The ant that moves so fast it’s like a pet cat doing 120 mph..
.. and many more amazing facts about the animal kingdom SLOWEST
SAHARAN silver ants, zipping about the desert in search of food, are the fastest in the world. Scientists have discovered they can cover one metre a second. This is the equivalent of a domestic cat doing 120mph.
With a good run, they can clock up 108 times their body length every second.
To the human eye, they don’t look like ants at all. They look like streaks of silver flashing across the sand dunes of southern Tunisia.
The animal kingdom is full of extremes. Here are some of the most noteworthy.
LAZIEST KOALA
These Australian marsupials are adorable but dozy, snoozing for up to 18 hours a day. Staff at sanctuaries have a strict rota so there are enough animals awake during visiting hours. They are also incredibly picky about what type of eucalyptus they will eat.
MOST TEETH SEA SLUG
These are not attractive creatures with their mouths closed. When they open up, they reveal a forest of spikes. Some species have several hundred thousand of them. As they wear down, new ones replace them.
LONGEST GESTATION ELEPHANT
Pity the female African bush elephant who has to carry a baby in her womb for 22 months.
LONGEST LIFE RED SEA URCHIN
These spiny guys live in the shallow waters of the Southern Pacific for up to 200 years. With spikes to deter predators and a healthy diet of marine plants, they are reckoned by scientists to be “practically immortal”. Last year, there were reports of a Greenland shark that was 400 years old, although, the average is around 200 years.
WIDEST WINGSPAN WANDERING ALBATROSS
Measuring anything from eight to 11ft at its widest point, the wandering albatross has the mightiest wings in the air. It uses them to glide around the Southern and North Pacific oceans, cruising for squid snacks.
SHORTEST LIFE MAYFLY
Also called the “one-day insect”, their lives are short but poetic. Some varieties – there are 2500 types of mayfly – don’t even make the full 24 hours. They hatch, they breed and that’s it.
MOST AGGRESSIVE CAPE BUFFALO
This mean-looking article is known in its native southern Africa as “the black death”. Standing 6ft tall, weighing a ton, it’s unpredictable and up for it at any time. Square go with a lion?
MOST COLOURFUL SCARLET MACAW There is a lot of competition for the brightest plumage or most eye-popping markings but these South American parrots edge it for the red, yellow and blue feathers that makes a rainbow look understated.
SMELLIEST LESSER ANTEATER
Move over skunks, this guy is five to seven times more malodorous. It produces scents from glands under its tail to
repel predators.
BEST HEARING BATS
They come out at night and are, famously, almost blind. They navigate and hunt for prey using their acute hearing and a system of echolocation like radar.
SLOTH
These adorable natives of tropical rainforests move at 0.003mph, barely managing 100ft a day.
MOST SEXUALLY ACTIVE SHAW’S JIRDS
These North African rodents can get it on 240 times in 60 minutes. This leads to a lot of little Shaw’s jirds, making them a pest.