The jaws of a Venus flytrap carry sensitive trigger hairs. A single touch does nothing: it might just be a raindrop. Two touches within about 30 seconds and the trap snaps shut. After five stimulations, the plant starts producing digestive enzymes. In this way it matches its effort to evidence that real prey is struggling inside.
In 2022, a young tagged bar-tailed godwit flew from Alaska to Tasmania in about 11 days of nonstop flight, covering 13,560 km without eating, drinking or landing. Before departure, these birds pile on huge fat reserves and shrink their digestive organs, which are useless during the journey.
To escape rivals, a dung beetle rolls its ball of dung in a straight line. At night, it holds its course using the glowing band of the Milky Way. In a planetarium, researchers showed that beetles rolled straight under a starry sky but wandered aimlessly when the galaxy was switched off. It was the first animal known to navigate this way.