The Greenland Shark is so Slow it Can Only Eat Something if it is Asleep, Dead or Wanders into its Mouth

One of the most peculiar animals I have come across is the rare Greenland Shark, these massive creatures can grow up to 24 feet long and live in the cold Arctic waters around Greenland, Iceland and Canada where temperatures can be as low as -1°C.  To preserve their energy in these cold waters they swim very slowly at less than 1 mile an hour, exerting their energy they can achieve a burst of speed that reaches 1.7 miles per hour but as their main prey, the Seal, can swim at speeds of around 6 mph, this doesn’t do the shark much good!

Due to the slow swimming speed of the shark, trying to grab a meal is quite an issue, researchers have learned that they are most likely ambush predators, waiting until their prey is asleep (usually Seals in the water) and then slowly approaching. They have also been found to be scavengers and eat carrion (dead and decaying flesh of animals) and they are not picky eaters either. Researchers have found many different and unusual animals in the stomachs of Greenland Sharks including polar bears, horses, moose and even an entire reindeer!

Dalmatians Were the Official Dogs of the Fire Station

In the mid 19th Century the introduction of horses to carry fire trucks instead of men vastly improved their response time to putting out fires. However horses were notoriously afraid of fire (and rightly so) but this is where Dalmatians come into play.

Dalmatians were known to be the official dog of the fire house, they had a peculiar presence that was able to calm the horses down and provide a comforting influence when around the fires. They would form strong bonds with the horses and scare away anything that might spook them.

The Largest Living Organism in the World is a Mushroom

When you consider candidates for the largest living thing on earth, there may be several different things that come to mind.

Perhaps the blue whale, the largest mammals known to inhabit the earth, growing up to 30 metres long (that’s 3 double-decker buses end to end!) and weighing around 181 metric tonnes.

There are also some gigantic trees in the world that could be candidates for the top spot, the Giant Sequoia tree which are native to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California can grow as tall as 82 Meters High! With their girth reaching up to 15 metres across, the tallest of these being General Sherman which is the largest single stem tree on earth!