Bizarre Nature: Animals that Eat Weird

We personally know a person or two that we think eats in a weird manner. No, not sloppy, but strange. But, no matter how odd that person eats his/her food, he/she got nothing on these animals.

Yes, animals don't eat the way humans do, so we should not judge them. But, the way the animals on this list consume their foods is truly bizarre, even for animal standards.

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Shrike Spike Kabob

Northern Shrikes might have one of the most deceptive looks in the animal kingdom.

Native to the northern parts of the US and southern Canada, these sweet looking tiny birds are notorious for their horrific eating habits.

The northern shrikes are actually predatory birds that dine on small rodents, insects, and even other birds. But, unlike other flying raptors, the shrikes do not have sharp talons to dig into their prey and rip them apart.

To compensate for their lack of razor talons, they have extremely sharp beaks to pierce through their potential meals, killing them. But, what's more, gruesome is that the horror does not end there. When they have leftovers, they impale the remains unto sharp branches, thorns, or barbed wires.

The impaled leftovers are not just for future meals, but they also serve as territorial marks or attract mates.

Nature sure has some sick ways of showing how one tiny bird compensates for its size.

Handy Bird Chef

When cooking a perfect omelet, the most crucial part is the cracking of the eggs. To ensure that the eggs are perfectly opened, humans use tools and gadgets to crack them open.

But, it turns out that it's not just humans who do that.

No, not monkeys. Aside from the apes, there's also another animal that uses tools to open up its foods. Egyptian vultures use tools like sticks and rocks to crack open their foods. They bash ostrich eggs or animal remains using their tools like a hammer to expose the tasty snack hiding inside.

The Egyptian vulture developed this method since they are the smallest vultures, and they need an ace to feed on the wild without worrying about their giant cousins.

Small birds are scary.

Aquatic Spitballing

Since the dawn of time, the earliest humans have been using projectiles for hunting down potential food. The discovery of projectile weapons has advanced the species and helped us secure our space on the food chain's top.

The same method is now used by aquatic animals to shoot down aerial prey. Flying won't save an insect when it is caught on the crosshairs of the Archerfish.

Archerfishes use their ability to shoot down the projectile spit, resembling spitballing, with high accuracy. Once hit, the preys come barreling down the water surface, and there they turn into fresh fish food.

Drinking Tears

Movie buffs or anyone with a flair for the dramatics are familiar with the line "drinking the tears of your enemy." Well, it turns out some insects actually do!

Some bees and butterflies are known to drink the tears of other animals. No, they are not necessarily their enemies, but they still drink tears!

They don't just drink tears; they are also drawn to sweat, blood, and other bodily fluids.

Scientists believe that these insects are actually drawn not to the tears but the salt in them. Many critters, including butterflies, can't get enough sodium, and they will grab all the opportunity they can to take a sip of that delicious salty liquid.

You might start rethinking how magnificent it looks when butterflies are landing and naturally staying on your body. It's not that they don't like you; they just like the salt you excrete more.

Sucking the Bloods of their Youngs

Like all ant species, Dracula ant colonies can reach up to tens if not hundreds of thousands in population. And, with the common ant social hierarchy, workers are sent out to the open to gather food for the entire colony.

But, what makes Dracula ants especially terrifying is that they don't just get sustenance from the food they gathered; they also suck out the blood of their larvae. In another twist that makes these ants scarier, larvae don't die during the entire process. They can act as sustainable food sources for adult workers, especially when food supplies are down.a

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