Animal Qualities
Unfold the giant eyes.
Animals grouped here express a similar quality through their behavior in nature. Each species still has its own principle, lesson, meaning, and field-guide page.
26 species
Species principle: Eyespot Warning
Unfold the giant eyes.
A single bold signal can interrupt danger long enough to live.
Polyphemus Moths have large eyespots on the hindwings that are revealed when wings open, startling or distracting predators.
Species principle: Spiked Expansion
Raise the spines.
Make the warning too large and too sharp to ignore.
Porcupinefish inflate their bodies when threatened, raising spines and increasing size to deter predators and reduce the chance of being swallowed.
Species principle: Red Aposematism
Warn in red.
A clear color can say no before danger comes close.
Red-backed Poison Frogs use bright warning coloration associated with skin toxins, signaling to predators that they are dangerous or unpleasant to eat.
Species principle: Pause
Make them pause.
A visible warning can make the world slow down around you.
Red-kneed Tarantulas are terrestrial spiders with striking red-orange knee markings and defensive behaviors such as threat postures and flicking irritating hairs when threatened.
Species principle: Small Alarm
Bark the warning.
A small body can carry a sound large enough to change the forest.
Reeves's Muntjacs are small deer known for loud bark-like alarm calls used when disturbed or threatened in dense cover.
Species principle: Marsh Alarm
Sound the marsh.
A strong warning protects more than the one who gives it.
Southern Screamers are large wetland birds with extremely loud calls and watchful behavior in marshes and open wetlands.
Species principle: Assertion
Leap the warning.
A body can speak before danger has to touch it.
Springboks perform high stiff-legged leaps called pronking or stotting, often associated with alarm, display, social signaling, or showing vigor in open grasslands.
Species principle: Warning
Show the stripe.
A clear signal can end trouble before strength is tested.
Zorillas, also called striped polecats, use bold black-and-white warning coloration and powerful anal scent glands to deter predators before direct conflict is needed.
