states have enacted laws that specifically exempt farm animals from certain parts of the state's anti-cruelty statutes. Thereby certain acts, no matter how cruel, are outside the realm of legal protection as long as the acts are deemed "accepted," "common," "customary," or "normal" farming practices.

Exotic Birds ...

Almost a third of the 145 parrot species in the Neotropics (Mexico, Central and South America) are threatened. The number of parrot chicks taken from the wild is estimated at up to 800,000 per year.

Nearly 80% of New World Parrots (parrots from Mexico, Central and South America) in the pet trade today are destined for the United States. About 150,000 are smuggled into the US across the Mexican Border each year. In the early 1990s, the United States legally imported at least 250,000 parrots a year, worth in excess of $300 million. About four-fifths of these birds were taken from the wild.

Science ...

Each year, an estimated 27 million animals in the United States are used in research, testing, and education. Over 2 million animals are killed in dissection classes.

In a 1995 Associated Press survey, 67% agreed that it is seldom or never right to test cosmetics on animals.

At present, nearly 500 alternatives are available to dissection for science education.

Roughly 1.2 million laboratory animals were used in 1999, exluding rats, birds, and mice. The numbers by animal:

70,541 dogs
23,238 cats
54,927 primates
266,129 guinea pigs
201,593 hamsters
280,222 rabbits
155,409 farm animals, including cattle, sheep, and pigs
165,939 others, such as gerbils, ferrets, and minks
An estimated 25-30 million rats and mice are used annually

Wildlife ...

Approximately $40 million from taxpayers fund the trapping, poisoning, gassing, and gunning of nearly one million wild animals and birds each year in the name of "livestock protection" and "pest control."

Almost two-thirds of all large mammal species are threatened or endangered in the lower 48 states. Less than 10% of all endangered and threatened species in the United States are improving.

About 20% of all endangered and threatened species are harmed by grazing.

The illegal international trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth $5 billion annually.

Wildlife Facts:

The Lynx is ideally suited to a winter forest habitat...from its lush, warm coat, to its distinctive, oversized paws, this magnificent cat moves with quiet grace across the snow. To us, their magnificent coat is a thing of beauty. To the lynx, it is useful camouflage. The stripes and mottled colors blend in with trees and shadows to hide the cat from predators and prey. These amazing cats are excellent climbers and swimmers, and their big, padded paws have a snowshoe effect, enabling them to walk easily over deep snow. There are few lynxes left in the contiguous United States, fewer than 800 survive in the lower 48 states. The densest population, in Washington state, is estimated at only 15 to 23 individuals. Yet for years the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refused to list the lynx under the Endangered Species Act. After a long wait, this rare, precious and beautiful animal is finally being recognized for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Additional information is located here.

Owls - With keen eyesight and hearing, owls are excellent hunters. Their huge eyes can see very well with little light, but barely move in their eye sockets. So if an owl wants to see something, it has to turn its entire head. Their fluffy feathers make them virtually silent when flying, allowing them to sneak up on their prey. They usually sleep during the day, and their feathers camouflage them from predators. The Northern Spotted Owl is a threatened species because the old-growth coniferous trees this bird calls home in the Pacific Northwest have very high value in the logging industry. The Northern Spotted Owl is one of approximately 72 species of birds, fish and wildlife that will be covered by a Habitat Conservation Plan for 633,000 acres of Oregon state forestland. Additional information on the Northern Spotted Owl is located here.

Pollinators - As butterflies float from flower to flower each spring to sip nectar, they also pollinate the flowers and enable them to reproduce. But butterflies, bees, and other natural pollinators are in decline, their habitats disrupted by human activities. The Monarch Butterfly, because of its size, beauty and spectacular annual migrations is well known to most citizens of the world. Most people do not realize, however, that the Monarch's overwintering roosts in Mexico of are in a precarious state. Additional information on the Monarch Butterfly is located here.

The Wood Duck is among 80 different American birds that depend on standing dead or hollow trees, nicknamed "wildlife trees," for habitat. Wood duck chicks are raised in hollowed-out nests in wildlife trees until they are big enough to follow their mother by dropping from the nest. Additional information on the Wood Duck is located here.

The mighty Grizzly Bear, hunted to near extinction in the lower 48 states, has a chance for a comeback in its native Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho and Montana. Additional information on the Grizzly Bear is located here.

The Sea Turtle - All eight species of sea turtles, are threatened or endangered - their decline hastened by shrimping nets that entangle and drown these fascinating animals.

