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© iStock
0 / 32 Fotos
Zombie deer
- Chronic wasting disease (CWD), also known as 'zombie deer disease,' is a neurological disease that can affect deer, moose, and elk.
© iStock
1 / 32 Fotos
Zombie deer - Infected animals look like zombies. They lose weight, display abnormal behavior, and their bodily functions eventually shut down and death occurs.
© iStock
2 / 32 Fotos
Zombie deer - CWD is similar to BSE (mad cow disease), and but there have been no recorded cases of human infection so far.
© iStock
3 / 32 Fotos
Wasp and caterpillar - A wasp called Glyptapanteles lays eggs in the body of a caterpillar.
© iStock
4 / 32 Fotos
Wasp and caterpillar - The larvae will then feed on the caterpillar's body fluids until they enter the pupal stage and start forming cocoons.
© iStock
5 / 32 Fotos
Wasp and caterpillar - A few larvae stay inside the caterpillar, that then acts like a sort of zombie bodyguard to the cocoons until the wasps hatch. It's possible that the larvae that stay behind do so to control their host's behavior.
© iStock
6 / 32 Fotos
Voodoo zombie powder - A Harvard ethnobotanist who investigated Haitian zombies found out that "zombie powder," was being used by voodoo priests in the '80s to turn people into zombies.
© iStock
7 / 32 Fotos
Voodoo zombie powder - It turned out that this powder contained a toxin found in puffer fish. This toxin can lead to paralysis while consciousness is not lost.
© iStock
8 / 32 Fotos
Jewel wasps and cockroaches - Wasps seem to have zombie superpowers. The jewel wasp, for instance, can turn cockroaches into zombies.
© iStock
9 / 32 Fotos
Jewel wasps and cockroaches - The wasp stings the roach in the brain. The venom allows for the wasp to cut off the roach's antennae and lead it into a burrow. The wasp then proceeds to seal the burrow.
© iStock
10 / 32 Fotos
Jewel wasps and cockroaches - The wasp then lays an egg on the cockroach. The larva digs a hole and enters the roach's body and eats it from the inside out.
© iStock
11 / 32 Fotos
Zombie ants - A fungus called Ophiocordyceps can infect carpenter ants.
© iStock
12 / 32 Fotos
Zombie ants - The fungus causes the ants' jaws to become atrophied, so when they bite a leaf they get locked and remain there until they die.
© iStock
13 / 32 Fotos
Zombie ants - The zombie fungus then grows from the ant's head and spores fall onto the floor, where it infects more ants.
© iStock
14 / 32 Fotos
Necrosis - The stereotypical image of zombies decomposing is not that far from the truth in humans, if we consider something like necrosis.
© iStock
15 / 32 Fotos
Necrosis - This is essentially when cells die prematurely. Instead of only getting rid of dead cells, the body also "attacks" healthy living cells. Luckily necrosis is mostly localized (e.g. following an injury).
© iStock
16 / 32 Fotos
Necrosis - Necrotizing fasciitis, on the other hand, is a serious disease caused by flesh-eating bacteria. But don't panic about decomposing while being alive—this condition is actually quite rare.
© iStock
17 / 32 Fotos
African trypanosomiasis - African trypanosomiasis, also known as 'sleeping sickness,' is spread by the tsetse fly.
© iStock
18 / 32 Fotos
African trypanosomiasis - Mostly found in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, symptoms include extreme tiredness, insomnia, and slurred speech, among others.
© iStock
19 / 32 Fotos
African trypanosomiasis - Infected people pretty much turn into zombies before they eventually fall into a coma and die.
© iStock
20 / 32 Fotos
Pregnant crab zombies - A barnacle called Loxothylacus panopaei is responsible for turning small crabs into zombies. They make the crabs infertile and take over their reproductive system.
© iStock
21 / 32 Fotos
Pregnant crab zombies - Rhithropanopeus harrisii (also known as dwarf crabs and white-fingered mud crabs) carry the parasite's larvae as if they were their own.
