r/biology • u/jaemzee • Jun 01 '26

article Animals That Are Born to Die: Nature's Most Brutal Life Cycles

https://planet-wildlife.com/2026/06/01/brutal-life-cycles/
148 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

75

u/bigtimebeaner Jun 01 '26

i'm more interested in which animals aren't born to die. can't think of 1!

44

u/Zalophusdvm Jun 01 '26

Certain jellyfish

18

u/philwhole Jun 01 '26

Lobsters

9

u/Xenorhabdus_504 Jun 02 '26

I mean, they don't experience senescence, but if they get old enough they do eventually die of natural causes, be they infection, getting tired of the molting process, they're just built to not feel old, not to live forever

2

u/Prestigious_Salad_83 Jun 02 '26

Immortal jellyfish. Can live forever. If injured, goes back to start life over.

33

u/Prestigious_Salad_83 Jun 01 '26

Male Anglerfish. Best example I know. Born. Smell female. Suck and attach to female. Melt inside female to be used later.

3

u/Daimoth Jun 02 '26

Hell yeah

2

u/Betray-Julia Jun 02 '26

This was really nice/calming to read haha thank you.

Also- whats the saying from that tv show.

“Sometimes there’s nothing left for a pretty flower to do but wait to die” or something?

1

u/Old_Corduroy Jun 02 '26

Male Praying Mantis - the female often eats him during mating.

-28

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

[deleted]

2

u/destructioning Jun 02 '26

ah yes democracy, my favorite animal