Look Closer... Jarring Photos From Nature Captured More Than Expected
By | June 18, 2022
We often take the power of Mother Nature for granted even though its majesty is all around us. If you look closer you'll see that even your back garden can be full of mystery and unexpected phenomenon. Nature has the ability to give and take, whether it's happening on the ocean, in the sky, or in your garden.
These rare images show the reality of nature in a way that's never been seen. From the chilling power of the Antarctic to the destructive beauty of the ocean these photos will send chills down your spine even as you learn a thing or two.
Some of these photos may be too much to handle even for adults. However, everything you're about to see is untouched and real. It happens every day... are you ready to see for yourself?
This article originally appeared on our sister site: historydaily.org
It's not shocking to state that grizzly bears are some of the freakiest animals on the planet. No matter how cuddly they look - and they look incredibly cuddly - they're not to be snuggled upon any circumstances. It's not that they're mean or that they have a taste for human flesh, they just like to have their own space.
Bears are like people, they like to have their own space. Once something or someone gets into its space they either run away from whatever the problem is or they attack. Grizzly bears would rather run away from someone in their space than attack but there have been enough reports of grizzly bears mauling someone that should tell you if you see one that you need to get out of the way.
A baby elephant stuck in a manhole
This freak accident occurred in Thailand in 2009 when a baby elephant fell through the narrow manhole of a drainage ditch. Onlookers watched on helplessly as the elephant did its best to free itself, thankfully help finally arrived in the form of a team of rescuers who used a bulldozer to dig out the sides of the manhole and lift the baby elephant to safety.
These spooky spiders can live up to seven years, which is a long time in the insect kingdom. Similar to grass spiders, these creatures tend to hang out in their webs. During the mating season in the summer you're likely to find two of these bad boys hanging out together, possibly with web sacks surrounding the area.
Here's the good news: Barn Spiders rarely bite humans. In fact, they're shy creatures that would rather avoid you altogether. However, if you do suffer a bite by one of these spiders it should bring on anything other than a little swelling. Still, keep a look out the next time you're crawling through an old barn.
In the past, Beluga whales have often been mistaken for mermaids because of their human-like knees
According to Carey Richard, the supervisor of cetaceans and pinnipeds at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut:
It was just a weird camera angle. The position of the camera is just such that they caught that blubber moving. I’ve never seen blubber looking like human anatomy.
A Creepy Aquarium Sculpture At Oregon Undersea Gardens
Can you imagine how strange it must have been to take a trip through this aquarium and catch a sight of a deep sea diver trying to crawl to safety from the grasp of a murderous squid? As hard as it must have been to explain to the kids, it's pretty cool that the folks who buit this aquarium wanted to have some fun with the concept.
A charging Rhino is the most intimidating thing ever
If a rhino is going to charge at you it's going to be the white rhino, not because it's the most aggressive but because there are just so many of them roaming the eastern hemisphere. The black rhino is far more aggressive, but there are less of them in existence. Regardless of the color of the animal, if you're being charged by a rhino your best bet is to climb a tree and wait until they chill out.
A massive wave that hit a lighthouse off the coast of France in 1989 - the man in the lighthouse survived. (Photo-Jean Guichard)
As the helicopter that carried Guichard hovered overhead, Malgorn mistook it for his rescue helicopter and rushed outside to let to get its attention. When he popped outside the lighthouse was hit with a huge wave. He barely made it back inside before getting completely soaked with freezing water.
While these spiders don't pose any threats to humans, they do strike fear into the hearts of grasshoppers, crickets, flies, and ants. Known for burrowing into the ground, these spiders are more bluster than bitey when it comes to humans - although they will attack if they feel threatened. As poisonous as they are to small insects, their bite really only causes mild swelling and some pain. Still, it's probably for the best to let a wolf spider be.
