15 Animals With the Best Sense of Smell

Have you ever wondered why some animals live longer than others? Of course, they may be intelligent, fast, and fierce. But one feature that truly sets them apart is their keen sense of smell. These animals’ special ability allows them to trace prey from far distances. It also helps them hide from predators and seek potential mates for procreation. While many animals can perceive different odors perfectly, these 15 stand out among them. 

Sharks

Of all the animals that live in water, sharks have the best sense of smell. There’s a belief that these aquatic animals can smell a drop of blood from miles away before locating the source. This is not surprising, because their olfactory bulb, the structure responsible for smell, occupies two-thirds of their brain. Sharks are deadly sea creatures that prey on animals and humans. Injured swimmers often race to the shore to prevent being attacked.

African Elephants

African elephants possess almost everything needed for survival, including strength, enormous size, and an exceptional sense of smell. With about 2000 olfactory genes, these animals can identify different scents in their surroundings. In research to test the ability of African elephants to smell explosives, the results showed that they missed only one out of 97. This suggests that the animals have the potential to save human lives if the need arises. They can also perceive the smell of food from several miles away. 

Bloodhounds

Dogs are generally good at sniffing the air to detect odors in their environment, but the bloodhounds are special. This breed has more than 300 million scent receptors, which is about 40 times more than those of humans. They can trap scent particles with their skin or use their loose ears to attract the particles from the air, bringing them close to their noses. Law enforcement agencies in some parts of the world use bloodhounds due to their exceptional scenting ability.

Turkey Vultures

Undoubtedly, the turkey vulture’s sense of smell is one of its adaptations for survival. They have an extremely large olfactory bulb in their brains, which influences how they sense the presence of food. Unlike black vultures, which kill live prey regularly, turkey vultures prefer to feed on dead animals. When flying, these birds can spot carrion from hundreds of feet away. One of the unique features that allows the turkey vultures to detect odor from the air is their wide nostrils, which have no middle wall separating them.

Bears

As with dogs, all the members of the bear family have an extraordinary sense of smell. But their olfactory ability is 7 times better than that of a bloodhound’s and 2,100 times better than that of humans. Black bears, brown bears, and grizzly bears can smell food from 20 miles away. However, the polar bear has more developed olfactory senses and can perceive odor from 40 miles away. Bears sometimes track down food in garbage cans from far distances. Without deterring them on time, they can become dangerous to people and pets. 

Snakes

Most snake species are good at perceiving odors, which complements their weak eyesight and poor hearing. But compared to many animals, these reptiles use their tongues to smell instead of their nostrils. To smell an object in its surroundings, a snake uses its fork-like tongue to collect scent particles. Then, it retracts the tongue into the roof of the mouth, where the particles touch an organ called the vomeronasal organ, or Jaconson’s. From there, the brain receives a signal, and the scent particles are interpreted. 

Rats

Homeowners who have had encounters with these rodents will agree that their olfactory ability is astounding. Rats can detect food items outside and trace them to your home. Due to their small size, these animals are prone to attacks from several predators. Plus, they don’t see well, especially in a well-lit environment. So, their sense of smell helps them notice threats and run quickly. As a result of this impressive ability, rats can be trained to detect landmines and certain diseases in humans.

Kiwis

Kiwis may not look like regular birds because of their loose feathers and their inability to fly. However, nature blessed them with a sharp olfactory ability that surpasses that of many birds. Despite being small, the kiwis’ olfactory bulb is extremely large, which enables them to locate food in unusual places. They can detect prey movement up to three centimeters below ground. Kiwis locate food by tapping the ground with their beaks and sniffing the soil. Once these birds find prey, they’ll push their beaks into the soil to pick it up. 

Horses

The survival of horses partly depends on their ability to perceive odor, which is why their nostrils are well developed. To avoid ingesting poison, they use their sense of smell to choose the food to eat. These animals also identify themselves by smelling their waste products and body odors. In the wild, horses use their olfactory abilities to sense the presence of predators, even before seeing or hearing them. Mares also use smell to choose foals among the herd during their breeding season. Studies have shown that horses can sense human emotions through scents. 

Catfish 

Apart from having a well-developed sense of taste, catfish are good at sniffing out everything around them. They have sensitive membranes in their nostrils that detect compounds in water bodies. Catfish with many folds in their membranes can smell better than those with fewer. While some species have between 10 and 18 folds, channel catfish have about 140 of them. When using bait to entice some catfish species, some scents can become too overwhelming for them. 

Wandering Albatross

Wandering albatross, also known as goonie or white-winged albatross, have the largest wingspans compared to any bird. Their main diets include cephalopods, seal carrion, crustacean fish, krill, jellyfish, and squid. While flying in the air, these birds can sense the presence of prey in the water from 20 miles away, using their large nasal passage and olfactory system. Their impressive nasal ability is important for survival because they mostly search for prey while flying across the ocean. 

Cows

Apart from being a natural source of milk and beef, cows have the ability to smell odors from 6 miles away. These animals have over 1,000 olfactory receptors that they use to locate food and water in their environment. Cows also use their olfactory ability to detect potential threats. There’s also a belief that a cow can detect stress in another cow just by smelling its urine. 

Opossums

Opossums have highly developed olfactory receptors that contribute to their survival. Since these rat-like animals cannot see properly during the day, they hunt mostly at night. While searching for food, they depend on their long snout to detect a wide range of foods, including fruits, insects, and meat. Opossums sometimes sneak into people’s yards to eat from their garbage bins. 

Pigs

People who rear pigs can easily tell that these animals spend most of their time sniffing their surroundings. Their olfactory abilities are spectacular, helping them look for food and find potential mates. Pigs can also detect things buried deep within the ground using their snouts. Studies show that they can be trained to effectively sniff out explosives from far distances.

American Eel

As with other animals that depend on their sense of smell to find food, the American eel has a powerful olfactory ability. They’re nocturnal animals, mostly looking for food at night. They mostly feed on crustaceans, fish carrion, and aquatic insects, but later progress to eating small fish, clams, worms, and frogs as they grow. American eels protect themselves from predators by staying in burrows during the day. 

15 Amazing Working Dog Breeds That Will Happily Help You With Anything

15 Amazing Working Dog Breeds That Will Happily Help You With Anything