To survive in the animal world, it is not always enough to be strong or agile. Some animals, even without these qualities, live on Earth for thousands of years. Cunning helps them survive.
Vulture turtle
Most of us consider turtles to be one of the most harmless representatives of the fauna. But it's not that simple. In the fresh waters of the southeastern United States, the snapping turtle lives, which reaches 60 kg in weight. One of its features is its sharp jaw, so teasing it is not recommended; it can bite very hard.
Another unusual property of this turtle is its Peckham mimicry. Its essence is that the predator lures prey with the help of its favorite food, which is not food at all. Thus, a snapping turtle, half-buried in the mud, lies at the bottom and, with its mouth wide open, sticks out the worm-shaped bright pink tip of its tongue.
The “worm” instantly attracts the attention of the fish: they swim up, try to grab it and end up becoming the turtle’s lunch. It is also noteworthy that it is the snapping turtle, along with the snapping turtle, that is used to prepare turtle soup.
Hanuman langurs
Hanuman langurs are temple monkeys from India, also found in Nepal and Sri Lanka. They got their name in honor of the monkey-like deity Hanuman, whose cult is one of the most popular in Hinduism. Accordingly, these cute monkeys are revered as sacred. This attitude has spoiled the animals; they take away everything they liked from temple visitors. Nothing can be returned back; the sacred monkey is inviolable.
In addition, these seemingly peaceful animals can fight if you try to catch or tease them.
Fireflies
Insects are a class of invertebrate arthropods. That's why they are also in our rating. Entomologists unanimously consider fireflies to be unique insects for their ability to produce light. Harmless bugs? No, Photuris fireflies are cunning predators that eat their own kind.
There is a genus of fireflies with differences between females and males called Photinus. Males fly, but females are deprived of this ability due to their short wings. During the mating season, males glow to attract females, who light up in response. A firefly flies to its friend... But it gets eaten. The fact is that female Photuris fireflies imitate the glow of Photinus and attract alien males. By eating Photinus males, Photuris predators gain both food and protection from birds and spiders, since the males they consume have a special chemical.
Rats
Rats are agile, smart, fast (their speed is about 10 km/h) and penetrate into seemingly inaccessible places. Their unique property is to adapt to various poisons, as well as to recognize those with which they have already unsuccessfully tried to poison her.
The ability of rats to chew on everything, including things that, at first glance, should not be chewed, causes significant damage. But rats can also be very useful. So, they can be called a symbol of science. Laboratory rats, with their fast metabolism, calm disposition and unpretentiousness, are favorite “colleagues” of researchers around the world. And no replacement has yet been found. Domestic rats easily get along with the same cats.
Cuckoo
It is believed that cuckoos are divided into so-called ecological races. Each of these groups carries eggs of a certain color and throws them into the nests of birds that lay eggs of a similar color. In this case, the cuckoo swallows one of the host eggs on the spot or takes it with it. A child hatched from a cuckoo egg is also very insidious: it either pushes other chicks out of the nest, or, being larger, intercepts their food, dooming the chicks to death.
However, out of five cuckoo eggs thrown, only one cuckoo survives, since some birds, having found someone else’s egg, abandon their nests. Another interesting fact is that the male cuckoo, during the period of feeding the chicks, guards the part of the habitat where the female laid eggs.
Tentacled snake
It is also called herpeton. A freshwater snake, whose highlight is a pair of tentacle-like outgrowths covered with small scales. Algae also grow on the skin of the herpeton, which helps to camouflage and successfully hunt fish. With the help of tentacles, the snake catches the movements of fish in the water.
Sensing the approach of prey, the curved snake begins to sway slightly, the fish rushes to its heels, and at this time the herpeton quickly turns its head so that the prey itself swims into its mouth. It takes her no more than 15 milliseconds to attack. The hunt is successful in eight out of ten cases.
Virginia opossum
This animal, about the size of a domestic cat, is the only marsupial in North America. Despite the fact that possums prefer to live in thickets near swamps and along the banks of reservoirs, they easily coexist with humans, choosing in such cases underground communications or abandoned structures for rest.