The Florida Panther (Felis concolor coryi, a subspecies of the cougar family. Endangered.) - Fewer than 50 of these magnificent creatures are left in the wild and their chances of survival are slim as long as their Everglades habitat remains threatened. CURRENT POPULATION: 30-50 adults. TOP PREDATOR IN AREA, necessary element to regulate food chain, keeping deer, wild hogs, and raccoons in balance. PROGNOSIS: If current conservation efforts fail, the Florida panther will become weakened to the point that it can only survive in captivity. CRITICAL FACTOR: If the population becomes too small to reproduce successfully, the Florida panther as a distinct subspecies will become extinct. (Info courtesy of National Wildlife Federation.)

The Meadowlarks depart to their tropical homes during the winter months and return in the spring to their lush grassland habitat. However, the eastern meadowlark's population has recently been cut in half, due to the disappearance of America's grasslands.

The Gray Wolf (aka Timber Wolf) has recently made a triumphant reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park which has marked a shining moment in conservation history...and serves as a living lesson about flexible, commonsense wildlife protection.

The Bison - One of our nation's last free-roaming herds of bison live in and around Yellowstone National Park - a fragile link to the 60 million bison that once thundered across our vast plains.

Seals - Although seals are not very agile on land, they are excellent swimmers. They can plunge to depths of 2,000 feet and stay submerged under water for over an hour. Harp seal pups are probably the most appealing seals (or pinnipeds) with their soft, white coats and luminous black eyes. But their white coats darken to gray after the pups are a few weeks old. Some adult males develop a harp-like "U" shape on their backs, giving them their name.

Wolves are superbly adapted to cold, with thick, warm fur beneath coarse, dense guard hairs. In the coldest weather, a wolf sleeps with its long, fluffy tail wrapped around its nose like a muffler. Alaska is home to the largest population of wolves in the United States. Some Alaskans advocate killing wolves to leave more moose and caribou for human hunting. Extremists have pushed Alaska policy-makers to allow the slaughter of wolves. Some researchers say that wolves can run up to 40 miles an hour. Highly intelligent, with acute hearing and an amazing sense of smell - up to 100 times more sensitive than ours - wolves are superb at adapting to the most rugged conditions. When Europeans arrived in the New World, an estimated 250,000 wolves flourished in what are now the lower 48 states. Today, just 2,500 survive in the contiguous United States.

Zebras are very social creatures. They groom each other, play racing games and engage in mock fights. Every zebra in the herd helps care for the young foals. Foals in danger just give a long squeal - and the entire herd comes to the rescue. Two subspecies of zebra have already been hunted to extinction, and of the remaining three zebra subspecies, one is listed as vulnerable, and another is endangered.

The Bald Eagle, as you might suspect, isn't really bald, but has a head of stunning white feathers. However, its head does not turn white until it is at least three years old. The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America, so it is appropriate that this bird of prey is America's national symbol. These powerful fliers can swoop out of the sky while hunting, remaining in control while descending at 100 miles an hour. Yet despite the strength and speed of this amazing bird, the entire species was nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states by the pesticide DDT, which caused birth defects and weakened eggshells. Just the weight of a nesting mother could crush the shell.

The Humpback Whales are known for their beautiful, complex singing. Whale songs can be heard for hundreds - perhaps even thousands - of miles under water. Scientists can sometimes distinguish one whale from another by its individual style of singing. Like the human fingerprint, the unique markings on a humpback whale's fluke (tail) identify each individual. No two are alike. Up-and-down movements of the fluke propel the whale through the water - as compared to the side-to-side motion of fish tails. Humpbacks travel in pods (groups) of two to five. They have been know to help a wounded companion by supporting its weight under the surface to keep its blowhole clear of water. There are presently about 6,000 humpbacks in the world.

The Giant Panda - Weighing up to 350 lbs. as adults these giant creatures only weigh four oz. when they are born. Pandas spend 10 to 16 hours a day eating 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo stalks and roots. Unlike the American black bear, they do not hibernate or stand on their hind legs. Fewer than 1,000 giant pandas remain in the wild, making them one of the world's rarer mammals. As their habitat in the mountains of central China rapidly disappears, the Panda population is continuing to dwindle. Giant Pandas are also threatened by illegal hunting because their dense fur carries a high price. But poachers risk a lifetime jail sentence from the Chinese government if they are caught.

The Orangutan - Clinging to their mothers for the first year of life, these creatures are among the most nurtured of species in their youth. They don't leave their mother's care until they are 7 to 10 years old. Females give birth to one infant every six years, which allows them to devote all of their attention to each offspring. These highly intelligent primates have voracious appetites, sometimes devoting the entire day to feasting on fruits, leaves, shoots and insects. Orangutans are native to the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, where poaching and habitat destruction continue to imperil their survival. Orangutans are among the most critically endangered species.

