60 Fun Facts About Pet

After dogs and cats, which animal is the third most popular pet in the world?

They overtook canaries as America's favourite bird in the 1950s and can mimic human speech.

Which pet bird holds the world record for the largest vocabulary, at 1,728 words?

The record first appeared in the 1995 Guinness book, a year after the bird died.

Wild budgerigars are native to which country?

Their name gave Australians a slang term for tight men's swimwear: budgie smugglers.

Roughly how long is a goldfish's memory span, despite the famous myth?

Goldfish can also learn to tell apart different shapes, colours and sounds.

Goldfish were first domesticated in which country?

They reached Japan in 1603 and Portugal in 1611, and during the Song dynasty only royalty could own the gold variety.

In 2005, which European capital banned goldfish being given away as carnival prizes?

Fishbowls themselves are prohibited by animal-welfare rules in several municipalities because they starve fish of oxygen.

Virtually all pet golden hamsters descend from a single female captured in 1930 in which country?

A zoologist from the Hebrew University dug up the mother and her litter near Aleppo; their descendants reached Britain in 1931.

Hamsters carry food back to their burrows using what?

The German verb hamstern, meaning to hoard, is derived from the animal's name.

Like humans, guinea pigs cannot make which nutrient themselves and must get it from food?

Rabbits synthesise their own, so the two species should not share the same feed.

A happily excited guinea pig performing little hops in the air is said to be doing what?

Rabbits do a similar happy hop called a binky, and ferrets have a 'war dance'.

Guinea pigs were first domesticated around 5000 BC by people living where?

They were domesticated for food, and were the preferred sacrificial animal of the Inca.

What is the collective noun for a group of ferrets?

The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the European polecat, with which it can still interbreed.

The domestic bunny is a domesticated form of which wild species?

The idea of a rabbit as an indoor 'house rabbit' like a house cat only took off with books published in the 1980s.

What is the fancy rat, the most common pet rat, a domesticated form of?

Rat fancy is traced to Jack Black, self-proclaimed rat-catcher to Queen Victoria.

Which pet rodent has the densest fur of any land animal, at about 20,000 hairs per square centimetre?

Around 50 hairs grow from each follicle, and it is named after the Chincha people of the Andes.

Bettas, or Siamese fighting fish, can breathe air at the surface thanks to which organ?

Their Thai name plakat simply means 'fighting fish'.

The cockatiel is the smallest member of which bird family?

An estimated 4.8 million US households keep one.

Wild axolotls survive only in lakes near which capital city?

Fewer than a thousand adults may remain in the wild, while captive populations number in the many thousands.

Bearded dragons, popular pet lizards of the genus Pogona, are native to which country?

The 'beard' under the throat turns black and puffs up when the lizard is stressed or courting.

The corn snake, a popular pet, gets its name from its habit of hunting near what?

It is often killed for resembling the venomous copperhead, but it has no functional venom.

Pet hermit crabs protect their soft abdomens by living inside what?

There are more than 800 species, and most have an asymmetric abdomen shaped to fit a spiral shell.

Roughly how many years ago were dogs domesticated, making them the first species humans tamed?

That predates farming; genetic studies hint the process began over 25,000 years ago.

With around 450 official breeds, the dog has more breeds than any other kind of what?

Despite the variety, all breeds share the same number of bones apart from the tail, and about 42 teeth.

In 2023 which breed ended the Labrador Retriever's 31-year run as America's most popular dog?

Two decades earlier, in 2003, the same breed had ranked only 54th.

Which is the smallest recognised dog breed in the world?

It is a Mexican breed named after the country's largest state.

Despite its name, the Great Dane is a breed from which country?

It descends from medieval boar-hunting dogs kept at the courts of German nobles.

The longest-lived verified dog, Bluey, reached 29 years and was what breed?

Researchers concluded he and another record-holder, Chilla, were exceptions rather than proof of the breed's longevity.

The Portuguese dog Bobi was certified the oldest dog ever in 2023; what later happened to his record?

His owner claimed he reached 31 years and 163 days before he died.

The domestic cat is the only domesticated species of which family?

A group of cats can be called a clowder, a glaring or a colony.

The earliest known sign of a tamed cat, from about 7500 BCE, was found beside a human on which island?

There were no native mammals on the island, so people must have shipped the cat there from the mainland.

What is the approximate fundamental frequency of a cat's purr?