© iStock
22 / 32 Fotos
Mind-controlled grasshoppers - Grasshoppers and crickets can get infected by an aquatic parasite called Nematomorph hairworm.
© iStock
23 / 32 Fotos
Mind-controlled grasshoppers - But grasshoppers and crickets are not aquatic animals and the hairworms need to swim and find a mate when they mature. So they try to get their hosts into water.
© iStock
24 / 32 Fotos
Mind-controlled grasshoppers
- They do this by producing proteins that affect the grasshopper's central nervous system and their response to water, basically brainwashing them to jump into water!
© iStock
25 / 32 Fotos
Sexy zombie frogs - Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a deadly fungus which has been responsible for the extinction of many amphibian species.
© iStock
26 / 32 Fotos
Sexy zombie frogs - But nature adapts, and some species have developed a tolerance to the fungus and don't actually die from it.
© iStock
27 / 32 Fotos
Sexy zombie frogs - The fungus turns Japanese tree frogs into irresistible heartthrobs. Infected frogs make a different mating call from their healthy rivals. The sound they make is actually more attractive to females!
© iStock
28 / 32 Fotos
Zombie amber snail - The amber snail can get infected by a parasite called Leucochloridium paradoxum. They do so by eating the parasite's eggs found in bird's excrement.
© iStock
29 / 32 Fotos
Zombie amber snail - As the parasite grows, it enlarges the snail's tentacles, giving them vivid colors.
© iStock
30 / 32 Fotos
Zombie amber snail
- The colors attract birds, so they'll eat the snails. The parasite lays eggs inside the bird, the bird poops, and the cycle begins all over again. See also: Bugshots: insects as you've never seen them before!
© iStock
31 / 32 Fotos
© iStock
0 / 32 Fotos
Zombie deer
- Chronic wasting disease (CWD), also known as 'zombie deer disease,' is a neurological disease that can affect deer, moose, and elk.
© iStock
1 / 32 Fotos
Zombie deer - Infected animals look like zombies. They lose weight, display abnormal behavior, and their bodily functions eventually shut down and death occurs.
© iStock
2 / 32 Fotos
Zombie deer - CWD is similar to BSE (mad cow disease), and but there have been no recorded cases of human infection so far.
© iStock
3 / 32 Fotos
Wasp and caterpillar - A wasp called Glyptapanteles lays eggs in the body of a caterpillar.
© iStock
4 / 32 Fotos
Wasp and caterpillar - The larvae will then feed on the caterpillar's body fluids until they enter the pupal stage and start forming cocoons.
© iStock
5 / 32 Fotos
Wasp and caterpillar - A few larvae stay inside the caterpillar, that then acts like a sort of zombie bodyguard to the cocoons until the wasps hatch. It's possible that the larvae that stay behind do so to control their host's behavior.
© iStock
6 / 32 Fotos
Voodoo zombie powder - A Harvard ethnobotanist who investigated Haitian zombies found out that "zombie powder," was being used by voodoo priests in the '80s to turn people into zombies.
© iStock
7 / 32 Fotos
Voodoo zombie powder - It turned out that this powder contained a toxin found in puffer fish. This toxin can lead to paralysis while consciousness is not lost.
© iStock
8 / 32 Fotos
Jewel wasps and cockroaches - Wasps seem to have zombie superpowers. The jewel wasp, for instance, can turn cockroaches into zombies.
© iStock
9 / 32 Fotos
Jewel wasps and cockroaches - The wasp stings the roach in the brain. The venom allows for the wasp to cut off the roach's antennae and lead it into a burrow. The wasp then proceeds to seal the burrow.
© iStock
10 / 32 Fotos
Jewel wasps and cockroaches - The wasp then lays an egg on the cockroach. The larva digs a hole and enters the roach's body and eats it from the inside out.
