Super Powers- Super Animals

Yup, you heard that right! Superpowers!! So sit back, hold tight and let me take you through a whirl of these creatures with the most unusual abilities.

1. Mongoose   Superpower - Venom Immunity

Venom Immunity! Bet you have never heard of that. Usually, in any animal, Messages are sent by the brain to various muscles in the form of electric impulses to function. If venom is introduced into the body, the venom blocks the impulses from traveling to muscles like the heart. The heart stops and the prey dies. But the mongoose has a special structure in its nerves such that even the venom can’t block the flow of impulses making the mongoose a formidable foe to snakes like the Cobra.

2.  Immortal Jellyfish  Superpower - immortality (I bet you couldn't figure that out)

All things that are born, must die…..um, not exactly. The immortal jellyfish can live forever(unless eaten by a predator). .The secret to its perpetual life is that it re-lives its entire life cycle after a certain period of time. After it reaches its final stages, its tentacles and outer jelly disintegrate turning it into a polyp(this is the first stage of growth in the immortal Jellyfish). So it keeps on repeating its growth cycle again and again and again.

3. Hummingbird Superpower - Speed flapping

I know that you have all heard of this creature, but you may not know its abilities. Despite being the smallest bird, it has some features which are second to none. It can flap its wing almost 100 times per second! That is almost 3,60,000 times per hour! Another cool feature is that it can fly backward, forwards, and even upside down. Not just that, unlike other birds, it doesn't flap its wings up and down, it flaps its wings in figure eight.

4. Wood Frog  Superpower - Freezing themselves

The power of this amphibian will keep you dumbstruck. During the winters, the frog cant survive the cold, so the wood frog finds a nice shelter and begins to freeze! It generates a special concoction that prevents the cells from losing a lot of water due to the ice. The body finally goes into a state of stillness. It almost turns into a statue, with all its internal organs coming to a standstill. Its heart stops beating too! After a few months when spring arrives, the frog begins to thaw. Its organs slowly start functioning and after 30 minutes, the frog is back. It's like it comes back from the dead! So I’m pretty sure that this animal can stay a “Statue” longer than any human before its “Released”.

5)Sea Cucumber Superpower - Liquification

I don't know about you but these oversized-looking larvae look downright ugly( I have posted a colorful picture here just so you are not disgusted! ). But believe it or not, people actually eat this thing. As a matter of fact, this animal seems pretty tasty to other underwater predators too. So, what does it do? It turns into a liquid!! .Until now we have heard or seen certain non-living things such as water change state. But a living creature!?! This is MIND BLOWING. So turning into a liquid allows it to seep through cracks, crevices or holes. And voila it's as good as vanishing.

So ya, this is my List of Animals which I found Super amazing! which one did you find the most interesting, leave it in the comment section below.

Until Next time:) 

Caracal

Caracals are native to much of Africa, Central Asia, and Southwestern Asia. Their distinctive characteristics are their long ear tufts. The name Caracal id derived from the Turkish word “Karakulak” which means  “Black ears”.

They can jump so high(16 feet, height of 3 men) that they can catch birds right out of the air. They can catch 10 to 12 birds in a single leap. Their huge hind legs help them to jump really high. They have retractable claws. Their claws are out when they need them and are in when they don’t need them. Their eyes are adapted to help them see and hunt in the dark.

One of the many nocturnal creatures, Caracals are quite fast(50 miles or 80 km per hour). They can outrun even antelopes and ostriches. They are also known as the Persian lynx and the gazelle cat. Its closest relative is the African golden cat. Caracals are also found in black but are very rare. They are also known to sometimes take down prey larger than themselves like small antelopes or even goats.

They have an amazing sense of hearing. They have 20 muscles in there to move the ear which helps them listen to even the slightest sound of the prey.

They are known to sometimes store their kill in trees. mostly in places with many hyenas. During the breeding season, 2 caracals will pair up for a day or two. After the female becomes pregnant, she drives the male away. Caracal kittens are born with their eyes closed and ears curled up.  after about 3 weeks, their ears unfurl.

