Ain't it Incredible - Jaw Dropping Wowwww Facts

#30 - Tardigrades_The most Resilient and Indestructible

Tardigrades are near-microscopic animals often called water bears.
While they are strangely cute looking creatures, these tiny animals are almost indestructible and can even survive a volcano and also in outer space. Yes You read that right "IN THE OUTER SPACE TOO". There is possibly no place that Tardigrades cannot survive. Such is their resilience.

They are also known to survive upto 30 years without food. Now that's a superpower! Or is that a curse! 🤔

#29 The Giant Anteater

Anteater Anteaters are funny-looking creatures that can be found in Central and South America. They live in grasslands, woodlands, rainforests and deciduous forests. There are four types of anteaters. Some of them are near threatened species.

Anteaters can be small as a squirrel (silky anteaters) or 7 feet long, counting from the tip of the nose to the end of its tail (giant anteaters). Anteaters are toothless creatures. They use their long and sticky tongue to catch prey. Tongue can be 2 feet long. It is narrow and covered with tiny spines. Anteaters catch ants and termites through the hole on the top of the anthill. They never destroy anthill because they plan to come and eat another portion of ants in the future. Since ants can bite, anteaters must eat them quickly. They are flicking their tongue 150-160 times in minute during feeding to grab enough ants and avoid bites.

Digestion is facilitated by specifically designed stomach that grinds large quantity of ants and termites. Their stomach produces formic acid instead of hydrochloric acid (which is normally found in other mammals). They can eat up to 30 000 insects per day. They have poor eyesight, but excellent sense of smell. They can detect smell 40 times better than humans. Anteaters use their nose to find food.
Anteaters have low body temperature compared to other placental mammals, just 32.7 degrees of Celsius.

They sleep 15 hours per day.

Anteaters have 4 inches long claws and they use them to defend against jaguars and cougars. Anteaters are solitary animals and they gather only during mating season. Group of anteaters is called "parade". Pregnancy lasts 190 days and ends with single baby. Little anteater stays with mother 2 years or until she becomes pregnant again. Mother carries the baby on her back during the first year.

Anteaters live up to 15 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity.

#28 Squirts Blood from the eye - Horned Lizard

The short-horned lizard is often referred to as a “horned toad” or “horny toad” because its squat, flattened shape and short, blunt snout give it a toad-ish look. There are over a dozen recognized species found in the deserts and semi-arid environments of North and Central America, from southern Canada to Guatemala.

Species are distinguishable by the formidable crown of horns adorning their head and the numerous spines across their back. Their coloring can be yellowish, gray, or reddish-brown depending on the environment they inhabit, and, combined with their shape, affords them considerable camouflage on the surface. They feed primarily on ants, waiting for one to unsuspectingly crawl by before snapping it in and swallowing it whole. They are also known to eat grasshoppers, beetles, and spiders.

These species employ one of the animal kingdom’s most bizarre defensive mechanisms: They shoot blood from their eyes.

The ominous squirting blood emanates from ducts in the corners of their eyes and can travel a distance of up to three feet (one meter). It’s meant to confuse would-be predators, but also contains a chemical that is noxious to dogs, wolves, and coyotes.

#27 Largest Fresh-Water Turtle - Alligator Snapping Turtle

Kingdom: Animalia
Family: Chelydridae
Genus: Macrochelys
Endemic to: South-Eastern United States
Life Span: more likely 120 years

A reptile cm carnivore, the Alligator snapping turtle is considered the heaviest freshwater turtle in the world. With its spiked shell, beak-like jaws, and thick, scaled tail, this species is often referred to as the "Dinosaur of the Turtle World."

The alligator snapping turtle is given its name because of its immensely powerful jaws and long, spring-like neck, as well as distinct ridges on its shell that are similar to the rough, ridged skin of an alligator

The alligator snapper employs a unique natural lure in its hunting technique. Its tongue sports a bright-red, worm-shaped piece of flesh that, when displayed by a motionless turtle on a river bottom, draws curious fish or frogs close enough to be snatched.

#26 Deadly Electric Shock - Electric Eel
Kingdom: Animalia
Family: Gymnotidae
Genus: Electrophorus
Endemic to: Amazon River and Orinoco River basins in South America
Life Span: 15 years

Despite their serpentine appearance, electric eels are not actually eels. Their scientific classification is closer to carp and catfish.

These famous freshwater predators get their name from the enormous electrical charge they can generate to stun prey and dissuade predators. Their bodies contain electric organs with about 6,000 specialized cells called electrocytes that store power like tiny batteries. When threatened or attacking prey, these cells will discharge simultaneously, emitting a burst of at least 600 volts, five times the power of a standard U.S. wall socket.

They live in the murky streams and ponds of the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America, feeding mainly on fish, but also amphibians and even birds and small mammals. As air-breathers, they must come to the surface frequently. They also have poor eyesight, but can emit a low-level charge, less than 10 volts, which they use like radar to navigate and locate prey.

Electric eels can reach huge proportions, exceeding 8 feet (2.5 meters) in length and 44 pounds (20 kilograms) in weight. They have long, cylindrical bodies and flattened heads and are generally dark green or grayish on top with yellowish coloring underneath.

Human deaths from electric eels are extremely rare. However, multiple shocks can cause respiratory or heart failure, and people have been known to drown in shallow water after a stunning jolt.