But what is most unique is not their ability to adapt to the presence of people in their habitats. Of particular interest is the ability of opossums to pretend to be dead. Thus, this animal’s involuntary reaction to severe stress is expressed. The opossum enters a cataleptic state that can last up to six hours. The animal lies on the ground, curled up in a ball and tucking its limbs. At the same time, the opossum, with its mouth slightly open and its tongue hanging out, secretes a foul-smelling greenish secretion through the anal glands. Predators mistake potential prey for carrion and leave them alone. Opossums themselves typically feed on insects, crustaceans, snails, frogs and fruit.
Man considers himself the crown of evolution. Although at the same time he is far from the strongest, fastest, dexterous, and besides, he is also very gentle. We need a very narrow range of favorable conditions - temperature, pressure, radiation level, etc. for survival. But it turns out that the most cunning animals are also ahead of us in resourcefulness.
1. Foxes
The resourcefulness of the fox has long been a proverb, among all peoples living next to red-haired cunning creatures. An example of their intelligence is the work of South American foxes. Their favorite delicacy was the eggs of large birds, in particular rheas. The fox waits for the right moment until the owner moves away from the nest, and then sneaks up and drags away the egg. The testicle is very large and heavy, it is impossible to take it into the mouth, so the redhead has to push it with her nose to the nearest stone. Next, the egg is broken and the nutritious contents are drunk.
2. Rat
Rats have many interesting properties. They are smart, they can penetrate the most inaccessible places, run at a speed of 10 km/hour, they chew on the most inappropriate things, causing enormous damage. So in the USA these cunning animals damage communications, etc. for 19 million dollars. At the same time, their populations are huge - in New York alone there are more than 70 million rodents.
3. Chameleons
Chameleons are mostly famous for their amazing ability to change color. Moreover, the color changes not only in order to hide from enemies or victims, the skin has become a kind of means of communication. Chameleons express fear and anger in this way, attract partners and scare away competitors. In addition, it is almost impossible to look a chameleon in the eyes - each of them lives its own autonomous life. And of course, even the tongue of a chameleon, which instantly shoots out to a length several times greater than the size of the animal itself, has a sticky layer at the end and is capable of attracting quite large prey.
4. Caterpillar
It would seem - what kind of cunning can caterpillars have? But no, nature took care of them too. In most cases, caterpillars try to hide, taking the form of the surrounding nature, pretending to be leaves, a twig, a flower, or even bird droppings! Others intimidate potential hunters with bright colors, growths and bristles. Some people use the poison of the plants they eat, and some even switched to eating meat.
5. Vulture turtle
Turtles in general are very nimble and agile animals. They can only be slow outside their habitat. There are also active predators among them, such as the snapping turtle. She is good at biting, tracking and grabbing prey. To hunt, this cunning animal uses its own tongue, which looks like a pink worm. The turtle can only open his mouth, move his tongue and wait for the stupid fish to swim straight into his mouth.
6. Fireflies
Fireflies are usually associated with fairy tales - small, gentle lights that decorate the glades of elves. Typically, these insects use light to attract a partner. But it is precisely this feature that some predators have learned to imitate. They reproduce the flicker of a potential victim, luring themselves into dinner.
7. Temple langurs
Hanuman Langurs are found everywhere in India near temples. There these animals are revered as sacred. They are named after the god Hanuman - brave, strong and cunning. The monkeys are quite peaceful, but still, thanks to their impunity, they steal from visitors everything they can reach.
8. Virginia opossum
The possum's main trick is its ability to pretend to be a corpse. They succeed in this so reliably that predators try to bypass the carcass. Indeed, in a stressful situation, the small, slow possum falls, freezes, as if frozen, and even begins to smell like real carrion. It doesn't even smell like beef aspic, and the food obviously won't interest your enemies.
