Snails Can Survive Being Digested

You probably know that snails often fall prey to hungry birds, but you might not know that the slithering

insect

mollusk crawling across your driveway might have already been eaten by a bird—and survived.

New research shows that around 15% of snails make it through the bird's digestive system alive. One snail in the study even made it through the bird's waste just before giving birth to a few baby snails.

Interestingly, scientists have speculated that the process may even benefit the snails by helping the

insect

mollusk relocate to a new area with more food and less competition for resources.

[Image courtesy of jwinfred's Flickr stream.]