Body armor made of fat. Why do penguins hit rocks painlessly, but polar bears are not afraid of bullets? (5 photos)

Advocates of proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle say that fat is bad, fat is harmful to health. But the body-positive example of penguins, polar bears and walruses proves the exact opposite! These guys can crash into rocks as hard as they can, hit ice floes or run into the fangs of predators without harming their body. And all thanks to fat!





In general, fat protects not only birds, clubfoot and pinnipeds. Even our organs are covered with a thin layer of fat. It acts as an airbag during shocks - it absorbs the entire force of the impact, leaving the insides safe and sound.



The secret of fat is that there are no nerve endings there. This is an organic body armor given to some animals at birth. The thicker it is, the stronger your protection. So, for penguins such an airbag reaches 3 centimeters, for polar bears - 10 centimeters, for walruses - 15!





Therefore, all of the above animals can be something that is even painful to look at. Penguins - crash into rock cliffs and ice floes in full flight, trying to climb ashore. Bears are not afraid of hunters' bullets, and walruses are not afraid of bears. The polar clubfoot cannot physically reach the vital organs of the pinniped - its fangs are 3 times smaller than the armor-piercing fat layer.



If you are embarrassed about your weight, don’t worry: a polar bear’s subcutaneous fat mass can exceed 100 kg.

Surely you have noticed a general pattern: all owners of fatty body armor live at the poles. This is not surprising: adipose tissue protects from everything - from falls and from cold. It simply prevents heat from leaving the body and cold from penetrating inside it.



What conclusion can we draw from the article? The winter is coming. This means bone-crushing frosts and slippery roads too. So draw your conclusions.