The 40 Most Extreme Animals on the Planet
The 40 Most Extreme Animals on the Planet
To cut it in the animal kingdom, you have to be tough—really tough. From withstanding brutal climates to fending off ferocious predators, surviving in the wild is no small feat. But a few cunning creatures have developed crazy traits and habits to stay in the game. Here are 40 of the most genetically gifted, physically freakish, and just plain amazing animals in the world.
1. Snails have a crazy sleep schedule.
Snails are all over the map when it comes to sleep. We’ll define them as manic. They may nap for several hours, then stay awake for sessions of 30 hours or more. On the flip side, they have crazy hibernation periods. They can snooze for periods of up to three years, a survival instinct for when they feel the need to self-preserve.
2. Owls can twist their heads 270 degrees.
These birds have the insane ability to swivel their heads in almost full circle thanks to their flexibility, and the fact that their heads are only connected by one socket pivot. Researchers at Johns Hopkins also found that owls have backup arteries, so when they turn their heads at extreme angles, they’re still getting blood and nutrients when their blood vessels are cut off during turning.
3. African Lungfish can survive out of water for a year.
When the African Lungfish feels it’s in a life-threatening situation, it secretes a mucus cocoon and burrows itself up to 9 inches under the soil, where it gets air with its lung through a built-in breathing tube that leads to the surface. It then relies on rainwater to breathe.
4. Electric eels can transmit a shock between 600 and 800 volts.
That’s enough electricity to kill a horse. And while it might not be enough to kill you instantly, it’s enough to knock you out and leave you to drown/ Another nasty note: If you’re shocked by one, it burns your skin.
5. Stonefish are the most poisonous fish in the world.
The stonefish produces intense vasoconstriction. If you’re stung by one, it can cause shock, paralysis, malaise, nausea and vomiting, sweating, delirium, pyrexia, cardiogenic shock, respiratory distress, and even death if it’s not treated within a few hours by anti-venom. If you do survive, the symptoms can last a long time, from days to weeks, and full recovery may take many months.
6. Whale Sharks use their 4,000 teeth ... to eat veggies.
At over 25 tons, the whale shark is the second largest fish in the world, and yet it’s fueled mostly by plankton, plants, and algae. It has over 4,000 teeth, but it’s a filter feeder. It collects food through a technique called “cross-flow filtration,” similar to some bony fish and baleen whales.
7. Kangaroos can jump crazy far.
Kangaroos can jump over 27 feet in one bound. They can accomplish this thanks to having small front legs and a long, strong tail that helps keep them balanced while jumping.
8. Mosquitoes are the deadliest insects on the planet.
They may be small, but they cause millions of deaths a year around the world, according to the World Health Organization. This is because mosquitoes carry and transmit a number of viruses and diseases, from malaria to dengue to yellow fever. In 2015 alone, there were 438,000 deaths from malaria.
9. Black Mambas have super snake speed.
The Black Mamba slithers up to 12.5 miles per hour, but hopefully you can run faster. If it catches you, you have 20 minutes to find some anti-venom—or else you’re toast. The snake is responsible for an estimated 20,000 deaths each year.
10. Mountain Stone Wetas freeze, but remain alive.
This insect native to New Zealand freezes itself for several months, and then thaws itself. It’s the world’s largest freeze-tolerant insect, and withstands freezing 80 percent of its body tissues. It does this to survive drastic temperature changes thanks to a protein that prevents the formation of ice crystals in its blood-like fluid.
11. Dung beetles are crazy strong.
The dung beetle has been deemed the strongest insect on Earth. They’re able to push balls of fresh animal poop (hence their namesake) that weigh more than 200 times their body weight. Researchers documented one individual dung beetle that was pushing a ball that was 1,141 times his body weight, the equivalent of a 150-pound person moving a whopping 80 tons.
12. Tarantula hawks leave the nastiest bug bites.
Don’t let the name fool you—it’s not a spider or a bird. It’s actually a wasp. But this insect leaves one of the most painful bug bites. According to entomologist Justin Schmidt, who created the “Schmidt sting pain index” to measure the severity of bug bites, on a scale of 1 to 4, the tarantula hawk is one of just two insects that scores a 4.
