8 Animals Who Can’t Even Begin To Comprehend Relative Velocity

Sure, maybe most of us humans don’t understand relative velocity, and that’s fine, but these creatures of the animal kingdom don’t even have the capacity to understand any scientific concept at all. Pathetic.

1. This rhino

Here’s an African rhino who knows nothing of the complex relationship between mathematics and theoretical physics. What a complete waste of time this thing is.

2. This elephant

The elephant is, by all accounts, a smart creature—one of the smartest creatures on Earth, in fact. But how smart could she be if she doesn’t understand that an object moving at a speed of 55 miles per hour enclosed in a vehicle traveling through space is also moving at a relative speed even if it appears stationary?

3. This sloth

This adorable sloth has no concept of the fact that friction acts as a variable to the constant of a car’s momentum—assuming, of course, that a car’s momentum is constant. But this sloth can’t assume that, or assume anything of any scientific consequence. So, we pretty much have no way of evaluating the effect of friction on a car. Thanks a lot, dummy.

4. This panda

We don’t want to call this panda ignorant, but how else would you describe an animal who can’t comprehend elementary things like language, objective reasoning, and physics?

5. This otter

Hey, otter, who’s a good boy? Are you a good boy? Are you a good boy who understands that acceleration impacts velocity? Are you accelerating right now? Are you? Are you, boy?

6. This lion

The African lion is one of history’s most ancient, fabled animals, with legends dating back thousands of years, and in all that time, it hasn’t learned anything about displacement vectors.

7. This fox

This fox can’t fathom force, energy, velocity, or Newton’s second law. Can we ask you something, fox? Do you even know where you are right now? What are you even doing here?

8. This polar bear

Just saying hi!

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7 Animals You'll Be Glad Are Extinct

7: The Dire Wolf

During the Pleistocene, the dire wolf also known as Canis dirus inhabited different areas around North and South America. Although the average dire wolf was similar in size to the larger specimens of present day’s grey wolf, its vicious bite was the strongest of any Canis species to date. Their teeth were also larger and featured a greater shearing ability. It is also believed that they used their bite to crush the bones of their prey and eat the marrow in order to extract the maximum nutritional capacity out of each kill. Based on the numerous specimens recovered from the La Brea

6: The Smilodon

The smilodon is one of the best known species of what is commonly known as the saber-toothed cat. Smilodons inhabited regions in the Americas during the Pleistocene era, around 1.6 million to 10.000 years ago. Thousands of smilodon fossil specimens were discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, US. Their most distinctive features were their canines which could grow as long as 12 inches for the Smilodon populator, the largest of the smilodon species. Their height was estimated

5: The Terror Bird

The Phorusrhacidae also known as the terror birds were a type of large carnivorous flightless bird. It was the apex predator in the South American region, during the Cenozoic era. Terror birds ranged in height with the largest specimens standing almost 10 feet tall. They had large heads and powerful beaks but also great flexibility in their long necks. This enabled them to deliver devastating strikes on their prey. They would often use their height as a means of intimidation. Before delivering a downward attack

4: The Spinosaurus

Similar to the T-Rex the Spinosaurus was also a theropod dinosaur meaning that it was a massive land carnivore. It lived during the Cretaceous period, approximately 112 to 97 million years ago, mainly in the swamps of North Africa. Its scientific name, which translates to ‘spine lizard’, reflects the dinosaur’s most distinctive feature. The Spinosaurus had tall neural spines growing on its back vertebrae which were connected to each other by skin to form what scientists have referred to as the ‘sail’. The sail’s function is still unclear. With its sail fully extended the Spinosaurus

3: The Titanoboa

The titanoboa is the largest genus of snake ever discovered with an estimated weight of 2.500 pounds and a length of almost 50 feet. Upon its discovery it was believed that the titanoboa was an apex predator of the Palogene epoch inhabiting Earth’s tropical regions approximately 50-60 million years ago. However, later analysis indicated that the snake was mainly piscivorous, meaning that its diet consisted mostly of fish. When it would take on larger prey, the serpent would use its massive body to constrict its prey

