Water bears, also known as moss piglets, are remarkable micro-animals, with eight legs and a whole load of survival nous. These water-borne marvels, a plump half millimetre in adulthood, can thrive in the least hospitable environments imaginable, including mountaintops, volcanoes, deep waters, and the space! A pioneer species which inhabits and develops previously unexplored areas, they can even survive starvation, dehydration and radiation.