Buzz
While flying cars and colonies on Mars might still be on the horizon, we’ve already got some pretty amazing tech to help us out daily. From smartphones to transportation and plumbing, we’ve got gadgets that would have astounded the Founding Fathers.
Just like us, animals have come up with some ingenious tricks to make their lives a bit easier. Whether it’s cleaning or sleeping, these 10 animals have mastered certain tasks better than we can.
10. Crocodile’s Subaquatic Strategy
While humans use submarines or scuba gear to explore the depths of the ocean, crocodiles have a much more straightforward approach. When they need to reach the ocean floor to find their next meal, they simply swallow a few stones.
By ingesting large stones and rocks, crocodiles increase their weight, allowing them to sink and capture larger prey. This technique aids them in deep-water diving, improves their swimming skills, and even helps with digestion.
The stones settle in the crocodile's stomach, grinding food to assist in breaking down tougher-shelled creatures. The added weight from the rocks also lets these reptiles dive deeper into the water for more substantial, more satisfying prey.
9. Rhino's Unique Cleaning Method
Forget showers and brushes. Rhinos have discovered a clever way to get another animal to handle the cleaning for them.
In the African savanna, rhinos often become hosts to ticks, which can irritate their sensitive skin. Enter the oxpeckers. These birds land on the rhinos’ backs and feast on the ticks, which are part of the birds’ blood-based diet.
Oxpeckers also serve as a sort of security system. Rhinos, being nearsighted, struggle to detect approaching predators. But from their perch on the rhino's back, the birds have a clear view and emit a distress call to alert the rhino to danger. Of course, the oxpecker’s concern is less about the rhino and more about keeping its ticks safe from other creatures.
8. Chiton's Unbeatable Teeth
One creature has outdone even our most advanced dental technology: the chiton, a marine mollusk found in the Gulf of Mexico. This amazing animal can grow the hardest teeth known to man.
These teeth are crafted from magnetite, the toughest material any organism has ever produced, making them ideal for chomping on the chiton's favorite algae treats.
Scientists believe that, in the future, humans may be able to harness the power of the proteins that form the chitons’ teeth, potentially allowing us to “synthesize tough materials in labs.” But for now, we can simply admire their remarkable teeth.
7. Stick Insect’s Reproductive Hack
One creature that doesn’t require a mate is the female stick insect. She can reproduce through parthenogenesis, a method of asexual reproduction often referred to as a “virgin birth.”
When well-fed, a female stick insect can lay unfertilized eggs independently, with no male involvement. Some scientists have managed to replicate this phenomenon in labs, hoping to apply this knowledge to human reproduction.
Asexual reproduction goes even further for the insects, as they seem to have no interest in mating at all. Female stick insects are so averse to reproduction that they have developed an anti-aphrodisiac chemical, which they can spray at any eager male to reduce his desire.
6. Salmon’s Extraordinary Navigation Ability
While we rely on Google Maps, salmon have an even more incredible way of getting around. These fish are born with the ability to detect changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, which helps them navigate from fresh water to salt water for feeding and reproduction.
Salmon start their lives in fresh water, migrate to salt water, and then return to their birthplace stream to spawn. Besides their magnetic sense, they also use their sense of smell to find their way. The fish can recognize the scent of their birth stream, guiding them back home.
5. Black Swallower’s Extraordinary Eating Trick
Ever heard the saying, “My eyes are bigger than my stomach”? Well, it doesn’t apply to the black swallower. Despite being only 10 centimeters (4 in) long, these deep-sea dwellers can consume prey that’s more than twice their length and ten times their weight.
Found in the waters of North America, black swallowers live as deep as 3,000 meters (10,000 ft) below the surface and often encounter large predators eager to make a meal out of them. What these predators don’t realize is that the black swallowers are the ones doing the eating.
These small fish have razor-sharp teeth capable of taking down their foes in one swift gulp. Thanks to their expandable stomachs, black swallowers can consume much larger predators with just a single bite.
The black swallower’s stomach can stretch so extensively that its skin becomes transparent. Any prey that thinks it’s an easy meal may quickly realize it made a mistake picking on such a small creature.
4. Plumed Basilisk’s Water-Walking Trick
The plumed basilisk has perfected a skill that only one legendary figure is said to have achieved: walking on water. Often referred to as the Jesus Christ lizard, this little creature uses its toes to skim across water surfaces.
Plumed basilisks make their homes in trees along the edges of water bodies. When birds, their main predators, attempt to catch them, the lizards drop into the water and sprint to safety.
Their rear feet are equipped with skin-like scales that expand upon contact with water, increasing the surface area of each foot. By rapidly moving their toes, the lizards create air pockets that prevent them from sinking.
3. Millipede’s Poisonous Defense Trick
Another defense mechanism in the animal kingdom is the production of hydrogen cyanide by dragon millipedes.
Despite their multitude of legs, millipedes aren’t particularly fast when it comes to outrunning predators. In their natural environments, they face the threat of being preyed upon by numerous creatures, including ants, amphibians, beetles, birds, mammals, reptiles, slugs, and spiders.
Surrounded by danger, these many-legged creatures have developed their own trick for fending off attackers. When threatened, dragon millipedes can either release a toxic form of hydrogen cyanide from their pores or spray it at their aggressors from up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) away.
Predators stand no chance against the millipede’s cyanide, as the millipede’s version of the chemical is 18 times more lethal than the typical dose for a common pigeon. A well-aimed spray will definitely leave predators shocked when they try to take a bite.
2. Frog’s Bone-Breaking Defense
The Trichobatrachus robustus (known as the “hairy frog” due to the hairlike fibers on the male’s skin) has a chilling defense mechanism where it breaks its own bones to fend off attackers. When threatened, these frogs rapidly contract their muscles, snap the bones in their hind feet, and push the broken bones through their skin to form sharp claws.
Thanks to the collagen formation in the frog’s toe bones, it can break only the tips of its toes rather than its entire legs. This unusual method of defense lets the hairy frogs both fight back and utterly intimidate their would-be prey.
This defense mechanism isn’t just for predators—humans have also been affected. In Cameroon, indigenous people hunt these frogs for food. To avoid injury from the frogs’ self-defense, hunters must use long spears to catch them.
1. Dolphin Sleep Hack
Ever struggled to stay awake while studying for a big exam, unable to keep your eyes open? Dolphins don’t face this issue. These marine mammals can stay awake for up to 15 days at a stretch by sleeping with just half of their brain.
This phenomenon, known as unihemispheric sleep, lets dolphins rest while staying alert to constant threats, like shark attacks. It also prevents them from drowning—if they fully slept while in the water, they’d risk suffocation since breathing is a conscious action for them.
By keeping one side of their brain asleep, dolphins can get the rest they need while still surfacing to breathe when necessary.