A microscopic look at a bee stinger vs the point of a needle
According to a series of studies released in 2013, getting stung by a bee may help you get over any latent pollen allergies that you have. Just getting a trace of the bee's toxins in your your body will help increase antibodies in your system - or at least that's what happened with a group of mice. As fascinating as this is, don't go out searching for bees to sting you or anything, that's just asking for trouble.
A crab and sea stars feast upon a squid carcass
Scott France, a deep-sea biologist at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette explained that many of the things that seem bonkers to a human when looking beneath the waves are just par for the course of a normal day in the ocean. He said:
You can go almost anywhere in the deep sea and you’d be the first person on Earth looking there because there’s so much that we haven’t explored. What’s even cooler is that we’re making just the first inroads. Boy, I really hope we can go back some time.
A landslide in Taiwan
While this act of God could have been worse, some motorists were buried beneath the landslide and never recovered. To make matters worse, the landslide was followed by multiple days of rain which made the volunteer rescue efforts all that much harder. People dug with bulldozers for days before they actually found any of the doomed motorists.
A white bellied sea eagle preys on a feral pig
According to Espie, after he snapped this shot of a struggling feral pig another eagle reared its beak to help make a meal of the other white meat. He told Australian Geographic:
The sea-eagle regardless of its powerful wings struggled to gain altitude before landing its prey upon a small island within the wetlands, where together the eagles shared the prey.
A plume of smoke rises over the Australian outback
All it takes for a pyroCbs to spring up is intense heat and dry air. Once a spark is lit and hit with a gust of air the smoke forms a funnel that continues to stack on top of itself until it's a fiery thunderstorm. Mike Fromm, an expert on pyroCbs at the U.S. Naval Research Lab explained:
They are incredibly intense and erratic. Everything that goes into these phenomena are at their worst when these fires are occurring. These storms create their own wind field because they have such a violent updraft. It’s a very turbulent environment.
Ryan Johnson, Great White expert believes so. He explains:
If you could take every aspect of a huge, exciting, charismatic animal and stick it into one creature it would be the Great White Shark. You’ve got an evolutionary history that is incredible – not only of the Great White, where you’re talking of 420 million years that they’ve evolved separately... What was also really intriguing for me from a scientific perspective was that everyone was focused on one aspect of their life history – that they can bite humans.
A seriously scary odd couple... how tarantulas and frogs help each other survive
The small frogs don't just eat the sneaky invertebrates that show up once the spider has finished its meal, they also benefit from having a terrifying creature as a best friend. The natural enemy of the michroylids are snakes and large anthropods that are otherwise freaked out by tarantulas.
As if that weren't helpful enough, michroylids eat ants - an insect whose number one source of food is spider eggs.
A snowy owl chilling with his buddy
During winter, snowy owls make their way to the shores of lakes and oceans where they can hunt freely. While we think of owls hanging out in trees, the snow owl prefers to stay low on the arctic tundra. However, it seems like they still love to perch like the rest of their owl brethren. Either that or this owl is just showing its duck buddy who's boss.
A stunning 50-ft blue ice monolith in the Antarctic
Frozen waves form when vast amounts of ice are compressed and the air bubbles inside are pushed out as the liquid hardens. The fantastic look of the ice wave, down to the color, comes from the freezing, melting, and re-freezing of the wave which makes it so only blue light passes through the ice while the red light of the spectrum is absorbed by the structure.
A house encased in ice after a blizzard
In 2019, homes on the coast of Lake Ontario in New York froze as spray from the water blasted the houses and encased them in ice. Winds moving at 70 mph kicked up huge waves, crashing them against homes on the shore and coating them in layer after layer of freezing water. As beautiful as these homes are they're also completely ruined. It's likely that the wood in the homes will turn rotten and that the foundation is totally wrecked.
A touching photograph showing a seagull trying to save his friend from a bald eagle
No matter how brave the second seagull is, its fight was all for not. Its attempt to take out an eagle and save its friend lasted for a few seconds before it was thrust off by the bigger bird. This photo shows a valiant effort, even if it didn't work out the way that we hoped it would.
