Kids Questions & Answers

This enormous mound in northern Australia houses a termite colony. It is made of chewed up vegetable pulp mixed with earth and cemented together to form a hard protective home for the termites. Inside they live within a maze of air conditioned tunnels for they are able to regulate the temperature and humidity inside the mound. Termites are social insects. …

It is the atlas moth. This huge insect, which lives in the tropical rain forests of Asia, has a wingspan of 30 cm (12 in).

Ostrich is the world’s biggest living bird that lay world’s largest egg. The egg is about 8 in (20 cm) tall and weighs 3 LB 8 oz (1.6 kg), 30 times as much as a hen’s egg.

The archerfish from South-east Asia has the remarkable ability of shooting down insects from overhanging vegetation with water pellets. Its aim is quite accurate and it can usually dislodge a beetle or a fly about four feet away, so that it falls in the water. The archer fish then pounces on the insect and eats it. It is interesting to …

Most fish breathe by extracting oxygen from water, by means of their gills. Gills are delicate filaments of tissue through which blood passes. As water flows over the gills, oxygen diffuses into the blood. However, some fish have an additional method of obtaining oxygen; they use a lung, just as we do. Fish which breathe in this way are, not …

The dingo is one of the very few dogs in the world that is unable to bark. It is not a silent dog, however, as it makes up for not barking by howling and whining very loudly indeed. Dingoes are a very ancient breed of wild dog from Australia. They are probably quite closely related to the primitive dogs from …

The hermit crab. Instead of scuttling about protected by its own tough shell like other crabs, it has a soft body which it protects inside the empty shells of whelks and other mollusks. The hermit crab finds a suitable shell and eases its body inside. Then, with just its head and legs sticking out, it trundles about the seabed looking …

Cattle are important farm animals, because they supply meat, dairy products, leather and other materials. They are reared in many parts of the world, with India being top of the cattle league. Although they are used as beast of burden, most Indian cows are thin and produce little milk. To Hindus, cows are sacred symbols of Mother Earth. In India, …

The male-female ratio is the proportion of males to females in a given population at a specified stage in life e.g. at conception, at birth and at any chosen stage between birth and death. This is usually expressed as the number of males per 100 females. Qatar has the highest ratio with 187 males to 100 females. However, the ratio …

Of the 95 wettest countries in the world, Guinea, Solomon Islands and Sierra Leone are ranked the top three in order of maximum rainfall received on an average in a year, according to the World Statistics Pocket Book and the Statistical Yearbook of the United Nations. The records are for the period 1931-1960. Guinea, also known as the Republic of …