© iStock
11 / 32 Fotos
Zombie ants - A fungus called Ophiocordyceps can infect carpenter ants.
© iStock
12 / 32 Fotos
Zombie ants - The fungus causes the ants' jaws to become atrophied, so when they bite a leaf they get locked and remain there until they die.
© iStock
13 / 32 Fotos
Zombie ants - The zombie fungus then grows from the ant's head and spores fall onto the floor, where it infects more ants.
© iStock
14 / 32 Fotos
Necrosis - The stereotypical image of zombies decomposing is not that far from the truth in humans, if we consider something like necrosis.
© iStock
15 / 32 Fotos
Necrosis - This is essentially when cells die prematurely. Instead of only getting rid of dead cells, the body also "attacks" healthy living cells. Luckily necrosis is mostly localized (e.g. following an injury).
© iStock
16 / 32 Fotos
Necrosis - Necrotizing fasciitis, on the other hand, is a serious disease caused by flesh-eating bacteria. But don't panic about decomposing while being alive—this condition is actually quite rare.
© iStock
17 / 32 Fotos
African trypanosomiasis - African trypanosomiasis, also known as 'sleeping sickness,' is spread by the tsetse fly.
© iStock
18 / 32 Fotos
African trypanosomiasis - Mostly found in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, symptoms include extreme tiredness, insomnia, and slurred speech, among others.
© iStock
19 / 32 Fotos
African trypanosomiasis - Infected people pretty much turn into zombies before they eventually fall into a coma and die.
© iStock
20 / 32 Fotos
Pregnant crab zombies - A barnacle called Loxothylacus panopaei is responsible for turning small crabs into zombies. They make the crabs infertile and take over their reproductive system.
© iStock
21 / 32 Fotos
Pregnant crab zombies - Rhithropanopeus harrisii (also known as dwarf crabs and white-fingered mud crabs) carry the parasite's larvae as if they were their own.
© iStock
22 / 32 Fotos
Mind-controlled grasshoppers - Grasshoppers and crickets can get infected by an aquatic parasite called Nematomorph hairworm.
© iStock
23 / 32 Fotos
Mind-controlled grasshoppers - But grasshoppers and crickets are not aquatic animals and the hairworms need to swim and find a mate when they mature. So they try to get their hosts into water.
© iStock
24 / 32 Fotos
Mind-controlled grasshoppers
- They do this by producing proteins that affect the grasshopper's central nervous system and their response to water, basically brainwashing them to jump into water!
© iStock
25 / 32 Fotos
Sexy zombie frogs - Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a deadly fungus which has been responsible for the extinction of many amphibian species.
© iStock
26 / 32 Fotos
Sexy zombie frogs - But nature adapts, and some species have developed a tolerance to the fungus and don't actually die from it.
© iStock
27 / 32 Fotos
Sexy zombie frogs - The fungus turns Japanese tree frogs into irresistible heartthrobs. Infected frogs make a different mating call from their healthy rivals. The sound they make is actually more attractive to females!
© iStock
28 / 32 Fotos
Zombie amber snail - The amber snail can get infected by a parasite called Leucochloridium paradoxum. They do so by eating the parasite's eggs found in bird's excrement.
© iStock
29 / 32 Fotos
Zombie amber snail - As the parasite grows, it enlarges the snail's tentacles, giving them vivid colors.
© iStock
30 / 32 Fotos
Zombie amber snail
- The colors attract birds, so they'll eat the snails. The parasite lays eggs inside the bird, the bird poops, and the cycle begins all over again. See also: Bugshots: insects as you've never seen them before!
© iStock
31 / 32 Fotos
Nature's real-life zombies you never knew existed
Could Bambi turn into a zombie?
© iStock
If you though zombies was just a thing out of horror movies, think again. Nature has proved time and again that it can surprise us. From brain-controlling worms to sexy zombie frogs, in this gallery you'll find some of nature's most amazing zombies.
Take a look.
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