2: The Tyrannosaurus Rex

The name ‘Rex’ comes from Latin and translates as ‘king’. Considering the fact that the Tyrannosaurus Rex is one of the largest predators that have ever lived, the name does it justice. The T-Rex was one of the few non-avian dinosaurs that were still roaming the Earth, prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (K-Pg). The leading theory behind the K-Pg event is that a large asteroid brought about the mass extinction of approximately three quarters of all the plant and animal life on Earth. The largest complete T-Rex specimen is located at the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago and measures 40 feet in length and stands at 12 feet tall. Based on the bone structure it is estimated

1: The Megalodon

The megalodon was one of the most dangerous predators in the sea during the Pliocene and Miocene epochs, around 23 to 2.6 million years ago. Based on the size of the discovered teeth and vertebrae, it was determined that the megalodon’s physical appearance resembled that of today’s great white shark. However, the megalodon was much larger. Based on the fossil evidence and body mass analysis which was done in comparison with that of the great white it was estimated that the length of the megalodon ranged from 55 to 60 meters in length with a weight between 50 and 75 tons. Scientists have not excluded the possibility of certain specimens exceeding these parameters. A 2008 computer simulation determined that the 10.8 to 18.2 ton bite force that this shark could produce was stronger than that of any other animal

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6 Animals of War

Elephants

Hannibal famously used elephant cavalry during his invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War, taking dozens of the animals with him as he transited the Alps. As terrifying as the ancient armored vehicles were, the Romans soon adopted responses to them (simply stepping aside and allowing them to pass through the massed Roman ranks was an effective technique). In the end, Hannibal ran out of elephants long before the Romans ran out of Romans.

Dolphins

In the 1960s, these savvy cetaceans were enlisted by the U.S. and the Soviet Union as part of the Cold War arms race. Trained by the navies of both countries to detect mines and enemy divers, “battle dolphins” remained in use into the 21st century. When Russia occupied and annexed the Ukrainian autonomous republic of Crimea in March 2014, included among the spoils was the Ukrainian navy’s military dolphin program.

Rats

Historically, rats have been rather unwelcome, if largely inescapable, companions for the world’s militaries. They destroyed provisions aboard navy ships, they spread disease among camps, and they fed on the corpses of the unburied dead. During World War I, trench rats were such a pervasive nuisance that commanders had to adopt rules against shooting the creatures, for fear of depleting stocks of ammunition. In the 21st century, however, rats have been trained to comb former battlefields in search of land mines. These deadly remnants of war claim hundreds of lives each year, and the rats’ powerful sense of smell allows them to uncover even those mines that avoid electronic detection.

Chimps

Perhaps because a Planet of the Apes scenario has always seemed just a bit too plausible, humans have not tried to weaponize other primates on any serious scale. Giving a sword or rifle to an animal with near-human intelligence and vastly superior strength just seems like a bad idea all around. Chimps did, however, play a prominent role in the space race. While the Soviet Union conducted what amounted to an orbital canine euthanasia program, the United States paved the way for the Mercury astronauts with Ham, a chimp who achieved suborbital flight and became something of a mascot for the U.S. space program. Ham died in 1983, after spending the remainder of his life in captivity, and his partial remains are interred at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Other “astrochimps” met rather worse fates, being leased to medical research laboratories after the U.S.A.F. concluded its space chimp program in the 1970s.

Pigeons

Often disparaged as “rats with wings,” the humble pigeon has acted as a battlefield messenger since at least Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in the first century BCE. On the Western Front, where things were often too quiet due to the vulnerability of telegraph cables and human runners, pigeons were used to carry vital messages to and from the battle lines. The homing pigeon Cher Ami saved the lives of nearly 200 American soldiers by delivering the message that a misdirected artillery barrage was falling on friendly troops. During World War II, the British intelligence service MI5 recognized the potential for clandestine communication conducted via pigeon (Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler was, in fact, the President of the German National Pigeon Society), and it enlisted a team of falconers to patrol the British skies. According to the declassified after action report, the falcons failed to bring down a single enemy pigeon, but two pigeons were captured and made “prisoners of war.”

