Crazy animal facts from Ben the Vet

Ben the Vet has some really interesting some might say crazy animal facts to give us in this short video. He had no idea about them before he went to vet school and perhaps unsurprisingly a lot of them are to do with reproduction, procreation, sex!

The first crazy fact that he mentions in the video is to do with the pig's penis which is cork screwed. You might have known that already actually because it's quite a well-known fact. The next fact positively isn't. They produce up to 400 mL of semen every time they ejaculate. Ben then goes on to show us how much that is which is an amazing amount.

In comparison, bulls only produce 5 mL so this is not about the size of the animal. 5 mL is about one teaspoonful. A tiny fraction of the amount produced by boars.

Rabbits and horses and other species can't vomit because the sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach is too tight. This, in effect, creates a one-way valve which stops any gases coming up to allow the animal to belch or vomit. If a horse has colic their stomach can be dangerously filled with gases and fluids which need to be extracted with a tube by a veterinarian.

When guinea pigs are born, unlike humans, they are fully formed, able to run about and eat solid food. I'm feeding a pair of male guinea pigs for my friend who is away in Germany at the moment. They are indeed cute. They are passive and affable. They love lettuce above all else. They don't appear to be that intelligent but I believe that a lot goes on in their brain that we don't know about.

Female ferrets can die if they are not able to mate. When they come into heat they produce oestrogen and if they don't mate the oestrogen is continued to be produced for many months which can lead to bone marrow suppression which can prove to be fatal.

Rabbits have two cervixes. And Ben educates us by saying that animals have different uteruses

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.