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- Galapagos giant
tortoise
LIFE EXPECTANCY: Over 100 years
NATURAL PREDATOR: Hawks eat their eggs
and young
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Galapagos Islands
The world’s largest tortoise species is huge,
weighing more than 230kg and measuring
more than 1.5m in length. Due to his slow
metabolism, he can go without food and
water for about one year. Carrying such a
heavy shell is hard work and this tortoise
easily sleeps 16 hours a day.
- Red sea urchin
LIFE EXPECTANCY: Over 100 years
NATURAL PREDATOR: Large fish, crabs,
eels, humans, sea otters, birds
PLACE OF ORIGIN: North Eastern
Pacific Ocean
The red sea urchin feeds on algae and
seaweed from rocks and it makes sense
then that his mouth is at the bottom of his
body. He has five teeth and his body is
covered with hard spines. Specimens of
200 years old have been found.
- Bowhead whale
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 200 years
NATURAL PREDATOR: Killer whales
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Arctic and sub-Arctic waters
The bowhead whale is at home in freezing water, as
he has a 50cm ‘blanket’ of blubber to protect him from
the cold. Weighing up to 100 tonnes, it is no wonder
that only packs of killer whales has a chance to kill a
bowhead whale.
- Clam
LIFE EXPECTANCY: Over 500 years
NATURAL PREDATOR: Snails, eels, fish and starfish
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Oceans all over the world
There are over 15,000 species of clams in the world, of
which only 150 species can be consumed by humans.
They live in the sand, upside
down, and they eat algae
and small organisms
that they filter out
of the water.
- Immortal jellyfish
LIFE EXPECTANCY: Immortal
NATURAL PREDATOR: Various types of fish, sea turtles and other jellyfish
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Mediterranean Sea
In all reality these jellyfish can die, but when they get old, they can
develop new cell types in an intricate process. In this way, they reproduce
themselves. They eat a variety of other small organisms in the water, and
even other jellyfish.
An apex predator is
at the top of the food
chain and has no
natural enemies.
