Animals
Exploring "Why" questions about Animals
295 articles
Why do small birds move their head with small quick movements, but large birds make slow sweeping movements?
Bigger birds tend to be predators. So they scan an area and try to find movement. Small birds are usually prey, so they dart around trying to stay alert.
Why haven’t insects evolved to be able to avoid spider webs?
What makes you think they haven't? They're in an evolutionary arms race. Bugs that can't escape or avoid spider webs die.
Why is it popular to yell “Play Freebird!” at concerts
I's a song by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is far and away their biggest song. Like really their only actual popular song besides Sweet Home Alabama.
Why do birds/squirrels not get electrocuted when they sit on power lines?
Electricity has to complete a circuit - i.e. it has to go into them, and then back out. Think of a battery - they have two poles, one for the current to flow out of, and another for it to return.
Why do people/animals shake when they’re afraid?
It's adrenaline surging through your system as part of the body's "fight or flight" response. It's done to heat up the muscles in preparation for combat or flat out sprinting to safety.
Why haven’t we been able to recreate the way fish gills pull oxygen put of water so that we can dive without tanks?
Because humans need a **lot** more oxygen than fish (we're much larger, and warm-blooded). Water doesn't hold enough oxygen to keep us alive if we were to mimic fish gills.
Why do we get sick from eating raw chicken and other raw meats but cats and other animals don’t?
It should be noted that you don't necessarily get sick *because it's raw*. You get sick because you haven't heated up bacteria inside the meat and killed it all. With the way chicken is slaughtered, s
Why do big dogs act like lap dogs while lap dogs tend to be so territorial and violent?
Training. 100%. People with bigger dogs spend more time training, because if they don't their big dog will do big damage.
Why is The Wall by Pink Floyd considered an important album in rock history?
The Wall is a big concept album by a very big band, which presented it's concept - both musically and theatrically (i.e., on tours) - in a very specific and very clear way, and went on to spawn a movi
Why aren’t there any other animals that are as technically or industrially advanced as us humans?
Because we would have killed them. There were actually other species of early humans, but they were driven to extinction by us.