There is a real reason why you ALWAYS check the toilet in Australia
Snakes tend to hide inside when it gets too hot in their natural habitat, and it's clear that toilets provide the greatest source of relaxation. In 2019, Brisbane citizen Helen Richards was bitten by a non-venomous, five foot long carpet python that was curled up in her toilet. She told the Courier Mail newspaper:
I jumped up with my pants down and turned around to see what looked like a longneck turtle receding back into the bowl.
A very wise dog waiting until his buddy finishes eating
How do you make sure your dog stays fresh and clean if its been sprayed by a skunk? Many people say that the best way to rid a dog of such an awful smell is with a tomato soup bath, but a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dishwashing soap is your best bet. It's going to take a few washes and some elbow grease but once it's clean the dog should be good as new - and it'll have learned a lesson that it can never forget.
A woman gets her photo taken with a tornado in the background 1989
Elisabeth Brentano, a different woman who posed in front of a funnel cloud for a photo, explains just what it feels like to be in the path of a tornado:
Being that close in the photo wasn't that scary to me. I couldn't really hear it yet, you couldn't really feel it. You could feel the wind blowing, but it was still very beautiful, almost serene.
A woman went camping 30 years ago and heard strange noises in the middle of the night so she stuck her camera outside the tent and snapped this photo
As people moved out of the cities and into new suburban areas in the 1950s those housing developments cut into places that were normally reserved for wildlife. While many animals were pushed further away from civilization, raccoons almost seemed to be drawn to the sights and smells of small town life. They've become so accustomed to eating our food that they've developed the same health problems. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, a professor in evolutionary ecology at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, told the CBC:
Just Google 'fat raccoon' and there's so many news stories about how some raccoon got stuck in a grate, some raccoon got stuck in a garbage can. I had this idea that wildlife that are living in cities ... they may be getting the same health problems that we do — obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome — these kinds of things.
Abandoned by his mother in a Chinese forest, Qizai is the only known Brown Panda in the world
Now far away from the harsh life of an abandoned panda, Qizai is living it up at the Foping Panda Valley. Early on he was bullied by standard black and white pandas but now he was a care-taker who makes sure that he's fell fed and taken care of. He's even been set up with an experienced female panda so the world can be gifted with more brown pandas in the future.
An apocalyptic sunset over Moscow
To achieve the end of days look that's going on in this photo the graphic designer combined the two shots and did a lot of color correction. It's honestly really cool looking, and it's awesome what someone can do with photo editing software these days. This is one photo that we're glad isn't totally real.
B-25 bombers fly over Mount Vesuvius in Italy while it erupts in March 1944 during the Italian Campaign of World War II
On March 21, 1944, the volcano started to rumble and gurgle, the GIs on the ground knew that something was up. By dawn the next morning the area was encased in a "black snow storm" of ash. At the end of the day the volcanic eruption claimed the lives of 28 people and there were injuries all over the place. A British soldier wrote of the eruption:
Where it had stood was nothing but a big slag heap of lava, and a memory. Bombs make a terrific row and leave ruins. Lava makes no sound and leaves—nothing.
Bald eagles are the masters of the sky and an apex predator
The one type of hunting that you're most likely to see a bald eagle performing is on the water. Typically, they'll slowly fly over the surface of the father and snatch a fish in mid swim. Unlike falcons who dive into the water for their catch, the eagle just grabs what it wants and goes.
Catatumbo lightning only happens over the Catatumbo River, Venezuela
The release that comes with the collision of hot and cold air creates electrical energy in a zigzag formation that's so powerful that it could power 100 million lightbulbs. Unlike other lightning centric weather patterns, this lightning can be predicted months in advance. If you're in the position to see this lightning in person take advantage but be safe.
Cell tower after snowstorm
Rime ice forms when water droplets in a mist, fog, or snow freeze around the outer surface of a physical item. More often than not rime ice is found on top of trees and mountains in traditionally cold climates, but in this case it formed around a man made object which is absolutely fascinating. It helps that the cell tower is as monolithically still as a tree. If it were something that bent and swayed it would be less likely to allow such a frosty build up.