9. Orangutan
Orangutans have one of the highest intelligence scores of any animal. It has long been proven that they are able to use tools, create them independently, and make complex multi-stage decisions. A particularly big challenge for zookeepers is the ability of orangutans to pick the most intricate locks. But this skill is often used for peaceful purposes, testing all the locks of the park on smart primates.
10. Cuckoo
An ingenious solution for the survival of offspring. Cuckoos are excellent at distributing their children to neighbors' nests. In this case, the egg turns out to be the appropriate color and type, and the cuckoo then behaves quite adequately. By the way, he gets rid of his stepbrothers and sisters very quickly. And the adoptive parents feed the foundling, even when he is ten times larger than them.
If you are asked, what is the most cunning animal in the world? Many will answer - of course a fox!
The most cunning animals. Fox.
The most cunning animals. Fox.It was not for nothing that in Rus' they called her a cheat, and the image of a fox entered many fairy tales and proverbs of different peoples. She wins not so much with strength, but with intelligence and cunning in order to get her prey, and can easily fool a person.
You are probably familiar with the sayings: “cunning as a fox”, “a fox will deceive seven wolves”, “a fox can count chickens in a dream” - this is the reputation the cunning animal has earned through constant robbery, theft of poultry and other tricks.
It is clear that in order to survive in this cruel world of nature, many animals have to rely only on their cunning and ingenuity. Not everyone has enough strength to somehow feed themselves and withstand the enemy. However, some animals, not possessing these qualities, live on our planet for many millennia. And cunning and ingenuity helps them in this.
We'll talk about some of them. So, the most cunning animals.
RAT.
Rat
Rat The rat is a very dexterous, smart and fast animal. It can penetrate into the most inaccessible places.
A unique feature of rats is the ability to adapt to various poisons and even recognize those with which they have already tried to poison them more than once. The ability of rats to gnaw on everything that comes into contact with their teeth brings great trouble to humans.
But in science they are still indispensable and remain beloved “colleagues” for researchers around the world.
CUCKOO.
He swallows one of the host's eggs or takes it with him and places his own in the vacant place. The hatched cuckoo is as cunning as its mother. He either pushes the remaining chicks out of the nest, or grabs their food, dooming his adopted brothers and sisters to certain death from hunger.
True, out of five eggs thrown, only one cuckoo survives, because... Many birds, recognizing a stranger, abandon their nests.
HANUMAN'S LANGURS.
These are the temple monkeys of India. They also live in Nepal and Sri Lanka. These sacred monkeys are named after the monkey god Hanuman. They take away everything they like from temple visitors, but nothing can be returned - the sacred monkey is inviolable.
If you try to catch or tease such a monkey, the seemingly peaceful animal may attack, i.e. fight.
These are, of course, not all the most cunning animals on our planet, the list can be continued, but the main thing is that in this world the strongest survive. And it doesn’t matter how he achieves victory - by force or cunning!
Video: Langurs
Hanuman's langurs are sacred animals- September 26, 2014 How many pleasant moments our beloved pets bring us! ...
In nature, the fastest and strongest usually wins. However, being a predator is not so easy. After all, it takes so much effort and time to pursue prey, and not all attempts are successful. Predators may waste time and may be injured or even killed by their potential prey. It is not surprising that some animals prefer to act in other, roundabout, more cunning ways.
As a result, there are beasts with highly developed specialized and incredible abilities. Their adaptation to the environment allows them to deceive their victims. They don’t even suspect the danger that lurks very close by. When the victim discovers his killer, it is already too late. Let's talk below about some of the most amazing living deceiver creatures created by nature.
Tempting tail. In Mexico and Central America there is a snake called a cantil. It looks like an American copperhead viper. The cantilile bite is very poisonous, resulting in hemorrhage and possible kidney failure. If the victim is not given immediate medical assistance within a few hours, she will die. Wise snakes prefer to save their venom exclusively for prey. They feed on small animals, which include birds, frogs, lizards and even some mammals. Cantil is not as fast as a cobra - it has a heavy and short body, which does not allow it to quickly chase prey. Therefore, nature has awarded such a snake a cunning gift, which helps to lure victims into its trap. The cantillus on the tail has a whitish or bright yellow tip. By moving it, the snake imitates a wriggling worm. Such bait easily deceives small animals, which are suitable for the role of prey. All that remains is to let the naive hunters get closer and use their deadly poison. Some other snakes also use a similar trick, but this particular viper is the most famous deceiver of them all.
