Here are 10 more animals with exceptional powers! From the fastest land animals, to the fastest flying bird down to a weird-looking mammal using electroreception to hunt prey, they are truly marvels of Nature. Read to know more about them.
Cheetah- Superb Speed on Land
With lightning-like speed, the Cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth! For the record, here is our cool cat’s speed credentials: it can attain a top speed of 112 to 120 km/h; it can sprint up to 500 m; and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/hour in just three seconds. Incredible speed, isn’t it?
However, speed has also its drawback; during a long chase, its body temperature rises up and to cool it down and to catch its breath, this long-legged sprinter needs to rest for half an hour. A poor climber, cheetah hunts by vision, stalking its prey within 10–30 m, then chased and tripping its prey with a fatal bite to the neck. Cheetahs diet includes: gazelles, impalas, hare, and other small animals.
Perigrine Falcon: The Super Flyer
Superman gets lost! The Super Flyer is in town. The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest-flying bird on planet Earth. Equipped with razor-sharp beak, this Raptor can attain a top speed of 320 km/HR! The peregrine falcons known for their “moustache”, are medium-sized bird of prey sporting blue-gray upperparts and white belly.
Averaging 34 to 58 centimeters in body length and a wingspan of about around 80 to 120 centimeters, this super flyer of a bird, hunts its prey by dropping down on them from high altitude. Its diet consists of medium-sized birds like pigeons, waders and occasionally insects, reptiles and small mammals.
Octopus: Best Line of Defense
How can this large blue-blooded mollusk, measuring to as much as 7 meters from one tip end to another tip end hides from its predator? The answer – by shape-shifting and invisibility. This soft-bodied creatures can make itself invisible from possible predators, using specialized skin, muscles that can instantly adopt the color and texture of its environment.
Next in its defense arsenals, is the black ink which it spews to make a fast escape from attackers. And lastly, when under threat, this big-eyed mollusk can spare an arm to distract a predator’s grasp, but is able to re-grow it later.
Gecko: Anti-gravity Suction Toes
Nature’s original Spiderman – the Gecko – a small to medium-sized lizard is not only good at vocalizations but have many powers in his arsenal. Aside from the ability to shed its brittle tail as a deviation to escape a potential predator, it has also anti-gravity suction toes that adhere to most surfaces aiding it to climb up ceilings or vertical surfaces with relative ease.
These sticky toe pads have thousands of microscopic hairs (called setae) which aid it to do these amazing stunts even on smooth surfaces or hanging upside down. If an adult gecko is allowed to make contact with smooth glass even with one toe, it can support a weight of 133 kg or about eight times its body weight! How’s that for a tiny lizard with no eyelids.
Rhinoceros Beetle: Incredible strength
A black beetle that can compete with Hercules in a weightlifting match? Got to believe that – Rhino Beetle is the world’s strongest animals, body proportion wise. Famous for their horn on the top of the head, these fierce-looking but gentle beetles can lift a 65 ton object or up to 850 times their own body weight. Among the largest of beetles, Rhino beetles average 50 – 60 millimeters in length when fully grown.
Spittle bug: World’s greatest leaper
A leap worthy of an Olympic gold medal – the Spittle Bug or Froghopper can do such feat! The adult, just under half an inch in size can toss itself a monstrous 28 inches! Accomplishing such gigantic leap requires a force 400x greater than gravity. Spittle bugs are best known for their larvae stage, where the nymphs cover themselves in foamed-up plant saps to elude predators. Spittle bugs are typically dull green, gray or brown in color with a head resembling that of a frog. Most species of spittle bugs eat plants and shrubs.
Moth: Hypnotic Scent
Searching for love – forget about Cupid’s arrows nor love spells, instead, why not bring along with you a moth. Numbering about 250,000 species, these winged insects emit a chemical called pheromones, a very special scent reaching miles away with a message – I’m in the mood for love! Moths too have astonishing defense mechanisms against probable predators.
Camouflage is one – adapting to objects in the surroundings, some moth resembles lichen, while others appear like bark of trees. Mimicry is another thing – creating markings on their wings to mimic other imposing animals like birds of prey or that of venomous snakes.
Sea Star: Spineless Wonder
Sea stars or Starfish is echinoderms numbering to about 2,000 species, found in major marine environment worldwide. They come in different sizes, colors and shapes. Though most sea stars have five arms, other species with 10, 20, and even 30 arms exist. These “spineless wonders” have two remarkable features – the ability to regenerate injured, mutilated or cut off the arms and the remarkable ability to pry open bivalve shells, using their suction-cupped tube feet and digesting its prey by inserting its thin tongue into the opened shell. They feed mostly on clams, mussels, oysters, and occasionally small fish.
Dolphins: Ultrasonic hearing
Dolphins are social marine mammals that have bonded well with humans. But what is so special about these affable, gentle toothed whales? They have acute eyesight and a highly developed sense of hearing! Though possessing small ear opening, dolphins have the ability to hear frequencies 10 times more sensitive than human ears.
Add to this remarkable hearing power – they hear with their teeth using a complex hearing process called echolocation. This process involved the release of instantaneous series of clicks done with the lower jaw, through the dolphin’s blow-hole. Also, dolphins have a good sense of touch, but very poor sense of smell.
Platypus: Electroreception!
A bizarre-looking egg-laying mammal native to Australia, platypus owns an astonishing sixth sense: electroreception. Having poor vision, the web-footed platypus relies solely on electroreception to hunt for prey, These electroreceptors are located in the bill, which sense probable prey by detecting electric current produced by muscle movement.
Even on a totally dark surroundings, platypus can precisely pinpoint its victim! Also, the male platypus carries fatal venom that can kill small animals, or cause severe pain among humans.
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