This has been wigging me out since I read about it a few days ago, so maybe if I write about it, it won’t seem so strange. Scientists have just discovered that some snails can survive being eaten by birds. In other words, the birds eat them, and then when they come out in the bird’s poop, they just crawl on their merry way.
As a matter of fact, it’s beneficial when a snail is eaten because during his time in the bird’s digestive system, the bird will most likely fly much greater distances than the snail would ever be able to crawl, so it helps them to migrate. One snail immediately gave birth as soon as she was pooped out, so if a pregnant snail can survive being eaten, it must be no problem for them at all.
This research was done at Tohoku University in Japan and published in the Journal of Biogeography. You can read more about the specifics at Live Science and Daily Mail. As a tribute to these seemingly bionic little creatures, I decided to share some snail photography with you. These photographs were taken by Suren Manvelyan. They actually look kinda cute in these amazing pictures.
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