Coyote pups learning to howl
Crazy bird tornado
In instances like the one in the picture, starlings will move together at once in a giant flock called a murmuration. This collection of small birds may look creepy but it's just their way of staying safe while moving from place to place. As long as you don't get caught up in a murmuration you should be just fine.
Do you see it Look closer the Gray Owl is hiding in plain sight
Snapped by 59 year old photographer Alan Murphy, this photo shows the Gray Owl in all its glory in British Columbia... sort of. Murphy took a series of photos and in many of them the owl is all but invisible. He wrote of his experience photographing the bird:
While searching the forests of British Columbia for birds to photograph, I came across this guy. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. See if you can see the Great Gray Owl. Nature is amazing!! You can see how the plumage of the owl blends right into the texture of the tree bark making it almost invisible... I am in awe of the wonders of nature and this is a great example of how wonderful it is to get to see such clever camouflage used by a bird.
Geese have multiple rows of teeth like appendages made of cartilage
While the teeth-like appendages that we can see aren't actually teeth they do function similarly. Known as "tomia," they aren't made as bone and don't have enamel on them but they help geese cut and tear their food just like humans. And more to the point, the tomia are incredibly sharp and hard. They have to be to rip through food for the geese so don't stick your band in a goose's beak any time soon unless you want to feel the wrath of the tomia.
Harpy Eagle
Here's a 20-foot wide, 5,000 lb. manta ray that got entangled in a boat's anchor line
That's not entirely true. Kahn definitely caught a huge manta ray off the coast of New Jersey in '33, but the image shows a taxidermied version of the creature and not a freshly hauled in devil fish. Even though the size and weight of the fish sounds extreme it's entirely within the realm of possibilities for a manta ray to grow to that size. Since we couldn't be on hand for the moment that Kahn reeled in the fish we'll just have to take his word for it.
Hyena matriarch fighting off pack of African wild dogs
The most fearsome member of the hyena family is the matriarch, who's larger and more aggressive than the males in her pack. They're so in charge of what their packs that in the hierarchy of the feast it's the women who eat first and the adults males who eat last. There's definitely more than meets the eye with these mangy looking creatures.
Photographer Darren Pearson captured this incredible long exposure shot of lightning striking a tree... or did it?
Pearson didn't try to hide the fact that he edited the photo after the internet ran with his creation. Instead, he explained exactly how he did it:
My image is a long exposure, 619 seconds, taken at night. During this time, I used ‘el wire’ to create the blue smoke-looking effect, and a color-gelled spotlight to give the tree a pink glow. The lightning bolt was an idea that my roommate... He mentioned, 'You know what would be incredible? A lightning bolt striking the tree...' I never intended it to be taken for a real photo of lightning striking a tree. It was meant to be an artistic expression, but turned into an internet misinformation fiasco.
Incredible lightning storm over Lake Michigan
Bodies of water conduct electricity, and considering that they act as a flat surface (in spite of being totally liquid) at their highest point they attract lightning. Being that lakes tend to be pretty straight across save for the peaks of the waves of Lake Michigan, it's pretty much all a bullseye when lightning starts hitting.
Incredible supercell storm near Howard, Kansas
The storms brought on by supercells can last for hours, but these don't just come on out of nowhere. These special storms need strong wind speed and a directional sheer that blows between 20,000 feet. On top of that, a significant updraft and downdraft is required to make the storm go on and on.
More often than not these storms occur in the Midwest and the central part of the country, but if you really want to see a supercell in action you've got to head on to the Great Plains.
It's not an alien craft but a bloated whale carcass adrift at sea
Areas with a lot of whales are usually prepared with someone who's job is to specifically puncture a dead whale to keep the carcass from exploding, but even so it's a messy business. The best bet in these instances is to puncture the whale's body while it's still in the water, this keeps its entrails from being flung across whatever beach it lands on. It's a disgusting job but someone has to do it.