Snakes

When an individual is regarded as one of the greatest military leaders in history, he’s bound to show up on a list like this more than once. With that, we return to Hannibal, beaten by the Romans, driven from his native Carthage, and forced to seek refuge with King Prusias of Bithynia. Still determined to strike at Rome in any manner possible, he counseled Prusias in his conflict with Eumenes II, leader of the Roman client state of Pergamum. The Bithynians lacked the manpower to triumph on land, so Hannibal took the battle to the sea. The situation there wasn’t much better, but Hannibal was a master of working with the tools at hand. And the tools that he had were snakes. Lots and lots of snakes. He ordered his men to gather them up and place them in earthen pots. Then, Hannibal did the only logical thing that one could do when presented with a giant pile of snake-filled jars—he rained them on the enemy flagship with catapults. Biological warfare is generally conducted with organisms that aren’t visible to the naked eye, but Hannibal was not a man of small gestures. The resulting “snakes on a boat” scenario played out predictably, and the Bithynians were victorious.

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Small Pet - Guinea Pig

As small pets go, guinea pigs -- also known as cavies -- are virtual giants. In fact, each of the 13 guinea pig breeds recognized by the American Cavy Breeders Association can weigh up to 3 pounds or 1,360 grams (that's a lot compared to a parakeet). They come in several colors and patterns, and can have short or long hair.

Life Span: Five to 10 years

Best For: Children of any age; a great "starter" pet

Feeding: Commercial pellets, prairie hay, fresh vegetables and water; daily dose of vitamin C

Housing and Exercise: Guinea pigs need lots of exercise. Pet retailers sell portable enclosures in which your guinea pig can safely explore an indoor or outdoor environment. You can add pipes for your pet to run through or offer hiding places like small boxes. However, resist the urge to add an exercise wheel to its cage. That's because running in a wheel could cause injuries to your guinea pig's back or legs.

Good to know: Guinea pigs are actually from South America (not Guinea) and aren't pigs at all.

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6 Furry Moths You Could Easily Take for a Pet

Acraga Coa Moths ("Jewel Moths")

Commonly misreferred to as Jewel moths, these exemplars have nothing to do with the true jewel moths (Eriocraniidae) that actually have gold on their wings. Rather, the Acraga Coa's caterpillar, popularly known as the Jewel caterpillar has caused this misconception.

Acraga Coa are from the Dalceridae family, found in southern Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama, obviously preferring a more tropical climate, so unless you like to live in damp hot conditions - this isn't your kind of pet. The Dalceridae family consists of at least 84 different species, all of their larvae sharing the gooey appearance so they're often called "slug caterpillars".

The amazing semi-translucent caterpillars actually don't have any defence mechanisms, except for their gooeyness. Ants, which usually devour caterpillars, become stuck in the larvae's jelly-like body. So it seems the species repel predators simply by being sticky and uncomfortable to attack. In this sense, "Jewel" caterpillar does seem fitting - look all you want, but don't touch.

Venezuelan Poodle Moth

The Venezuelan Poodle Moth – the hip new thing in the bug world. The little critter has now been compared to everything from a furby, gargoyle to a Pokemon character. But seriously, who wouldn't want to cuddle this sucker, am I right?

In 2009 the species of moths were discovered by Dr. Arthur Anker of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela. Not much is known about the insect - not even its family (Dr. Anker has suggested Artace sp, perhaps A. cribaria), except that it is found in Gran Sabana National Park in Venezuela and it is hella furry.

Rosy Maple Moth

Dryocampa rubicunda, or the Rosy Maple Moth is a species native to North America, their range extending to southern Canada - Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. As their name suggested, these colourful insects feed almost exclusively on maple trees.

The Rosy Maple moth is covered in a coat of dense fuzz which helps them pollinate flowers better. Their colouration vary, but what stay common between them is the bright colouration. Researchers are still pondering on the purpose of their coloration, some believing it warns off predators.

Generally nocturnal, these furry beauties prefer to fly throughout the first third of the night. It is then that the adult females emit pheromones and attract males, which have bushier antennae in order to detect the pheromones. The Rosy Maple moth adults don't eat. Their larvae, called Green-striped Mapleworms, can occasionally become pests in the garden. So even though they are strikingly beautiful, if you do decide to breed and have them as a pet, they might still pose as potential pest problem to be taken care of with a moth control treatment by professionals.

