7 Amazing Animals with Cool Abilities That Practically Make Them Superheroes

The natural world is full of some pretty incredible creatures. There are so many animals that are borderline superheroes that it’s impossible to name them all! From unbelievable swimming skills to insane amounts of venom, the animals that roam the Earth have some incredible abilities.

Here, we’ll be highlighting a few of the thousands of animal species with some superhero skills. These animals can change color, double in size, and carry hundreds of times their own weight. They live in spots all over the world and show up in a wide variety of different forms, but each of these unique animals is equipped with some epic abilities. Read on to discover some of the superheroes of the natural world!

1. Chameleons

While many of us are familiar with the chameleon‘s tricks, it’s clearly one of the most amazing things an animal can do. A chameleon can change the color of its skin in mere seconds! Interestingly enough, they don’t do this for camouflage capabilities. They change the color of their skin to relate to their moods! Their whole skin is like a mood ring, shifting based on their emotional needs. Different colors are used for mating and for defense, for example.

Additionally, the ability to change skin color allows the chameleon the capability to regulate their own temperature well. Some colors reflect light while others absorb it, so the chameleon can manipulate their coloration based on temperature needs. How impressive!

2. Electric Eels

Another animal with some superhero-like capabilities is the electric eel. As the name suggests, these eels are capable of carrying an electric punch. They have organs that allow them to deliver an electricity strike of between 600 and 800 Voltz — which is significantly stronger than a wall socket. It’s enough to take down a horse!

Interestingly enough, their electricity does more than defend them. Electric eels have very weak vision and swim around the bottom of dark waters. They use their electric signal to help guide them around the water! Who knew their superpowers were so versatile?!

3. False Coral Snake

There are a lot of snakes that could be in the running for this list. Many have incredible speed or incredible venom. But the false coral snake has a unique superpower: disguise. Named after its venomous relative, the false coral snake looks a lot like the coral snake but lacks venom. However, its appearance so closely resembles the coral snake that it hardly needs the venom! Coral snakes and false coral snakes both have the unique striping seen in the photograph above.

These snakes eat lizards, frogs, and other snakes, and while they don’t have the same defense mechanism as the coral snakes, they are protected due to their coloration. Coral snakes and false coral snakes live in some of the same environments, which helps to secure the false coral snake’s illusion! If a lizard or frog picks a fight with the wrong snake, they’ll get seriously hurt. That helps the false coral snake get its meal!

4. Porcupinefish

The porcupinefish, also known as the blowfish, is an incredible species of fish equipped with some stunning superpowers. These fish can inflate their size to an intense degree, growing to be three feet large! The advantage of the porcupinefish’s inflatability is that their predators have to have much larger mouths to consume them. Sharks eat these fish, but the defense mechanism built in is pretty effective.

Porcupinefish are relatives of pufferfish, but the two fish are not the same. They are slightly different in color and size, with porcupinefish being the larger of the two. They also exist in slightly different environments. Pufferfish enjoy a warm region, while porcupinefish would rather be in more temperate waters. They’re also in different families.

5. Kangaroos

While you’re likely familiar with the kangaroo, these animals have some abilities that are hard to beat. Kangaroos are capable of incredible leaps of almost 30 feet in a single bound! That means kangaroos can travel giant stretches of land fast, either in pursuit of prey or in the escape of a predator. Being able to jump almost three stories in one go is absolutely a superpower.

Not only can these kangaroos jump far, but they can keep it up. While some quick animals can only sprint short distances, kangaroos are able to travel nearly 30 miles per hour because of their powerful bodies. In addition to hardy hind legs, kangaroos can throw quite a punch. Kangaroos are known for boxing one another with punches that pack a serious… well… punch!

6. Dung Beetles

It’s easy to think animals with superpower abilities will all be giant and mighty, but the small but strong dung beetle had to make the list. These insects are one of the strongest animals on the Earth for their size. Dung beetles are capable of slinging dung that is over 200x their body weight. However, there have been some dung beetles measured moving dung that’s beyond 1,000x their body weight! To put it in perspective, that’s like a human picking up two eighteen-wheelers!

Dung beetles are really small. They are generally 10 millimeters in length and around half a pound in weight. However, big dung beetles can reach up to almost 7 inches in size! They exist in a few different groups that vary based on how they relate to dung. Some roll it, some tunnel it, and others dwell within it! These are truly fascinating animals.

7. Emperor Penguins

Finally, the last animal with incredible, superhero-like abilities on this list is the emperor penguin. These beautiful birds are absolutely epic swimmers. While they live primarily on land, they head into the freezing oceans for food. These penguins are capable of diving over 1,600 feet deep to find fish. That is some significant depth! Not only is it impressive that they can swim that deep, but it’s impressive that they can do it without freezing. The water at that depth is very, very cold.

Additionally, these amazing animals aren’t fish. So they have to hold their breath while they’re exploring underwater! The longest measured time a penguin spent underwater was 27 minutes. Generally, emperor penguins don’t go quite that deep for quite that long, but it’s incredible to know what they’re capable of.

Summary of 7 Amazing Animals with Superpower Abilities

These animals are all pretty amazing. From color-changing chameleons to dead-lifting dung beetles, these animals are capable of some astonishing feats. It’s hard to believe that real animals roaming the Earth and swimming the seas are equipped with such epic skills. Here’s a summary of the seven animals featured here (but there are loads more amazing animals out in the world!):

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Matt Jeppson/Shutterstock.com