Which animal can sleep for 3 years without eating or drinking anything?

The animal known for its ability to enter a deep dormant state, called estivation, for up to three years without food or water is the snail, particularly desert snail species, which seal themselves in their shells to wait out extreme drought and heat by drastically slowing their metabolism. Another contender is the African lungfish, which can survive 3 to 5 years in suspended animation (aestivation) without food or water until water returns.

What animal can sleep 3 years without eating?

The animal famous for its ability to "sleep" (estivate or hibernate) for extended periods, potentially up to three years without eating, is the snail, surviving extreme conditions like drought or heat by sealing itself in its shell. Another notable mention is the African lungfish, which can enter a suspended animation (aestivation) for three to five years without food or water, burrowing in mud until rain returns.
 

Which animal will sleep for 3 years?

The animal famous for its ability to sleep for exceptionally long periods, sometimes up to three years, is the snail, particularly during harsh conditions like extreme heat or drought, entering a state called estivation or hibernation to survive until favorable conditions return. They seal themselves in their shells with mucus, conserving energy and moisture for extended dormancy.
 

Which animal can live for 3 years without a drink?

Jerboa (3 years)

The jerboa is native to Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Asia. They are highly adapted to desert conditions.

What animal can go 3 years without food?

Tardigrades are able to last months or even years without food or water due to their ability to suspend their metabolism in a state called cryptobiosis. During this time, they're almost in a deathlike state, where the water content of their bodies drops to below 1% and metabolism is at 0.01% of normal function.

How Long Animals Can Go Without Food

What animal is a silent killer?

A "silent killer" animal can refer to predators known for stealth like the leopard, owl, or tiger, which stalk prey unnoticed, or to creatures that deliver potent toxins without warning, such as the stonefish, boomslang, or slow loris, with the mosquito being the deadliest overall due to disease transmission.
 

What animal can live the longest without food or water?

Sand clams can go almost a century without food or water due to essentially pickling themselves in brine and going dormant until water leaks into their shells and dilutes the salt content of their preservation fluids enough so that they can metabolize again, a process which makes their fluids saltier again so they ...

What animal has only 100 left?

The Amur leopard is one of the rarest big cats in the world, with only around 100 individuals left in the wild.

Do snakes drink water?

Yes, snakes do drink water, getting it from rain, mist, or standing water, but they don't lap it like other animals; instead, they use unique mouth structures—folds of skin that act like a sponge or a straw with capillary action to draw water in, then contract their jaws to push it down. While they get some hydration from their prey, drinking is essential, especially in arid regions.
 

Can a snail sleep for 3 years?

Yes, certain land snails can "sleep" or enter a deep dormancy for up to three years, a survival tactic called estivation (hot/dry) or hibernation (cold) to wait out harsh conditions like drought or extreme temperatures. They seal themselves inside their shells with a mucus barrier, slowing their metabolism until conditions improve, allowing them to survive for extended periods without food or water, essentially "napping" until it's safe to emerge.
 

What animal sleeps 90% of its life?

Koalas are thickset arboreal marsupials with a thick grey fur. Found only living in Australia, they mainly live in the eucalyptus trees and spend around 22 hours of their time sleeping (90%).

What animal can sleep with its eyes open?

Animals like dolphins, sharks, crocodiles, birds (e.g., ducks), horses, snakes, frogs, and even some mammals like guinea pigs and bats sleep with open eyes, often using a strategy called unihemispheric sleep (one brain half rests while the other stays awake) for vigilance or because they lack eyelids. This allows them to stay alert for predators or keep swimming to breathe. 

What can sleep for three years?

But anywhere in the world where conditions can become harsh through heat, the snails there can sleep up to three years. That's because when it gets too hot there might not be enough food or water for them which can lead to dehydration.

Which animal doesn't sleep in life?

ALPINE SWIFT

Alpine swifts are one of the most extreme examples when asking what animal never sleeps. These airborne endurance champions spend up to 200 days in flight without landing. Instead of traditional sleep, they rely on micro-sleeps while gliding. This allows them to rest without stopping.

What animal can go a long time without eating?

You'll see how creatures like snakes, crocodiles, penguins, camels, sharks, bears, and crows stack up against a human — added as a reference point — when it comes to surviving without food. Some of these animals have developed fascinating adaptations that allow them to go weeks, months, or even longer without eating!

Which animal can sleep for 17 years?

The adults then die off, with their bodies providing a brief bounty to assorted scavengers. Once eggs hatch, cicada nymphs drop to the ground and burrow beneath the surface, where they latch onto tree roots and feed unseen until again emerging in 17 years.

What do snakes fear most?

Snakes hate strong, overpowering smells that disrupt their sensitive sense of smell, like cinnamon oil, clove oil, vinegar, ammonia, garlic, onion, and peppermint, which they use for hunting, making them feel disoriented and unsafe. They also dislike the scent of predators (coyote, fox), the smell of humans, and harsh, bitter odors, along with extreme cold temperatures that impair their movement. 

Can a sea snake bite you?

Yes, sea snakes do bite, but they are generally not aggressive and usually only bite in self-defense when threatened, harassed (like getting caught in nets), or startled, often delivering painless bites, though many are highly venomous, with bites often "dry" (no venom) or causing severe envenomation requiring urgent medical care.
 

Which animal doesn't drink water?

Animals like the Kangaroo Rat, Jerboa, Thorny Devil, and Koala don't need to drink water because they get all their necessary moisture from their food (seeds, leaves, insects) or absorb it from the environment, thanks to highly efficient bodies that conserve water. The Kangaroo Rat is famous for surviving its entire life without ever drinking, deriving water from seeds and producing highly concentrated urine.
 

Which animal has never been killed?

The so-called 'immortal' jellyfish, or Turritopsis dohrnii, can somehow reprogramme the identity of its own cells, returning it to an earlier stage of life. ADVERTISEMENT.

What animal has only two left in the world in 2025?

The Northern White rhino is on the brink of extinction. In the chart, you can see the collapse of this beautiful animal's population as a result of poaching, habitat loss, and conflict. Now, only two individuals are left — Najin and her daughter, Fatu.

How long will humans have left?

No one knows exactly how long humans will last, with predictions ranging from a few centuries due to self-inflicted risks like climate change, nuclear war, and AI, to millions or even billions of years if we spread to space and overcome threats, with some statistical models suggesting extinction within 8 million years or even as soon as 760 years, but optimistic views point to Earth's habitability for another billion years if we manage our challenges. 

What is the toughest animal in the world?

The toughest animal in the world is widely considered to be the Tardigrade, or "water bear," a microscopic creature famous for surviving extreme conditions like the vacuum of space, intense radiation, extreme temperatures (from near absolute zero to boiling), immense pressure, and severe dehydration by entering a dormant state called cryptobiosis. While other animals like elephants and gorillas are physically stronger in terms of raw power, tardigrades possess unparalleled resilience against environmental threats, making them the ultimate survivors.
 

What is the oldest living thing on Earth?

The oldest individual living things are often debated but include individual Great Basin Bristlecone Pines, like Methuselah (around 4,850+ years old), the oldest non-clonal tree, and glass sponges, which can live over 10,000 years. For clonal organisms, Pando (a quaking aspen colony) or King's Holly (a shrub) might be tens of thousands of years old, forming one giant organism from many stems, making them technically the longest-lived.
 

Which animal can stop breathing for 6 days?

A scorpion can hold its breath for up to 6 days, can survive a whole year without food, can climb almost any surface and it glows under ultraviolet light.