Rosy Maple Moth on a Thumb With One Leg Up as if Waving Goodbye

Tolype Moth

Velleda Lappet Moth, also known as the Large Tolype Moth, is a species of lappet moth that ranges from Nova Scotia to central Florida, west to Texas and north to Ontario. The adult fluffy insects are active from July to September. And by active I don't mean eating, because adults don't eat at all, they rather focus only on reproduction.

The Tolype moth larvae, also known as "tent caterpillars" are active from June to August, when they feed on the leave of broadleaf trees like apple, plum, cherry, apricot and etc. The caterpillars have their own astonishing specific - typically social, colourful, diurnal and hairy on the sides, these insects get their name from their ability to build silk tents in the branches of host trees. Which, of course, can either look very creepy or astonishing depending on your level of insect comfortability.

Pink-Striped Oakworm Moth

Known by entomologists and educated folks as Anisota virginiensis, also known as Pink-Striped Oakworm moth to differentiate it from the simple Oakworm moth. The Pink-Striped beauties are a species of silk moths from the family Saturniidae, found in North America to Canada inhabiting deciduous woodlands and suburbs.

Unlike other species, these moths mate in the morning. The males attract females by buzzing like a bee. Afterwards, it's a very wham-bam type of process, by which I mean rapid. The couple of moths stay together for the rest of the day until the female finds a proper place to lay the eggs - usually under oak leaves.

Sadly, these beautiful moths are occasionally considered a pest of forests, because their larvae defoliate trees. So if you intend to breed or keep one as pet, watch out for accidentally creating a moth infestation.
Flannel Moths

Flannel Moth

Megalopygidae, known to mortals as the Flannel Moths are one of the most interesting, amazing and talked about moth family made up from 11 known species. From caterpillars to hatching as moths, these insect look like tiny fur-balls, hence the nickname of their larvae "puss caterpillars".

However, if we look past their groovy exterior, the puss caterpillars are actually not the cute innocent little fur-balls they seem. Megalopygidae larvae are actually badasses that can cause a painful sting and inflammation which can last for several days, in some cases leading to headache, nausea and shock-like symptoms.

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5 Animals with Incredible Healing Powers

All animals are equipped to take care of themselves in nature, with natural defenses to ensure their survival. Now more than ever, scientists are researching different varieties of animals to see how we humans can learn from their different health mechanisms. While the topic is vast, we have highlighted five creatures which, through scientific research, have been found to possess incredible healing powers that can rehabilitate and treat human illnesses.

1. DOGS

HEALING ABILITY: Dogs’ saliva has been found to heal wounds. Moreover, the motion of a dogs’ tongue can aid wounds, as the saliva loosens debris on the surface of a cut.
BACKED BY SCIENCE: Researchers discovered a protein called Nerve Growth Factor in dog’s saliva; wounds treated with NGF heal twice as fast as untreated wounds.
dog licking a little girl's face

A dog's saliva contains healing properties.

2. SNAKES

HEALING ABILITY: A protein in the venom of a Malayan pit viper can help treat strokes and prevent  blood clots.
BACKED BY SCIENCE: While getting bitten by a venomous snake isn’t ideal, using their venom to treat illnesses has been found effective. A protein called ancrod found in the Malayan pit viper’s venom can dissolve blood clots that cause a stroke for as long as six hours after stroke symptoms begin. The venom is currently being used in Europe to treat patients with deep-vein blood clots, and to prevent problematic clots from forming after certain surgeries and procedures.
Malayan pit viper

The ideal way to come into contact with the Malayan pit viper's venom is through a doctor administered dosage.

3. CATS

HEALING ABILITY: Through their deep purring, cats can mend broken bones.
BACKED BY SCIENCE: Frequencies of 20 to 50 Hertz are helpful in speeding the healing process of bone injuries. Feline purring vibrations, which range from 20 – 140 Hertz, can help heal soft tissue injuries to ligaments, tendons and muscles.
Cute cat

This adorable kit could double as an orthopedist

4. BEES

HEALING ABILITY: Bees are the backbone of our ecosystem, providing humans with multiple food sources. Their pollen is a perfect food, containing almost all of the nutrients required by the human body.
BACKED BY SCIENCE: Pollen is rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and bioflavonoids which are anti-viral, anti-bacterial and help in lowering cholesterol. Fresh pollens also contains at least 20 amino acids that build healthy cells.
Bees pollinating a flower

About one mouthful in three in our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination.

