The 5 Hardest Working Animals
We are not referring to those species that have been domesticated by man for agricultural tasks, but to the most hard-working animals in the wild. Get to know them through this article.
What hard-working animals are there?
They can work non-stop for days, lift heavy weights, walk for miles, or even build their own houses with all the comforts. These are the hardest working animals that exist:
1. Beaver
These semi-aquatic rodents originating in North America and Eurasia – but introduced in other latitudes, such as South America for example – are one of the main examples of work in the animal kingdom.
Beavers –the photo that opens this article– have the ability to build dams in streams and rivers in order to enjoy comfortable burrows for their large family. For this they use branches and trunks that they cut themselves using their sharp teeth.
The dikes that are formed by the stagnation of the waters allow to control floods or the passage of pollutants. This does not happen in the lands where they have been introduced, since their customs have negative consequences for the environment.
2. Ant
Ants are a clear example of teamwork and sacrificing for their family. These insects – related to wasps and bees – not only create their own houses out of everything they come across, but also work hard to keep them in good condition and away from predators.
Their working hours are so long that they hardly rest: the workers spend a large part of their lives awake, feeding the larvae, repairing the anthill, looking for food and defending the entrance of strangers.
3. Earthworm
It plays a very important role in ecology, since it is responsible for eating organic waste and transforming it into fertile soil full of many nutrients. For that they must spend hours and hours digging tunnels in the earth and eating as much as possible.
They can eat 90% of their weight per day, of which they excrete up to 60%. And the most curious of all … is that they have no teeth! They use a very efficient digestive system that includes a sucking mouth and a large intestine.
4. Wrasses
A whole family of colorful fish with more than 500 species and a more than tiring task: cleaning the parasites accumulated in the coral reefs. But that is not all, since sometimes they continue their work removing remains of the fins, mouths and tails of other marine animals.
Without a doubt, wrasses are one of the hardest working animals on the planet, since they hardly ever stop. Their mouths are like vacuum cleaners that clean everything they touch. .. They are friends of all the fish and they get paid for their homework at the moment!
5. Pergolero
This bird – in this case the male – could not be missing from the list of the most hard-working animals, because its work is truly worthy of admiration. To attract his mate, he builds a very special nest with leaves, branches and sticks that he looks for in the surroundings.
You can spend hours choosing the objects that you will place in your new home and if for some reason during your absence one of the elements moves from place – for example due to the wind – put it back where it was.
The collection and placement of objects does not follow a certain pattern, and no two nests are alike. When mating time comes, female Pergolero inspect the jobs and choose the nest that they like best and is of the best quality. Bad designers can be left without a partner!