Not only are pythons slower than a boa, but they have additional bones in their mouths that boas just don't have. Their additional upper jaw bone - the premaxilla - makes their bite all the more painful. On the other hand, boas are a bit faster and they lack the upper jaw bone which means that they have less teeth. They're also a bit smaller than pythons but they're much faster. Either way, you don't want to have one of these bad boys chomping on you.
Lens shaped clouds that can be seen 60 miles away
These clouds are often found downwind of a mountain range. They're formed after stable, moist air moves over the mountain in a series of waves. If the temperature of the air is the same as the dew point temperature then BAM! You get a lens shaped wave. As the air temperature changes in those waves lenticular clouds are formed.
Look closer...in the darkness stands this baby polar bears' mother and she will not hesitate to attack
There are really only about three polar bear attacks on a human per year. Those usually occur at night when a polar bear moves to investigate a camping site and gets frightened by a person. It's rare that anyone would think to snatch a polar bear cub from its mother, but if that happens it's going to be lights out for whoever makes that grave mistake.
Mammatus clouds over Nebraska after a tornado
More often than not if you see a mammatus cloud it's because inclement weather is on the way. While some folks think that these clouds extend into funnel clouds, in actuality they're formed by rising air that occurs during a storm. If you see these clouds in the sky they'll only be around for 10 or 15 minutes before dissipating which makes them all the more beautiful.
Marmot realizes it's been caught by a fox
While speaking about the photo to the New York Times, Zoe Summers, a spokesperson for the London National History Museum explained that things didn't turn out well for the marmot:
I can confirm that sadly the marmot didn’t survive. The fox was successful in the attack and was able to feed some very hungry cubs!
Meanwhile in Yellowstone...
The original image shows a bear running down a road in Yellowstone National Park apropos of nothing. Maybe it was just getting in a nice work out. The cyclist was added to the shot later to make it look like he was tearing away from the bear at top speed. Nature is often scary, but it rarely looks perfectly cinematic.
Farmers love that the goats eat their fruit, not only because of the tourism money that they bring in but the goats help propagate the tree through their waste. On top of those benefits, the seeds that pass through the goats and clump up on the ground are pressed to make Argan oil.
Oh no oh no oh NOOOO
The easiest way to keep from stressing out your fish (or someone else's fish) is to make sure their home is as close to the ocean as possible. Keep the lightning chill, don't introduce too many fish to the aquarium, and for the love of all things fishy don't tap on the wall of their home. Think about how you would feel if someone just started knocking on your bedroom window whenever they wanted.
One of the rarest animals on the planet, the Black Jaguar
There have only been a few legitimate sightings of black jaguars in south America and Mexico throughout the 20th century, with 26 of them occurring between 2010 and 2019. Melanism in big cats is believed to be caused by a recessive allele that occurs the deeper in the forest that one travels. The animals spots and rosettes are still apparent on their fur but they're obscured by the inky black color of their fur.
Photo of a Morning Glory cloud formation taken from a plane near Burketown in QLD, Australia
This cloud formation is so rare that many people don't even know about it, and even then the people who see them in all their (morning) glory tend to be pilots. Garrett Russell of the Caboolture Gliding Club explained:
If they are really obscured by condensation, the humidity is high and the pilots will finish their beer and go home for an early night, ready to get up before dawn to ride the cloud.
Photographer captures the real-life Jaws image
While speaking about how he was able to grab this shot, Rannachan explained:
The shark in my image is a female and her name is Squirrel. We’d been with her for a while. We have these people on the boat called shark wranglers and they throw these two-foot chunks of tuna to get the shark close to the surface... A guy named Crazy Luis stood up on the boat to bring the shark to us when we sit on the surface in the shark cage.
