Amazing Animals with Secret Abilities You Never Knew About

It is survival of the fittest in the wild. From frogs to elephants, animals developed unique abilities in order to survive. Some creatures learned how to grow back amputated part of their bodies while others can change sex orientations for reproductive purposes.

Be prepared to be astounded by the sheer resilience, unique abilities and brilliance of these twenty-five creatures.

 

1. Wood frogs can freeze their blood during winter and thaw them back out later due to their antifreeze-style blood.

2. Thanks to their special immune cells, macrophages, salamanders can regenerate the limbs and parts of internal organs the they lost.

3. A female box turtle can store sperm inside her for months at a time and inseminates herself when she feels the time is right.

4. A starfish shoots its stomach out of its body, using it to trap prey and then slowly digests it.

5. Clownfish are all born male, but they can change genders at will, for mating purposes.

6. A jellyfish species is virtually immortal. Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish can repeatedly return into polyp form and begin the aging process again.

7. To hear even minuscule sounds as far as 75 feet away, owls rearrange their facial feathers.

8. Squids and octopi propel themselves forward up to 25 mph by squeezing water out their bodies at high speed.

9. Hippos produce a blood-like sweat that serves as their sunscreen.

10. Step aside, parrots, for the lyrebird can mimic almost any sound it hears—from other birds to different species, and sometimes even machinery.

11. Basilisk lizards are called the Jesus Christ Lizard because of their ability to run on the surface of water.

12. To hunt, spitting spider spits out poison that sticks on the skin of its prey and traps the weakened prey as it slowly dies.

13. Opossums don’t back down against poisonous enemies because they can release a protein that neutralizes nearly all poisons that enter their body.

14. Humpback whales have a unique way of catching prey, they release “bubble nets” that trap a school of fish.

15. Considered the “Hulk” of insects, minus the temper, the Rhinoceros Beetle is capable of carrying 850 times its own body weight.

16. The harmless-looking platypi track their prey by sending electric fields using their electroreceptors.

17. To get their dung balls to their destination, dung beetles use the moon and the stars for directions.

18. Why do chicks chirp? Chicks will chirp when finding food to tell their siblings to come and eat. The behavior helps in preserving family genetics.

19. His “Airness!” Cats can jump up to five times their own height.

20. Gecko will stick on any surface. Gecko feet contain a special adhesive that allows them to stick without leaving a residue.

21. Mammals that live in the water, such as dolphins and whales, sleep with only half of their brain shut off, so they’re able to sleep and go up for oxygen at regular intervals.

22. To make their nests clean and less attractive to predators, birds put their wastes in fecal sacs, which they remove from their nests.

23. Penguins are smart creatures. They copied predators’ ability to jump and attack and can now jump as high as six feet in the air.

24. If you see crocs swallow stones of varying sizes, don’t be surprised. Crocodiles use these stones to crush their food during digestion and to balance themselves in the water.

25. Sloths are known to be one of the laziest and slowest animals, but they are shockingly fast healers. Their Wolverine-like healing ability allows them to cure even severe and serious injuries.

26. Since cockroaches breathe through their body and digest their food slowly, these crawlers can survive without a head for weeks.

 

27. Frogs can see all 360 degrees around them. This is due to the fact that their eyes are far apart from each other, and bulge out of their heads.

28. Do you wonder why your dog seems to know what you’re thinking? According to studies, dogs are born with intuitive, near-telepathic powers. This characteristic improves the longer they hang around humans and get to know them.