They were captured and tamed and were given as gifts to guests. In ancient India and Iran, they were put into arenas with pigeons and deer. then wagers were placed on how many birds the caracal would catch. In doing so, they provided both food and entertainment.

Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey

They live in mountainous regions of central and southwest China where the temperatures are very cold in the winter. This monkey can withstand extremely cold temperatures, where no other non-human primates can survive.

They live in groups called troops, of 2 types, namely - “single male troops” where there are only one male and many females and their young and an “all-male troop”

A mature male snub-nosed monkey has long hair on its back. This is to impress females. being brave, strong, and big and having a cape makes one the leader of a troop. They have a thick coat of fur which keeps them warm in the winter. They have a blue face!!

Sometimes groups get together in the summer and the group will have around 600 of them. That is why in winter, they break into smaller groups between 20-60  because of the lack of food. This behavior is called “ Fission and Fusion”.

In humans, the nose sticks out so when they are in the cold, the nose, fingers, and toes are the first ones to get frostbite. But these monkeys noses don’t stick out so much and their noses are not fleshy like humans. And their hands have short fingers with a lot of hair of them, this makes it less likely for this monkey to get frostbite. At night, when the temperature drops very low. To stay warm, the monkeys huddle together when they are sleeping to keep each other warm and to keep an eye out for predators.

For food, these monkeys eat lichen. It provides proteins to the monkeys which help them get through the winter. In summer, they eat seeds and fruit.

This is an endangered species primarily due to habitat loss and fragmentation. The monkeys are poached for their fur, meat, and traditional medicine.

Pine Marten

Pine Marten

The pine marten is a mustelid and a member of the weasel family. It has a heart-shaped face, big brown eyes, a slim sinuous body, a rich chestnut-brown coat turning darker in summer, flamboyant apricot-colored bib and long tail, bushy in winter.

They are amazing climbers and run through the trees very fast to catch their favorite prey, the red squirrel which is also an amazing climber. Their sense of smell plays an important role in hunting prey.

ng lean body which makes them look like a 4 legged snake slithering through the trees. Their retractable claws and great balance that helps them rin through the tress very fast. These arboreal gymnasts can leap 4 meters between tree branches.  They can land unhurt after jumping from a hight of around 20 meters. They are omnivores. They eat eggs, squirrels, rabbits, and insects and fruits like cherry, hazel, and rowan.

Female pine martens give birth to litters having 2 to 5 kits(that is what baby pine martens are called).

Pine martens are helping the population of red squirrels. Usually, the population of grey squirrels is more than red squirrels. But places where pine martens are present, there are more red squirrels. This is because the grey squirrels are more heavy and slow compare to red squirrels hence making them easy targets for Pine martens.

They make their dens and breeding nests in tree hollows and abandoned animal homes. They kill by biting into the neck, behind the head, and at the top of the spine. Their bite is very strong that they usually decapitate the bird. Pine martens are prey for animals like golden eagles, red foxes, and wolves. Their largest threat is humans.

Aye Aye

Primarily natives of Madagascar, the Aye Aye look more like weird  rodents, but are a type of lemur. They are sparsely scattered along the west coast and northwestern forests of Madagascar.

The only primate with ever-growing teeth, perhaps the most marked trait of the Aye aye is their really long, sharp and flexible middle finger which is three times bigger than the other fingers.It is also the only primate to use echolocation to find its prey.
They catch their food the same way as a woodpecker.They continuously tap on the branches in the trees with their long middle finger and listen closely with their bat-like ears (echolocation). They figure out where small grubs lie in the tunnels in the trees. They then bite through the wood with their sharp teeth and use their flexible middle finger to feel through the tunnel and then grab the grub and eat it.