Big cats such as lions and tigers roar but cannot purr, while the snow leopard purrs.

Extra-toed cats are nicknamed after which writer, who kept a colony of them?

Sailors out of Boston prized the cats as lucky, which is how the trait spread by sea.

Roughly what fraction of cats are strongly attracted to catnip?

The pull comes from a terpene called nepetalactone, which also repels mosquitoes.

At about what age does a kitten's righting reflex, the ability to land on its feet, first appear?

It is perfected by six to nine weeks.

Kitty Litter, the first clay cat litter, was launched by Edward Lowe in which year?

Before his discovery, most owners filled the box with sand; the brand name became a generic term.

The world's first cat cafe opened in 1998 in which city?

Japan's first followed in Osaka in 2004, and the idea boomed there because many apartments ban pets.

Which cat breed is the official state cat of the US state it is named after?

It is nicknamed the gentle giant and is often described as dog-like.

The Siamese cat's colourpoint coat is the result of what?

The breed comes from the Wichianmat landrace of Thailand, known as Siam before 1939.

Grumpy Cat, the internet celebrity, owed her permanent scowl to an underbite and what condition?

Her real name was Tardar Sauce, and she rose to fame after a 2012 Reddit post.

Creme Puff, the oldest cat ever recorded, died in 2005 at what age?

She lived in Austin, Texas, and made the 2010 Guinness World Records book.

Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth in 1957, was what kind of dog?

The Soviets did not reveal until 2002 that she died of overheating within hours of launch.

At which Tokyo station did Hachiko, the loyal Akita, wait for his dead owner for nearly ten years?

His bronze statue was unveiled at the station in April 1934, while he was still alive to see it.

Balto, the sled dog famous for the 1925 serum run to Nome, spent his final years at a zoo in which city?

After citizens raised money to rescue him from a dime museum, he died there in 1933 and is displayed at its natural history museum.

Terry, the Cairn Terrier who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz, earned how much per week?

That was more than some of the actors playing Munchkins reportedly received.

Lassie is written as a female collie, but the dog who first played her in 1943 was a male named what?

His owner later bought the Lassie name from MGM, and Pal's descendants played the role for decades.

Rin Tin Tin, the silent-film star, was a German Shepherd rescued from a battlefield of which war?

His hit films helped keep the young Warner Bros. studio afloat.

Nipper, the dog in the His Master's Voice painting, is shown listening to what?

Painted in 1898, three years after Nipper died, it became the logo of HMV and RCA.

Alex, the grey parrot studied for 30 years by Irene Pepperberg, learned more than how many words?

He could tell apart colours, shapes and materials, and grasped a zero-like concept.

Bo, the Obama family's Portuguese Water Dog, was chosen partly because of what?

The Obamas had no pets before 2008 but promised their daughters a dog once they moved in.

Which president was photographed lifting his beagles, Him and Her, by the ears?

Nixon's own famous dog was Checkers, a Cocker Spaniel gifted to his daughters.

Sea-Monkeys, sold as novelty pets since 1957, are actually what?

They were first called Instant Life and sold for 49 cents; the name changed in 1962.

The Pet Rock, sold in a box with air holes and straw, was invented in 1975 by a man in what profession?

He sold nearly 1.5 million at just under $4 each and became a millionaire before the fad faded in six months.

The name of the Tamagotchi digital pet combines the Japanese words for 'watch' and what?

Bandai released it in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997.

Furby, the 1998 robotic pet, starts out speaking only which made-up language?

More than 40 million were sold in the first three years of production.

Nintendogs, the 2005 pet-simulation game, was the second best-selling title on which console?

Only New Super Mario Bros. sold more on the system, with Nintendogs at almost 24 million copies.

Jonathan, the oldest known living land animal, is a giant tortoise on which island?

He arrived there in 1882 already fully grown, alongside three other tortoises.

Jonathan, named oldest living land animal by Guinness in 2022, lives on which island?

The giant tortoise arrived there in 1882 already fully grown, alongside three other tortoises.

What is the minimum legal age to own a pet in the United Kingdom?

Elsewhere, a growing number of North American jurisdictions have redefined pet owners as 'guardians' since 2000.

Which two European countries publish official 'positive lists' of species allowed as pets?

The first Dutch positive list, set up in 2015, named 100 mammal species deemed appropriate as pets.

Which international body adopted the 1987 European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals?

The treaty came into force on 1 May 1992 and is open to any state in the world, not just European ones.