Top 5 Myths About Animals - DEBUNKED!

Top 5 Myths About Animals

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Lions are the kings of the jungle. Sharks rule the ocean. But in the world of animal facts, it’s misinformation that reigns supreme. Welcome WatchMojo’s Top 5 Myths […]. In today’s instalment we’re counting down the five myths about the faunae that had us expelled from the animal kingdom.

Are you suddenly filled with a sense of dread as you realise all the terrible things you’ve done in front of your goldfish, back when you had that false sense of security that all was forgotten 3-seconds later? Well, your fish remembers it. All of it. That time you ate an x-large pizza by yourself. The phase you went through where you’d watch home decor shows naked. Alright, maybe your goldfish isn’t putting together a scandalous tell-all biography about your most embarrassing living room exploits, but they do have pretty good memories. In fact, their memory is considered better than the average fish. Goldfish have been shown recognise their master over other humans, and respond to certain colors or shapes.

There’s nothing worse than a bee sting when you’re a kid. Or… any time really. But there was always one source of comfort you could turn to - the knowledge that that bee was DEAD. Because the only thing sweeter than honey, is revenge - and knowing that a bee’s stinger rips out resulting in it’s own death, took the sting away just enough to get you through the healing process. Well, bad news for all you bee-haters out there. The only bee that dies after stinging you is the common honey bee. And that is only one of roughly 20,000 known bee species. For the other 19,999 out there, they sting you, and then go on their merry way.

There’s no sense of regret more powerful than finding out you could’ve been playing with baby birds you’re whole life and totally missed out. Well, we’ve got more bad news coming your way… although mothers won’t abandon their young simply because you’ve left your scent on them, you still should NEVER touch baby birds, or go near a nest. The mother is usually nearby, and may viciously attack if you get too close. If you spend too much time close to the nest, you also risk drawing the attention of local natural predators to the fact that a nest is there. So, keep your distance and stick to binoculars. Life as a baby bird lover… it’s just one disappointment after another.

Nope. Someone must’ve messed up the research on this one. “Blind as a bat” - classic sayings can’t be wrong! Well, here’s the actual scoop. Bats, as most people know, use echolocation to navigate at night, and their echolocation is their primary means of orienting themselves spatially, meaning they can find their way even in the darkest of spaces. The thing is… they also have functional eyes. Some bats use a combination of echolocation and sight, relying more heavily on sight the brighter it gets. Fruit bats are actually known to have great vision, much better than that of humans, and do not echolocate whatsoever.

You feel betrayed, you’re not sure where to direct it, and that’s understandable. When you feel lied to, it’s only natural to start seeing red. But if bulls don’t actually loathe the color red, how did we ever develop such a weirdly specific myth? Well, matadors, or bullfighters, have always used their capes to entice a bull into charging, and those capes have traditionally been red to mask blood stains. Historians assume that the myth naturally grew out of that association. Bulls aren’t attracted to red, in fact, they’re color blind. What they’re attracted to, and respond aggressively to, is rapid movement. The myth that bulls respond negatively to the color red is just a cultural association, blown wildly out of proportion. Be honest, did you know any of these myths to be untrue? For more top 10s and Top 5s that make you question everything you know, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.