The largest concentrations of animals

In the modern world, in order to be successful and prosperous, a person is forced to be constantly on the move, no matter how late to meet and have time to solve all the things that he planned to do. Proverbs acquired particular relevance: “Movement is life”, “water does not flow under a lying stone” and others of the same kind. But for animals, these expressions are even more suitable. In order to survive in wild nature animals must always use the capabilities of their body at 100%. Today we will learn about the fastest animals that live on our planet. Ten of the best runners on Earth in front of you:

The hare is rightfully one of the fastest animals on the planet. Mermaids are not very large animals, their average sizes are: weight - up to 6 kg; body length 60-70 cm. In order to fall into the clutches of predators, nature rewarded hares with excellent speed data, the average speed is 60 km/h. The maximum speed that was developed by hares is 80 km / h. Another advantage is the excellent maneuverability of the hares, which they are able to demonstrate by gaining high speed, and the hares are good swimmers.

Hyena dog - predators, distant relatives of red wolves. The proverb of the wolf's feet is fed about them. Hyena dogs are not striking in their size: the body length of the animal is 1 meter, weight 20-40 kg, maximum height at the withers 78 cm. They hunt in packs of up to 10 individuals. Overcoming long distances, in pursuit of prey, they develop speed 50-60 km/h. On short ones, they maintain a speed of 70 km / h. Despite the fact that predators do not amaze with their dimensions, they also hunt for large animals. Thanks to their endurance, hyenas fight off the pack and pursue the prey until it loses all its strength to resist. Endurance and high speed also save hyena dogs from their enemies - lions and people.

Greyhounds are the fastest members of the canine family. In ancient times, greyhounds were used to hunt hares, foxes, wolves and even large ungulates. Due to their physique and excellent endurance, they are better than other dogs adapted to the pursuit of the hunter's prey. Borzoi dogs reach the maximum possible speed already at the first 30 meters of the distance. The highest speed recorded by greyhounds reached 80 km/h, the average is 63 km/h. In comparison, other breeds of dogs develop speed 30-50 km/h. Today, greyhounds are increasingly being used for dog racing.

Moose, despite their size and external agility and stateliness, if necessary, are able to develop a fairly high speed up to 75km/h. This is with an impressive physique: the body length of an elk is 3 meters, the height at the withers is more than 2 meters, body weight is 360-600 kg, large males can weigh up to 700 kg. Also, males can boast of their horns, which are impressive in size - 180 cm and weighing up to 30 kilograms. It is hard to imagine what will happen to those who get in the way of the moose if he races at his maximum speed. Even predatory animals bypass these giants, fearing that they themselves may become a victim after meeting with them.

Lions are rightfully considered the kings of the animal world. Lions are second in weight only to tigers from the cat family. The body length of males is 1.7-2.5 meters, body weight reaches more than 200 kg. Females are smaller in size, their body length is 1.4-1.75 meters, and their weight is 120-182 kg. And of course the mane, which betrays the special greatness of male lions. It is the mane that helps males scare off competitors and attract new females to the pride.

Thanks to powerful legs and strong jaws, lions are among the best hunters in the world. Lions hunt in groups, and if they determine a victim for themselves, this is practically a death sentence for the animal. The maximum speed recorded by the lions is 80 km / h, they show this speed at a distance of up to 20 meters. The average predator speed is 55-60 km/h. Such results are shown by females, while males are lazier, they sleep 20 hours a day and very rarely take part in the hunt.

Thomson's gazelle does not have large dimensions, its weight is 25-30 kg, and its height at the withers is 0.65 meters. Gazelles live in open areas, fearing dense thickets. Female Thomson's gazelle live in herds of about 50-60 individuals in each flock. But it happens that the number of herds reaches several thousand. Males live in strictly defined territories. The main enemies of artiodactyls are cheetahs, so nature rewarded Thomson's gazelles with excellent speed. The average speed of the animal is 87 km/h. At a distance of 600 meters, the speed is 68 km/h, and at a distance of 100 meters 94.2 km / h. Another plus for miniature gazelles is the ability to bounce high when high speed and excellent endurance.

Wildebeest is another representative of Africa in the list of the fastest animals. An adult animal reaches a weight of 150-250 kg, and 115-140 cm in height at the shoulders. The wildebeest is a herd animal, the size of the herd is approximately 500-600 individuals. With an annual migration in search of new pastures, such herds cause significant damage to the environment. The maximum speed of Gnu is 80 km/h, and the average speed 45-50 km/h antelopes can support for an hour.

Opens the top three fastest animals in the world Grant's gazelle. Like all representatives of the antelope species, Grant's gazelle is not large, the weight of an adult animal is 45-65 kg, and the height is from 70 to 95 cm. Like Thomson's gazelle and Wildebeest, Grant's gazelle also live in herds and migrate in search of food, the only difference is the fact that Granta can do without water for a long time and therefore their migrations do not depend on the presence of water bodies. The maximum speed that these animals developed was 100 km / h, this result was recorded at a distance of 150 meters. The average is 85km/h at a distance of 1km. Speed 50-55 km/h Grant's gazelles can hold when overcoming long stretches of the path. This animal is listed in the Red Book.

An honorable second place is occupied by one of the most ancient ungulates of North America - the pronghorn. Such interesting name animals got because of the shape of their horns resembling hooks. Pronghorns are not large animals: weight is 35-60 kg, body length is 1-1.3 meters, and shoulder height is 80-100 cm. Pronghorns also shed their horns annually after the breeding season, new ones are restored within 4 months.

In the cold season, pronghorns live in herds with a pronounced young leader. During migration, the female moves at the head of the group, and the male closes the herd in order to drive the lagging animals. IN warm period years, females and single males are divided into small groups. Well, pronghorns take second place in the dispute of the fastest animals due to the speed of 100 km / h, which they can develop in a section of 200 meters, the average 90 km/h the animal can keep at a distance of 5-6 km. Pronghorns are also able to overcome obstacles 2 meters high and 6 meters long on the run.

Champion of all land mammals, the fastest animal in the world. The cheetah is a graceful representative of the cat family, the size of an adult animal: weight from 40 to 70 kg, body length 115-140 cm. This predator carries mortal danger for their victims. Cheetah accelerates to 130 km / h in 3 seconds, is able to maintain speed 100 km/h at a distance of 400 meters, the maximum speed of 120 km / h develops at 100 meters. At short distances, cheetahs are able to compete with racing cars. The body of a cheetah is not able to maintain crazy speed over long distances.

1. What is the heaviest animal?

The blue whale is the largest and heaviest animal. The two largest whales ever killed weighed 136 and 195 tons. Blue whales reach a length of 35 meters. They feed on tiny organisms living in the world.

2. Which of the land-dwelling predators is the largest?

The brown bear, which lives on Kodiak Island off the west coast of North America, can reach 3 meters in length. The height at the withers is approximately 1 meter 20 centimeters. When it stands on two legs, it can reach 5 meters in height. It is the largest land-dwelling predator.

3. Which earthworm is the longest?

The earthworm found in Australia can reach a length of more than 3 meters. The largest of the described specimens was 3 centimeters in diameter and was thicker than the thumb of an adult.

4. How much does the largest rodent weigh?

The largest rodent in the world is the South American capybara, which has nothing to do with real pigs. capybara (or capybara) reaching more than a meter in length and more than 50 kilograms of weight, is a relative of a cute guinea pig.

5. How much does the biggest snail weigh?

The largest snail found, weighed and measured belonged to the species

This huge specimen weighed 16 kilograms and had almost a meter in girth. Her house was 70 centimeters long. Zugmx agyapus lives in Australia, it is a water snail, and in water, as you know, weight decreases. Land-dwelling snails are somewhat smaller: the largest land snail, African, slightly heavier than half a kilogram with a maximum length of 35 centimeters.

7. Which dogs are the heaviest and which are the strongest?

St. Bernards can weigh up to 125 kilograms. But divers are considered the strongest dogs. Although their weight rarely exceeds 60 kilograms, they can drag loads of up to half a ton on the ground.

8. Which of the flying birds is the heaviest?

The weight of the trumpeter swan reaches 22 kilograms, and yet it flies. He lives in Northern Europe and North America. One of his ancestors, long dead, was even heavier: he probably weighed about 28 kilograms. This bird lived 70 million years ago.

9. Where does the largest crocodile live?

The largest crocodiles in the world live in South America, in the Orinoco and Amazon river basins. They reach 8 meters in length, their weight is about 2 tons.

9. How long is the largest snake?

The large anaconda found in South America is usually about 8 meters long. But once there was a floodplain for an anaconda, the length of which was 14 meters, with a diameter of 82 centimeters.

10. Is it false to see the largest bacteria with the naked eye?

Even the largest bacterium is still too small to be seen without a microscope. The size of the largest bacterium, is a maximum of 0.05 mm (one twentieth of a millimeter).

11. Do What animals have the heaviest babies?

Blue whales have the heaviest cubs: a newborn whale weighs approximately 2 tons. In addition, they are gaining weight at a record pace. The fact is that they grow faster than all other living beings on Earth: in the first six months of life, they grow by 3 centimeters daily! During the first 7 months of life, their weight increases from 2 to 24 tons, that is, 12 times! Kittens, who grow very fast too, need a week to double their weight. But newborn babies gain weight incredibly slowly. Their weight doubles only 125 days after birth.

27. Which pet gives the most milk?

In proportion to their weight, goats produce the most milk. The milk that a goat gives in a year weighs 12 times more than the goat itself. A cow produces a year the amount of milk, only 7 times its own weight.

28. How much does the most expensive milk cost?

Mouse milk is used in medical purposes. Mice are milked with tiny tubes. To get one liter of mouse milk, you need to milk 4000 mice. Therefore, one liter of this precious milk costs $22,500.

29. Which birds care least about building their nest?

Thin-billed guillemots - birds reaching a length of about 50 centimeters, are found in large numbers in the northern regions of Europe, Asia and America. They do not build nests at all, but lay their eggs directly on the ground. Then they sit down on the ground, tightly clinging to each other. (up to 10 birds in an area equal to a small foot mat), and incubate eggs. The Black Tern is no less lazy, and moreover, more frivolous. She simply lays her eggs in the ruins of a tree and hopes that the chicks do not fall out of there.

30. Which animals are the best at hiding?

Polar bears have excellent hiding places. Females dig caves in the snow for the winter, then crawl into them and give birth to offspring there. If it is snowing outside, then the cave cannot be seen at all. Inside it is always a positive temperature due to the high temperature of the bear's body. Here, the female feeds the cubs with milk for several months. And all this time she does not eat. She spends the fat accumulated during the Arctic summer. The weight of polar bears reaches approximately 350 kilograms.

31. Which birds are the fastest to build their shelters?

European black grouse, weighing more than a kilogram, can hide in a few seconds in high snow cover. When necessary, he throws himself from a high branch of a tree into the snow and disappears into a hole, which he covers from the inside with snow. In the blink of an eye, the black grouse disappears from the sight of the black grouse. In such a snow shelter, he can spend up to three days without moving.

22. What is the size of the largest "animal colonies"?

Prairie dogs are rodents that used to live in colonies that were sometimes incredibly large. Approximately 100 years ago in US state Texas found a colony of prairie dogs, which, according to researchers, consisted of 400 million animals. This settlement was twice the size of Holland. Prairie dogs are similar in appearance to marmots. They reach a maximum of 50 centimeters in length. Each family lives in a separate burrow. Under the ground, these burrows do not connect with each other. But from the entrance there are always paths to the "doors" of the neighbors. Of course, prairie dogs are not real dogs,

they only bark like dogs. American farmers consider them pests because they eat grass in pastures, and when they dig their burrows, they harm crops. Often cattle or horses fall into holes and get injured. Due to the ruthless hunting of prairie dogs by peasants, their numbers have been greatly reduced.

32. What is the size of the largest beaver dams?

Dams built by beavers are the largest above-ground structures created by animals. The largest such dam is in Montana. (USA) and blocks the river with a width of 750 meters.

34. Which animal builds the tallest structures?

The buildings of African termite warriors reach 15 meters in height. These insects build their tower-like dwellings. (termite mounds) from wet clay mixed with its own secretions. When this mixture dries, it becomes as hard as concrete. Inside the mound there are passages, chambers and ventilation shafts. Termite buildings are not only very high, but also go deep into the ground. To gain access to water, insects often have to break through vertical shafts to a depth of 40 meters. 10 million termites can live in one termite mound.

35. Who digs the most holes not for himself, but for other animals?

No other mammal can dig a hole in the ground as quickly as an aardvark. It feeds mainly on ants. With its iron-hard claws, it can even break open a termite mound. The aardvark digs so fast that in case of danger it prefers not to run away, but to hide in a freshly dug hole in the ground. Aardvarks love to move from place to place. When they move to another place, other animals settle in their burrows. Aardvarks form their own order of mammals. They are not related to any animal species.

36. At Which birds have the warmest nests?

Most birds incubate their chicks by simply sitting on the eggs. Their body is the source of the necessary heat. In contrast, the Australian bigfoot (weedy) the chicken builds a huge incubator and uses the heat generated by rotting organic matter. A large-legged hen, about the size of a gray partridge, lays her eggs on the ground. Then she brings leaves, branches, lumps of earth and grass and puts them in a pile over the eggs, and her height sometimes reaches 5 meters, and her width - 12 meters. This compost pile itself warms up from the inside as bacteria decompose the biomass and turn it into fertile compost soil. True, the temperature in the incubator should not be higher than 33 degrees. A diligent hen checks the temperature with her beak all the time and, if it gets too warm, she rakes the pile a little. With this hatching technique, not only from the parents, but also from the chickens themselves, certain efforts are required. Having hatched, they should immediately get out of the heap, into the air. It is not uncommon for birds to suffocate or die from overexertion. A similar way of hatching chicks is used by Australian weed hens of another species of Leipoa. Their compost heaps are smaller, but they are covered with another layer of sand on top to keep it warmer inside.

37. How old are the oldest bird nests?

The bald eagle's nest may be 100 years old. However, in this case, several generations of birds have been working on it. Eagles' nests are made of branches and are located in places inaccessible to other animals and people on ledges of sheer cliffs. Each time, before hatching, the nests are lined with a new layer of branches. Such an old, hundred-year-old nest can weigh up to 2 tons. Its width is 2 meters, height - 6 meters.

38. How many families live in the largest common nests?

Social weavers, so named for their love of society, build only communal nests. The couple begins by weaving a roof from the rain on a large bough. During construction, other couples join her and diligently help with the work. When the roof structure is ready, each family begins to build their own nest under the common roof with a separate entrance. Such common nests can be up to 6 meters wide. They hold up to 100 individual nests.

39. Which predator is most similar to its prey?

The ant mite looks exactly like the ants it feeds on. Even the ants themselves do not see any differences. Therefore, it is very easy for him to approach his victim and kill her.

40. Which bird of prey has the hardest time fooling its prey?

Found in Africa, Asia and Europe, the sparrowhawk is a small diurnal bird of prey. It preys on birds and mammals that know well what a hawk flying across the sky looks like. The fact is that birds of prey look out for prey, soar in the air, and each species birds of prey its typical "handwriting soaring". So, sparrowhawks have developed the ability to imitate a harmless jay in flight. Thanks to this, they can fly close enough to their prey, which realizes its mistake too late and becomes an easy prey for the hawk.

41. Which birds fly the fastest?

The peregrine falcon in a dive flight is not only the fastest bird, but also the fastest animal in general. When it dives steeply to the ground, it reaches speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour. The needle-tailed swift, which lives in Asia, develops speeds of up to 170 kilometers per hour in horizontal flight. The white-bellied swift flies at about the same speed. In horizontal flight and in danger, some species ducks and geese reach flight speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour (e.g. eider). Hummingbirds can develop the same speed. The speed of horizontal flight of most birds is a maximum of 65 kilometers per hour.

The longest flights are made, as scientists believe, by sandpipers. In any case, one ringed bird was found to have flown over from Massachusetts in four days. (USA) to Guyana. She flew to medium height 1.5 kilometers at an average speed of just under 50 kilometers per hour and covered a distance of 4425 kilometers.

42. At Which animal is the best winter disguise?

A number of animals change their protective color when the seasons change. For example, the ermine becomes snow-white in winter, only the tip of the tail remains black. Ermine is brown in summer. The white hare turns white with the appearance of the first snow. True, he is guided not by the seasons, but by the state of the snow. In spring, the white hare, weighing about 6 kilograms, remains white until all the snow has melted. Then the hare immediately turns brown.

43. What birds hiss like angry ones?

Tits can make sounds that small predators mistaken for the hiss of a snake. Humans cannot hear these very low sounds, but small predatory mammals obviously can: they bypass the tit nest far away. Tits use this sound masking when they are nestling in the hollow of a tree and therefore cannot fly away.

44. What is the most reliable camouflage among mammals?

Mimicry - this is the name of the ability of representatives of one species of animals to change their appearance and become similar in color and shape to other animals. So, for example, predators do not touch one species living in Asia stupid*, because their meat is inedible. It's used different kinds squirrels that, by coloring, "impersonate" tupai.

* Tupai - a family of prosimians of the order of primates. body length ~ 25 cm.

45. What is the best fish to change colors?

Adult flounders lie on one side on the seabed and wait for prey. For masking, their upper side automatically takes on the color environment. The bottom side always remains the same color. Moreover, flounders change not only color, but also coloring. In one experiment, a flounder was placed on a chessboard and it repeated the pattern of the chessboard on its body.

46. ​​Which insects are the most similar to their surroundings?

The Indonesian praying mantis looks like a pink orchid flower. He sits on this orchid, waiting for the victim, who is looking for nectar, but finds his death. The disguise of tropical hawk moths is no worse. True, disguise serves them only for protection. The hawk caterpillar in a moment of danger instantly retracts its head and changes the shape of the body in such a way that it looks exactly like a small snake.

47. Which animal is best at pretending?

The opossum is a marsupial animal about 50 centimeters long that lives in the hot regions of America. When he is wounded or when he falls into a trap, the animal falls, as if dead, on its side, stops breathing, and from open mouth the tongue falls out. Animals and people think he is dead. But after a few hours, the opossum comes to life. The fact is that he developed the ability to suspend for a certain time such vital functions as breathing and blood supply to the brain, and fall into a fainting state similar to real death.

48. What animal longer everyone seemed dead?

For 4 years in the British Museum in London, one could see two specimens of one of the species of snails found in the deserts. They were attached to a board and displayed under glass for viewing. In 1846, these snails were donated to the museum, believing them to be dead. In 1850, museum staff decided to check it out. They put one of the snails in warm water. And suddenly she woke up, started eating and lived for another 2 years.

49. How many tails can you have one lizards?

Lizards distract and confuse enemies by shedding their tails. In this case, the tail breaks off in a certain place with the help of muscular effort. The trembling tail remains lying on the ground. The pursuer thinks for a few seconds what this could mean, and often this time is enough for the lizard to escape. Then she grows a new tail. But some lizards fail to completely shed their tail, and it remains to hang “by a thread”. Despite this, a new tail grows in place of the break. If this happens often, then such a lizard drags a whole bunch of tails with it.

50. How do squirrels predict Storm?

Of all representatives of the animal world, squirrels are the most reliable weather forecasters. Already 10 hours before a sharp change in the weather, they begin to restlessly jump and make piercing whistling sounds. If they then hide in their houses and close up the entrance holes, this means that there will be a thunderstorm soon, although people do not notice anything yet. It is believed that squirrels feel fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, usually preceding sudden changes in weather and thunderstorms.

51. What animals can simultaneously look in different directions?

Of all animals, the chameleon is the best at squinting with its eyes. Both of its eyes can move independently of each other, so that the reptile can look in two directions at the same time. At the same time, the chameleon sees very well all the movements of insects. A spectacled penguin can look forward and backward at the same time. This bird measuring 70 centimeters lives on islands located near South Africa. Her eyes are so arranged that she perfectly sees everything around her. She doesn't even have to turn her head to see what's going on behind her back.

52. Which of the night hunters sees the worst?

Bats hunt for insects at night. However, they see almost nothing. Together with sharp eyes, they have a highly developed echolocation system. With its help, they discover where the prey they are hunting is located, as well as obstacles that should be avoided. Echo sounders operate in ultrasonic mode, that is, they perceive sounds of such a high frequency that humans and most animals cannot hear. When flying, bats send sound impulses: short high-pitched sounds. In the pauses between impulses, they pick up their echo. Sound waves reflected from insects or objects are recorded in the bat's brain and create an internal picture of the surrounding space there. Thus, it can be said that bats "see" with their ears. Therefore, they do not need light to navigate, and they feel as confident in the darkness of the night as in the darkness of their caves. Bats hear sounds with a frequency of up to 210 kilohertz. Humans can only hear sounds below 20 kilohertz. Dolphins, which perceive sounds with a frequency of 280 kilohertz, have even sharper hearing than bats. By the way, dolphins also navigate with the help of ultrasonic echo sounders and therefore can “see” schools of fish even in muddy water or very deep.

53. Which animals have the best infrared search system?

Infrared rays are nothing but heat rays. We also feel infrared radiation, for example, when we sit in the sun. With the help of infrared cameras, you can photograph thermal radiation and see it in the photograph; such devices “see” heat instead of light. Pythons have the most sensitive system for sensing heat rays. They have a membrane in their head that allows them to feel the slightest changes in the temperature of the environment. most dark night the python can not only "see" the victim, located within a radius of up to 8 meters, but also determine what size it is. It responds to temperature changes in hundredths fractions of a degree. And the body temperature of mammals is usually higher than the ambient temperature. Therefore, they are constantly in danger of being discovered by a python.

54. What birds can fly backwards?

Of all the birds, only hummingbirds can fly backwards and even stop mid-air. In search of food, they hover like helicopters in the air above the flower, lower their long beaks and suck out the flower nectar. In order to hover motionless in the air, they have to flap their wings incredibly fast: up to 80 times per second.

55. Who roars the loudest?

At a distance of up to 5 kilometers, the cry of a howler living in the rainforests of America is heard. In this species of monkeys, there is a cavity under the hyoid bone, which serves only to amplify the voice. With their growl, little howler monkeys - their size is a little over 50 centimeters - mark the boundaries of their possessions. (individual animal or flock). No other animal in the world has such a loud voice.

56. Which animal is the best lumberjack?

In order to gnaw through a tree trunk with a diameter of 20 centimeters and knock it down, the beaver needs no more than 5 minutes. Beavers use tree trunks to build their dams. They live in colonies in artificial lakes, formed when dams built by beavers dam up rivers and streams.

57. Which animal is the best driller?

Shipworms attach their shells to a tree and begin to “drill” it. Previously, only the dead remains of trees were the prey of these 10-centimeter mollusks, today they also attack the wooden hulls of ships. Cellulose-digesting shipworms cause significant damage to piles and ships. Much more harmless are marine bivalve mollusks, the length of which is 7 centimeters, the width is 3 centimeters. With its muscular leg, the mollusk is firmly attached to the seabed and pulls up the body and shell. Then the leg takes the next step. Thus, mollusks move along the bottom of the sea at a speed of 20 centimeters in half a minute. Among insects, the best drillers are the so-called riders. The back of the body of a four-centimeter female rider is shaped like a device with which smokers clean their pipes, which is why in some countries they are called "pipe cleaners". They feed on the larvae of the large horntail, which lives in the wood of healthy trees and causes great damage to the forest. The riders bore through the tree until they get to the larvae of the horntail, and eat them. It takes only 15 minutes for a rider to drill a 3 cm deep hole in hardwood. Thanks to the importation of riders from Europe, from 1926 to 1936, the forests of New Zealand were saved. The trees on the island seemed hopelessly afflicted by the great horntail and doomed. For 10 years of work, riders have eliminated the danger of destruction of forests by a large horntail.

58. At Which warm-blooded animal has the highest body temperature?

Warm-blooded animals are called animals that constantly maintain their body temperature at the same level. If the temperature rises above this constant value (with fever) or goes below (when supercooled) the animal becomes ill and may die. Cold-blooded animals are animals whose body temperature depends on the ambient temperature. Fish and reptiles can often tolerate much lower and higher temperatures than warm-blooded ones. For example, lizards become truly active only when it is hot. Of all warm-blooded animals, pigeons and ducks have the highest normal body temperature. (up to 43 degrees), anteater has the lowest body temperature (29 degrees).

59. What animals tolerate the coldest temperatures?

Grape snails can be safely placed even in the freezer: after thawing, they feel great. They endure (short time) even the temperature is minus 110 degrees. But they are quite sensitive to heat and die when the temperature rises above 50 degrees. Frogs can freeze into ice at minus 10 degrees and remain safe and sound. Some species of fish tolerate staying on the ice of frozen lakes. True, the temperature of the ice (and thus their body temperature) should not fall below minus 15 degrees. Among warm-blooded cats are the champions. When their body temperature drops to 16 degrees, they, however, lose consciousness, but as soon as it gets warmer, they come to their senses again. But the absolute champions are still bacteria. Some of their species can withstand temperatures of minus 250 degrees. Heating up to plus 90 degrees also does not harm them. But most bacteria die at temperatures above 100 degrees. Therefore, to destroy many bacteria in the water, you just need to boil the water.

60. Why does a lynx hear so well?

Of all land animals, the lynx has the most acute hearing. The tassels on her ears - thin tufts of hair - pick up the quietest sounds and ferry them to her ears. The lynx can distinguish various noises from a distance of a kilometer.

61. What mammals lay eggs?

Platypuses and echidnas are the only non-viviparous mammals. They lay eggs.

These animals are found only in Australia. The fact of the existence of such animals received scientific confirmation only 100 years ago. Before this post about oviparous mammals considered fairy tales. The body length of the platypus is about half a meter, its beak resembles that of a duck. He hatches eggs like a bird. From the spurs on the legs, the platypus secretes poison that can kill a small animal.

62. On whom do the most animals live?

The sloth bears its name with good reason. This strange creature, half a meter long and weighing 10 kilograms, hangs lazily in the canopy of trees in the American rainforests all its life. The fruits literally fall into his mouth. The sloth moves very slowly, it takes several minutes for each step. Entire colonies of living creatures live in its wool, starting with green algae. Caterpillars of one species of butterflies feed on algae. And finally, small ants live in the sloth's fur, which feed on the caterpillars of butterflies.

63. What are the rarest mammals?

A number of mammals are so rare that only a single discovered specimen is known to exist. For example, in 1938, a small-toothed fruit bat was caught; since then, this tropical bat has not caught the eye of anyone else. It is believed that only a few specimens of the Tasmanian marsupial wolf remain. For half a century it was believed that it had long since died out, but in 1982 a reserve employee managed to track down and identify one of these ancient animals. Other mammals, such as the black-footed fossa or the red wolf, have been saved from extinction only through breeding in zoos. They have already been released into the wild again, and scientists hope that they will survive in their natural habitat. Probably the rarest of all marine mammals is one species of sharp-snouted whale. No one has yet seen a single living specimen. The fact that this type of whale exists at all is known only from the bones found. Over 1000 species of birds have this a large number of representatives that the species is in danger of extinction. Perhaps the biggest danger is the gray coast sparrow, which used to live in Florida. The last known specimen of this species died in 1987. True, parts of his corpse are preserved in conditions of deep freezing. Scientists hope for further advances in genetic engineering. Perhaps, over time, it will be possible to reproduce this species from the genes preserved in the cells. Then it would be possible to give a second life to the gray coastal sparrow.

64. What animals use various tools and devices for getting food?

Many animals use various tools to get to food. But chimpanzees can also make such tools or devices themselves. Experiments with chimpanzees living in captivity have shown that if you hang bananas from the ceiling so that the animals cannot reach them, and put boxes in the room, then after some thought, the chimpanzees will build something like a ladder out of the boxes and climb up to the bananas. . In the wild, chimpanzees sometimes adapt branches to hunt termites. They process wooden sticks until they are shaped and thick enough to stick into the termite mound. They are used by chimpanzees to pull insects out of a termite mound. The red-headed finch, wishing to feast on insects, finds a sharp thorn, takes it in its beak and picks it in the bark of a tree. But sometimes, in order to get to the food, you first have to crack the shell or shell. To get an oyster, a sea otter breaks the shell with a stone. Sometimes you have to split the houses of snails and eggs. Birds are easier than land animals. They simply lift their prey high into the air and drop it to the ground. In this way, the vultures get to the well-protected contents of the tubular bones. They drop the bones from a great height onto the stones, where they break. There are many reports of vultures breaking turtle shells in the same way.

65. At what distance does a jackal feel blood?

Local hunters tell real miracles about the black-backed jackal living in Africa. It is said that he can not only smell his prey from a distance of one kilometer, but even smell the blood of a wounded animal at a distance of 4 kilometers.

66. At what animals are the most risky "professions"?

67. Which animals are the best inventors?

The Imo macaque is still considered the only animal that has been observed at the time it made the invention. An amazing discovery was made by Japanese zoologists at one scientific station. It turns out that not only people, but also animals can solve the problem by thinking (not just trial and error). The clever monkey wrestled with the question of how to quickly get rid of the tasteless sand on the potatoes without wasting time scraping. Suddenly she ran to the water and put potatoes in it: the sand was easily washed off. Clever Imo liked this method so much that she used it to clean rice, which had been lying on the ground for a long time and mixed with sand. The sand sank in the water much faster than the rice, and the clean grains of rice were easily fished out. No one imagined that animals are capable of such deliberate actions. Interestingly, soon all the young monkeys of the colony learned and adopted this technique. But the old monkeys did not want to be retrained. They continued to eat food mixed with sand. Dolphins, who think a lot, invent various ways to protect themselves from fishermen, can also be quick-witted. Hundreds of thousands of dolphins used to die when caught in fishing nets thrown over tuna. The fact is that some of their species like to be close to flocks of tuna and thereby attract fishermen. But here's what whale researchers are seeing: Lately, dolphins seem to have learned that it's best to stay quiet and unobtrusive near fishing boats. If, nevertheless, the ships are too close, the dolphins try not to swim up to them from the side from which the nets are lowered into the water. If they do get into the fishing area though and find themselves surrounded by nets, they no longer panic-ram them like they used to. They are waiting for the ships, lined up in a circle, to move back a little. At this moment, the dolphins swim over the net, which lies deeper, or jump over it and find themselves free.

68. Which of the languages ​​that exist in animals is the strangest?

Along with sign languages ​​and the language of sounds, some animals, primarily insects, have developed a real language of smells. So, for example, ecophylla ants produce 10 different odors that are combined with certain body positions. Thus, ants can transmit up to 50 different messages to relatives. The spotted skunk uses a very expressive language of smells. It sprays its enemies with a stinking liquid, which means "Get off!" This smell is so sharp and disgusting that with a good wind it can be felt for several kilometers.

69. Which animal language has the most words?

The larger flocks or herds animals live, the more developed their “language of communication”. Many animals can call each other to warn of danger, attract each other to a place where there is food, call cubs and express such different feelings as anger, sympathy, readiness for a fight or concern. The hardest part is probably the crow language, which consists of about 300 different expressions. Unfortunately, it has not yet been clarified what the individual "words" mean.

70. What animals know the most "foreign languages"?

In animal languages, as in our languages, there are various dialects. So, for example, the sounds made by a crow are different in different areas, and an alpine crow is unlikely to understand its Spanish relative. Even the sounds that warn of danger are so different that a foreign crow will not understand their meaning. True, it has been established that ravens during their flights can learn foreign dialects. And especially smart crows even speak real " foreign languages': they can learn several important sounds from the language of jackdaws and gulls and 'speak' their languages.

71. Who is the most dangerous dangerous enemy sharks?

If a shark approaches a baby dolphin, then the dolphins turn into real ones. combat vehicles. They gather in a group, surround the sharks and ram her from all sides until she dies.

72. Which animals have the most developed sense of camaraderie

Whales and dolphins are famous for not leaving their sick or endangered relatives in trouble. They lift them to the surface of the water and prevent them from drowning. Perhaps this instinctive behavior explains why dolphins also rescue people who are in trouble at sea and bring them to shore. Since ancient times, people living on the seashore have known many such stories. A number of other herd animals also help their relatives. Even animals with such a bad reputation as coyotes share prey with sick and weak coyotes. In lions, only females show a sense of camaraderie. Vampire Bats even share blood with sick vampires. South American vampires feed on the blood of other mammals. If a sick bat cannot go hunting, then the "comrades" bring her blood in her mouth and feed her. Whales and dolphins, elephants and great apes even seem to experience sadness if, despite their best efforts, one of their relatives dies. Whales are said to lose their vitality and vitality when one of them dies. (for example, from a whaler's harpoon). Jane Goodall, who studies chimpanzees, told this story. One young monkey could not survive the death of his mother. She always came to the place where her mother died. And she died in the same place a few weeks later - obviously from grief. It seems that elephants also understand what illness and death are. They do not abandon the sick elephant, on the contrary, they help him in every possible way. If he falls, the others try to get him back on his feet. If he does not show signs of life for a long time, then the members of the herd carry something like an honor guard near his body. Before moving on a few days later, they throw earth and branches on the corpse of a dead comrade.

73. Which animal sleeps the longest?

Feline predators sleep, or at least doze, for most of the day. They can afford it because they don't have enemies and don't have to be on guard all the time. The gorilla is also so confident in her abilities that she can sleep 13 hours a day. Even longer, 18 hours a day, hedgehogs sleep curled up into a prickly ball, to which no enemy is afraid.

Perhaps just as long, or perhaps even longer, the sloth sleeps. It is not known exactly: this animal, living in the Mexican tropics, moves so slowly that it is impossible to establish whether it sleeps in this minute or not.

74. Who sleeps the least?

Animals hunted by predators sleep very briefly and shallowly. Giraffes are especially vigilant, which during the day allow themselves to take a nap 3-4 times within 5 minutes.

75. At Which animals have the longest hibernation?

Many animals spend the winter hibernating in sheltered dwellings or simply burrowing into the ground. Such animals include marmot, brown bear, badger, skunk, polko, garden dormouse, bat, field snail, turtle, common toad and cancer. During hibernation, their body temperature drops and blood circulation slows down. But in fact, almost no animal sleeps all winter. Once every two or three weeks, everyone wakes up for a short while. The animals warm up a bit and fall asleep again. Only one animal is known to sleep almost all winter without waking up. Ushan bats tolerate a decrease in body temperature almost to the freezing point, and a decrease in ambient temperature - up to minus 5 degrees. They can stay in a state of sleep for 3 months without showing any external signs of life.

76. What animal jumps from the highest Height?

Chamois jump from sheer cliffs, the height of which is equal to the height of a four-story building. In the animal kingdom, they are the most dexterous and courageous jumpers from a height.

77. Which animal is the best high jumper?

African jumping antelopes, whose size is only 60 centimeters in height, can jump up to 8 meters without a run. This is an absolute world record. An American cougar, a predator from the cat family, jumps 7 meters in height without a run. She is followed by a dolphin that can jump out of the water up to 5 meters. Kangaroos jump 3 meters high, Persian kulan - 2.5 meters.

78. Which snake flies best of all?

South Asian golden tree snakes are the only snakes in the world that have a flying skin membrane and can therefore fly. They climb trees and rush down from a height of 20 meters or more. At the same time, both flying skin membranes open, and snakes can fly in a soaring flight up to 100 meters. Then it climbs the next tree to look for food.

79. Which animal runs the fastest?

The fastest of all land animals is the cheetah. It reaches a record speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The Russian greyhound can reach speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour. She runs the 200-meter race in less than 7 seconds. Record-breaking athletes need three times as much time to cover such a distance: 20 seconds. The African goat runs at a speed of only 95 kilometers per hour, but he has the strongest spurt* of all land animals. Already two seconds after the start of the run, he rushes at a speed of 62 kilometers per hour. That is, it accelerates faster than some racing cars. The speed of the athlete two seconds after the start is 25 kilometers per hour. Fast horses can reach speeds of 70 kilometers per hour.

* Spurt (eng. 8rig1 - jerk), a sharp increase in the pace of movement.

80. How long can the world's most enduring runner run?

The Persian kulan can run 10 kilometers at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour, and then another 30 kilometers at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. This wild animal of the equine genus is the hardiest long-distance runner in the animal kingdom. The best marathon runners run a 42-kilometer distance at an average speed of about 20 kilometers per hour.

81. What power can small animals have?

A grape snail can drag a load that exceeds its own weight by 200 times, for example, a three-kilogram telephone directory. Thus, taking into account the size of the body, it can be attributed to the most powerful animals. The rhinoceros beetle can drag even 850 times its own weight. He himself weighs only 3 grams, and can drag almost as much as a snail, which is much heavier than him. A flying bee can withstand a load exceeding its own weight by 25 times.

82. What are the largest ants in the world?

Ants were discovered by zoologists in South America in the jungles of the Amazon River. The body length of these giants reaches 7 centimeters. Body length of most ants of other species (about 6 thousand species are known in total) ranges from 0.8 to 50 mm.

83. What speed do the fastest fish develop?

The fastest fish - swordfish, marlin and sailfish - develop tremendous speed in the water: 100-130 kilometers per hour! All of them are among the largest and most active predators. For example, the largest swordfish caught by man turned out to be about 7 meters long and weighing 660 kilograms! This giant was caught after it, like a torpedo, rushed at the Barbara tanker at a speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour and pierced its steel plating with acceleration. The length of the sword of a huge predator was 1.5 meters! Such giant specimens are now quite rare. Usually the length of the most big fish of this family does not exceed 4-4.5 meters. They develop a record speed thanks to a special external structure body. Other fish are significantly inferior to the champions. Compare: carp moves with maximum speed 13, perch - 17, pike - 30, shark - 40-60, tuna - 70 kilometers per hour.

84. Which fish lives the longest?

The most long duration life among fish, probably, in the largest of the sturgeon family - the beluga. She lives up to 100 years or more. At the same time, the age limit for other sturgeons is much less. So, for Russian sturgeon, it is two times lower - 50 years. How long does a carp live? There is reliable information about the pike, which lived for 33 years, and perch - 11 years.

85. Which bird has the smallest eggs?

Hummingbirds have the smallest eggs in absolute terms. Their weight is pygmy hummingbird only 2 milligrams! The eggs of other hummingbird species are slightly larger. They are white in color. There are usually only two eggs in a clutch.

86. At Which bird has the most eggs in a clutch?

The largest number of eggs in the laying of the gray partridge: it lays up to 25 eggs. This is a lot. Compare: in the nest of a penguin there are 1-2 eggs, a crane and an eagle - 1-3, a dove - 2, a stork - 2-4, a titmouse - up to 15 eggs. Emu lays up to 7-8 large eggs weighing about 600 grams each.

87. Who can go the longest without food?

The longest time in a state of hibernation of food can be managed by hedgehogs - 236 days. For the winter they do not make any food stocks. During long and deep hibernation, hedgehogs exist due to the stored fat of their body. During this time, they lose a lot of weight. And one more interesting feature of hedgehogs. They are surprisingly resistant to such strong poisons as arsenic and hydrocyanic acid. A hedgehog can eat a viper without harm to itself. BUT eared hedgehogs very well tolerated and a lot of overheating.

88. At who has the most teeth?

Nature provided the naked slug with the largest number of teeth. He has up to 30 thousand small teeth! Unbelievable but true. The largest fish on our planet, the whale shark, has up to 15 thousand very small teeth in its huge mouth. But they serve not to bite prey, but to “lock” it in a huge mouth. In ordinary garden snail, which is found in America, the tongue is seated with 135 rows of hard small teeth, 105 pieces in each row. Over 14 thousand teeth! With such a kind of grater, the snail erases parts of the plants that it feeds on. Compare: a sperm whale has 60 teeth, a bear, a wolf and a fox - 42, a hedgehog - 36, a tiger and a cat ~ 30, a hare - 28, an elephant - 26, a squirrel - 22 teeth. In animals of the same species, the number of teeth is constant. Only in the armadillo, the number of teeth in different species and even in different individuals of the same species can be different and varies widely: from 28 to 100. Many animals are generally toothless (for example, anteaters).

89. How fast can various animals move?

Animals

Speed, km/h

good swimmer

Horse (walk)

Housefly

Horse (trotting)

Seal on land

ringed seal

running Man

cephalopod

man on roller skates

cyclist racer

Horse (gallop)

Post pigeon

Falcon in vertical flight

90. What are the largest insects in the world?

The largest insects in the world are tropical stick insects. Their body length reaches 30-35 centimeters. They are part of the order of ghosts, so named because they have an amazing ability to adapt to their environment. These peculiar animals, possessing a long thin body, are able to instantly disappear among the plexus of branches, disguising themselves as a knot, plant stems or leaves. They can remain in this state for a long time. Many of them are able to change their color depending on the environment.

91. Where is the largest locust found?

The largest green locust found in the Amazon jungle. The length of her body reaches 15 centimeters, which is three times more than an ordinary locust. Migratory locusts have long been synonymous with famine and disaster. She is very voracious: the offspring of only one female annually eats more than 300 kilograms of fresh plants. Some "damned clouds of hunger" consisted of 40 billion insects. You can calculate what a huge area of ​​agricultural land and forests it can destroy. In the dark history of locust invasions of the late 19th century, a cloud of locusts was noted, covering six thousand square kilometers.

92. What is the biggest frog?

The largest frog is the goliath frog, which lives in West Africa. The length of her body reaches 25-30 centimeters! Weight - 3.5 kilograms. And one specimen, caught in Angola, was 40 centimeters long. If it were measured from the head to the tips of the outstretched hind legs, then its length would triple. But this is how height is measured only in mammals and birds. The goliath frog is also the largest tailless amphibian. As you can see, the maximum record holders among amphibians turn out to be very modest compared to even small fish.

93. What is the fastest snake in the world?

The fastest snake in the world is the mamba. The reliably recorded speed of the mamba on the ground is 11.3 kilometers per hour! And in the branches it is even faster. It is difficult for a person to escape from it. The length of this thin-bodied, like a whip, tree snake often reaches 4 meters. It lives throughout Africa. It is the most venomous snake on the African continent. You can meet her here not only in forests and in the field, but also in villages and even in houses ... Mamba is the second poisonous snake in the world after the king cobra. Man dies from her bite (if not accepted emergency measures) within half an hour. No snakes in Africa are more feared than mambas. Everywhere they inspire quite understandable fear. However, mambas do not intentionally attack people.

94. What is the largest flying bird in our country?

The largest flying bird in our country and in Europe is the swan. The length of her body reaches 180 centimeters, and her weight is 13 kilograms.

95. At Which bird has the highest flight altitude?

The highest flight altitude among birds is at the bearded man - 7500 meters! In other birds, the "working ceiling" is much smaller. For a condor, for example, - 5900, swallows - 4000, goose - 3000, swan and crane - 2400 meters. But some of them go even higher. In the mountains, for example, flocks of flying cranes, waders and geese were observed even at an altitude of 6-9 kilometers. However, most birds stay close to the ground.

96. Where do the smallest horses live?

The smallest horses are bred at one of the stud farms in Argentina. They are really tiny - their weight is only 25 kilograms, and their height at the withers does not exceed 40 centimeters. Babies are incredibly resilient. After several hours of galloping, they need only a few minutes to regain strength.

97. What is the largest river fish?

The largest river fish is catfish. The length of this predator reaches 5 meters, and the mass is more than 300 kilograms. A hundred years ago, a giant was caught on the Oder, which weighed about 400 kilograms!

They also caught very large catfish in our rivers: on the Dniester - 320 kg, and on the Dnieper - 250 kg. True, different things are written about fish, especially about large fishing successes. How plausible this is is difficult to verify now. Many, for example, talk about the amazing size and mass of pike caught. At the same time, it is reliably known about the “Russian record holder” caught in Lake Ilmen in 1930. She weighed 34 kilograms. In Ireland at the beginning of the 19th century, pikes were found about 172 centimeters long and weighing 36-38 kilograms. Now such pikes are not caught. One of the largest fish found in fresh waters, is a beluga. For breeding, it rises very high upstream of rivers. In 1922, in Astrakhan, for example, a beluga weighing 1230 kilograms was caught. The length of these giants exceeds 6 meters, and the mass reaches 1.5 tons.

98. Who is the most "vociferous" of all animals?

The most "vociferous" of all animals is the crocodile. His cry makes the heart of even the most experienced hunter tremble. The hippopotamus also has a very loud voice. And, perhaps, only in third place can be put the growl of the "king of beasts" - the lion. By the way, the crocodile is the only animal on earth that cannot turn its head and is forced to always move forward.

99. Who makes the highest jumps?

The highest jumps - up to 5 meters - are made during the hunt by a representative of the American fauna - the cougar. This large predator from the cat family reaches a length of 2 meters, and its weight exceeds 100 kilograms.

100. Whose the strongest poison?

The most powerful poison of animal origin is the poison of a tiny frog living in the jungles of South America, in Colombia. The locals, the Choco Indians, call it coca. The poison of many the most dangerous snakes can't compare to him. The poison collected from one frog is enough to kill fifty jaguars. There is no antidote for what Choco Indians do not know.

LARGEST ANIMALS

Most numerous invertebrate migrations

Many living beings are clear individualists. But even they make numerous migrations at certain times of the year. And this applies not only to vertebrates, but also to those who do not have a backbone.

Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean, three hundred kilometers from the island of Java. This piece of land, with an area of ​​​​only 130 square kilometers, is home to many amazing creatures with the most unexpected habits and features.

However, the "highlight" of the island are the famous red crabs Gecarcoidea natalis. Their number in this small space is simply incredible: more than one hundred million rather large 10-centimeter creatures of the color of ripe rose hips.

They live in shallow burrows in the upper part of the island. During the day, they usually spend time in their shelters. And only at dawn and in the evenings, when the heat subsides and the air becomes more humid, the crabs get out and start eating. They feed mainly on fallen fruits and succulent shoots. However, when such an opportunity falls, they will not refuse a dead bird, a lizard or a snail.

When the driest season comes, and this happens on Christmas Island in winter, red crabs climb into minks and, plugging the exit with a bunch of grass, hibernate for 2-3 months. They seem to disappear from the forest.

Red crabs on Christmas Island

But in November when he returns southern summer, they get out of the minks and fatten for some time. Having accumulated in the body the amount of nutrients necessary for reproduction, millions of crabs, seized by the inexorable instinct of procreation, go to the coast.

First, single red specks appear on forest glades and paths, which soon merge into large spots. Over time, they unite into winding streams, and by the beginning of December, whole streams of crabs flow down to the ocean. It is here, on the coastal rocks and sand, in the intertidal zone of the tide, that the females will lay their eggs. Having completed the final part of the journey to the sea, the crabs go back to their native places.

This "swimming" armada of millions of red crabs is a unique sight. Everywhere, wherever you look, your eyes stumble upon a moving avalanche of red shells. Animals do not pay attention to people or cars. And within a few days, a few beaches of Christmas Island are flooded with a living river of red bodies.

A huge number of small, bead-sized, Chinese crabs also migrate: they move in the spring from the North Sea to the rivers of Germany. They left the cramped shell of caviar only two months ago, but during this time they managed to get to Hamburg and Bremen, where they will spend the winter on the border of fresh and salt waters. When these crabs grow to five centimeters in length within two seasons, in the spring they will leave their inhabited places and begin to move up the river.

Antarctic krill also move in huge shoals: studies have shown that there are about 25 thousand individuals in one cubic meter of water. And these small shrimps move in such a huge flock not randomly, but in a checkerboard pattern, so that the individual swimming in front does not interfere with its movement with the back wave.

Many other marine invertebrates often unite in giant flocks. But, probably, the largest accumulations are formed by insects, in particular, locusts.

“It was the end of October 1932, a warm, beautiful, spring day. A weak wind blew from the southwest, and it brought trouble. From a height of 40-80 meters, like a snow blizzard, endless hordes of locusts brought by the wind fell on the ground. For hours the whole first, second and third days their flow was endless. Already in the next morning all the trees and bushes were bare, the same as in winter! ..

After four weeks, the offspring of the locust hatched. A month later, the invasion of hungry flocks of locusts began. Two days was enough for not a single green leaf to remain in the fields and gardens. Two days later the same thing happened in the jungle; even the bark on two-year-old trees was all eaten!”

Here is a description of the invasion of the South American locust left one of the eyewitnesses.

The huge hordes of these orthoptera for many countries, especially in past centuries, became a terrible economic and social disaster.

For example, from historical chronicles It is known that in 125 BC. e. Countless swarms of locusts swept across fields in the North African Roman provinces of Cyrenaica and Numidia. As a result, crops of wheat and barley were completely destroyed, and 800 thousand inhabitants of these countries died of starvation.

Naturally, only those swarms of locusts in which there were a huge number of individuals could bring such incredible devastation of vegetation. Indeed, in some cases, scientific and statistical reports on this order of insects give simply fantastic numbers of locusts.

So, once a flock was recorded that covered the sky over an area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 250 square kilometers: according to rough estimates, there were about 35 billion insects in it, whose weight was about 50 thousand tons.

In reports on these insects, a case is described when a swarm of locusts descended to the ground occupied an area of ​​​​4200 square kilometers. This means that at least there were about 300-400 billion individuals in it.

And here are some more interesting facts. In 1881, the inhabitants of Cyprus destroyed almost one and a half million tons of locust eggs. But just two years later, the locusts laid three times as many eggs in the ground. Ten years later, the population of one of the regions of Algeria exterminated about 560 billion eggs, about 1.5 trillion larvae and a huge number of sexually mature females, that is, in total - about 2.7 trillion adult locusts and their juveniles.

Of course, in order for individual individuals to unite in such gigantic flocks, appropriate conditions are necessary. However, scientists could not establish them until 1915. It was at this time that the Russian researcher B.P. Uvarov found out one very important fact.

It turned out that the migratory locust, like its other species, is characterized by the presence of two phases: gregarious and solitary, each of which is characterized by characteristic morphophysiological and ecological features. That is, in order to become a gregarious insect, a young locust needs a whole range of factors. But how many of these factors are required and which ones, scientists cannot yet say. Research is said to be ongoing in such cases.

In addition to locusts, other insects also gather in huge flocks and make long migrations.

For example, dragonflies. So, one of the species of dragonflies that lives on the African continent regularly makes flights along the Nile River. At the same time, dragonflies fly in a precisely chosen direction and any oncoming obstacles do not go around, but fly over.

Often, long-distance travels are also made by hoverflies. Usually these dipterans go on distant wanderings when the stocks of aphids on which their larvae feed on are reduced in their habitats. Mass flights of these flies have been noted in the mountain passes of the Pyrenees.

Butterflies often migrate. The most illustrative example of such travels of Lepidoptera are the North American Danaids - the famous monarchs. It is their migration routes that are most studied by entomologists.

These large and bright butterflies often form giant clusters in autumn and travel south. One such “cloud”, consisting of monarchs, once landed in the state of New Jersey, covering with their bodies an area 320 kilometers long and more than 5 kilometers wide. After waiting out the night, the next morning the butterflies went on.

When monarchs complete their migration, they congregate by the thousands in the same trees, ignoring the nearby tree of the same species.

It is curious that these butterflies have two or three generations during the summer. However, in autumn trip the last one is sent. And, what is most striking, these young creatures, without even the slightest experience of long-distance flights, unmistakably fly along a certain route to the wintering places of their ancestors.

In general, numerous clusters of butterflies in the sky were observed many times. So, their invasions are noted in 1100, 1104, 1272, 1741, 1826 and 1906. In general, more than one and a half hundred such cases have been registered over Europe.

The burdock also loves to travel. These Lepidoptera often form giant flocks and make long journeys, flying thousands of kilometers away. For example, in 1942, a flock of burdocks flew over some states of the USA, consisting, as it is believed, of approximately three trillion butterflies!

Vertebrate migrations

People have known for a long time about the huge flocks of birds, herds of animals or schools of fish, which at some point break away from inhabited places and go on long journeys. Animals are driven on such journeys by the most different reasons: climate change, hunger, ancient instincts for procreation, etc.

Sometimes communities of migrating organisms reach incredible numbers. Take at least the fish. It's hard to believe, but one day a school of herring was seen in the ocean, in which there were about 3,000,000,000 individuals.

Herring often move in huge shoals

Herring during migration in the polar seas can move, plunging to a considerable depth, then being almost at the very surface. And the fish move in such dense schools that some fish, squeezed out by their relatives swimming in a common flock, jump out of the water. Eyewitnesses claim that if you stick an oar into this jamb, then it will remain upright.

Pink salmon also moves in huge shoals, going to spawn in the rivers.

“In sunny and calm weather,” writes the Soviet researcher M.F. Pravdin, - an unusual noise spread from the middle of the river and flew to the shore. The population rushed to the shore, and here everyone admired for a long time how a huge school of pink salmon with a loud noise and with continuous jumping of individual fish went up the river, as if a new river had burst into the Bolshaya River. The strip of noisy fish stretched for at least a mile, so without exaggeration we can assume that there were more than one million fish in this school.

Sometimes they gather in huge flocks on the surface of the water surface and sea ​​snakes. So, in 1932, a huge number of randomly woven snake bodies were noticed in the Strait of Malacca. The living ribbon that the reptiles formed, with a width of three meters, stretched for about 110 kilometers. There were about a million snakes in this cluster. What was the reason for such a massive accumulation of snakes? - hard to say. But, most likely, it was a marriage gathering.

Birds also form huge flocks, especially during autumn and spring migrations. Often there are hundreds of thousands of individuals. This is especially true for small birds. However, it is unlikely that the records that American passenger pigeons set in the century before last will ever be broken.

These birds lived in the United States and southern Canada. When a flock of these birds appeared in the sky, it became so dark, as if early twilight was coming. And this “eclipse” sometimes lasted for quite a long time, since the birds covered the entire sky with their bodies from edge to edge for several hours.

American ornithologist Wilson describes a flock of pigeons that stretched for 360 kilometers. According to the approximate estimates of the zoologist, there were about 2,230,000,000 pigeons in this bird community. Another ornithologist - Audubon - reports a flock of these birds, which united approximately 1,115,000,000 individuals!

But not only birds gather in huge flocks. During the migration period, many mammals also form gigantic communities. So, once in Taimyr, a herd of 300 thousand deer was seen from a helicopter.

However, this is not such a large herd of wild mammals. Once upon a time, herds of caribou, numbering millions of individuals, roamed the American north. For example, one herd for four days in a continuous avalanche moved past the astonished hunters. Subsequently, eyewitnesses of this "march" of animals said that there were about twenty-five million deer in the herd.

The wildebeests that live in Tanzania gather in huge herds in search of pastures. Animals move in an endless stream, in which sometimes there are up to one and a half million individuals.

And in 1929, a traveler encountered a mixed herd of wildebeest and zebras in the Kalahari, in which, according to him, there were about ten million animals!

Once upon a time, the so-called mountain horses were widespread across the endless expanses of the steppes and semi-deserts of South Africa. In the rainy season, when the earth was covered with abundant greenery, and rivers and lakes were filled with life-giving moisture, these animals wandered in small groups from pasture to pasture. And so it continued until the drought came.

Then the mountain horses left their native places and, gathering in huge herds, moved along the savannah scorched by the merciless sun in search of food and water. Some of these herds had up to a million animals.

Sometimes hunger, and perhaps some internal factors, make them stray into huge "hordes" and squirrels. So, at the end of the 19th century, the city of Nizhny Tagil was subjected to an unprecedented invasion of these animals.

“The squirrels walked alone,” writes the famous Russian bibliographer and writer N.A. Rubakin, - then in groups, they all walked straight and straight, ran through the streets, jumped over fences and hedges, climbed into houses, filled yards, jumped on roofs.

The squirrels moved, paying no attention to either the people or the dogs, which had bitten them in huge numbers. People also stuffed them a lot. And, despite the danger, they still went. The invasion lasted until the evening. For the night the animals hid, but as soon as the sky brightened, they continued on their way. For three days the squirrels besieged Tagil.

Outside the city flowed the fast and wide river Chusovaya. But she did not stop the countless mass of animals. They threw themselves into the cold waves and, with their tails up, swam to the other shore.

Later it turned out that only a small part of the squirrels got to Nizhny Tagil. Most of them passed eight kilometers from the city. This squirrel armada supposedly contained several million individuals.

Mass migratory marches are performed by amazing, weighing from 70 to 100 grams, animals living in arctic tundra. And although these are not such rare mammals, nevertheless, you can see them only in special years.

And this is due to the fact that the number of lemmings changes periodically, and within absolutely incredible limits: for three or four years, animals cannot be found during the day with fire, and then suddenly - a “population explosion”. Lemmings swarm everywhere like fish in a net. Mystery? Certainly! However, as well as their sudden marches, when lemmings suddenly gather in huge flocks and go on long journeys. And on the way, these peaceful balls of wool turn into very aggressive rodents.

Many legends are associated with these journeys of lemmings. For example, the myth of the collective suicide of rodents. Allegedly, when the number of lemmings increases, they, having huddled in huge flocks, head to the sea and together rush off a cliff into the abyss. Today, biologists are sure that the suicide of lemmings is a fiction, although it is possible that some hitherto unknown mechanisms provoke this phenomenon.

But the fact that lemmings are not at all afraid of water is true. At least, it has long been noticed that during the migration of animals neither cold fast rivers nor wide lakes stop them. They effortlessly swim two or three kilometers and, having got out on land, confidently continue their journey into the unknown. But these tiny creatures swim like that only on calm water: when the wind blows and the waves rise, the rodents drown. By the way, it should be borne in mind that in this case we are talking about Norwegian lemmings, unlike which Canadian lemmings, for example, do not migrate at all.

And Norwegian lemmings are found exclusively in Scandinavia and on Kola Peninsula, where they hibernate under a three-meter layer, being almost completely safe, since it is difficult for enemies to reach their nests.

Lemmings don't fall into hibernation and therefore breed even in the cold. The smell of a female ready to give birth to offspring is smelled by males at a distance of more than a hundred meters. And as soon as they catch him, they immediately rush to her from all sides and begin a fierce struggle for the right to possess the “bride”.

However, the lucky one does not triumph for long: after a short mating, the female immediately kicks him out of the hole. And already at the end of February, she has the first brood, in which there are only three or four cubs. But in the summer there are twice as many of them, and during this period the female can give birth to up to five broods.

But this is how lemmings behave in years of normal population size. When there are a lot of animals, their character changes dramatically. Animals gather in flocks and begin to migrate. In search of food, they cover distances of hundreds of kilometers. On these trips across the tundra, the females are so stressed that they are unable to conceive.

Aggressiveness appears in the behavior of lemmings: standing on their hind legs, they, with a furious squeak and grunt, rush at everything that moves - be it a person, an animal or a car. The bites of an angry rodent are very painful.

Lemmings are terribly gluttonous. The reason for this appetite is the poverty of the diet, which consists mainly of mosses and various herbs. There is no other food for rodents in the tundra. Two-thirds of what is eaten by lemmings is just "ballast" that is not even digested. It is in the “menu” of animals that some scientists see the regulator of mysterious explosions in the number of lemmings. Lack of food delays the growth and maturation of lemmings - broods become smaller. When there is a lot of grass and moss, the number of lemmings increases rapidly. Other zoologists believe that the number of lemmings depends on the number of their main enemies - ermine, snowy owl and polar fox.

There is another hypothesis that links the upsurge of the lemming population with the defense mechanisms of tundra plants of cotton and sedge, which form the basis of their diet. These plants synthesize special substances that block the action of the lemming's digestive juice. But while the animals consume cotton and sedge moderately, the plants do not release poison in critical quantities.

When lemmings eat everything around clean - and this happens when the number increases tens and hundreds of times - plants begin to synthesize blocking substances continuously. As a result, lemmings are unable to digest the grass they eat.

In response, the lemming's body begins to produce more and more gastric juice and, as a result, is depleted much faster than from normal hunger. And the more a lemming eats, the hungrier it gets. The result of such a failure is, according to a number of scientists, mass migrations.

Longest migrations

In addition to the large number of individuals in one migratory flock, the human imagination is also struck by the length of the path along which animal species that have gone on a long journey move.

Take, for example, Arctic terns. These small white birds with berets on top of their heads nest in northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia and Europe, as well as in Greenland. Sometimes they settle so close to the pole that during hatching, snow flakes sometimes fall from the sky. And then the birds, in order to protect the chicks from the cold, pile up snow around the nests.

With the onset of autumn, terns suddenly leave their habitable places and go to warmer climes. Although it is also quite difficult to call the places where they are on their way warm, since these birds winter in. Antarctica.

Twice a year Arctic terns fly from the Canadian tundra to Antarctica and back.

If terns fly from Canada and Greenland, then their route runs first through Europe. Off the British Isles they meet with Siberian and European relatives, and together along the coast of France and Portugal they move to Africa. Having reached Senegal or Guinea, flocks of terns are divided into two branches: some fly to Tierra del Fuego, others fly to the cold seas of Ross and Weddell.

Twice a year, these indefatigable birds from the Canadian tundra to Antarctica fly a total of 19 thousand kilometers, that is, their path in both directions is equal to a round-the-world trip around the equator - almost 40 thousand kilometers.

Even longer flights are made by terns living in Chukotka. First, they fly along the Siberian shores of the Arctic Ocean to the west. Then, having rounded Scandinavia, they turn to the shores of the African continent. And only after this long zigzag flight they rush to Antarctica. At the same time, birds fly 30 thousand kilometers in one direction, and the same number in the opposite direction. And here is what is curious about this unique flight: terns, it turns out, fly over cold ocean currents, in which there are more different living creatures. They catch her, rushing into the cold waters from a height. By the way, along the same, however, water routes move and baleen whales.

Wilson's petrel also goes around the Earth from pole to pole, only in the opposite direction. He spends the winter near Northern Scotland and Newfoundland, and raises the chicks in the harsh climate of the Antarctic islands.

The swallows and swifts known to us also make considerable flights: their length is about ten thousand kilometers. At the same time, their air “march throws” of swifts are non-stop: birds not only satisfy hunger and thirst in flight, but even sleep on the fly.

But black-throated loons go on a long journey by swimming. Moreover, they swim to the north, although they run away from winter. Paradox? By no means! The fact is that having sailed along the rivers of Siberia to the northern coast of Taimyr Island, the birds enter the Kara Sea, where they immediately turn to the west. Then, having reached the Kara Gate, they enter the Barents Sea, which they cross, skirting Scandinavia. After this throw, they enter the North Sea, and only then to the west of the Baltic Sea, where they spend the winter. A decent piece of the path is overcome by birds - 6 thousand kilometers. And swim almost all the time.

A unique result is demonstrated by shorebirds that live in Alaska and Chukotka, but winter in Hawaii. There is no land between these two points on the Earth, but in twenty-two hours of direct flight birds overcome this distance, equal to three thousand kilometers!

Strikingly long migrations are also made by clumsy-looking fur seals, whose breeding takes place on the Pribylov and Commander Islands. As soon as the animals grow up cubs, the seals from the Commander set sail in a southwestern direction, sometimes even reaching Japan, and the "Pribylov" seals rush to the southeast, to California. At the same time, the length of the path swum by animals in both directions is approximately 10,000 kilometers.

Usually, with the colorfulness of coral reefs and the diversity of its inhabitants, there are very few living organisms in the waters of the open ocean of the tropics, since these waters are poor in food resources. For this reason, huge baleen whales, feeding on small crustaceans - krill, are practically not found in these places.

And only the Caribbean Sea, as well as the seas around the Galapagos Islands, are teeming with plankton and fish, and such an abundant food supply attracts many cetaceans here: dolphins, sperm whales, blue and humpback whales.

They sail to these places rich in food from the polar seas, sometimes overcoming a distance of 6400 or more kilometers. Moreover, during such a long journey, they almost do not eat. Although some females during this period are in a state of pregnancy or feed the milk of newborns.

Careful and long-term studies of sea turtles have surprised scientists with many of their behavioral features. For example, these reptiles make truly grandiose oceanic journeys along their length. So, between 2006 and the beginning of 2008, the satellite constantly recorded the movement of leatherback turtles from their nesting places on the beaches of Papua to the coast of the US state of Oregon, that is, to the other side of the planet. This journey took 647 days. And during this time, the animals covered a distance equal to 20,560 kilometers.

During migrations, many thousands of kilometers are left behind by some fish. So, chinook salmon rises up the Yukon River for 3.5 thousand kilometers. Fish swim at a speed of twenty, and in some periods even fifty kilometers a day.

But if salmon fish they swim to their native rivers to spawn, then snake-like eels, on the contrary, from rivers to the seas, overcoming a distance of 6,000 kilometers. And they swim to one place in the World Ocean - in the Sargasso Sea. This is where they spawn. Adult fish die after spawning, and juveniles return to the rivers in three years.

Of course, such a huge extent of migrations of large animals is amazing. But even more surprising is the migration of insects, sometimes overcoming not hundreds, but thousands of kilometers through the air, flying over the endless seas and the highest mountains.

For example, a swarm of locusts, having originated in Africa, can end up in Europe in a week, having covered almost two and a half thousand kilometers during this time.

Monarch butterflies, living in southeastern Canada, fly to Mexico for the winter, leaving behind a path of almost three thousand kilometers.

Of course, it is almost impossible to mention all the “circumnavigation” of fish, birds, animals or insects, but this information is quite enough to understand how long the distances covered by many living organisms during migrations are.

Record-breaking invertebrate colonies

Quite often, single species of animals are combined into communities, and quite numerous ones at that. In general, the presence of colonial life forms is characteristic of many types and classes of invertebrates: from protozoa to spiders and insects. True, in most cases in these communities the number of individuals is small.

In addition, even if such communities are numerous, they often represent only a collection of tens, hundreds or thousands of individuals on a small area of ​​the earth's surface or at the bottom of a reservoir.

Of course, it is almost impossible to tell about all organisms that live in large colonies or communities in a short essay, so we will focus only on some, in our opinion, the most interesting ones.

For example, on radiolarians. Scientists have known for a long time that these unicellular organisms unite in colonies. But they apparently did not imagine the true size of these communities. However, in the warm waters of the Florida Current, oceanographers sometimes stumbled upon colonies that ranged in length from a few centimeters to a meter or more. One can only guess how many millions of single-celled creatures, with a diameter of hundredths of a millimeter, were in such huge communities.

But such giant colonies, of course, feed in accordance with their size. In their diet, phytoplankton, mollusk larvae, solitary radiolarians, small hydromedusae and other organisms are common components. As a source of food, they use the products of photosynthesis of their symbionts, as well as themselves.

As it turned out, radiolarian colonies are a rather complex biological structure. Thus, observations have shown that control over symbiont algae is exercised in the colony. Their location varies depending on the light regime: in the dark, algae gather around the central capsule, in the light they are evenly distributed throughout the gelatinous mass of the colony. And radiolarians carry out this movement of symbionts with the help of their own pseudopodia.

Various types of radiolarians

At the ends of some colonies, especially those that actively feed on mollusk larvae, there are special education, where the shells of the eaten larvae are concentrated and then removed from the colony. Carry out the collection and transportation of residues to the place of disposal collected in bunches of special pseudopodia.

Some coelenterates form huge colonies. The appearance of such structures is associated with the reproduction of these animals by budding, when as a result of these processes new polyps are formed from old polyps, which leads to an increase in the size of the colony. And since colonies grow in all directions in many corals, sometimes they reach very impressive sizes: for example, colonies of some species of the genus Porites have a volume of more than 100 cubic meters. If we take into account that the size of one polyp is approximately 1-1.5 millimeters, then at least tens of millions of polyps are in this volume. And such a giant colony appears as a result of the budding of just one single polyp.

Form colonies and some species of rotifers. But the communities of these animals are small: they unite only 2500-3000 individuals.

Another group of animals prone to forming colonies are bryozoans. And in general, for the most part, these are colonial organisms. And their communities often consist of a huge number of individuals. For example, a piece of Flustrafoliacea colony weighing 1 gram contains about 1330 individual organisms. This bryozoan sometimes grows up to several meters, reaching a kilogram weight.

And some species of bryozoans cover with their bodies areas over 200 square meters. In this case, the height of the colonies sometimes reaches 12 centimeters.

It is known about the existence of colonies in such individualists as spiders. Spider communities have been recorded in spiders of the species Theridion nigroannulatum. They live in nests, in which several hundreds, sometimes thousands of individuals sometimes gather.

When spiders hunt, they stretch threads from their dwelling to the leaves and wait for the victim to appear. So far, everything seems to be going according to the usual spider scenario. But then the spiders demonstrate something new and original.

At the moment when the insect touches the thread and falls into the trap, a large group of spiders jumps out of the shelter and drags the victim with a sticky web, while also injecting her with a fair portion of poison.

Moreover, when hunting, spiders contact each other not only during the attack on the victim, but also afterwards. For example, if the prey is too heavy, then they drag it, taking turns replacing each other.

But the coordinated actions of spiders are not limited to attacking the victim. When this gang of eight-legged hunters drags their prey to the dwelling, the principles of collectivism are also observed here: each of the inhabitants of the nest receives its own portion of food.

But this is not all the "strangeness" of this species.

Speaking of thousands of individuals in one colony, it should be emphasized that these are rare exceptions. As a rule, only a few dozen individuals live in one nest. If the community really consists of many, many hundreds of spiders, then sometimes such huge settlements, for some unknown reason, suddenly crumble into small groups in a matter of days. By the way, this species was discovered back in 1884. Zoologists learned about his social structure only after more than a hundred years.

South African spiders from the genus Stegodifus also prefer to live in large communities. Together they build a hostel that looks like a sack, and they stretch trapping threads from it in all directions, and rush to the prey together. Moreover, they even dine at the same table without "quarrels and fights."

Moreover, these spiders are so hospitable that even the caterpillars of some butterflies are not driven, not killed, but generously tolerated, like lazy household members. But the caterpillars do not remain in debt. By picking up their leftovers for the spiders, they thereby monitor the cleanliness in the spider community. Having appreciated such generosity and trust, the butterflies that emerged from the caterpillars are also in no hurry to leave the benevolent stegodifuses.

Social spiders usually inhabit warm regions of the globe. They can be found in the forests of the Amazon, Africa and Australia, some species live in Mexico and India.

But among insects there are several groups that have a different life, except for life in large communities, hardly represent. These winged creatures primarily include social insects: bees, bumblebees, many types of wasps, ants, termites. And the largest colonies in number form the last two groups.

So, in small anthills, there are from 100 to 200 thousand insects, in medium ones - 400-700 thousand. And in the giant nests of red wood ants and American leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta, there are often about five million insects.

However, none of the insects, probably, can be compared with termites in terms of the number of individuals in the colony. But since different types of termites have different fecundity, the number of population in one termite mound - the dwelling of these insects - can differ significantly. Based on the fertility of the uterus, it is possible to approximately calculate the population of one family of termites.

So, the uterus of the Turinam termite lays about 100 eggs per hour, and the female Termes bellicosus lays 30,000 eggs per day, and about ten million nine hundred and fifty thousand per year.

At the same time, she is engaged in the “production” of eggs continuously day and night. Given the size of termite mounds, reaching 6, 10 and even 12 meters in height, it can be assumed with a high degree of certainty that more than one million individuals live in them.

However, competition for ants and termites in the struggle for a pedestal can also be made up of one of the types of crustaceans - the desert woodlice, which forms huge colonies in the desert, in areas favorable for life. And although each family, in general, has small plots of land - the size of a palm, however, the territory chosen by wood lice sometimes occupies a huge area inhabited by several million of these strange crustaceans.

A curious family-colonial relationship exists in the Caribbean, or king, click shrimp, which lives in almost all large sponges on the barrier reef. Moreover, in each of them there are from 150 to 300 crustaceans. But at the same time, in each "family" there is only one fertile female. And the rest of its inhabitants are represented by juveniles and males, one of which, if the “queen” suddenly dies, probably turns into a female. That is, these crustaceans, like bees, ants and termites, can rightfully be called social animals. If we talk about the quantitative composition of all click shrimp living in the sponges of the barrier reef, then their number is even difficult to imagine: at least there are more than one million of them here.

Large colonies of vertebrates

Many species of vertebrates for the breeding season and in places with abundant food resources gather in huge communities. But among these organisms, there are not so many species that live in large colonies for a long time.

Among fish, several species of tubular eels can be cited as an example of such a community. These snake-like fish have an average length of about 50 centimeters. They live on the seabed in special tube-shaped burrows built by themselves. The walls of these structures are so strongly reinforced with a sticky substance produced by the skin glands of eels that they never collapse, although the fish draws its body into the hole with a quick and sharp movement.

When everything is calm around, the lower part of the eel hides in the mink, while the upper part sticks out above the bottom surface. At this time, the eel swings smoothly, capturing small organisms. But as soon as there is a threat to the life of the fish, they immediately hide in their shelters.

Eel minks are usually located at a distance of about twenty to sixty centimeters from one another. At the same time, the area occupied by the settlements of these fish is estimated at many hundreds of square meters. This means that several tens of thousands of eels can be located on such an area.

River lamprey larvae - gerbils

Almost the same way of life as tubular eels is carried out by the larvae of the river lamprey. They also burrow into the muddy bottom, cementing the walls of their burrows with sticky secretions. At the same time, sandworms in places settle so densely, “that the bottom of the river shallow, if you look from above, looks like a sieve: everything is in small holes.” There is no doubt that tens of thousands of larvae live in such colonies.

Birds sometimes gather in large communities. Probably, everyone has heard about bird markets, where there are hundreds of thousands and even millions of gulls, terns, penguins, albatrosses, boobies. So, in some nesting colonies of the Adélie penguin, several tens of thousands of birds gather, and at one time there was a colony on Ross Island, in which there were up to half a million individuals.

The famous flamingos living in East and South Africa also gather in very large groups. Sometimes in their "companies" there are several million birds. Often such colonies can be observed on the East African Great Lakes. However, these birds do not have a special friendship. Sometimes, however, they try to expel predators from their possessions in large companies.

However, some species of birds live, albeit small, but real hostels, where both shelter and cares are common. So, South American cuckoos from the genus Ani gather in a small company and build a large deep nest. Then all the females participating in construction work lay eggs in this nest. Usually there are 15-20 eggs, but sometimes there are even about fifty of them. Several birds also simultaneously participate in incubation of eggs, which periodically change each other on the clutch. When chicks are born, they are also fed by the whole world. Moreover, males work equally with females.

Unique colonies of the settlers of the African savannas - white-billed buffalo birds. They build many nests in the crown of one tree, between which thorny branches are laid. The result is a common "house", in which the entrances and individual "apartments" are located below. Moreover, such a “communal apartment” can be 2-3 meters in diameter.

Collective nests also reach even larger sizes. public weaver. First, a few birds find a suitable tree and begin to build a roof of branches and dry grass on it. Then, inside this frame, each pair of monogamous birds builds its own nesting chamber. The whole nest resembles a stack of hay thrown on a tree, pierced by downward-pointing inlets.

Year after year, the birds complete their nest, as a result of which the age of some nests sometimes reaches more than a hundred years. At the same time, up to 300 nest chambers are located in such nests. And the size of these nests is impressive. For example, the length of one of these structures was 7 meters, width - 5 and height - 3 meters.

Build collective nests and monk parrots. They also have "houses" with a common roof, but with separate rooms for each couple.

Of our birds, colonies of many thousands are characteristic of rooks, crows, jackdaws, and starlings.

For many cities, their settlements are a real disaster. Large concentrations are often formed by herons and cormorants. Especially next to artificial reservoirs.

For example, on large fish farms, the number of cormorants is in the thousands.

Of the mammals, probably the most numerous colonies are characteristic of prairie dogs. Outwardly, these half-meter animals are similar to the inhabitants of the steppes - marmots, although they bark like dogs. Each family has its own separate dwelling house-burrow, externally connected to neighboring dwellings by narrow paths.

Now these rodents have diminished. And before they lived in colonies of incredible size. So, in the 60s of the XIX century in the US state of Texas, a colony of prairie dogs was discovered, in which there were approximately 400 million animals. In terms of the area occupied, this settlement was twice more territory current Holland.

Marmots used to live in large colonies. But the human invasion of the steppe has significantly reduced their numbers. Nevertheless, in our time, numerous settlements of these animals are noted. For example, in the Melovsky district, the marmot colony has about 8,000 holes. And this means that several tens of thousands of animals can live in a colony at the peak of its development.

Zoologists also have information about huge colonies of bats. For example, quite recently in the south of the Philippines in the Mindanao region, a cave was discovered in which about 1.8 million fruit bats live and breed.

The attraction of the American city of Austin is a huge colony of bats living under the bridge. This settlement of winged mammals has about one and a half million.

There is also a wonderful place near the Mexican city of San Antonio: this is a cave, which is a kind of maternity hospital for folded-lipped, or bulldog, bats. Up to 10 million females flock here for the breeding season from many parts of Mexico. And some of them, to be in this place, have to overcome a distance of 1800 kilometers.

Each female usually gives birth to one cub. As a result, the density of babies in this underground grotto reaches 3000 per 1 square meter ceiling. It is the most populated bird nursery in the world. And what is surprising: returning from a night hunt, the mother in about 85% of cases finds and feeds her cub. And to do this, she is probably helped by an excellent memory, surprisingly sharp hearing and an excellent sense of smell.

By the way, scientists have long been interested in the question of how many millions of flocks of bats that live in some caves in America manage to feed themselves. After all, a colony of 10 million individuals eats about 100 tons of insects per day. After all, they don't feed on air. Then what?

And finally, the mystery was solved. It turned out that these mice are feeding. at a height of 2-3 kilometers from the ground. It would seem that this is a clear paradox: after all, it is very difficult to imagine that such an abundance of insects can be found daily at such great heights.

But the fact is that just at such heights huge flocks of butterflies move from Mexico. Moreover, they make such flights every day. And bats, having “caught” this amazing pattern, began to follow it in their behavior. Isn't it so simple?

But the naked mole rat - a mammal living in Africa - although it does not differ in the large number of colonies, it has a number of other interesting features. For example, these animals are almost completely devoid of hair. They live underground, where at a depth of about two meters they dig long, four centimeters in diameter, burrows that connect nesting chambers, latrines and fodder areas into one common household. The length of these tunnels is 3-5 kilometers, and the annual emissions of earth during digging are 3-4 tons. Up to 250 individuals sometimes live in this underground kingdom.

But the most interesting is not even that. Much more interesting is the fact that the colonies naked diggers built on the same principle as the colonies of social insects: they have a division of labor, as well as one constantly breeding uterus.

Dangerous migrant animals

It has already been said above about those groups and species of animals that constantly live in numerous colonies or gather in huge herds, flocks or shoals during breeding or when they migrate in search of the best places habitat.

But beyond our attention there is still a group of organisms that gave record-breaking population outbreaks after, thanks to humans, they moved to new places for them, where they did not encounter limiting environmental factors.

1853 American scientist Asa Fitch finds a tiny insect on the leaves of grapes, which turned out to be aphids of an unknown species. Subsequently, it was entered in the registers of zoological science under the name Phylloxera vastatrix, or, more simply, phylloxera.

After 15 years, this insect suddenly made itself felt in France. The tiny creature settled on the roots of the vine, sucked all the juice out of it, and the bush died. In this surprise attack in France, phylloxera wiped out two and a half million acres of vineyards. The damage done to the French economy by phylloxera was incredible: ten billion gold francs!

Grape leaf affected by phylloxera

But not only France was occupied by a modest aphid. In 1869, she was already in charge in the vicinity of Geneva, then moved to Germany and Austria. And in 1880 she visited the Crimea, Kuban, Bessarabia, Tashkent.

Changed the situation with the vineyards a small tick, which destroyed thousands of phylloxera. These crumbs from America were brought to Europe and released into the vineyards. They are. saved the situation.

No less dizzying success in the development of the European continent was achieved by another "American" - the Colorado potato beetle. Indeed, its homeland is the west of North America, where, before the advent of cultivated potatoes, it lived on wild plants of the nightshade family.

But in 1865, a seemingly unremarkable bug appeared in the potato fields of Colorado and caused them serious damage. In the place of his homeland, he received his present name. Appropriate sanitary measures have been taken to prevent its further spread. But they did not help: soon the pest walked with a confident “gait” not only across North America, but also appeared in Europe. They tried to restrain him by all available means. But the First World War prevented the final victory of man over the Colorado potato beetle.

At this time, the Europeans were not up to sanitary control, and soon dangerous pest securely "digged" on the French coast. Then, despite the efforts of quarantine services, the Colorado potato beetle, having shown remarkable activity, quickly spread throughout all the countries of Central Europe.

In 1933 he showed up in England. Three years later he was in charge in the fields of Belgium, Holland, Switzerland. Then he showed his exorbitant appetite in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary.

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The biggest waves Waves, assimilated in size and appearance to a mighty tide, are actually the product of underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or displacements of the earth's layers on the ocean floor. The wave resulting from these causes has long been called all over the world

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The largest caves The world of underground voids formed naturally, not so small. And we know very little about him. To a greater or lesser extent, only those that have access to the outside - caves and grottoes - have been studied. Fabulous, fantastic pictures open before

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Where do the largest and most venomous snakes live? There is a saying: "Fear has big eyes." The same can be said about all the legends that exist about snakes. So, they say that huge snakes live somewhere, up to 20 meters or more. But no one really

People have known for a long time about the huge flocks of birds, herds of animals or schools of fish, which at some point break away from inhabited places and go on long journeys. Animals are driven on such journeys for a variety of reasons: climate change, hunger, ancient instincts for procreation, etc.

Sometimes communities of migrating organisms reach incredible numbers. Take at least the fish. It's hard to believe, but one day a school of herring was seen in the ocean, in which there were about 3,000,000,000 individuals.

Herring during migration in the polar seas can move, plunging to a considerable depth, then being almost at the very surface. And the fish move in such dense schools that some fish, squeezed out by their relatives swimming in a common flock, jump out of the water. Eyewitnesses claim that if you stick an oar into this jamb, then it will remain upright.

Pink salmon also moves in huge shoals, going to spawn in the rivers.

“In sunny and calm weather,” writes the Soviet researcher M.F. Pravdin, - an unusual noise spread from the middle of the river and flew to the shore. The population rushed to the shore, and here everyone admired for a long time how a huge school of pink salmon with a loud noise and with continuous jumping of individual fish went up the river, as if a new river had burst into the Bolshaya River. The strip of noisy fish stretched for at least a mile, so without exaggeration we can assume that there were more than one million fish in this school.

Sometimes sea snakes also gather in huge flocks on the surface of the water surface. So, in 1932, a huge number of randomly woven snake bodies were noticed in the Strait of Malacca. The living ribbon that the reptiles formed, with a width of three meters, stretched for about 110 kilometers. There were about a million snakes in this cluster. What was the reason for such a massive accumulation of snakes? - hard to say. But, most likely, it was a marriage gathering.

Birds also form huge flocks, especially during autumn and spring migrations. Often there are hundreds of thousands of individuals. This is especially true for small birds. However, it is unlikely that the records that American passenger pigeons set in the century before last will ever be broken.

These birds lived in the United States and southern Canada. When a flock of these birds appeared in the sky, it became so dark, as if early twilight was coming. And this “eclipse” sometimes lasted for quite a long time, since the birds covered the entire sky with their bodies from edge to edge for several hours.

American ornithologist Wilson describes a flock of pigeons that stretched for 360 kilometers. According to the approximate estimates of the zoologist, there were about 2,230,000,000 pigeons in this bird community. Another ornithologist - Audubon - reports a flock of these birds, which united approximately 1,115,000,000 individuals!

But not only birds gather in huge flocks. During the migration period, many mammals also form gigantic communities. So, once in Taimyr, a herd of 300 thousand deer was seen from a helicopter.

However, this is not such a large herd of wild mammals. Once upon a time, herds of caribou, numbering millions of individuals, roamed the American north. For example, one herd for four days in a continuous avalanche moved past the astonished hunters. Subsequently, eyewitnesses of this "march" of animals said that there were about twenty-five million deer in the herd.

The wildebeests that live in Tanzania gather in huge herds in search of pastures. Animals move in an endless stream, in which sometimes there are up to one and a half million individuals.

And in 1929, a traveler encountered a mixed herd of wildebeest and zebras in the Kalahari, in which, according to him, there were about ten million animals!

Once upon a time, the so-called mountain horses were widespread across the endless expanses of the steppes and semi-deserts of South Africa. In the rainy season, when the earth was covered with abundant greenery, and rivers and lakes were filled with life-giving moisture, these animals wandered in small groups from pasture to pasture. And so it continued until the drought came.

Then the mountain horses left their native places and, gathering in huge herds, moved along the savannah scorched by the merciless sun in search of food and water. Some of these herds had up to a million animals.

Sometimes hunger, and possibly some internal factors, make us stray into huge "hordes" and squirrels. So, at the end of the 19th century, the city of Nizhny Tagil was subjected to an unprecedented invasion of these animals.

“The squirrels walked alone,” writes the famous Russian bibliographer and writer N.A. Rubakin, - then in groups, they all walked straight and straight, ran through the streets, jumped over fences and hedges, climbed into houses, filled yards, jumped on roofs.

The squirrels moved, paying no attention to either the people or the dogs, which had bitten them in huge numbers. People also stuffed them a lot. And, despite the danger, they still went. The invasion lasted until the evening. For the night the animals hid, but as soon as the sky brightened, they continued on their way. For three days the squirrels besieged Tagil.

Outside the city flowed the fast and wide river Chusovaya. But she did not stop the countless mass of animals. They threw themselves into the cold waves and, with their tails up, swam to the other shore.

Later it turned out that only a small part of the squirrels got to Nizhny Tagil. Most of them passed eight kilometers from the city. This squirrel armada supposedly contained several million individuals.

Massive migratory marches are performed by amazing, weighing from 70 to 100 grams, little animals that live in the Arctic tundra. And although these are not such rare mammals, nevertheless, you can see them only in special years.

And this is due to the fact that the number of lemmings changes periodically, and within absolutely incredible limits: for three or four years, animals cannot be found during the day with fire, and then suddenly - a “population explosion”. Lemmings swarm everywhere like fish in a net. Mystery? Certainly! However, as well as their sudden marches, when lemmings suddenly gather in huge flocks and go on long journeys. And on the way, these peaceful balls of wool turn into very aggressive rodents.

Many legends are associated with these journeys of lemmings. For example, the myth of the collective suicide of rodents. Allegedly, when the number of lemmings increases, they, having huddled in huge flocks, head to the sea and together rush off a cliff into the abyss. Today, biologists are sure that the suicide of lemmings is a fiction, although it is possible that some hitherto unknown mechanisms provoke this phenomenon.

But the fact that lemmings are not at all afraid of water is true. At least, it has long been noticed that during the migration of animals neither cold fast rivers nor wide lakes stop them. They effortlessly swim two or three kilometers and, having got out on land, confidently continue their journey into the unknown. But these tiny creatures swim like that only on calm water: when the wind blows and the waves rise, the rodents drown. By the way, it should be borne in mind that in this case we are talking about Norwegian lemmings, unlike which Canadian lemmings, for example, do not migrate at all.

And Norwegian lemmings are found exclusively in Scandinavia and on the Kola Peninsula, where they winter under a three-meter layer, being almost completely safe, since it is difficult for enemies to reach their nests.

Lemmings do not hibernate and therefore breed even in the cold. The smell of a female ready to give birth to offspring is smelled by males at a distance of more than a hundred meters. And as soon as they catch him, they immediately rush to her from all sides and begin a fierce struggle for the right to possess the “bride”.

However, the lucky one does not triumph for long: after a short mating, the female immediately kicks him out of the hole. And already at the end of February, she has the first brood, in which there are only three or four cubs. But in the summer there are twice as many of them, and during this period the female can give birth to up to five broods.

But this is how lemmings behave in years of normal population size. When there are a lot of animals, their character changes dramatically. Animals gather in flocks and begin to migrate. In search of food, they cover distances of hundreds of kilometers. On these trips across the tundra, the females are so stressed that they are unable to conceive.

Aggressiveness appears in the behavior of lemmings: standing on their hind legs, they, with a furious squeak and grunt, rush at everything that moves - be it a person, an animal or a car. The bites of an angry rodent are very painful.

Lemmings are terribly gluttonous. The reason for this appetite is the poverty of the diet, which consists mainly of mosses and various herbs. There is no other food for rodents in the tundra. Two-thirds of what is eaten by lemmings is just "ballast" that is not even digested. It is in the “menu” of animals that some scientists see the regulator of mysterious explosions in the number of lemmings. Lack of food delays the growth and maturation of lemmings - broods become smaller. When there is a lot of grass and moss, the number of lemmings increases rapidly. Other zoologists believe that the number of lemmings depends on the number of their main enemies - ermine, snowy owl and polar fox.

There is another hypothesis that links the upsurge of the lemming population with the defense mechanisms of tundra plants of cotton and sedge, which form the basis of their diet. These plants synthesize special substances that block the action of the lemming's digestive juice. But while the animals consume cotton and sedge moderately, the plants do not release poison in critical quantities.

When lemmings eat everything around clean - and this happens when the number increases tens and hundreds of times - plants begin to synthesize blocking substances continuously. As a result, lemmings are unable to digest the grass they eat.

In response, the lemming's body begins to produce more and more gastric juice and, as a result, is depleted much faster than from normal hunger. And the more a lemming eats, the hungrier it gets. The result of such a failure is, according to a number of scientists, mass migrations.