These animals have the biggest, weirdest cheek pouches
Cheek pouches are the go-to accessory for animals that need to carry food on the run.
With seasonal travel gearing up, we’re a bit jealous of animals that have cheek pouches, aka built-in luggage.
We’ve been wondering which animals have cheek pouches, and how do they work?
Cheek pouches are expandable pockets inside the mouth that start at the cheek and can extend across the shoulders, as they do in hamsters, or down the sides of the neck, as they do in monkeys. Most animals use their cheek pouches like grocery bags: If a predator shows up, they can escape with both their life and their lunch.
Australia’s platypuses carry a surprising load in their pouches. Platypuses feed on worms, snails, and shellfish on the river bottom, scooping them into their cheek pouches along with some gravel.
The gravel
