By compiling nearly 500 field studies, researchers estimated there are about 20 quadrillion ants on the planet, around 2.5 million for every human. Their combined mass would exceed that of all wild birds and mammals put together. They aerate soil, spread seeds and recycle organic matter on a colossal scale.
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.