We all know the emerging threats of extinction that species all over the globe face from climate change - some scientists are even calling our time the "sixth extinction," which refers to the possibility that we are currently experiencing the sixth mass extinction of earth's history. Yet some species have what it takes to thrive in changing climate conditions.
One of these is the Dromedary Camel, whose extraordinary physiology allows it to go for weeks or even months without drinking (watch the video, the description is fascinating!), a characteristic that will surely come in handy as food and water supplies become scarcer in growing droughts. The Merriam's Kangaroo Rat, although not actually related to kangaroos at all and currently threatened in some places, are also extremely efficient with their water intake - meaning, they don't ever even drink it! These animals get all the water they need from the seeds they eat and their metabolism is so effective at reabsorbing water from the seeds that even their waste doesn't have any water. Desert scavenger ants also have some pretty cool tricks up their (disproportionately long) arms to deal with extreme heat conditions...watch the video. Really. It's cool.
On the other extreme, in a scenario in which the climate cools to horribly cold temperatures, the Antarctic toothfish would be just fine because of the glycoprotein "antifreeze" that it uses to dispose of ice crystals that form on its tissues.
Watch this video to learn about the fabulously cool five animals that win Most Likely To Survive Climate Change. (There's one called the Immortal Jellyfish that ages backwards!)