The Polar Bear is among the one of the numerous species that are threatened by global climate change. Their arctic habitat is one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. Bear cubs may die from premature exposure to the outside world if their snow dens melt too early in the spring. And the sea ice on which the bears depend for their survival is melting at an unprecedented rate - leaving them no place to go. Native arctic peoples revere the polar bear for its ability to survive in the unforgiving land at the top of the world. But the discovery of oil in the Beaufort Sea near polar bear denning sites in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge poses a threat to the mighty white bear. In late fall, pregnant polar bears build snow dens on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain. Later they give birth to one or two cubs. The mother and cubs, remain in the dens until March or April. Denning bears are especially sensitive to human disturbances such as the drilling, pipelines and seismic work associated with oil development. Once disturbed, polar bears are likely to abandon their dens, and cubs that are unable to fend for themselves or travel with their mothers will almost certainly die. Since most females produce as few as two litters in their lives, it would be extremely difficult for polar bears to recover from any major decline in their population.

The Manatee - One of the Atlantic's most beloved aquatic creatures, a slow, lumbering marine mammal that feeds on aquatic grasses. Approximately 55 to 60 million years ago, a four-footed mammal abandoned the land for the sea. Although is adapted to its water environment, it remained an air breathing mammal - the manatee. Calves remain dependent on their mothers for up to two years. A manatee's teeth and 3 or 4 vestigial fingernails on each flipper are remarkably similar to an elephant, the mammal's closest modern relative. A manatee's intestines measure more than 150 feet (50m) in length.

Hunting ...

Considering all expenses, deer hunting costs about $25 per pound of meat.

Hunters kill at least 130 million animals in the United States each year. These include:

35 million mourning doves

26 million squirrels

12 million quail

13 million rabbits

16 million ducks

6 million deer

In a 1995 Associated Press survey, 51% agreed that it is wrong to hunt an animal for sport.

While less than 6% of Americans hunt, 31% participate in some type of nonconsumptive wildlife related recreation. Nonconsumptive participants spend about $38 billion each year.

Up to 50% of deer struck with arrows by archery hunters are not recovered but left to die in the woods.

Recreational hunting is allowed on more than half of all 550 units of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Trapping/Fur ...

Between 4 and 5 million animals were trapped and killed in the United States for the commercial fur trade each year.

Less than 0.005% of the American population participates in trapping. The average animal income for trappers in the United States is less than $250, after equipment costs and license fees are subtracted.

Every year in the United States, steel-jaw leghold traps cripple or kill millions of non-target animals - domestic dogs and cats, owls, squirrels, chipmunks, blue jays, swans, deer, and eagles, as well as threatened and endangered species.

To make an length fur coat requires the skins of 16 coyotes, or 15 bobcats, or 18 lynx, or 60 minks, or 20 badgers, or 15 otters, or 18 red foxes, or 30 raccoons, or 40 sables, or 11 silver foxes, or 50 muskrats, or 15 beavers, or 100 chinchillas, or 30 rabbits.

In a 1999 Decision Research poll, 79% of Americans said they oppose trapping on wildlife refuges.

Trapping is allowed on 280 units (more than half) of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Steel-jaw leghold traps are used on 140, or half, of these 280 refuges.

Marine Life ...

All marine "salt water" species seen in home aquariums are wild caught. 70 to 100 tons of wild marine fish are captured each year for the aquarium trade.

Seahorses mate for life - when a partner is lost it is unlikely that the remaining mate will ever find a new partner.

It's estimated that 70% of global fish stocks are "over-exploited," "fully exploited," "depleted," or recovering from prior over-exploitation.

At least 44,000 albatrosses are entagled by tuna longline fisheries every year.

Sea otter fur is the thickest fur of any animal. It has up to 1 million hairs per square inch - a human has only about 20,000 hairs on his or her entire head.

There are about 20,000 species of fish in the world.

As much as 8.8 million tons of oil enters the ocean every year as the result of human activity.

Resource References:
Animal Protection Institute
PO Box 22505
Sacramento, CA USA 95822
Phone: 916-731-5521

Veal Stats

MALE CALF (For VEAL)

Natural lifespan: 20 years.
Factory-farmed lifespan: 3 to 16 weeks.
Natural diet: Grass and milk.
Farmed diet: Fed exclusively on milk to induce anaemia and produce sought-after white meat. Deprived of essential iron and fibre.
Natural habitat: Grassy fields.
Unnatural habitat: At one week, confined to crates too cramped to turn in. Sent abroad, often without food and water, in lorries so tightly packed they can't lie down.
Natural behaviour: Feeding, sleeping, ruminating.
Confined behaviour: Try to move but can't. Desperate for solids, they lick wooden crates and swallow their own hair.

Published by The Guardian, UK National Daily Newspaper, January 20, 1995