Snuggle Up to This Plush Tardigrade

We’re willing to bet you’ve never been in bed with a moss piglet. Now, you can be, thanks to a Japanese company that created an anatomically correct, plush tardigrade.

The tardigrade, alternately known as the water bear and moss piglet, is one of nature’s most extreme creations. There are more than 1000 known tardigrade species, all of them tiny and tough. Tardigrades can survive scalding temperatures and biting cold. They can go without food or water for years, and can even survive on their own in the vacuum of space. They’re basically superheroes.

The plush tardigrade available in the online Village/Vanguard shop plays up this fact while sticking to the science, with the help of a consultation with moss piglet expert Kazuharu Arakawa of Keio University. The version available in the shop was modeled on an extra-resilient species called Ramazzottius varieornatus and is fairly accurate, barring the fact that the 12-inch plush is 1000 times larger than a real tardigrade.

Stuffed animals not your thing? You could show your allegiance with a tardigrade t-shirt or a 3-D printed desk model.