We expect certain things from our neighbors in the animal kingdom. We expect raccoons to get into our trash, deer to run out in front of us while we are driving down the highway and coyotes to howl like they are having the party of their lives in the wee hours of the morning. Those are all considered pretty normal animal behaviors, but some animals are not exactly what we would consider normal and their behavior can be pretty outrageous – at least by human standards.

1. Mayfly

The mighty Mississippi River is home to a lot of different kinds of animal life, but the most numerous may be the humble mayfly. When the water warms sufficiently, a staggering number of mayflies emerge from the water to carry out their purpose in life, which is to mate and die. That sounds like pretty typical bug behavior, but the mayfly is more pressed for time than most since it only lives for a day! The number of mayflies that emerge from a single hatching can reach around 18 trillion! Considering that, we can be thankful they only live for a day.