• Question: what is your favourite animal and why??

    Asked by 07huttersam to David, Helen, Ian, rhysphillips, Sarah on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: David Corne

      David Corne answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      There are two kinds of animal that are interested because they were, more or less, *predicted* to exist somewhere, before anyone knew they existed. One is Darwin’s hawk moth. There is a species of orchid that keeps it’s nectar about 30cm along a very narrow tube. Darwin predicted that there had to be a moth species with a 30cm tongue, otherwise this species could not have evolved and could not survive. Darwin never saw this moth, but it does exist and the BBC found it. Darwin’s Hawk Moth keeps its tongue curled up like a spring, and unrolls it to feed from this orchid.

      An even better one is the naked mole rat. Google it. This is a rodent species whose society is much more like that of insect societies (i.e. there is a queen, workers, and so on). One reason they are utterly amazing is that they seem completely resistant to cancer.

      The liger is also pretty fab — look at this guy:
      http://www.myinterestingfiles.com/2007/04/world-largest-liger.html

    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Giraffe’s. Gorgeous eye lashes and purple tongues. Need I say any more??

    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      I like humans the best – especially if they can cook a good roast dinner.

    • Photo: Rhys Phillips

      Rhys Phillips answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      The Cicada because they all hibernate for periods of years that are prime numbers.

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