survival of the strangest
Six creatures that would survive a nuclear apocalypse – and the animal 300 TIMES more resilient than humans
If nuclear war was to ever break out, the beasties would ensure the world doesn't become a lifeless wasteland.
IF a global nuclear war was to ever break out, humans would be in a lot of trouble.
Unfortunately for us, our tolerance to radiation is nowhere near the level required to survive a nuclear blast and the majority of us would perish in the initial Armageddon of fire and fury.
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And even if you did manage to get to a bunker, or hide away underground and avoid the barrage, with almost every living thing on the planet either dead or severely affected by radiation, the human race would eventually fizzle out.
But it's not entirely bad, as long as you are a cockroach, predatory arachnid or micro bacteria.
While humans and mammals would be toast in a nuclear apocalypse, there are plenty of Earth's creatures that could still survive.
Wasps
The parasitic braconidae wasp is the toughest animal currently living on earth.
Able to survive 300 times more radiation than humans, there is no doubt they would survive nuclear war.
They are incredibly smart insects, having been trained in the past to sniff out drugs and chemical weapons like a tiny, flying police dog.
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Fruit flies
These flying insects would add to the air traffic along with tiny wasps, leaving the earth's post-war atmosphere buzzing with life.
Fruit flies can tolerate 100 times more radiation than humans, and with a life cycle of just 30 days, they don't need much to sustain them.
Shame there won't be any fruit around for them to eat.
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Cockroaches
Hailed as one of the most resilient animals on the planet, the thought of a world overrun by cockroaches is enough to make you almost thankful that we won't be around to see it.
The insects can survive radiation levels up to 15 times higher than humans, meaning they are more than likely to withstand the after effects of a nuclear bomb blast.
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Cockroaches were discovered around the site of the Hiroshima blast, and seemed to be thriving in the area even though there were no other living things left alive.
They can survive for up to a month without food, giving them the strongest chance of survival in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland.
Unless, of course, armies start dropping bombs filled with industrial strength bug spray.
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Small Fish
The mummichog is a small fish found in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of the USA and Canada.
They known for their ability to thrive in environments which feature extreme temperatures or noxious chemicals.
In 1973, they became the first fish sent into space, hatching almost 50 eggs in the zero-gravity environment.
It is likely that the toxic oceans of a nuclear-polluted world would not be an issue for them.
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Scorpions
While it hasn't been proven, scientists believe that scorpions could, in fact, survive nuclear war.
Their incredibly high tolerance for UV radiation suggests that they may also have a similar tolerance to nuclear radiation.
Even if war created a nuclear winter, the scorpion can be reanimated even after being entirely frozen.
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E. coli
Escherichia coli, the bacteria living inside our intestines, is six times more resilient to radiation than their human hosts.
For the remaining microorganisms that aren't obliterated along with their humans, they would survive long after their hosts had succumbed to the effects of radiation poisoning.
So look on the bright side: even after you die in the nuclear chaos, a tiny piece of your intestinal makeup will live on.
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