Wildfire is one of the biggest threats that the animal kingdom is afraid of. But over the decades, the animals have felt the threat, and their ways of escaping it are simply magnificent too. Let's check out the animals that are not afraid of fire.
Echidnas
The spiny mammal, echidnas, survives bushfires by digging straight down into the soil.
Tardigrades
Often called the water bears, tardigrades also have their own natural way of coping with fire. When exposed to extreme heat, they enter a suspended state called cryptobiosis, losing almost all body moisture.
Cockroaches
Though they can't survive fire directly, cockroaches are skilled in escaping fire by hiding themselves in deep cracks or underground spaces.
Scorpions
By hiding under rocks or burying underground, they can easily avoid surface heat. Studies also suggest that their slow metabolism can help them endure the post-fire environment.
Beetles
Black fire beetles can detect heat from a very long distance with their infrared sensors. They also prefer recently burned trees to lay eggs, as it's easier for larvae to consume.
Wood frogs
Just like they can survive freezing temperatures, wood frogs can also survive fire. When fire cracks, they burrow themselves into moist soil or hide under leaf litter.
Salamanders
Salamanders, the amphibians, rely on moist refuges such as underground burrows, stream banks, or rotting logs. Since their skin must stay damp, they gravitate toward fire-resistant microhabitats.
Burrowing Owls
These owls avoid flames by retreating into underground burrows that are dug by other animals.
Pompeii Worm
Though they don't live near wildlife. Their heat tolerance is proof that evolution can produce animals capable of enduring conditions similar to thermal stress.
Black-faced spoonbills
Birds usually flee when in fire. But certain wading birds feed along the burn edges where insects and small animals are exposed, and spoonbills are one among them.
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