The Aye-Aye is named after its cries.Its tail is longer than its body.
They are nocturnal, solitary creatures (it means that they spend most of their lives without others of the same species). They are with other primates of their species only for mating.
As they grow up, there will be some color changes in their body.They are arboreal which means that they spend most of their lives in the tree and rarely come to the ground.Aye-ayes have territories that are marked by their scent. Sometimes, a male territory can overlap another male territory.
Baby Aye-Ayes are known as ‘infants’

Aye-ayes are believed to be bad omens for their native residents who believed that it must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck.In 1933, they were believed to be extinct.There used to be giant aye-ayes. It is an extinct form of the aye-aye. It used to weigh between 3 times to 5 times the amount of an average present Aye-aye.

Aardvark

Aardvark

This nocturnal, African Mammal with long ears and elongated snout has the honor of being the first word in the “Oxford English Dictionary”( other than the indispensable indefinite article” a” and some lexical entries like “aa”)

They are insectivorous animals which means that they eat bugs and termites. They use front claws to dig the dirt or mud, back feet to clear the earth and the tail for flattening the dirt.

Their nickname is earth pigs but they are related to elephants. If predators approach the aardvark and the aardvarks cannot go back to their burrow, they dig a hole underground to escape. They can make this hole in about 5 minutes. When Aardvarks dig holes and leave them, other non-digging animals move into these holes. Animals such as warthogs, python, etc live in these holes and these holes also protect themselves from predators.

As the Aardvarks eat termites and termites make very tall and strong mounds, it uses its strong claws to break the mound to eat the termites. They have long tounges and can grab about 100 termites in one slurp. Their tongue is up to 12 inches. They can close their nostrils to keep out dust and ants while digging. Aardvarks don’t chew their food. It gets ground up in their muscular stomachs.

Some animals like aardwolves also eat bugs like termites but cannot break into the termite mound. So they always follow aardvarks so that when they break the termite mound, the aardwolf can also enjoy a meal.

They are digitigrades which means that they walk on their toes and not on the soles of their feet. They have 4 toes on their front feet and 5 toes on their back feet. The tips of their snout are mobile. The only fruit they can eat is aardvark cucumber, in case you are wondering what the picture is about. 

They don’t make much noise unless they are frightened. Baby aardvarks are called cubs. Aardvark teeth are made into good luck charm bracelets by some African tribes.

An aardvark was the star character of a long rime running comic book. The characters name was ‘Cerebus the Aardvark’

Red Panda

Let’s start off by saying that they are adorable!!

Although they are called Ped pandas, they are not a bear at all. So they are not related to the actual Giant Pandas. In fact, the giant pandas were named so after the red panda because of their slight similarities. They are neither related to Fox because of the red color look nor are they related to Weasels. The scientists used to think she is related to Raccoons. But the truth is that they are in a family called Ailuridae. This family consists of only one species-the Red Panda. They are unique and are one of a kind.

Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and Northern Myanmar (Burma), as well as in central China.

They are good climbers and they also climb down the trees headfirst.

The red panda is a vegetarian carnivore. This may sound confusing but here, ‘carnivore’ is a biological order that includes bears, dogs, and cats. Many of these species are carnivorous but some are omnivorous or herbivorous like the red panda. They mostly eat bamboo leaves and sometimes insects.

Did you know that once, a Red panda named rusty escaped from Smithsonian National Zoo? A tree branch was pushed down over the fence due to some heavy rains he then made a break for it  😂🤣.

The company Mozilla named its browser ‘firefox’ after the Red Panda. Firefox is another name for the red panda. In 2010, Mozilla adopted 2 baby red pandas that had been born at Tennessee's Knoxville Zoo.

Can you guess which animal master Shifu from the “Kung Fu Panda”? That’s right, he is a Red Panda!!

These animals can easily blend in with their surroundings, they hide by disappearing into the branches of fir trees which are usually covered with reddish-brown moss.

They have 5 fingers, but apart from that, they have a special wrist bone that acts as a thumb which allows it to hold bamboo stalks.

These adorable creatures are endangered with less than 10,000 of them left.

They tweet! Want to listen. Click here (👇)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Red_panda_twittering.ogg