What is the fastest thing on four legs? Which is the world’s smallest mammal? How much did an elephant bird’s egg weigh? When I was a child, I was fascinated by this kind of animal fact. And still am, if I’m honest. Inevitably, there was a mild obsession with record-breakers. Who doesn’t love a bat the size of a bumblebee? Or a whale with a tongue the size of a small car? Or a falcon that can plummet at over 200 miles per hour during a high-speed dive?