Random Animals Can Survive Being Eaten Alive (11 items)

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  (#11) Mussel

  Mussels, as their name might suggest, are incredibly strong when it comes to survival. This is a lucky quality for them, because they are a favorite prey of many species (including humans), particularly sea anemones. If a shell or hinge to their shell is damaged, an anemone can eat a mussel, digesting it right out of its shell. However, if a mussel gets nabbed by a crafty, sticky anemone arm, and is still completely intact, it undergoes a different story. Researchers found that mussels can be eaten, pass through the anemone completely unharmed, and emerge from the creature without any harm to the animal inside. This happens because mussel shells seal completely and are strong enough to survive digestive efforts of anemone.

  Mealworms with intact exoskeletons can also survive being lunched on by an anemone, but are pretty much not prey to these creatures, given their watery habitat.
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  (#6) Sea star

  • Asteroidea

  Though impressive that lizards will regrow a tail if it gets cut off, the starfish takes it one step further. These ocean-dwelling creatures mastered the remarkable process of regeneration. If a turtle approaches a sea star and takes a huge bite, the starfish would have few ways to defend itself or escape. But these animals developed an evolutionary trait that makes the need to flee moot. Even if many limbs get bitten off, or the starfish is bitten in half, it will still manage to regrow itself. Remarkably enough, many cases exist of a sea star regenerating itself even if only one arm remains. This process is possible because the starfish keeps most of its vital organs in its arms, rather than in the center of its body.

  So, even if most of its body becomes dinner, the sea star will just keep on going. The only catch: it just might take a year.
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  (#2) Nematode

  • Nematoda

  Several parasites can survive being eaten, but these creatures primarily live in the gut in the first place so they hardly count for this list. However, the nematode is a little different.

  These little worms live in a variety of environments, including salt water, fresh water, and even soil. In addition to natural environments, the nematode can also survive inside the bodies of animals. They survive off of bacteria in the guts of slugs and other creatures, and even stomach acid can fail to kill them. Though generally not eaten on purpose, they can be ingested out of water and soil that is consumed.

  Unfortunately, this creature can also kill animals that eat it, and does so with surprising regularity. In humans, they cause diseases, and in some animals, they destroy them from the inside out. Hundreds of thousands of human deaths have been linked to these little invaders. 
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  (#8) Black Turban Snail

  • Tegula funebralis

  Some aquatic snails made the godly decision to never die, even when consumed by birds. Scientists tested the snail's resilience by selecting four species and feeding them to mallard ducks. While three of the four species died, one made it through the digestive caverns of the mallard. The Hydrobia ulvae passed right through the digestive tract, a five-hour journey, and came through the other side intact and alive.

  This might be possible not just because the snail itself is hardy, but also because birds push food through their body quickly in order to get energy as fast as possible. This lower digestive efficiency means snails can hitch a ride and be transported all over by these birds, safely waiting in their gut. Once out of the duck, they still grow as fully functional animals.
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  (#5) Flatworm

  • Platyhelminthes

  Flatworms live on the edge. From bizarre mating habits involving penis sword fights to living as parasites on certain species, they are amazing and vaguely creepy animals. However, they can survive being eaten in two ways.

  Some species of flatworms actually prefer to be eaten, often by animals like raccoons and dogs, where they reproduce in the intestine and then feed off the host's body. On the other hand, with ocean-living flatworms, getting eaten as prey makes for a daily possibility. Luckily, the flatworm sees it as a minor inconvenience. These creatures can actually reproduce by growing another flatworm entirely from a severed piece. Even if another animal bites off a flatworm's head, it can simply regrow the entire head and keep on swimming. In some rather freaky instances, flatworms can grow two heads on the same body, in place of a head, and each head controls half of the body.
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  (#3) Sea cucumber

  • Holothuroidea

  Sea cucumbers are curious creatures in the first place. Squishy all over, they often get eaten by animals and people as delicacies. It is fortunate, then, that sea cucumbers are one of the best regenerators in the known world. Though they heal wounds the same way most other organisms do on a molecular level, sea cucumbers can direct their healing process towards regenerating entire organs. But it doesn't stop there. If you were to take a sea cucumber, and cut it into several pieces, each piece would actually be able to regrow a whole new sea cucumber! In this way, a sea cucumber acts as a tasty treat for other sea creatures without actually losing its life.

  As you might guess, this led to scientists heavily researching how they regenerate to see if humans might one day utilize this ability in modern medicine.

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