Fun and whacky facts about animal feet!
Have you ever thought about how amazing our feet are? They walk us everywhere, keep us upright and some people even use them to dance or hike up mountains. But of course, most other creatures have feet. Let’s look at how amazing other animals’ feet are too!
- Rhinos have very dainty feet, considering their huge size. So to avoid weight-bearing pressure, they walk on their tippy-toes!
- Elephants’ pads act like shock absorbers, letting these giants walk softly.
- Cats walk on their toes for balance and silent hunting.
- Geckos have toe pads covered in tiny hairs that let them scale walls and even hang upside down. They also have sticky feet to walk up walls, just like Spiderman!
- Camels walk on wide, leathery pads that stop them from sinking in sand.
Blue-footed booby birds have white bodies, but bright blue feet. The males use these to show and attract a mate, by showing their feet to the females. Whoever has the brightest blue feet – gets the girl!
Fun facts about human feet!
Our feet are quite funny too! Read The Foot Book on how to look after them.
- Around 20% to 30% of people have a ‘Greek foot’, where the second toe is longer than the big toe.
- Babies are not born with solid foot bones, they are more soft cartilage, which is why they look so cute!
- Your feet swell to around half a size larger when standing up, and in the afternoon. This is why it’s always recommend to measure feet for vegan shoes in the afternoon.
- Sometimes surgeons have been able to replace lost thumbs, by grafting a patient’s big toe onto their hand.
