Saturday, October 23, 2010

Amazing Animal Senses That Humans Do Not Have!

Although we are very proud with the fact that, unlike animals, we have the capability of rational reasoning and suppression of unwanted impulses, as well as many other characteristics that make us 'superior', the animal kingdom still fascinates with some of the capabilities that we can not even dream of.

It is completely wrong to think that animals do not communicate with each other, that they do not enjoy some simple things, like us, and that they do not have developed 'social norms'. In some animal communities hierarchy is respected, relations are strictly defined and everyone knows where he belongs.

One of the most interesting animals, bats, which are causing interest with their very way of life, have some specific skills. That is their developed skill of using the ultrasound thanks to which they are avoiding obstacles and catching their prey.  By interpreting bounced back ultrasound waves, bats detect objects in space. Dolphins, to find their bearings in the murky depths, are also using this biological sonar.

Shark, terror of the sea depths, rightly hold a reputation of an animal with whom no one wants to play hide and seek. These predators, in fact, have special brain cells sensitive to electrical impulses generated by other living beings. This ability of some species of sharks is so sophisticated that they can 'feel' the fish that lies buried in the sand from a very weak electrical signals emitted by her muscles.


In a similar way, thanks to heat-sensitive organs located between the eyes and nose, Boa constrictor and some other poison snakes feel the presence of their prey. On each side of the serpent's head, one such organ is placed, so these animals can even recognize the depth at which the prey is located. As a result, even in the darkest place they attack with deadly accuracy. In addition, all snakes can boast with a forked tongue, that may look menacing to us, but to them is an excellent tool for sniffing the environment. With it they collect particles from the air that are then analyzed with the so-called Jacobson's Organ, located at the top of the oral cavity. There the smells are processed, and the information in the form of electrical impulses is sent to the brain.

The sensitivity of animals to the phenomena that seem invisible to humans is actually a common thing. The eyes of insects and birds are adapted to wavelength ranges of light that are beyond visual range of humans. Some birds that we often see just as grayish are, actually, colored with fantastic colors for which we even do not have names. Some telescopes observe images in ultraviolet light and if you look at the bird feathers in this way, they look wonderful.


The phrase ''love is in the air'' for the moths is something that should be taken literally! Specifically, these insects detect chemical love signals, known as pheromones, emitted by the opposite sex from a distance of 12 kilometers. Studies in recent years have shown that even people can smell the pheromones, but the effect is obtained only by close contact.

You might have thought that cats are just common pets, coddles that sometimes can be useful.  However, they are more than that.  On the back of their eyes are 'tapetum lucidum' membranes that enable them to move and hunt in almost total darkness. The so-called "tapetum lucidum" membranes reflect light which has already gone through the retina, and that gives them more than 50 percent better eyesight than humans have.

Rats, which in science-fiction films are presented as the only species that can survive all possible disasters, have vision problems. They are almost blind, but the mustache on their muzzle helps them overcome that problem. They serve them the same way a stick is serving blind people. Moving their mustache over an object on which they run to, rats and other rodents create a mental picture of the environment! 

At the end of this list of animals with fantastic senses are migratory birds. They, according to many studies, are using Earth's magnetic field in order not to go of their course. Scientists, however, are still not sure how they manage to do that. They assume that birds have some form of Synaesthesiae, the phenomenon that even occurs in humans, where the feelings are mixed so the magnetic lines can be seen in color or highlighted. Whatever the case, the birds always find their way. Humans, on the other hand, often use devices such as signs and markers, or compasses, but they do not necessarily always succeed in finding their way!


Digg Google Bookmarks reddit Mixx StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Buzz DesignFloat Delicious BlinkList Furl

2 comments: on "Amazing Animal Senses That Humans Do Not Have!"

Unknown said...

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails