Animals That Use Their Sense of Smell to Survive
Here you learn about animals with an amazing sense of smell and all about the smelliest animals in the world!
Although we have lots of sayings about smell, we humans don’t have particularly good noses. But animals do. “He stinks to high heaven!” we hear ourselves say if someone’s forgotten to shower. If we get away with something, we “come up smelling of roses”. Or someone might “smell a rat”.
About the Sense of Smell in Animals
We humans might think we can smell well, but could you smell a chocolate ice cream 3.1 miles (5 km) away? Not a problem for some animals. Other animals are especially ... well, let’s say “skilled” at ... farting. Can you let rip a 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius) blend of hot acid?
Bombardier Beetle
Category: Big stinker
You have to be especially careful around bombardier beetles. If they get in a fight, they start to run about nervously. They then brandish their “pistol” and shoot horrible acid all around. The beetles produces this in a small bladder, from which it is fed into a kind of gun barrel. Together with other substances, the temperature increases, the pressure increases and it shoots the 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius) brew with a bang. It might shoot several times in a row so it’s hidden by the dark, stinky clouds. Where is it going? Back to its territory.
Grey Kangaroo
Category: Little Stinker
Perfect in the kitchen...? Grey kangaroos have been given the nickname “stinkers” by lots of farmers. Luckily, they “only” smell strongly of curry.
Hawthorn Shield Bug
Category: Big stinker
The hawthorn shield bug is not toxic, but sends birds into flight with their “perfume”.
Anteater
Category: Big stinker
Ant? Eater? It’s definitely a stinker! Anteaters are considered the skunks of the forest. Their foul-smelling secretions hum four times stronger than that of the skunk.
- Table of Contents:
- 1. Bombardier Beetle, Kangaroo, Shield Bug, Anteater
- 2. Ladybug, Skung Frog, Skunk, Dwarf Boa, Emperor Moth