Every animal has a defense system built into them it depends on the animal and its habitat that they live in. Some spiders have spikes on their exoskeleton, some have venom, a hedgehog has spikes on the outside of its skin, birds can fly, some frogs are poisonous, monkeys climb in trees, and rodents can dislocate their joints to fit in a small hole, bears are big and lions have claws, The list is end less the more animals you think of the more you will see how they stand out from the others. Why they have these abilities is simple, they all want to live as long as possible. Some of the smaller animals are food for the bigger ones and the only way that they can live in harmony is to be tough and stand their ground. Here are a few that have caught my attention.

Image via flickr  

Reptiles and Amphibians Defences 

Snakes, lizards, frogs, geckos, and salamanders are all ground animals and are more prone to being eaten by a carnivorous predator. Most of these are nocturnal animals and use the darkness to feed and move around, the first thing you will notice is that they will all avoid you if try and get close. The have camouflage to blend into their surroundings, some of these will even change colour during the day to match the colour of the leaves as they wont be seen. Others will hide under rocks and in holes in the ground, turtles and frogs and salamanders are dark in colour on their backs and light on the under side. This is because in the water the birds and other predators vision gets distorted, and they just look like rocks, or the predator can not see them because of the glare off the surface. Snakes have venom others are coloured to suit their surroundings, such as a grass snake would pass right by you in the grass and you wouldn’t even notice. Some snakes are huge and rely on their size and strength for protection. Crocodiles and Alligators can disguise themselves as floating driftwood and submerge under the water. The reptiles and amphibians are the most dangerous on the face of the earth, they are powered by the deadliest arsenal known to man that this world has to offer naturally.

birds

Image via Wikipedia

Birds

Most birds are coloured to suit their habitat too, they range form blues and yellows to greys and browns. The brighter coloured birds you will find in the tropical areas such as the rain-forests. They use these colours to blend into the sunny bright colours that you will see in a rain-forest canopy where the live. The darker shaded birds will live almost everywhere, in your garden, in a wooded area or in the bush. Birds have great vision along with the ability of flight, but even the bigger birds eat the smaller ones as well as insects, the smaller birds are adapted to this too, the smaller the bird is the faster and more aerodynamic they are, and they have much better agility. Some birds are nocturnal such as owls they use the darkness to hunt and sleep during the day out of harms way. Owls have great sight and a great sense of hearing, another one of their abilities is that they can move their head around 359 degrees This allows them to see the whole way around them and they leave no blind spots for the prey to escape.

Image via Wikipedia

Spiders, Insects and Scorpions

Insects and spiders are the second most deadly natural force in the animal kingdom. They carry venom and stings that they use as weapons in their line of defense. Most insects are coloured to suit their surrondings such as the butterfly, some of these have the same colours and even markings as a leaf to disguise them in the trees, some of these insects are suppose to look like their habitats such as the stick insect. A stick insect looks like a twig that you would see hanging from a tree, it becomes totally invisible and they move real slow as to not draw attention to them by passing birds. Some spiders are armed with spiky armour to prevent birds eating them, some other spiders have enough venom to kill a human within seconds. The wasp has a sting that could paralyze its attacker or simply just sting depending on the type of wasp. Scorpions have a sting too that can demobilize its attacker or just give it a nasty sting, again depending on the scorpion all depends on the ability.

Image by law_keven via Flickr

Rodents

Rodents are a funny breed, most of them can dislocate their bodies to squeeze through a hole, if they can fit their head through they can get through. What they all have in common is they are all a bag of nerves and they have big ears. Rabbits are as jumpy as a scalded cat and they can hear the grass growing in the breeze, the slight hint of danger and hes gone out of there. All of the rodents are like this, they have a great sense of awareness and a great sense of hearing. Meerkats work together and stand watch as the rest of the group forage the slight chance of danger and they will all retreat. Most other rodents will stay in family groups and operate the same. Rats and mice and other vermin are carriers of diseases, this is what stops them from being eaten, most of their predators have a great sense of smell, and get the sent of disease and leave them be knowing they will get sick if they eat them.

Image via flickr

The Rest Of Us

Monkeys live in trees and in groups making it hard for them to be singled out by a predator and attacked, if they are threatened they throw things at their attacker from the safety of the trees. The bigger the monkey the less chance of it being attacked. It is the same kind of thing for wild cats they have sharp teeth and large claws for attacking, their ability to fight and the strength they possess, makes these animals superior to the rest of us, and they operate in family groups too. Bears because of their size and strength go untouched by any other animal, they have huge teeth and sharp claws and are only hunted by humans. Hippos, Giraffes, elephants, buffalo and other land animals, have large number groups and great sense of awareness and because of their size, they usually don’t get attacked. Lions eat buffalo and other animals but that is their food, their prey have skills and weapons too, such as speed and horns. The smaller animals always fall prey to the larger ones in this world and they always will. Humans have the intelligence and the capabilities of making weapons and have for, for millions of years. Establishing us at the top of the food chain.