Got a question about the weird and wild animal world? Tweet me or leave me a note or photo in the comments below. A silverback gorilla can lift up to 1,800 pounds, has a bite force of 1,300 PSI, and can punch with a force of up to 2,700 pounds. (See “ Rare ‘Smiling’ Bird Photographed in Colombia.”)Įmily has made appliances to straighten the crooked beaks of birds, as well as prosthetics to repair broken beaks so they can function properly. That’s all in a day’s work for Emily, who will even do dentistry on animals with no teeth.īirds, for example, use their beaks for feeding and numerous other functions, and may have problems if a beak doesn’t fit together quite normally (think a human overbite). It’s not easy: A normal dental drill won’t work on hippos’ large, round, ever-growing incisors, which means you “have to cut the nerve out with a scalpel.” Koko the Gorilla who lived in captivity was capable of speaking a subset of sign language. These beasts are also highly intelligent. To give you an idea of what that looks like, they can lift up to 1,800 pounds and effectively throw with nearly 990 pounds of force. (You can see a wolf eel’s upper jaw in this photo.)Įmily hasn’t worked on a wolf eel, but “I’ve done root canals on hippos,” he said. On average, a gorilla is anywhere between 4 to 9 times the strength of a man. Both types are ideal for crushing crabs and other crustaceans. The wolf eel, for example, “has a whole row of teeth right in the roof of his mouth,” called palatal teeth, in addition to long canines. “They are made the same-with enamel, dentine, and a ligament to support them inside the jawbone”-but the shape and size can vary wildly, he said. (Also see “ The Real Story of ‘The Incredible Dr. In his four decades of animal dentistry, Emily has seen some of the world’s weirdest choppers. When an animal loses a tusk, “all the soft tissue inside of it will have disappeared, and then it appears as if the tooth has always been hollow.” Reiter, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, said via email. Gorillas are mainly plant-eaters - the only non-carnivore on this list - yet have an incredibly strong bite force of 1300 PSI. The Grizzly Bear comes in close second with a bite force of about 1160 PSI. Polar Bears have the strongest bite force of all bears, with a bite force of 1200 PSI. (Also see “ Elephants Use Their Trunks to Ace Intelligence Tests.”)Ī part of the tooth called the apex, which is located in the jawbone, “allows plenty of space for the pulp that lets the tooth grow,” Alexander M. Spotted Hyenas have a fearsome bite force of 1100 PSI. Tusks may “look like canines that have become long,” but they’re actually the elephant’s incisors-the narrow teeth at the front of the mouth, Emily said.Īnd, like our own teeth, a tusk has a hollow chamber containing blood, nerve, and pulp tissue that keep the tooth nourished and strong. Unauthorized use is prohibited.Ĭontinuing the tooth trend, reader Danny Huynh wondered, “Why are elephant tusks hollow?”
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