#25 Largest Deer in the World - Moose (Eurasian Elk)

Family: Cervidae
Genus: Alces
Endemic to: North America, Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Latvia, Estonia, some parts of Russia
Life Span: 15–25 years

Moose are large ungulates (hoofed mammals) identified by their long, rounded snouts; huge, flattened antlers; hu**ed back; thin legs; and massive bodies. These animals live in the northern United States, Canada and Europe. In North America, they are called moose; in Europe, they are called Eurasian elk.

Males are heavier than females.
Moose have short tails, a hump on their shoulders and large ears that can rotate to give them stereophonic hearing. Their fur is generally brown or black and provides excellent insulation from the cold. Male moose, called bulls, have massive antlers. These can grow 6 feet (1.8 m)wide from tip to tip. Antlers are only used for fighting for a mate, and they are shed each winter after mating season, which runs from September to October.

Moose hair is hollow. This type of fur helps to insulate the animal from the cold.
A moose's front legs are longer than its back legs. This helps the moose more easily jump over things lying in its path.
The hump on a moose's back is caused by massive shoulder muscles.
The flap of skin that hangs below a moose's chin is called a bell.
A moose's wide hooves act like built-in snowshoes, helping the moose walk in the snow.
Moose can run 35 mph (56 km/h) over short distances and trot at 20 mph (32 km/h) for longer periods.
Moose are strong swimmers and can swim up to 6 mph (9.5 km/h) and as far as 12.4 miles (20 km). Moose can also stay under water for 30 seconds when swimming.

#24 Most capable Glider mammal - Colugo

Family: Cynocephalidae
Genus: Cynocephalus
Endemic to: Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia
Life Span: 70-90 years

Colugos are arboreal gliding mammals found in Southeast Asia. Just two extant species make up the entire family Cynocephalidae and order Dermoptera. They are the most capable gliders of all gliding mammals, using flaps of extra skin between their legs to glide from higher to lower locations. They are also known as cobegos or flying lemurs, though they are not true lemurs.

They are surprisingly clumsy climbers. Lacking opposable thumbs and not being especially strong, they proceed upwards in a series of slow hops, gripping onto the bark of trees with their small, sharp claws. They are as comfortable hanging underneath a branch as sitting on top of it. In the air, however, they are very capable, and can glide as far as 70 m (230 ft) from one tree to another with minimal loss of height.

#23 The Highest Water Falls in the World - Angel Falls

Angel Falls is located in the Guayana highlands, and it is just one of the five great adventure regions in Venezuela. The water comes in a free fall of 979 meters from the Churum river hovering of the edge of the "Auyantepuy" Table mountain, this the largest Tepuy (table mountain) in Canaima Venezuela. This height makes it the highest waterfall in the world.

Angel Falls is 15 times higher than Niagara Falls with its total of approximately 52 meters.

This fall is named after Jimmy Angel, an adventurous pilot from Missouri, United States, who flew to the air circus Lindberg. James Crawford Angel (Jimmy Angel) is a modern legend. He saw the waterfall for the first time in 1933 with his partner while searching for the legendary McCracken River of Gold, or the Golden City.

Jimmy Angel's ashes were scattered over the falls on 2 July 1960.

#22 World's Largest Flower - Rafflesia Arnoldi

Family: Rafflesiaceae

Rafflesia arnoldii is a member of the genus Rafflesia. It is noted for producing the largest individual flower on earth. It has a very strong and horrible odor of decaying flesh, earning it the nickname "co**se flower". It is endemic to the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Although there are some plants with larger flowering organs like the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) and talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera), those are technically clusters of many flowers.

The first botanist to find a specimen of a Rafflesia was the French explorer Louis Auguste Deschamps (1765-1842). He was a member of a French scientific expedition to Asia and the Pacific.

#21 World's Largest Reptile - The Salt Water Crocodile

Family: Crocodylidae
Species: Crocodylus porosus
Life Span: 70-90 years

The Saltwater crocodile is the largest living crocodile in the world and also the largest of all reptiles. It is found in Northern Australia and Southeast Asia and can traverse long distances at sea. It was once present along the eastern coast of Africa as well. They have a body length between 5 and 7 m (16 - 23 ft) and they weigh between 400 and 700 Kgs (882 - 1,543 lbs), with males being much larger than females.

Their name, Crocodylus Porosus, means pored crocodile. Saltwater Crocodiles are also known as Estuarine Crocodile, Indo-Pacific Crocodile, Salties.

Amazing Animal Fact: The temperature of the saltwater crocodile's egg will determine the s*x of the new born crocodile.

#20 World's Largest Hornet - The Asian Giant Hornet

Species: Vespa mandarinia

The Asian giant hornet , including the subspecies Japanese giant hornet ,colloquially known as the yak-killer hornet, is the world's largest hornet, native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. Its body length is approximately 50 mm (2 inch), its wingspan about 76 mm (3 inch), and it has a 6 mm (0.24 inch) stinger which injects a large amount of potent venom.

An allergic human stung by the giant hornet may die from an allergic reaction to the venom. The venom contains a neurotoxin called mandaratoxin (MDTX), a single-chain polypeptide with a molecular weight of approximately 20 kD, which can be lethal even to people who are not allergic if the dose is sufficient.

Each year in Japan, the human death toll caused by Asian giant hornet stings is around 30 to 40.

SO STAY AWAY FROM THESE POTENTIALLY VENOMOUS CREATURES !