Bears have possibly the best sense of smell of any land animal - they can detect a dead animal from 20 miles away and smell food buried under snow. A bloodhound’s nose is legendary in tracking, but a bear’s is about 7 times better!
Elephants can smell water from up to 12 miles away and use their sense of smell to detect danger, find food, and even identify family members. They have about 2,000 olfactory receptor genes (humans have only ~400).
Sharks can detect a single drop of blood in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Some species can smell prey from hundreds of meters away and follow scent trails through ocean currents.
Moths (especially male silkmoths) can detect a female’s pheromones from 7 miles away - sensing just a few molecules in the air. It’s like smelling a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in an entire swimming pool!
Kiwi birds are the only birds with nostrils at the tip of their beak, allowing them to sniff out earthworms and insects underground without even seeing them.
Is there a specific animal’s sense of smell you’re curious about? 👃
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