David Butvill

Recent articles by David Butvill

Bar-tailed Godwit taking flight off North Beach, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, Florida. This rare bird that is usually only spotted on the west coast of the US.

"To survive it consumes a large portion of its internal organs, including its kidneys, liver, gizzard and intestine"

Sea cucumber

"If harassed, it may violently eject its intestine and stomach out of its anus. But if the attack escalates, it finally explodes…"

The harmless looking sea cucumber is more deadly than it looks and has an array of tools and weapons to ward off predators

"Its rear end's equipped with 2 tufts of bristles, each shaped like a grappling hook." The butt that's armed with menacing weapons ready to fire

With its unique, Velcro-like bristles that cling to predators, the tiny Porcupine-Velcro Millipede (Polyxenus fasciculatus) is a master of self-defence in the insect world.

The Namib Desert beetle (genus Stenocara) lives in one of the most arid areas with only 40mm of rain per year, and has developed a unique technique to survive by obtaining water from early morning fog, which is also known as fog basking. It drinks the fog by the means of collecting it on its own bumpy back surface, which provides for accumulation of water droplets. The image is not manipulated.

It can survive without water in one of the driest, deadliest places on Earth, where just 1cm of rain falls a year. Meet the ultimate survivor