Types of senses (Animal Edition)

Human beings have five senses: smell, vision, hearing, taste and touch and we feel very grateful for all these senses which lead us to live a comforting life. Now, in the case of the animal kingdom, there are different species of animals and with each species comes different senses. Some animals are blessed with eight senses whereas some have only two. 

Some of the senses generally found in animals are:

  • Vision: Human beings can see using three types of colour detecting receptors called cone cells. All these cone cells distinguish a different type of colour and all these get combined to result in a final image. But when talking about the animals, many of them have the best in the number of cone cells, a tiny creature called humble shrimp has over 15 cone cells, which is almost like, whatever colours we see around us, that shrimp can see three times those colours.
  • Ultraviolet: As we know human beings can detect only the visible light spectrum but this rule does not apply to the animal kingdom. For example, bees can process ultraviolet rays to lock their target flower and ensure that its pollen stands out. Another interesting creature in this category is the reindeer who can change its perception of light depending on the season.
  • Infrared: It is also a ray in the light spectrum that cannot be seen by the naked eyes of human beings but infrared equipment is often used by humans to see in the dark. Now some animals do not need any kind of instruments but have the inbuilt sense of processing infrared such as snakes.
  • Night-vision: You must have heard about night vision cameras used to capture the nightlife which otherwise cannot be captured by human eyes. Now some animals can do this without using any kind of camera. These animals have special adaptation for the night light and thus their eyes shine in the dark such as leopards and lions.
  • Sound: Some animals can perceive the sound of greater or of small ranges than what is perceived by an ordinary human. For example, Bats and dolphins can communicate in ultrasound, along with this whales are known for communicating in infrasound.
  • Smell: It is no secret that animals have an intense sense of smell as compared to mankind. Sniffer dogs can detect drugs as well as cancers whereas rats can pinpoint the origin of a specific scent. Bears are known to detect smell up to a distance of 20 miles.
  • Touch: Humans have several touch receptors in their skin similarly animals also have them. In human beings, maximum touch receptors are located on their lips and fingertips whereas, in animals, major touch receptors are present on their nose too. For example, A star-nosed mole has six times the sensory receptors on their nose as compared to humans.
  • Taste: Taste is used to distinguish between edible and non-edible food especially poisons. But how to distinguish between them before causing serious harm to yourself. Now, catfish have taste receptors all over their skin so that they can decide the taste of the food without consuming it. Chickens are known to have the least tastebuds in the animal kingdom.
  • Electricity: This sense is absent in human beings but is found in a lot of animals. Electric eels are well known for their high voltages. In fact, many sea creatures can sense electricity such as sharks and some lesser prey fish.
  • Temperature: This sense is also highly developed in some animals also as they can sense temperature from distance. For example, pythons are heat-seekers and can experience the slightest change in temperature around them.
  • Echolocation: This sense is used by different animals such as bats, toothed whales, a specific family of dolphin and some shrews to navigate their surroundings. They utilise the high-frequency sound pulses emitted by them and then detect the echos around them.
  • Magnetic Sense: As we know that the Earth has a magnetic field around it. Now some animals possess the magnetic sense which helps them orienting into different directions and is also used to travel long distances. Animals such as sharks, bees, rays, migratory birds, sea turtles, pigeon, salmon and tuna all them have magnetic senses.

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