5. HOUSE PETS – DOGS, CATS, RABBITS AND GUINEA PIGS

HEALING ABILITY: Household pets have been shown to raise immunities in babies.
BACKED BY SCIENCE: Babies who live with pets during their first six months have significantly lower chances of developing allergies and asthma. Children with pets are also less likely to come down with colds and ear infections during their first year.
a dog, rabbit and kitten

Household pets can build up your child's immunities.

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Up all night: 7 animals that hardly ever sleep

If you are a regular homo sapien you will spend a third of your life tucked up in bed, sound asleep. If you live to the respectable age of 75, then you would have successfully slept through a whopping quarter of a century. Sleep is a state of inactivity when we become less responsive to stimuli. The Oxford dictionary defines it as ‘a condition in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended’.

We now know that, as humans, we go through five distinct stages of sleep—the first of which is light sleep where we can be woken up easily by disturbances, onto the fifth stage called ‘Rapid Eye Movement’ or REM, in which we typically dream. We also know that many mammals and birds undergo changes in the brain while sleeping just like us; reptiles also display some sleep-linked changes. In some species of flies and cockroaches prolonged sleep deprivation can also be fatal. But limited research on animal sleep, coupled with its (at best) ambiguous definition when applied across species, has meant that our information on how exactly different animals snooze is still somewhat lacking.

So just how some animals get by in life with little or no sleep at all remains something of a complete mystery to us. Here are 7 creatures able to stay up all night, nearly every night.

1. Giraffes

With their long towering necks, sleeping isn’t the easiest activity for giraffes. Getting up once they lie down could take precious seconds and make them incredibly vulnerable to predators like lions and crocodiles. These tall mammals have therefore evolved to have very skimpy sleep needs. They take quick naps that last as long as five minutes through the day and all in all manage 30 minutes of sleep a day, topping the list of animals that need the least sleep. Indeed they rest so little, that up until the 1950s, researchers thought they didn’t sleep at all. Sometimes, they’ll will arch their necks and rest their heads on their rumps while sleeping and at other times they might nod off for a lightning quick power-nap whilst standing tall.

2. Dolphins

Have you ever taken a nap while on a swim? It’s an impossible feat for us, yet even for aquatic mammals it’s a challenge to swim and sleep at the same time. So dolphins have evolved a kind of sleep called ‘unihemispheric’ or one-sided sleep where they literally are half asleep. They shut down one hemisphere of their brains and the opposite eye (which the hemisphere controls) at a time, while the other hemisphere and an eye remain watchful. This way they stay on their guard in case of predators, are able to come up to the surface to take breaths while getting some rest. Sometimes dolphins swim while they are asleep, at other times they float at water looking like logs and this kind of sleeping is calling logging. Other marine mammals such as whales, orcas and porpoises also practice ‘unihemispheric’ sleep where they can remain asleep and awake at the same time.

3. Elephants

While they are gargantuan, their sleep needs are disproportionate to their vast sizes. Elephants are poor sleepers and need just as little as three to four hours of fragmented sleep throughout the day. Instead of spending time getting their forty winks, these gigantic animals utilise most of their time foraging and feeding. They spend up to 18 hours feeding to get 200-600 pounds of food a day necessary for their bodies. When they do sleep, they do it standing as they are, leaning on trees or termite mounds, or sometimes, lying down on their sides. When they sleep lying down on their sides, it’s never more than 30 minutes so as to keep their own body weight from crushing their internal organs.

4. Bullfrogs

Bullfrogs are thought to be animals that can survive without sleeping for months at a time. While they shut their eyes and go on to rest, they remain alert during these periods. According to research even while resting these huge amphibians were awake enough to respond to painful stimuli and show respiratory changes. They only time they do go into ‘deep sleep’ it is to hibernate to survive freezing winters.

5. Alpine swifts

Alpine swifts take their travel very seriously. So seriously in fact that when they travel from Switzerland to West Africa they are in flight continuously for 200 days, six months straight. They never stop on treetops or land for any ‘rest’ at all. Research shows that there are periods of slowdowns when the birds do not flap as much. But it is still unclear what kind of sleep they get up in air inflight.

