From their eyes, to their noses, and senses we can't truly know about, join me as we discover
8 animal super senses that they have that humans don't.
8.
Ears That Can Smell When it comes to dogs, there are several things
that it has naturally that dwarfs what humans have naturally.
But for the Basset Hound, they take it to the next level by bringing its ears into the
mix.
And no, I don't mean just them having better hearing, they can actually do something far
more interesting with their ear canals.
Mainly...they can smell with them.
No, I'm not making this up, they can really do this!
First, the ears will catch the scent of whatever they're trying to track.
Then, they'll rub their ears on the ground to further catch it, and then flick their
ears up into the air with the sole purpose of ensuring that their nose can catch it,
and then never lose it.
Which makes them an excellent tracker dog, among other things of course.
This may seem like a little backwards, as most dogs, including a certain breed that
I'll be talking about later, track with very power noses.
So why do the Basset Hounds do it with their ears?.
It mainly has to do with the fact that they have the longest ears of any dog breed, which
makes them even more equipped to catch scents and send them up to their noses.
This kind of dual-powered smelling is very unique in the animal world, and definitely
unique in the dog world.
Personally, I'm ok with a dog having this and not a human...because that must feel weird.
7.
Heat Detection For the record, I'm not talking about an animal
knowing that , "it's hot", I'm going well beyond that here as you'll see.
Snakes as a species are already known for their very refined senses, such as detecting
scents with their tongues, a very useful skill to have.
However, in the case of the Pit Viper (and a few other snake species like certain pythons
and boas), they can go beyond that.
Their skin and nerves are so refined that they're actually able to detect the very heat
given off by an animal.
Confused?
Don't worry, I'll explain.
Think about it like how when you are cold, and you touch someone who is warm, you feel
that heat that they have, which is actually why you're advised to stay close to one another
in cold situations.
But now, I want you to imagine being able to sense that heat even though the person
is several feet away from you.
That kind of heat detection is what snakes like the Pit Viper can do.
So, how does this work exactly?
It happens with pit organs that are on the snakes face.
These pits actually let the snake detect thermal radiation.
That's right, they can sense radiation!
And you thought snakes were scary before, huh?
The organ then sends the information to the nerves in the brain, and thus, the snake can
"touch" the heat of other animals, guiding them either to prey, or away from foes.
The ironic thing here?
Humans technically have this ability, but obviously it's nowhere near the power of these
Pit Vipers.
6.
Precognition The future.
Something that everyone has in one way, and yet doesn't have in another.
Something that every person alive desperately wants to know about, and yet, are afraid to
see it.
In the history of our world, there are many who have said that they have the ability to
see into the future.
Apparently, so do dogs, but how many actually do have this ability is unclear.
But, it is put forth that many have a form of it.
But of course, like most "superpowers", there must be attributes to be defined.
We're not saying that dogs have the ability to "know" the future, but mainly "sense" what
might come.
A lot of people have noted that their dogs can sense danger long before it comes in range.
Many have attributed this to their heightened senses of hearing and smell, and yet, there
are times when no such indicators have been detectable, and yet, the dog would sense danger.
An example was unintentionally shown during an episode of Mythbusters.
Host Jaime Hyneman had a dog named Zero who detected danger in a small scale experiment,
and made sure it wasn't in the area when it indeed did go wrong.
Another form of precognition dogs are said to have is when they can "detect" when an
owner is going to come home.
Again, without clues like sight, sound, or smell.
There was even a study done to show that they could indeed predict when the owner was coming
home.
So yeah, dogs can sense the future in a way.
Which may be why they can be such good pets, as they can help their owners know if trouble
is coming.
Or as Game of Thrones would say...Winter is coming...I'm just saying, they had dogs in
that show!
5.
People Tracking/Blood Detection Insects are annoying!
And few of them are as annoying as the mosquito.
Because no matter where you go, they'll get to you.
But that raises a great question, have you ever wondered why a mosquito is always able
to find you?
It does seem oddly persistent for such a small creature.
The answer is their superpower, detection.
Like many insects, Mosquitoes have very heightened senses, to the extent that they can sense
a person when they're over 100 feet away from them.
And because of how heightened their senses are, they actually know when to strike you
in order to get your blood, and they even know what blood type you are.
No, really, they can know your blood type even though they're not touching you!
Creepy, huh?
Oh, but that's not the only creepy part here.
You see, the reason that they bite you is because they WANT your specific blood type,
as they feel that the blood you have within you is the "most tasty".
Even if a mosquito finds a large group of people, they'll use their heightened senses
to "see" which blood is the most appealing to them, and then go right for the person.
An important note, mosquitoes at max are about 1 inch in length, and often times much less,
so to sense a person 100 feet way with such accuracy is truly impressive.
And again, very creepy.
So, when a mosquito comes your way, do the humane things, and swat them dead!
6.
Camouflage While not a sense per se, it most definitely
has to be an interesting sensation when an animal blends into its surrounding environment.
I mean think about it.
The animal goes from their basic skin color to something that is an entirely different
shade in order to avoid all of its predators.
That's not something that just any creature can do, you know?
What's interesting though is that camouflage is something that many animals can do in varying
cases.
The most obvious one is the chameleon, which is what the camouflage ability is named after
to an extent, as well as most associated with.
However, there are insects and other animals that can do it too.
Some are even born with the camouflage on their skin so that they can blend into things
like trees, leaves, and certain flowers.
And you almost have to wonder, what does it feel like to blend into nature like that?
You know that humanity is curious about it because we have created our own kind of camo
when it comes to things like camou wear that hunters use, or the Gilly Suit that is used
by special forces to blend in.
Could you imagine being able to do that on a whim?
That would be something cool for sure.
3.
Super Smell Smell is a very interesting sense.
Because when you come home and you can smell a home-cooked meal, you're in heaven.
But, when you're on the road, and you, or someone else, has run over a skunk?
Not so much.
But as good as our noses are, we have nothing compared to the dogs of our world.
As a species, dogs have infinitely better noses than we do, but only one is used as
the quintessential "tracker" dog, and that's the bloodhound.
These canines have some of the best noses in the business, literally!
And once they get onto a scent, it's very, VERY hard to get them off of it.
If you don't believe me, believe the Mythbusters, they did two whole episodes trying to figure
out ways to trick the blood hound, and only had very small success based solely on the
training of the dog and not the power of its nose.
So yeah, it's very hard to beat.
The reason for this is that the Bloodhound (and other dog species) have hundreds or sometimes
thousands of more nose receptors than humans.
That's a lot of power in the nose, and that allows them to not just find a scent, but
be able to track where it came from with ease.
So to put that in context of a human, that'd be like being able to smell a home-cooked
dinner...from a few doors down the street.
Makes me glad our noses aren't that refined just yet.
2.
Super Taste Dipping into the REALLY weird, the Catfish
may be a great catch in terms of fisherman, but it also has one of the weirdest super
senses in the world.
Mainly, in its sense of taste.
What do I mean by that?
Well, just the mouth, a human has about 10,000 taste receptors.
But the Catfish doesn't just have these in the mouth, they actually have them...all over
its body.
Apparently, up to 250,000 taste receptors are all over the Catfish.
Do you know what this means?
It's a living tongue that tastes just about everything that touches it.
Bet you never want to pet a Catfish now, huh?
What possible use for this super sense is there?
Simple, because the Catfish can "taste" the ocean, it can sense where everything is, especially
its prey.
Those antennae that it has on its face are one of the main areas that has its "body taste
receptors", and so when it "tastes" something, it'll go and send the signals to the brain
and guide it to where the Catfish has to go.
This is another sense that I'm glad humans don't have, because the last thing I need
is my feet tasting my shoes, the ground, the carpet, and so on.
The catfish can have this special sense!
1.
Electric Connection When it comes to bees, there are many different
"senses" that they have that define their entire lives.
Like how they can use dance moves to communicate (which I know some people would love to do),
and how they use their bodies to carry pollen and the like.
But their most unique sense that humans don't have has to do with electricity.
Mainly, the charge that they build up when they're flying.
Have you ever wondered why a bee can find a flower that sometimes is very far away from
the hive?
It's because of their senses, including one that has them conducting a positive charge
as they fly through the air.
The flowers that they pollinate and get nectar from continue a negative charge via their
mere existence.
And, as the song goes, "Opposites Attract".
So, as they fly through the air, they sense the negative charge that the flowers are giving
off, and thus go to them and do their business.
But, they don't stop there.
Once they're done getting what they need, they change the charge of the flower so that
it's positive.
This serves as a signal to its hive that this flower, and this area depending on the swarm
size, has been pollinated, and thus they can move on to a new area.
It's truly fascinating how well this works, and as we all know, it's not their senses
that are getting bees killed, it's actually what's keeping them alive.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think about these special or enhanced senses of these animals?
Which one do you think is the coolest?
Which one do you think is the most disgusting?
Do you know another super sense that animals sometimes have that humans don't?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!