{"id":18491,"date":"2022-07-12T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T06:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=63999"},"modified":"2022-07-12T11:26:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T09:26:14","slug":"record-breakers-of-the-natural-world","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/record-breakers-of-the-natural-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Record breakers of the natural world"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Sarah McPherson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Did you hear about the hummingbird that has a beak longer than its body? Or the koala that can sleep up 22 hours of the day asleep? We\u2019ve rounded up some of our favourite record-breaking species below:<\/p>\n

Record breaking animals<\/h2>\n

What is the oldest known wild bird?<\/h3>\n
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Two Laysan albatrosses courting on Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. \u00a9 Enrique Aguirre Aves\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This is widely thought to be the rather remarkable Laysan albatross known as Wisdom, who lives on the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. She was first tagged in 1956, and is thought to have turned 70 in 2021 (she could be even older). Albatrosses lay just one egg per successful mating season; Wisdom is thought to have laid as many as 36 in her lifetime.<\/p>\n

What is the furthest flying British bat?<\/h3>\n
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Nathusius\u2019 pipistrelle (<\/em>Pipistrellus nathusii), hunting at night, Netherlands. \u00a9 Alamy<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This accolade goes to a female Nathusius\u2019 pipistrelle, which recently flew a whopping 2,018km from London to the Russian village of Molgino, setting a new British record. It\u2019s one of the longest known bat travels globally, and the furthest known from Britain across Europe. The pip weighed just 8g, and despite her Herculean effort, fell prey to a cat.<\/p>\n

Which animal sleeps the most?<\/h3>\n
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A koala sleeping in a tree in Australia. \u00a9 Steven Duncan\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The koala. This Australian marsupial famously eats a balanced diet of eucalyptus leaves, eucalyptus leaves and more eucalyptus leaves. As the plant is low in nutrition and high in toxins and fibrous matter, it takes a lot of energy to digest. So, koalas spend most of the day \u2013 18-22 hours \u2013 in the land of nod. Eat, sleep, repeat. Sloths<\/a> are also notoriously sleepy, typically sleeping 20 hours a day \u2013 and like the koala, they feed on tree leaves (albeit, a more varied leaf diet than the koala) with very little calories.<\/p>\n

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A female brown-throated three-toed sloth with her baby, in Costa Rica. \u00a9 Ken Canning\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

What is the hairiest animal?<\/h3>\n
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A sea otter with its pup. \u00a9 Arthur Morris\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Hero of the hirsute is the sea otter, whose luxurious fur, according to a 2010 study, comprises a phenomenal 100- 160,000 hairs per square centimetre (an adult probably sports more than a billion hairs in total). Sea otters lack insulating blubber, so dense water-repellent fur is an important asset in the chilly waters of the North Pacific.<\/p>

Which mammal has the most names?<\/h3>\n
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Mountain lion (also known as a cougar, puma, and more) on a tree stump in Montana, USA. \u00a9 John Conrad\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

That\u2019ll be the puma<\/a>, said to have more than 40 English names. You\u2019ve probably heard it referred to as the mountain lion, cougar and panther; less familiar are its monikers of catamount, painter and mountain screamer. This repertoire of titles is likely a reflection of the puma\u2019s vast distribution \u2013 it\u2019s found from northern Canada to southern Chile.<\/p>\n

Which bird has the largest beak?<\/h3>\n
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Toco toucan perched on a branch in Brazil. \u00a9 Kevin Schafer\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Relative to body size, it\u2019s the toco toucan, whose gaudy beak accounts for up to a third of its body surface area. When it comes to the longest beak relative to body size, though, that honour goes to the sword-billed hummingbird<\/a>. This bird\u2019s beak, which can reach lengths of about 12cm, is longer than its body, allowing it to access nectar from the longest, thinnest blooms that other hummingbird beaks can\u2019t reach.<\/p>\n

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A sword-billed hummingbird at Yanacocha Reserve in Ecuador. \u00a9 Daniel A. Leifheit\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

What is the fastest shark?<\/h3>\n
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A mako shark off the West Coast of Auckland, New Zealand.\u00a0\u00a9 Richard Robinson\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

That would be the shortfin mako, capable of reaching speeds of more than 70km per hour. Known as the peregrine of the sea, its predilection for swift swimming is a result of its torpedo-shaped body and powerful tail, which propels it through the water. Its skin is also covered in scales, known as denticles, that reduce drag. Adults have no known natural predators, which is just as well, as they\u2019d outswim them anyway.<\/p>\n

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