Turtle with crocodile jaws. Few people can imagine a dangerous predator in a turtle. Meanwhile, in North America, an animal lives in fresh water that reaches a weight of 100 kilograms. The snapping turtle has chosen rivers, lakes and swamps, mainly in the Mississippi basin. The animal cannot pursue its prey, but it has claws and a sharp jaw. To catch its victims, this turtle uses cunning hunting techniques. The predator is positioned motionless in the water, resembling a safe rock from the outside. At the same time, the turtle's jaws are wide open. The tongue has a fleshy, bright red appendage that resembles a worm. He wriggles, attracting fish to him. They try to grab the prey, falling instead into the powerful jaws of the turtle. This clever technique works best during daylight hours, when the prey can clearly see the bait. At night, the turtle switches to another type of hunting - any slow-moving living creature or even carrion gets into its mouth.
Bearded shark. This shark is one of the most interesting in its family. She is originally from Australia, which is where she got her nickname "wobbegong", which means shaggy beard. Unlike most of its relatives, this predator moves slowly and does not know how to pursue its prey. The shark prefers to hide motionless on the seabed. This is facilitated by their successful protective coloration, which helps to hide both from other predators and from potential victims. Around the predator's jaw are fleshy appendages that look like a beard. They provide double benefits. The silhouette of the shark softens even more against the background of the bottom, and camouflage improves. And small fish are interested in such formations; they swim within the reach of the predator. But one species of bearded shark uses a different, cunning technique that is more active. In fact, these are the same actions as the viper mentioned above. The shark flicks its tail, thereby deceiving small fish and luring them into a trap. The bearded predator is very flexible, it can turn around in a matter of moments. Any fish that becomes interested in the intently flicking tail becomes prey within seconds. In addition, the tail is unusual - it has a slight branching at the tip and a dark spot that looks like an eye. The bait is very similar to fish. The bearded shark reaches 3.5 meters in length, but people have no need to be afraid of it - it is simply not interested in us.
Angler. Deep under the sea lives a fish known for its scary appearance and strange reproductive skills. The monkfish is the most famous predator that uses bait for hunting. It’s curious, but this technique is characteristic only of females. The modified spinal ridge acts as bait. It protrudes just above the predator's mouth, like a fisherman's hook. At the end of such a formation there is an organ similar to an onion. It contains luminescent bacteria that, like a firefly, generate blue-green light. The skin of the scary fish does not reflect blue light, but absorbs it. As a result, only the hook itself is visible in the water column, while the monkfish itself remains invisible. The bait attracts fish, but as soon as they approach the light, a predator jumps out of the darkness and swallows the prey. Interestingly, the monkfish has such flexible bones and abdomen that it can swallow prey twice its size!
Tentacled snake. Such a snake was discovered in Southeast Asia. Its habitat is water, and its food is fish. The main feature of such a creature is the strange fleshy tentacles located on its head. The processes are very sensitive; with its help, the snake detects any movement in the water, attacking fish that are nearby. Another interesting feature of the predator is the incredible speed of its attack. It only takes 15 milliseconds to capture prey. But fish are also equipped with strong protective reflexes, so even speed does not always help to achieve success. That is why the snake uses cunning tricks to force its prey to move towards it. Sensing the approach of the fish, the curved snake begins to slightly sway its body. The fish immediately takes to its heels, but this is exactly what the snake expects, quickly turning its head so that the fish itself swims into its mouth.
