Back to Powers

Animal Powers

Extraction

Send the ribbon.

Animals grouped here express a similar power through their behavior in nature. Each species still has its own principle, lesson, meaning, and field-guide page.

6 species

Bootlace Worm animal lesson image on AnimalDex

Bootlace Worm

Species principle: Soft Harpoon

Send the ribbon.

Softness can still be precise when it has a specialized tool.

Ribbon Worms can extend a proboscis, sometimes armed or sticky, to capture prey while living hidden in marine or moist habitats.

Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) thumbnail image on AnimalDex

Giant Anteater

Species principle: Extraction

Sweep the hidden swarm.

Strange tools become elegant when they reach what teeth cannot.

Giant Anteaters lack teeth and use long tubular snouts, powerful claws, and sticky tongues to feed rapidly on ants and termites from nests.

Northern Basket Star animal lesson image on AnimalDex

Northern Basket Star

Species principle: Night Basket

Unfold at night.

Timing makes a complex reach efficient.

Basket Stars unfurl highly branched arms at night to capture plankton and particles from currents, often from elevated perches.

Red Crossbill animal lesson image on AnimalDex

Red Crossbill

Species principle: Crossed-Bill Access

Fit the cone.

A strange fit becomes an advantage when the resource is specific.

Crossbills have crossed mandibles adapted for prying open conifer cones and extracting seeds.

Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) thumbnail image on AnimalDex

Sloth Bear

Species principle: Termite Extraction

Suck from the mound.

The hidden feast belongs to the one with the right way to draw it out.

Sloth Bears have long claws, mobile lips, and gaps in their front teeth that help them suck termites and ants from nests after breaking them open.

Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) thumbnail image on AnimalDex

Sun Bear

Species principle: Hidden Honey

Reach the honey.

Sweetness is found by the one willing to open the hard places.

Sun Bears use long tongues, strong claws, and powerful jaws to extract honey, insects, and fruit from trees, logs, and cavities in tropical forests.

Explore related indexes