Top 5 best fasting animals on Earth: Some species can live well even after 30 years without food

Just like humans, animals need to eat to be able to move and grow. However, there are some animals that can live healthy without food for a long time, even up to 30 years. Let's find out which animals they are.

1. Royal python: 6 months    

The Royal Python or Ball Python (scientific name Python regius) is a species of python that lives in Africa. The name "Royal Python" comes from the fact that Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII often carried this python on her wrist. Royal Pythons are quite picky eaters and can go without food for months at a time, especially in the winter, when they are breeding.

Royal pythons have a very slow metabolism so they can store enough energy for 6 months without food. (Photo: NatGeo)

Royal pythons have a very slow metabolism so they can store enough energy to go for about 6 months without food. The reason royal pythons are so good at fasting is because they are cold-blooded animals (ectotherms) so they do not need to eat frequently, and do not need energy to maintain body temperature like warm-blooded animals (homeotherms). Moreover, they also need many days to digest food.

2. Scorpio: 1 year

Scorpions are eight-legged invertebrates belonging to the class Arachnida (arachnids). Scorpions are one of the most resilient creatures in the world. They can survive for up to a year without food.

After many years of evolution, scorpions can live without eating for a year. (Photo: NatGeo)

According to scientists, the evolution over millions of years has given scorpions the ability to slow down their metabolism. Scorpions can consume 1/3 of their body weight in just one meal. Therefore, scorpions can live without eating for a long time.

3. Crocodile: 3 years

Crocodiles are members of the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified as the subfamily Crocodylinae). Crocodiles are known as swamp killers because of their flexible and intelligent hunting methods. With such a fearsome ability, the crocodile's prey ratio must be very high, but crocodiles are one of the species that can survive for a long time without eating or drinking anything.

If fed a full meal, a crocodile can go without food for 3 years and still be healthy. (Photo: NatGeo)

Even if they are given a full meal, crocodiles can completely fast for 3 years without changing their health. Scientists have given the answer to this phenomenon: crocodiles have a mode called hibernation. This summer sleep phenomenon is similar to hibernation but the difference is that this process helps them conserve energy to survive during periods of food scarcity.

4. Omaha: 10 years

The olm (Proteus anguinus) is the only cave-dwelling vertebrate found in Europe in the genus Proteus. It lives in underwater caves in the Balkans and Italy. It can live for decades without eating or drinking.

The olm can live up to ten years without eating or drinking. (Photo: NatGeo)

A team of scientists at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary studied the lifestyle and habits of this species. They discovered that the olms are able to fast so well because they have a very low metabolic activity. Their food is mainly snails and crustaceans. However, there are not many of these species in the cave, so the olms absorb nutrients from their own tissues to provide extra energy for their bodies.

5. Water bear: 30 years

Water bears are the common name of the phylum Tardigrada, which are small, aquatic, microscopic animals with eight legs. They were first described by the priest Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. The name Tardigrada was given three years later by the Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani.

The tardigrade's magical ability is to be able to go without food for decades. (Photo: NatGeo)

Only one millimeter long, the tiny body of the tardigrade hides many superpowers that help them endure harsh conditions such as being able to live without food for 30 years. According to scientists, when tardigrades begin to metabolize, they will slow this process down to 0.01% of normal. This magical ability has helped them move without food for decades.

*Articles are compiled from Grunge, AZAnimals, NatGeo.