Green Heron. If the mentioned predators use the features of their body as bait, then the green heron is deprived of such an advantage. But the smart and quick-witted bird learned to hunt fish using improvised means. In order to attract fish, the bird leaves something edible or interesting on the surface of the water. Small fish swim closer to eat or just look, and immediately fall into the bird’s beak. This technique is not inherent in all green herons, only the smartest ones. These cunning people even experiment with different types of bait. Some herons steal bread from ducks that people feed them, and then use it for their hunting. Other birds use small fish as bait, thereby getting the opportunity to catch larger ones. How green herons learned to catch fish using bait, no one knows. Some scientists believe that these birds adopted this skill from people. Perhaps herons are simply very observant, having learned to take advantage of the fact that small fish flock in schools around any object that has fallen into the water. In any case, this behavior is not instinctive, which makes the green heron an intelligent and cunning predator.
The deceiver bug. Hunter bugs, as it may not be strange for us, are one of the most deadly insect hunters. They may not be very fast, but they have many different inventive hunting methods in their arsenal. Some bedbugs disguise themselves as ants, thus getting an excellent opportunity to hunt them themselves. Others use camouflage to hide in ambush from their prey. Among the amazing hunting bugs, those that feed on spiders stand out. When a hunter finds a web, he begins to swing it with his paws, sending impulses similar to the vibrations of a victim caught in the web. The spider decides that the time has come to feast on its prey, but it itself falls into the clutches of a predator. Deception is cruel in its unexpectedness.
Nose. These animals, also known as coatis, belong to the raccoon family and are common in Latin America. Females and cubs usually live in large groups, but males prefer to live alone. The animals feed mainly on worms, fruits, insects and bird eggs. However, noses have strong claws and large fangs, which gives them the opportunity to hunt even larger animals. It is no coincidence that the coati's favorite food is the green iguana. This large lizard lives in trees, which contributes to its deception. In their hunt, coatis use group deception followed by capture. Some specimens of the nose climb up the tree, scaring the iguana. The lizard jumps down, where another group of predators is already waiting for it. Unfortunately for iguanas, they have the instinct to jump to the ground from a tree whenever there is danger. Thus, the coati's trick becomes, although simple, very effective.
Fireflies fight for survival. Everyone knows the ability of fireflies to produce light. This bioluminescence is a means of insect communication and an opportunity to attract attention. Thus, Photinus fireflies have differences between females and males. Females have short wings; unlike their males, they cannot fly. When mating season arrives, males begin to glow and flash to attract females. They also burst into flames in response. Each variety has its own unique glow, which helps them easily find each other. But Photuris fireflies are more cunning. Their females imitate the glow of Photinus females, attracting alien males. When they fly to the call of love, an alien female attacks them and eats the poor fireflies. Females of Photuris, called fatal females, thanks to this skill receive not only food, but also protection. After all, male Photinus possess a certain chemical that repels predators such as spiders and birds from insects. But Photuris are deprived of such chemical protection, which is why they eat their unfortunate relatives. The main thing is not to confuse your male with a stranger.
Voice imitator. The ancient Romans believed that there was a monster called Crocotti. They believed that the creature was either from India or Ethiopia. Crocotti looked like a wolf, but was able to imitate human speech. When the monster was hungry, he made his way into villages and carefully eavesdropped on people's conversations near houses. The creature would eventually remember someone's name, then call him into the forest and devour him there. Such a frightening performance, however, is just an exaggerated version of the real beast - the hyena. After all, they really can make sounds reminiscent of human ones. But hyenas can’t talk. And the term “crocotti” even entered science, being the official name of this animal. But among predators there is one that actually imitates the voices of its victims, luring them. More recently, scientists have discovered that the margi, a small arboreal animal from the cat family, has this talent. He lives in Mexico, South and Central America and can imitate the voices of small monkeys in trouble. Such sounds attract excited adult primates, which the margi then attacks. When scientists saw this behavior of a predator in the forests of Brazil, they were very surprised. But the local aborigines - not at all. They also told scientists that margs can imitate the sounds of other animals. These include the wingless bird Tinami and the large rodent Agouti. This cunning behavior is directly related to the psychology of the animal, which needs to be examined. Perhaps our pets can be taught to speak.