Portrait of an American Buffalo
The biggest of these amazing creatures are the males, standing nearly six foot tall and covered in thick layers of fur they can travel at speeds of up to 30 miles an hour. The Buffalo tend to be docile creatures for most of the year, but come mating season they turn into raving bullies who fight over the females of their pack until they get their way. While millions of these creatures were destroyed in the 19th century, conservationists have made it a point to bring these animals back from the brink of extinction and today there are hundreds of thousands of Buffalo roaming the plain.
President Theodore Roosevelt riding a moose across a river in 1912
Created by the photo firm Underwood and Underwood, the shot is a composite of Roosevelt riding a horse which was pasted over the swimming moose. The ad is nearly perfect, but if you want to find fault in this early 20th century Photoshop just look at the spot below Roosevelt's knee. As cool as this ad is it's just not the real thing.
Proof that cats are smarter than dogs
No, cats and dogs aren't actually born hating one another. They just have different instincts and they were bred differently. When dogs were domesticated they were bred to hunt small animals, and more often than not cats are small, furry creatures who look like they'd make a great meal. Dogs instinctually want to chase cats, but that doesn't mean they can't be friends. It just takes a lot of work and care to make sure the animals in your life get along.
Quitters Never Win
Leopards share many similarities to the modern housecat (aside from the whole eating entire bison thing) including a love of climbing and a nomadic sensibility. They prefer to move at night and feast in the shadows, but they'll come out during the day if they're hungry. More often than not you'll find a leopard hanging out high in a tree, watching the action down below.
Roger the buff kangaroo nearly died as a joey
Barns explained to Australia's Traveler website that Roger got his upper body gains not from a strict diet, but from fighting:
Basically he's just a fighter. 'It's natural for an alpha male. He likes to see the threat go, so will always come out to confront you. If he grabs you, he doesn't let go. You can't get out easily. It's a chokehold. As for a well-placed kick, it can disembowel you.
Sadly, this Tasmanian Tiger family at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart in 1910, is extinct
Throughout the 2010s there have been sighting of the wild animal in Tasmania, although reports have yet to be verified. In 2017, a driver said that they saw one of these tiger striped animals near the Deep Gulley Forest Reserve in the northwestern part of the area. Two years later, a footprint was discovered that clearly matched that of a Tasmanian Tiger. Could these animals still be out there? Only time will tell.
Seaweed infesting a wave
According to Dr. Chuanmin Hu of the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, deforestation and an explosion in fertilizer use has caused a change in ocean plant life. He told the BBC:
The ocean's chemistry must have changed in order for the blooms to get so out of hand. This is all ultimately related to climate change because it affects precipitation and ocean circulation and even human activities, but what we've shown is that these blooms do not occur because of increased water temperature.
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic exploration vessel ‘Endurance’, as it sits stuck in sea ice, later to be crushed from the force and sink, 1915
Shackleton was optimistic to the men on his ship, but he also felt that "what the ice gets, the ice keeps.” He had no illusions about escaping the ice alive and with the ship. The crew finally abandoned the ship and started making their way across the tundra. By the time they made it to dry land on Elephant Island it had been more than a year since they began their excursion. Still not safe, Shackleton and two men walked 36 hours straight to a whaling station at Stromness to put together a rescue mission to save the rest of his crew.
Soviet soldiers feeding polar bears in the 1950s ♥♥♥
Soldiers serving in the area didn't waste time feeding these bears. At the time they had an abundance of tin cans of condensed milk, so much so that the soldiers had no problem with just giving the stuff away. They would cut open the tin and feed the condensed milk to the bears who freely munched on the sweet treat. While many foods were rationed in the Soviet Union at the time, condensed milk wasn't one of them so the country basically fed the polar bears of the region for a few years.
Spiders cocooning themselves in trees during a flood
This isn't an every day occurrence so obviously people flipped out when they saw their trees covered in ghostly webs. As creepy as this looks, the one positive of this cocooning is that the mosquito population in the area shot down immensely in spite of the stagnant water. It's believed that the mosquitos were caught in the giant webs, so that's a plus.