6. Walruses

Walruses are talented sleepers who can break into snoozes just about anywhere and in any position—they can sleep floating in water, at the bottom of the sea, standing, leaning or lying down on land.  They fill themselves with air in parts of their bodies called pharyngeal pouches and stay bobbing in water sleeping without drowning. Sometimes, they’ll hang on to ice sheets with their teeth while in water and continue to sleep. But these blubbery sleep-loving mammals also have the ability to stay up for a very long time without complete sleep. Scientists say that walruses can swim and stay awake continuously for 84 hours. They probably rest as much to have energy for these intense periods of non-stop activity.

7. Orca calves

While most infants of many species sleep a lot more and more deeply than adults, killer whale calves and baby dolphins are exceptions. They will spend the first few months of their lives wide awake with absolutely no sleep. Even when adults catch some sleep, young orcas will continue swimming around. This could be to stay safe from predators, but an important reason is that these aquatic infants need to keep their bodies warm with constant activity until they grow older and grow some blubber.

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7 animals you can only find in Russia

Russia contains numerous rare and unusual critters, endemic animals whose natural habitat is limited to areas within the country's interior. To see them, you might need to embark on a journey to some of Russia’s more remote regions. However, you will be rewarded not only with the beauty of forests and lakes, but perhaps also with the opportunity to touch the silky fur of these wondrous creatures.

1. Russian desman

Millions of years ago, when mammoths had not yet emerged on this planet, the desman was already here. The Russian desman seems to embody antiquity in a sense. Their limited eyesight makes it similar to a mole, while the shape of its tail and its lifestyle recall an Australian native – the platypus.

Today this unusual semiaquatic mammal inhabits the basins of the Don, Volga and Ural rivers. A desman’s fur remains dry even underwater because of the oily musk secreted by its glands. It was the strong aromatic properties of its musk and its unique fur that put the desman on the brink of extinction a few centuries ago, but now this animal is under protection.

2. Fresh water seals of Lake Baikal and Lake Ladoga

The only mammals to inhabit Lake Baikal and Lake Ladoga are its seals. The most charming residents of these freshwater lakes have become their unofficial symbols. The Baikal seal and the Ladoga ringed seal are certain to win any tourist's affection. These animals have whirlpool eyes that look straight into your soul, cute fluffy pups and a curious nature. Lake Baikal even features a sealarium where these clever creatures show off their graceful movements.

Seals are referred to in many ancient Russian stories and legends. The peoples of Chukotka have a tale about a great mother seal that gave birth to every living creature on earth.

3. Putorana snow sheep

The impenetrable Putorana Plateau is one of Russia's wildest and least accessible areas: you have to take a boat or fly in to get there. This land is home to the endemic Putorana snow sheep. If getting to the plateau is challenging in itself, seeing its highland inhabitant also requires a fair amount of luck. Brutal and graceful at the same time, this animal with its thick winding horns and cautious manners grazes among steep rocks at an altitude of 1,700 meters.

It is impossible to know why the Putorana sheep chose this morose plateau, where it is forced to survive under harsh conditions, surrounded by ubiquitous dangers. Probably, these timid creatures enjoy the remoteness and the lack of disturbances.

4. Ross's gull

It’s hard to believe, but this frail-looking bird can be found in the austere environments of the Russian Arctic, Eastern Siberia and the northern and cold Indigirka, Kolyma and Anadyr rivers. The Ross's gull was once food for the Eskimos, but now the hunting of this strikingly beautiful bird is prohibited. Its plumage combines the snow-white of the surrounding ice with pale pink feathers, which seem to have absorbed the shades of polar dawns and northern lights. These frost lovers spend their winters in the north by the Arctic Ocean, instead of heading south with other birds.

5. Amur lemming

This rare mammal resembles a guinea pig or an oversize hamster with mottled fur. They inhabit the taiga of Eastern Siberia and Kamchatka. To see an Amur lemming, you might have to spend hours wandering across mossy moors and marshes: These rodents dig deep holes resembling labyrinths in the soft moss. A lemming's daily ration exceeds its own weight, but an active lifestyle helps them stay fit.

