ANIMAL DEFENCE MECHANISMS
Added on: 14th Oct 2015
SARCASTIC FRINGE HEAD
The sarcastic fringe head, a Pacific fish, can open their
fanged-mouths to an enormous size to scare off predators.
When establishing dominance, two of these fish will open their
mouths as far as possible and butt them together in a wrestling
match that looks more like a make-out session.
MANTIS SHRIMP
The champ of underwater creatures, mantis shrimp can punch at up to
75 feet per second (23 m/s) from a stopped position – that’s enough
to break aquarium glass. Even if the shrimp misses, the resulting
shockwave from the punch can paralyze the other animal. The bubbles
in the shockwave can be up to several thousand degrees Kelvin – that’s
easily thousands of degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius.
Malaysian Exploding Ant
In a display of animal suicide, the Malaysian exploding ant can pop two
poison sacs on its abdomen which causes the ant to, you guessed
it, explode and cover invaders in the poisonous goo.
BOMBARDIER BEETLE
When threatened, the bombardier beetle mixes chemicals in its
abdomen almost to the point of boiling, shooting the hot liquid out
with a loud pop which scares most predators off.
KOMODO DRAGON
A slow killer, the komodo dragon keeps its mouth a bacterial mess.
With constantly ripped gums, the dragon’s mouth is full of open
wounds and blood. If it bites an attacker or prey, it just waits for the
infection to kill them off. The young ones protect themselves while
they develop the stank breath by rolling around the faeces of the
other dragons’ kills.
SEA CUCUMBER
Though it has a pretty harmless name, the sea cucumber has some
pretty tough defence mechanisms. If stressed, it fires fine tubes from
its respiratory system out its anus at predators. When mixed with water,
the tubes can grow up to 20 times their original length; they also become
sticky, wrapping predators up. Some sea cucumbers also expel a
toxic with the tubes.
HAIRY FROG
Not actually hairy, just with hair-like structures (for the males), the hairy
frog can break its own feet bones which then rip through the skin and
act like claws. Too bad they can’t just grow their nails.
POTTO
A furry, little primate native to African forests, the potto has a dark side.
When under attack, the potto sticks its head to its chest and puffs out
its top vertebrae then rushes its opponents like a battering ram.
CRESTED PORCUPINE
The pointy crested porcupine has quills up to half the size of its body
nearly 14 inches (35cm) per quill! When chased, it’ll stop in its tracks,
leaving the chaser to run into its quills like a spike pit from Indiana Jones.
It can also rattle short quills on its tail like a rattlesnake.
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