Starlings obscure the sky over Rome in dystopia viral photo
Romans have attempted to quell the rise of the starlings through a series of different means. They introduced falcons to the area to frighten away the small birds to no avail. Romans have also tried to prune their trees to keep the birds from landing in their area. So far, the starlings have continued to cover the sky.
Sylvester Stallone with the turtles he kept from Rocky, which are now over 40 years old
The turtles, now 44 years old, are living the high life with Stallone and will likely stick around long after he's gone. Some turtles are known to live for more than 50 years. With giant tortoises living for hundreds of years. Will Stallone's turtles live into another generation? We may never know.
Terri and Steve Irwin with a croc at their Australia Zoo in 1996
While speaking with Scientific American in 1996, Irwin explained why he wanted to go out into the jungles of the world and get in the nitty gritty with these creatures:
My field is with apex predators, hence your crocodiles, your snakes, your spiders. And then of course you've got lions, tigers, bears. Great big apex predators they're the species that I enjoy the most. That's where my passion lies. Historically, people have seen them as evil, ugly monsters that kill people. Take the crocodile, for example, my favorite animal. There are 23 species. Seventeen of those species are rare or endangered. They're on the way out, no matter what anyone does or says, you know.
Texas State Capitol Austin tornado May 4, 1922
During this horrifying natural phenomenon 12 people lost their lives and 50 were injured in the "eastern storm" that ripped through the city. A tornado destroyed a dorm at St. Edwards College and ripped through the St. Elmo community in South Austin. The tornadoes finally dissipated late in the day as Austin laid in ruins.
The Arctic hare, also known as the polar rabbit
While these rabbits are a rare sight in populated areas of North America, there's a large amount of these cuties in the Arctic. No matter the large amount of them, they have to regularly deal with wolves, foxeds, and owls that routinely search for these animals over the ice.
The bearded vulture the most metal bird of prey
These vultures have no natural predators so the bright color that their feathers take on after a blood feast is something of a mark of pride for these animals. Researchers believe that the more intense and soiled a bearded vulture is, the higher their status is in their feathered hierarchy. The brighter the bird the more adequate their resources are.
The breathtaking phenomenon of volcanic lightning
It's believed that volcanic lightning that occurs near the ground comes from individual ash particles rubbing together light flint. As for the volcanic lightning that happens in the sky it's most likely that it's caused by ice. Researchers believe that when ash and water vapor spew into the sky ice forms in the lower atmosphere and the collision of the ice crystals create an electric charge, creating lightning.
The craziest thunderstorm photo ever
2020 saw the lowest annual number of tornadoes since 2015. Even though the numbers on these dangerous weather patterns are down, deaths from them are still rising. According to Brandon Miller, CNN meteorologist, all of these deaths are coming from the dreaded nocturnal tornado:
Tornadoes that occur in more populated regions, such as in or near cities, are much more likely to result in deaths due to the sheer number of people in the path. The time of day also plays a role. Nocturnal tornadoes, which occur at night while most are sleeping and unaware of warnings and changing conditions, are much more likely to result in deaths compared to tornadoes that occur during daylight hours.
The evolution of a tornado
Taking this kind of photo isn't as simple as setting up your phone and snapping away. Instead, a camera with a timer has to be set up in an area where it won't be disturbed by the high winds put off by the tornado's harsh activity. It's a dangerous business but it's so cool when something like this works out.
The exact moment lightning strikes water
Even if someone isn't in the line of fire per se, anyone on the water be it on a boat or going for a swim can suffer from the residual effects of the lightning strike. Anyone on the water when a storm breaks out should immediately get to safety. Go inside and get out of the way of Mother Nature because she can let it rip when she wants to.
The eye of a tokay gecko
These nocturnal creatures make good pets, but sadly they're the target of poachers. Many people purchase these animals in order to bring themselves good luck, but they're also ground up and used in medicinal remedies. Many people believe that ingesting one of these creatures in a tea can cure asthma and even diabetes, but the truth of it is they're just extremely interesting looking - a trait that makes them more sought after.
