Harmless Caterpillar Mimics Menacing Snake Head to Fool Predators
Meet the Dynastor darius darius, a harmless caterpillar with astounding survival skills. In order to avoid being attacked by predators during its pupal stage (when the larvae transform into butterflies or moths), the helpless creature takes on the form of a rather menacing snake! Native to Trinidad, the shape-shifting D. darius often mimics the head of a […]
Colorado Lake Becomes Giant Fish Bowl after Dumped Goldfish Multiply by the Thousands
Releasing pet fish into a lake might sound like a kind thing to do, but in fact, it is quite the opposite. Teller Lake in Boulder, Colorado, is making headlines for a bizarre surge in its goldfish population, after someone apparently dumped three or four of them in its waters a couple of years ago. […]
8-Year-Old Girl Feeds Neighborhood Crows, They Thank Her with Gifts
8-year-old Gabi Mann, from Seattle, has some very unusual friends who shower her with gifts almost every day. Ever since she started feeding her neighborhood crows, they began returning the favor and bringing back all kinds of trinkets. Gabi’s unique relationship with the neighborhood crows began in 2011, when at age four, she was prone to […]
Fascinating Amazonian Bird Mimics Toxic Caterpillar to Fend Off Predators
While most young birds rely on their parents for protection, the chicks of the Amazonian Cinereous Mourner have their own survival tactic. In order to avoid being eaten by predators, they actually mimic poisonous caterpillars! On hatching, the chicks are covered with bright orange, spiky feathers that make them look like massive caterpillars that use […]
Fascinating Viper Uses Its Realistic Spider-Shaped Tail to Lure Prey
As if snakes weren’t scary enough on their own, some apparently have spiders for tails to raise the horror factor to infinity . The aptly named ‘spider-tailed viper’ has a bizarre arachnid-shaped appendage that it uses to attract unsuspecting prey. According to science writer Ed Yong, the fearsome snake was formally described only nine years ago, […]
Amazing Alaskan Wood Frog Freezes Solid in Winter and Comes Alive in Spring
There are several creatures that possess a certain tolerance to subzero temperatures, but none as amazing as the Alaskan Wood Frog. This tiny amphibian can survive being almost completely frozen during winter, only to miraculously come back to life as soon as spring arrives! For days, even weeks weeks at a time during its period of winter […]
Scientists Use Calvin Klein Perfume to Attract Jaguars
While camera traps have been used in ecological research for decades, luring animals towards these traps requires constant innovation. And you’ll never believe what they’re now using to attract wild jaguars – Calvin Klein Obsession for Men! According to Miguel Ordeñana, a biologist with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and an expert on […]
The Double Tree of Casorzo – A Tree Growing on Top of Another Tree
Located between the towns of Grana and Casorzo in Piemonte, Italy, is a very unique tree – well, they’re actually two trees, one growing on top of the other. Locally known as ‘Bialbero de Casorzo’ or the ‘double tree of Casorzo’, this natural oddity consists of a cherry tree growing on top of a mulberry […]
Artist Specializes in Sculpting Nature with a Chainsaw
Mark Tyoe is a talented chainsaw artist and the co-owner of Wintergreen Knoll Chainsaw sculptures in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. He runs the business along with his wife Linda; together, they sell Mark’s unique chainsaw carvings that he’s been making since the 1990’s. Mark is really good at transforming a solid block […]
Tiny Fish Can Pick Up 300 Times Its Own Body Weight
The northern clingfish is a species of salt-water fish that truly lives up to its name. The remarkably strong fish has such high suction powers that it can pick up and hold on to stuff that’s almost 300 times its own body weight. It can easily outperform all sorts of man-made suction cups. Scientists are […]
Brown Moor Frogs Turn Blue During Mating Season
The moor frog certainly cannot turn into a prince with true love’s kiss. But this seemingly uninteresting amphibian is capable of something quite spectacular – it changes color from a boring brown to an azure blue, just to be able to distinguish between genders during mating season. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures are really quite […]
Nature’s Wonders – Amazonian Butterflies Drinking Turtle Tears
Deep in the western Amazon rainforest, live butterflies that drink turtle tears. That sounds like a line straight out of a fantasy novel, but it’s one hundred percent real life! It’s an unusual sight – swarms of butterflies flocking at the eyes of yellow-spotted river turtles, trying to get a sip. The poor turtles keep […]
This Collection of Bat-Eating Spiders Is Probably the Scariest Thing You’ll See Today
It’s hard to imagine a fragile spider killing and eating a full-grown bat. I mean there’s no way a tiny spider could have any sort of muscle power over a fully grown bat, right? Believe or not, there are eight-legged bugs out there that can pounce on bats and eventually devour them. And when they […]
Hemeroplanes Triptolemus – The Creepy Snake That’s Actually a Harmless Caterpillar
Looking at a photo of Hemeroplanes triptolemus, nine out of ten people would swear it’s a snake. But look closer, and you’ll realize there’s something peculiar about it – the body is unusually short and ends abruptly with a large reptilian head. The truth is, it’s not a snake at all. The Hemeroplanes is actually […]
Recycling Tokyo Crows Build Their Nests Out of Coat Hangers
Crows are known to be highly intelligent birds, and it looks like they can now teach us a thing or two about recycling and stealing. The Asian Jungle Crow, a large-billed crow, actually builds its nest out of coat hangers that it steals from people’s homes! Crows make use of pretty much anything they find […]