None of us would exactly use the word ‘fun’ to describe 2020, but it was different and unexpected – for humans and animals – and has resulted in some weird and wonderful facts.

With less human activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, lions and penguins playfully roamed free; farmed mink appeared to rise from the dead; Spotted Lanternflies prompted quarantines; "Murder hornets" flew into the headlines; and a koala climbed into people’s hearts.

There are just some of nature’s top factoids from around the world in 2020 - that in any other year you’d never guess were true - as pulled together by the USA Today. Have a read.