6. Siberian crane

The Siberian crane is majestic with snow-white plumage and a long red beak. These rare birds can be spotted in Yakutia and near Yamal in Western Siberia. Khanty, an indigenous people of Western Siberia, worship the crane as a sacred bird. These careful cranes prefer to avoid humans and warn their fellow birds with a long shriek, so you can only see them perform their impressive ritual movements from a safe distance.

The Siberian crane is included on the Red List as a critically endangered species. In 2012, President Vladimir Putin participated in The Flight of Hope, an action aimed at promoting the protection of this species. Accompanied by young cranes, the Russian president flew alongside them on a motorized hang glider.

7. Barguzin sable

Lake Baikal's eastern shores are covered with thick taiga, where you can encounter a nimble critter with fluffy coffee-colored fur – the Barguzin sable. The species, named for the Barguzin River, is very curious and not afraid of humans. Lucky tourists might get close enough to pet a sable and hear it purr, just like a cat. Because of its fine fur with silvery undertones, the Barguzin sable is highly valued and nicknamed the "king of wild furs" or "soft gold."

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5 animals that are almost immortal (and one that actually is)

The typical lifecycle of animals is familiar to us all. We’re born, we reach sexual maturity, we grow old and—eventually—we die. Old age, or ‘senescence’, is the gradual accumulation of cellular degradation and happens to all humans. The older we get, the more likely we are to die.

Yet there are some animals for whom this does not apply; animals that do not have any measurable decline in survival as they age, nor do they display any reduction in reproductive capability. This lack of the symptoms of ageing is called ‘negligible senescence’ and applies to many different species throughout the animal kingdom, including these five.

1. Aldabra giant tortoise Geochelone gigantea

As its name suggests, the Aldabra giant tortoise is one of the largest tortoises in the world. Very slow growing animals, the species does not reach sexual maturity until over 30-years-old. One individual named Adwaita died aged 255 years at the Alipore Zoological Gardens in Kolkata, India. Carbon dating of his shell revealed that he had been born around 1750.

2. Rougheye rockfish Sebastes aleutianus

Probably the longest-lived marine fish on Earth, the Rougheye rockfish certainly lives up to its Latin name—Sebastes comes from Sebastos, which is Greek for ‘magnificent’. They evade predators by hiding in caves and crevices on the seafloor, but one individual couldn’t evade fishermen off the coast of Alaska. However, it made history as it was subsequently discovered to be 205-years-old.

3. Red sea urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus

There is great variation in age among sea urchins – some are short-lived, surviving for four years, some live up to 50 years, but some are extremely long-lived. With the ability to regenerate damaged appendages and reproduce throughout their lifespan, some of the largest specimens of Red sea urchins can live to be up to 200-years-old. This was discovered by scientists using tagging studies in the field to monitor individuals, as well as radiocarbon analysis.

4. Ocean quahog clam Arctica islandica

An edible species, the Ocean quahog clam is harvested from the Northern Atlantic Ocean for food. They are easy to age thanks to growth rings on their shells and their age is impressive. One individual made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when it died in 2006. It was found to be 507-years-old, confirmed by carbon dating, making it the world’s oldest living animal.

5. Naked mole rat Heterocephalus glaber

The maximum lifespan of the Naked mole rat is over 30 years – while not sounding remarkable, it is when compared to other rodents, as it lives about nine times longer than similarly sized mice. It is the longest living rodent in the world. Breeding females are fertile until death and, unlike every other mammalian species, their mortality risk does not accelerate with age. As they are much more closely related to us than any other negligibly senescent organism, understanding how this evolved may improve our understanding of ageing in humans, or even help us to achieve negligible senescence ourselves.

6. Hydras

There is one animal that could be called immortal. Strictly speaking, no animal is truly immortal as all can be killed by accidents, predator attacks, disease or adverse environmental factors. Yet some animals don’t seem to age at all, and have a stable or decreasing rate of mortality as they grow older. These animals are said to be ‘biologically immortal’. The hydra are one such animal. Tiny, simple freshwater animals, hydras reproduce asexually by growing clones of themselves and can regenerate – if cut apart, each piece develops into a new hydra. Their cells continually divide, but do not undergo senescence. For obvious reasons, they too are becoming a model for research into ageing.

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