15 Things You Always Believed About Animals That Simply Aren't True

    "If you touch a baby bird its parents will abandon it."

    Jon-Michael Poff
    by Jon-Michael Poff

    BuzzFeed Editor

    You've probably heard that sharks, despite living in the ocean, would drown if they stopped swimming. But this, like so many other animal "facts," is actually not at all true.

    Discovery Channel

    Enter True or Poo?, a new book by scientists Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti, and a much-needed field guide in this age of animal ~fake news~.

    Hachette Books

    This Definitive Field Guide to Filthy Animal Facts and Falsehoods — which investigates 80 animal myths, some true, some "poo" — comes from the same authors behind Does It Fart?, published earlier this year.

    Get True or Poo? from Amazon for $11.13, Barnes & Noble for $14.40, IndieBound, or from your local library.

    So, without further ado, here are 15 other animal "facts" you might believe are true, but are actually "poo."

    1. Contrary to popular belief, birds don't actually abandon their chicks if people touch them — their sense of smell isn't good enough to be able to detect human scent.

    Logan Marshall / Getty Images

    You should still avoid touching them, though, unless the chicks are in immediate danger.

    2. And no, camels don't store water in their humps — they store fat there instead.

    Ulyssepixel / Getty Images

    Camels can, however, go over 10 days without drinking water!

    3. Cutting an earthworm in half does not create two earthworms — however, the half containing the head can grow a new tail and survive.

    Igreen_images / Getty Images

    4. Despite what you've heard, Komodo dragons do not kill their prey with bacteria-ridden saliva — they actually produce deadly venom themselves.

    Andreygudkov / Getty Images

    5. Anteaters do not suck up ants with their nose — instead, using their tongue, they lap up ants into their mouth, which is also a part of their snout.

    Nnehring / Getty Images

    6. Rest easy knowing you don't actually eat spiders in your sleep...

    Quintanilla / Getty Images

    It's not impossible, of course, but it doesn't happen even remotely regularly.

    7. ...and that earwigs don't actually seek out people's ears to lay eggs in.

    Semenovigor / Getty Images

    8. Chameleons do not change color in order to camouflage themselves — instead, their color changes with their temperature and mood.

    Kosmos111 / Getty Images

    9. Baby snakes are said to be more dangerous than adults because of their inability to control how much venom they inject, but this is actually not the case.

    Mark Kostich / Getty Images

    According to the book, "Because smaller snakes contain a lot less venom

    than larger snakes, realistically even a partial hit from a larger snake

    is likely to contain a lot more venom than a bite from a small one."

    10. Porcupines don't actually shoot their quills at predators — instead, they raise their quills, which detach easily when touched.

    Santagig / Getty Images

    11. The myth that granddaddy longlegs are deadly but can't bite you is doubly false: One type of granddaddy longlegs actually can bite humans, but neither type is venomous.

    Barbi Hofer / Getty Images

    12. Sharks, often said to be invulnerable to cancer, are not immune after all.

    Alessandro De Maddalena / Getty Images

    13. Despite what you were told as a kid, toads can't actually give you warts.

    Christinlola / Getty Images

    14. Out of 31 species of widow spiders, only female brown widows and Australian redbacks — but not American black widows — eat their mates.

    Jasonondreicka / Getty Images

    15. And finally the myth that there's always a rat within 6 feet of you is simply not true.

    Johnandersonphoto / Getty Images

    Get True or Poo? from Amazon for $11.13, Barnes & Noble for $14.40, IndieBound, or from your local library.