Within the infinite void of species that roam the earth, lie many with amazing, or unusual abilities. Strength, speed, the list goes on, but some of natures given gifts are not as well known. Well today they will be.

The Tardigrade or ‘Water Bear’

Well yes, besides looking mighty cool, this animal has some amazing abilities that allow it to live anywhere, from the top of the Himalayas, to the deepest trench of the ocean, or even more recently discovered, in deep space.

Most commonly found in moist, damp areas (but found everywhere on earth) the tardigrade owes its immense survival possibilities to the fact that it can:

• Survive Temperatures between -272 Celsius and 151 Celsius.
• Survive the Pressures of a vacuum, as well as the combined pressure of 6000 atmospheres.
• Survive decades in a Dehydrated state, in which it doesn’t need to consume anything.
• Survive Radiation up to 5000Gy, lethal human doses being only 5-10Gy.
• Suspend their Metabolism as to use only 0.01% of the normal amount of food and water.

It is because of these amazing abilities that tardigrades have been proven to be able to survive in open space, for periods of up to 10 days. Combating solar radiation, the pressure of a vacuum, and days without food or water.

Sharks

Everyone knows the immense sense of smell sharks have. The ability to smell one part of blood in a million parts of water. But what is the other amazing, yet hardly known ability that these quiet stalkers retain and use everyday to prey on its dinner.

Sharks have special cells in their brains that detect electrical fields. What does this mean?
A shark can find its prey, whether hidden or not by detecting the weak electrical fields emitted by the simple twitch of a muscle.

In short? You can’t hide from a shark.

Cyanide Bugs

Cyanide – a poisonous killer to all forms of life, be it animal or plant. A small know fact is that few species of bug and insect (generally millipede) actually possess the ability to vent clouds of hydrogen cyanide gas from special valves coating their bodies. This is an amazing ability,. It is often seen employed when the bug is handled, or if the creature is attacked, or about to be eaten. The creatures themselves generally hold a higher resistance to cyanide poisoning then other life forms.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds possess a range of unusual and bizarre abilities, many which do not necessarily contribute to its survival or abilities to consume.

These abilities mean the hummingbird:

• Is able to beat its wings at speeds of up to 90 beats per second, this gives it the uncanny ability to fly backwards, an ability only held by this group of birds.
• due to the incredible rate at which it needs to beat it wings to achieve lift, has the highest metabolic rate of all animals. The heartbeat of a hummingbird was once measured at 1,260 beats per minute, the fastest ever recorded.
• Must eat more then its own weight in nectar everyday. Due to its incredibly high metabolism, the hummingbird is always hours away from starvation. This means the hummingbird feeds often, and stores just enough energy to make it through the night.

The hummingbird is a fascinatingly subtle creature. One which has developed an insane method of survival, which has made it the subject of many ancient civilisations, such as the Aztecs, and the people of Nazca.

The ‘Pistol Shrimp’ or Alpheidae

Ah, the pistol shrimp. Characterised by their fairly large body to claw ratio on either the left or right claw, this animal is capable of some amazing and significant abilities. What could a simple shrimp do to make it so amazing? Well, the pistol shrimp, by contracting its larger claw, can produce a multitude of unnatural occurrences:

• Through the use of incredibly loud, high pitched sonic attacks,  small pressurised bubbles of water vapour are produced, and shot violently forwards at incomprehensible speeds.
• When these bubbles burst, temperatures of 5000K, close to that of the sun, are produced momentarily, and shot forwards.
• This combination of speed, heat and energy when launched at an attacker, causes the Pistol Shrimp to stun, wound, or in some case kill its prey.

With forces such as these produced, it is no surprise the pistol shrimp has survived as long as it has.

This only goes to show that although humans are believed to be the smartest of all animals, it wont be as big an asset as believed in a survivor situation.