Today we are talking about animals that possess super powers. If I ask you what superhero, you would choose to become, I am pretty sure I would get an array of answers ranging from Superman, batman, Hulk, Captain America, Spiderman, Wolverine, Ironman and the list is quite long. People have often fantasised as to what superhero would they like to become or the super power they would like to posses. But the thing is we don’t have them but our neighbours do. A lot of animals possess some of the most amazing super powers and in this book, we will take a look.
Tardigrade
Tardigrades famously known as water bear are water dwelling micro animals. They have been found everywhere from ice deserts of Antarctica to rainforests of Amazon. They are extremely resilient to the extent that they are considered immortals. They are known to survive extreme living conditions- from extremely high temperatures to extremely freezing temperature. They can survive through deprivation and starvation as well. Pretty much their superpower is their unimaginable power to survive.
Jellyfish
Similar to tardigrades, jellyfishes are also given the superpower of immortality. But their gift comes wrapped in a different package. Jellyfishes can revert to their baby phase when they grow old. Turritops Nutricula is believed to live on immortally, as they can always return back to their juvenile once they mate.
Sea Cucumber
Imagine turning yourself into a liquid for fun or if you are stuck in this lockdown and want to slip away without your parents knowing it at all. Sea cucumbers possess this amazing skill where they turn their solid body tissues into liquid, so that it can slip into the rocks in the seabed. Quite an amazing skill if you want to play hide and seek the superhero way. Not to forget, the sea cucumber can also eject their organs at potential predators to scare them away, which also means they possess the ability to regenerate their organs. Amazing isn’t it?
Wood Frog
After immortality, regeneration and turning oneself to liquid, we come across another party trick. Wood frogs are able to freeze their blood as they hibernate. Yes, you heard it right, similar to Iceman, they can freeze themselves on will and will do so as they freeze their own blood to handle the intense cold. It digs into the soil and burrows itself in a safe place for the entire winter and then freezes its blood to decrease its metabolic activity and waits for the arrival of summer.
Boa Constrictor
Would you like the ability to have an inbuilt infrared detector? Boa constrictors can detect its prey through thermal mapping. It uses this ability to hunt its prey at night and move around well. The heat assisted hunting assists the boa to look around its environment and underneath to detect signs of life and then preys upon them by crushing them to death.
Isn’t the animal world a fantastic place? So, now you know which animals to emulate the best for your superhero fantasy.