13. Jaguars have killer jaws.
Jaguars kill their prey with one bite by piercing the skill or neck of their prey from behind, killing it instantly. And by the way, jaguars and black jaguars are the same species; the lack of markings is due to a mutation that occurs in approximately 6 percent of the wild population.
14. Hippos are insanely fast for their size.
While hippos spend up to 16 hours a day submerged in water, they also take to the land (and have been known to be super aggressive). And for their size, they’re super speedy. Don’t try to outrun a hippo, because you’ll lose. They grow between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds, and can run between 15 and 30 miles per hour.
15. Komodo dragons eat like champs.
Komodo dragons can grow up to 10 feet long and swell to around 150 pounds, which means they eat … a lot. Try up to 80 percent of their own body weight in a single meal. Their post meal-ritual? They regurgitate all of the indigestible parts (bone, hair, feathers, scales) into gastric pellets that smell awful.
16. King Brown snakes squeeze out the most venom.
You’ve likely seen videos of scientists squeezing snakes’ venom into glass beakers. According to researchers, the snake that contains the most venom in volume is the King Brown, which can provide 1.3 grams of dry venom from a single milking.
17. Tasmanian devils have the strongest bite.
Looney Tunes made Taz a lovable cartoon character. But in real life, the devil is anything but. According to a study, it has the strongest bite on Earth. Although these animals weigh just 20 pounds on average, they can exert up to 94 pounds of pressure, for a “Bite Force Quotient” of 181. That’s nearly twice as strong as a hyena and some 60 points higher than a lion.
18. Emperor penguins dive really deep.
Emperor penguins live in the Arctic, arguably one of the cruelest environments, where it can get below -40 degrees Fahrenheit on the regular. They inhabit the ice and ocean that surrounds them, and have become experts at surviving. They dive up to 1,755 feet for food in water that’s well below freezing.
19. Ringtail lemurs out-stink each other.
Ringtail lemurs have one of the most unique conflict-resolution tactics of all animals: stink fights. Since lemurs live in large social groups of 20 to 30, breeding season can bring a lot of competition. Male ringtails have scent glands on their wrists and shoulders. The wrist gland produces a volatile, short-lived odor, while the shoulder gland produces a brown, toothpaste-like substance, which is much longer lasting. Basically, male lemurs wave their tails and waft a fragrance toward their rivals, resulting in a smelly standoff until someone backs off.
20. African elephants are pregnant for a really long time.
Nine months is nothing: African elephants have the longest pregnancy of any mammal, which can last up to 2 years.
21. Arabian camels drink a ton of water.
Camels live in one of the most arid environments on Earth, adapted to travel great lengths through deserts. That means they’ve become masters at remaining hydrated with limited water resources. When they do drink water, they’re capable of guzzling 30 gallons in under 15 minutes.
22. Male seahorses get pregnant and give birth.
You read that right. Male seahorses have pouches on their stomachs for carrying babies—as many as 2,000 at a time. The female deposits her eggs in the male's pouch, which results in him carrying a pregnancy that lasts from 10 to 25 days (depending on the species), and ultimately giving birth.
23. Koalas have human-like fingerprints.
In 1996, a team of anatomists at the University of Adelaide in Australia discovered that koala and human fingerprints can easily be mistaken for one another, likely due to the fact that koalas are ancestors of primates.
24. Pigeons are incredible co-parents.
Male pigeons help to incubate the eggs laid by their female partners from mid-morning to late afternoon, while the females take over in late afternoon and overnight to mid-morning. Both parents (who mate for life) help feed their young when they’re born by regurgitating a milky liquid.
25. Great white sharks can sniff out blood from miles away.
This doesn’t necessarily help the stereotype that great white sharks are cold-blooded killers. But they do have an insane ability to detect blood. They’re able to sense blood from 3 miles away, and can also identify a small drop in a 25 gallon bucket.
26. Honey badgers are resistant to venom.
Honey badgers are known as one of the most vicious animals on the planet. And they pretty much hunt anything because they’re able to resist venom, an evolutionary wrinkle resulting from their diet of venomous snakes. From bugs to birds, crocodiles, and pythons, they take them all on. And they’ve evolved to digest entire animals, including bones and feathers.
27. Inland taipan snakes have the most potent venom.
The inland taipan is the world's most venomous snake based on the potency of its venom. Its median lethal dose for mice has been calculated at 0.025mg/kg. It only hunts mammals, and its venom attacks the human nervous system, blood, muscles, and organs.
28. Axolotls regenerate body parts.
These aquatic salamanders have one of the most incredible abilities of all animals on earth: They can regenerate a missing limb, tail, spinal cord, parts of their brain, heart, and lower jaw, and other organs. Researchers are hoping to determine how they do this for future use in humans.
29. Clownfish change genders.
Clownfish experience what it’s like to be each gender during their lifetimes. They’re all born male, but some turn into females (a process known as sequential hermaphroditism). Both are born with both male and female parts, and some males make the transition if alpha females die.
30. Peacock mantis shrimps throw the fastest punch.
The peacock mantis shrimp, a relative of crabs and lobsters, throws a punch at 50 mph, which is faster than a .22 caliber bullet. It uses its punch to impale soft-bodied prey like fish. And since it lives in overcrowded and competitive rock crevices, researchers believe it developed this strength to out-maneuver other hunters.
31. Tardigrades are indestructible.
This microscopic animal is one the world's smallest animals, measuring in at 1.5mm. But it's been found to survive in the most extreme conditions, including the bottom of the ocean and Mount Everest. Tardigrades are also the first animal to survive in space. Scientists believe it’s due to the fact they can survive extreme drying, going into a type of hibernation state before being rehydrated.
32. Assassin bugs are deadly (and fashionable).
As if their name didn’t give them away, assassin bugs of Malaysia are the ultimate predators. They’re known to hunt ants, and then turn the bodies of their victims’ exoskeletons into outerwear. (They do this after liquefying and consuming the insides of the ants.) Then they use their new armor to confuse future predators. Brilliant.
33. Immortal jellyfish are, well, immortal.
In response to physical damage or even starvation, immortal jellyfish transform back into polyps, essentially reverting them back to being re-born. Research has found that the re-born polyp is genetically identical to adult it was before.
35. Bengal tigers are the ultimate meateaters.
Bengal tigers are native to India, and are known carnivores. A hungry tiger can eat as much as 60 pounds of meat in one meal, and if it can’t finish, it usually buries it in the ground to save for a snack later.
36. African buffaloes practice democracy.
Researchers have noted that African buffalo herds practice voting. The process only involves adult females, and it all takes place with physical cues. It happens when individual buffaloes register their travel preferences by standing up, looking in one direction, and then lying back down.
37. Beavers have metal teeth.
Beavers’ teeth never stop growing, so they chew to keep them at a reasonable length. But their teeth are also built to go through the chomping. They have an enamel made with iron (which gives them an orange hue), but also keep them strong and resistant to acid.
38. Desert locusts are ravenous.
Locusts have been feared ever since the days of the Bible, and for good reason. When they come to town, they literally destroy everything. A swarm of desert locusts can be as large as 460 square miles, and they consume 423 million pounds of foliage per day.
39. Snow leopards are incredible leapers.
Snow leopards inhabit mountainous ledges and peaks, so they’re built for cold weather and jumping. Their feet are covered in fur to help keep them warm in snowy conditions, and act as snow shoes. They have long tails that help maintain balance. And in one leap, they can get up to 50 feet thanks to powerful hind legs.
40. Pupfish can thrive in any water.
When it comes to fish, you often categorize them as fresh- or saltwater-thriving. But give pupfish any kind of water—fresh, salty, freezing, warm—and they can survive just fine, biologists say. Researchers believe they have this ability because they evolved by only having low-quality water during the Ice Ages.
40. Barn Owls Get Divorced
Barn owls are a species known to mate for life, but research has found 25 percent of barn owls that pair up also divorce. It seems to be spurred by young male barn owls, who researchers found tended to end up with a less attractive female the second time around. Serves ‘em right.
These incredible creatures will do just about anything to survive.