13 Amazing Reasons Why Tardigrades Are Super Animals

BinaryQuill Updated: 2025-07-11

10. In extremely cold environments, tardigrades reduce their water level from 85 percent to 3 percent. This is one of the main survival strategies of this amazing creature, as the water expands when frozen. If they didn’t dehydrate themselves in cold conditions, the water in their body would expand and tear them apart.

11. Still unimpressed? Let’s blast them with radiation! Scientists have discovered that the lethal dose of gamma rays for tardigrades is 5000 Gy, and the lethal dose of heavy ions is 6200 Gy. For us humans, 5-10 Gy is more than enough.

12. Tardigrades can survive in the most unfavorable environment — space. In a 2007 experiment, tardigrades were sent into space dehydrated and exposed to solar radiation for ten days. They were returned to Earth and got a nice hot bath. Half an hour later, the tardigrades were as lively as they were before, and they could produce healthy offspring in the future.

13. Although they are incredibly resilient creatures, tardigrades are completely harmless to humans. You have probably eaten them many times as they love to live in water and can end up on lettuce or vegetables. But don’t worry, they are no match for our stomach juice.