May 22, 2023
by Aswirbaad Das
Surviving out there in the open wild is tough. But, some species have found inventive ways to not only survive but thrive in the conditions they live in. Let’s have a look at how these magnificent 7 do it.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
During winters, when food is scarce, the chubby bears hibernate and fall into a deep slumber called torpor! In this lethargic state, their heart rate and breathing rate decrease, their body temperature drops and they can go months and months without eating or releasing waste. The urea produced by their fat metabolism is broken down, and the nitrogen is reused to build protein!
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
What makes up for the lack of brain (literally) in a starfish is its ability to do something truly remarkable. These carnivores can regenerate lost arms or even a whole new body from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disc! Regeneration happens only because each of the arms contains parts of the vital organs, including the digestive tract and reproductive organs.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
These masters of disguise have special skin cells called chromatophores that contain pigments of different colours and light-reflecting crystals. When chameleons need to blend in with their surroundings, defend their territory or attract mates, these pigments move, blocking or exposing other layers of chromatophores. This creates vivid and changing colour patterns in them.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Bats are late-shift engineers of nature that use an inventive way to locate or hunt things in the dark! With a method called ‘echolocation’, they emit sound waves from their mouth or nose that produce echoes upon hitting an object. These echoes then bounce off the object and return back to the bats’ ears, giving them an accurate description of what, and where the object is!
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Wildebeests are the flag-bearers of the Great Migration–the largest herd movement of land animals in the world! During this event, 1.2 million wildebeests and thousands of other animals walk across the sprawling Serengeti–Masai Mara ecosystem in Africa in search of grazing lands and cleaner water. Their daunting task also includes battling apex predators on the way.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Butterflies may be small, but their ways of survival are utterly brilliant! When eyed by predators, butterflies mimic, that is, imitate the wing patterns, shapes and colours of species that are toxic or venomous to the predators! They can also mimic inanimate objects such as leaves, lichens or parts of tree bark to confuse and evade predators.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The ghastly anglerfish might seem to swim alone, but they never really do so alone! Tiny bioluminescent bacteria called Photobacterium take up residence in the anglerfish’s esca, the fleshy outgrowth, serving as a lure and glowing bait for unsuspecting fish victims. In exchange, the bacteria get protection and nutrients as the fang-toothed anglerfish swims along.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons