Over the course of billions of years, evolution has produced creatures perfectly adapted to their particular environment. These include abilities which we humans would label as superpowers if we ourselves possessed them.
These abilities do indeed exist in the animal kingdom and many of them we regard as completely natural.
From echolocation, through chemical attacks, to the capability to absorb the knowledge and skills of others, animals are the perfect organisms, capable of dealing with just about anything, even with the influence of man at times.
Learn below about the representatives of the animal kingdom that have superpowers.
1. Echolocation
In the superhero world, Daredevil lost his sight as a child but gained the ability to sense using sound waves. It's a skill that enabled him to keep track of where objects and people were. Though the masked superhero is fiction, this ability is one bats possess in real life. The flying mammals issue very high frequency sound and listen to the echo that rebounds from the objects around them. The time delay between the moment the sound is issued and the moment they hear it allows bats to build a mental picture of their surrounding environment.
2. Magnetoreception
Some animals, such as birds for example, possess the ability to sense magnetic fields. They use this skill to navigate and orient themselves. Dutch pigeons can find their way home regardless of weather conditions and visibility, simply by following the Earth's magnetic field. Often though, when there are magnets en route, they get confused and lost.
3. Mimicry
The mimic octopus can change its color, behavior, form and structure in order to imitate a wide spectrum of other animal species. In the superhero world, only Mystique from the X-men comics can boast of similar powers. Scientists studying this species of octopus have so far discovered that it can take on the form of 13 other species, including coral reef snakes, jellyfish and sea anemones to fool predators.
4. Absorption of others' powers
The feathers of the hooded pitohui contain toxic substances, making it one of only a handful of poisonous birds in the world. This provides it a surefire defense against predators. The birds are not born with these toxins present though. They obtain them by eating Choresine beetles, absorbing their toxins to gain their toxic abilities themselves.
5. Chemical weapons
Bombardier beetles have a unique defense mechanism. They produce explosive oxygen gas to protect themselves from predators such as ants. When provoked, they can spray predators with a deadly dose of chemicals to kill them.