Spotted fisherman. Residents of the Amazon basin note that one of the jaguar's favorite delicacies is fish. To catch it, the predator uses a cunning trick. The jaguar lowers its tail into the water, its movements imitating a swimming insect or fallen fruit. Soon the fish swim closer to the surface to explore the bait. The jaguar immediately paws curious victims out of the water. Although this behavior of the animal is not a secret for indigenous peoples, scientists cannot observe it, confirming it as a fact.
Man considers himself the crown of evolution. Although at the same time he is far from the strongest, fastest, dexterous, and besides, he is also very gentle. We need a very narrow range of favorable conditions - temperature, pressure, radiation level, etc. for survival. But it turns out that the most cunning animals are also ahead of us in resourcefulness.
1. Foxes
The resourcefulness of the fox has long been a proverb, among all peoples living next to red-haired cunning creatures. An example of their intelligence is the work of South American foxes. Their favorite delicacy was the eggs of large birds, in particular rheas. The fox waits for the right moment until the owner moves away from the nest, and then sneaks up and drags away the egg. The testicle is very large and heavy, it is impossible to take it into the mouth, so the redhead has to push it with her nose to the nearest stone. Next, the egg is broken and the nutritious contents are drunk.
2. Rat
Rats have many interesting properties. They are smart, they can penetrate the most inaccessible places, run at a speed of 10 km/hour, they chew on the most inappropriate things, causing enormous damage. So in the USA these cunning animals damage communications, etc. for 19 million dollars. At the same time, their populations are huge - in New York alone there are more than 70 million rodents.
3. Chameleons
Chameleons are mostly famous for their amazing ability to change color. Moreover, the color changes not only in order to hide from enemies or victims, the skin has become a kind of means of communication. Chameleons express fear and anger in this way, attract partners and scare away competitors. In addition, it is almost impossible to look a chameleon in the eyes - each of them lives its own autonomous life. And of course, even the tongue of a chameleon, which instantly shoots out to a length several times greater than the size of the animal itself, has a sticky layer at the end and is capable of attracting quite large prey.
4. Caterpillar
It would seem - what kind of cunning can caterpillars have? But no, nature took care of them too. In most cases, caterpillars try to hide, taking the form of the surrounding nature, pretending to be leaves, a twig, a flower, or even bird droppings! Others intimidate potential hunters with bright colors, growths and bristles. Some people use the poison of the plants they eat, and some even switched to eating meat.
5. Vulture turtle
Turtles in general are very nimble and agile animals. They can only be slow outside their habitat. There are also active predators among them, such as the snapping turtle. She is good at biting, tracking and grabbing prey. To hunt, this cunning animal uses its own tongue, which looks like a pink worm. The turtle can only open his mouth, move his tongue and wait for the stupid fish to swim straight into his mouth.
6. Fireflies
Fireflies are usually associated with fairy tales - sort of small, gentle lights that decorate the glades of elves. Typically, these insects use light to attract a partner. But it is precisely this feature that some predators have learned to imitate. They reproduce the flicker of a potential victim, luring themselves into dinner.
7. Temple langurs
The possum's main trick is its ability to pretend to be a corpse. They succeed in this so reliably that predators try to bypass the carcass. Indeed, in a stressful situation, the small, slow possum falls, freezes, as if frozen, and even begins to smell like real carrion. It doesn't even smell like beef aspic, and the food obviously won't interest your enemies.
9. Orangutan
Orangutans have one of the highest intelligence scores of any animal. It has long been proven that they are able to use tools, create them independently, and make complex multi-stage decisions. A particularly big challenge for zookeepers is the ability of orangutans to pick the most intricate locks. But this skill is often used for peaceful purposes, testing all the locks of the park on smart primates.
10. Cuckoo
An ingenious solution for the survival of offspring. Cuckoos are excellent at distributing their children to neighbors' nests. In this case, the egg turns out to be the appropriate color and type, and the cuckoo then behaves quite adequately. By the way, he gets rid of his stepbrothers and sisters very quickly. And the adoptive parents feed the foundling, even when he is ten times larger than them.
Used by:ribalych
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