The honey badger can survive through the worst of conditions due to their super power... thick skin
These small animals are known as one of the most fearless creatures on the planet. They don't care if they're facing down a hyena or a lion, they'll put up a fight until everyone is sorry that they crossed paths. Aside from being incredibly mean, they'll also eat whatever they find be it a vegetable, fruit, animal, or a root. Their strong skin can take a licking and keep going, but it's also so rubbery that if it's caught in the teeth of a predator it can shake loose with no problems.
The juvenile form of the yellow boxfish is a dazzling bright yellow, but this color fades away into adulthood
Anyone diving off the coasts of Australia will have a good chance of seeing a few of these bad boys. They're also regularly found near New Guinea, Fiji, and the Philippine Islands. They bring a dash of color to an already gorgeous array of deep sea life and as they feast on mollusks, sand worms, and algae, they'll remain well fed for the time being.
The krill filtering teeth of Antarctic crabeater seals
These sieve-like teeth allow crabeater seals to eat mass amounts of krill each day without really doing a lot of work. It's good for them and bad for the krill. So why aren't they called "krilleater seals?" When these hungry animals were first discovered by whalers they somehow got it into their heads that the seals love to eat crustaceans and the name has stuck ever since.
The moment the rising sun made it look like this polar bar was breathing fire
Photographer Josh Anon told Metro that he initially only had a couple of hours with a polar bear in the Antarctic, but thanks to a surprise visit the next morning he was able to get this photo:
We were fortunate enough to find bears on a fresh kill the day before: one bear was protecting his kill from another bear, and the two of them made great subjects. The next morning, we had an unexpected wake up call around 4am that the bears were still outside. Over the next three to four hours, we were able to spend more time with the bears and two more even joined in.
The moment you realize this is only one photo
Thanks to glacial till, or unsorted glacial sediment, Bow Lake has a turquoise color. Not only is this just gorgeous, but it separates the area from the many other lakes on the planet. This really is a place where, on the perfect day, it can feel like the entire world belongs to you.
The only known photograph of the giant 28ft crocodile that was killed in Queensland, Australia, in 1957
The people in the original version of this photo are known only as "Miss Cross and Mr. Joynt." Taken on the Roper River in 1914, the shot is spectacular even if it's often miscaptioned. Currently, the longest known crocodile is 18 feet on length, previous to that record a crocodile named "Lolong" was known to be 20 feet in length. However, it's believed that crocodiles can grow up to 23 feet in length in the wild.
The phenomenon of ball lightning
Very few people have actually seen ball lightning, but that hasn't stopped humans from all walks of life searching it out during a thunder storm. Peter H. Handel in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Missouri at St. Louis explained:
It appears usually during thunderstorms, sometimes within a few seconds of lightning but sometimes without apparent connection to a lightning bolt. In some cases, ball lightning appears after a thunderstorm--or even before it. Its lifetime varies widely, ranging from a few seconds to several minutes; the average duration is about 25 seconds.
The power of mother nature
Large ocean waves like the one in this shot tend to be storm surges, which come before a hurricane or a major storm over the water. Aside from causing deep, long waves that get bigger the closer they get to shore, they can cause flooding on land. Anyone in a boat that's facing a large wave has to try and hit the wave with the bow or at least at an angle. Hitting a boat with the beam will almost certainly capsize the ship.
The relentless march of time
When a tree's roots take hold of something it's not easy to free whatever it's grabbing. If caught early enough the tree can be removed, but once they start overtaking an item or a place it's lights out for the headstone that they've grabbed. In some instances the tree dies which means that the whole section of land has to be removed. That's just the way things go.
The sailfish is considered by scientists to be the fastest swimming marine creature in the world
This fish that's as fast as a car which can be recognized by its large dorsal fin and shimmery blue scales. Not prone to going at it alone, the sailfish usually travels with at least one buddy when going out on a hunt. The two fish will use their spear like bills to slash at their prey until it's just them and bloody bits in the sea.
The same whale found after 35 years in the west coast of Mexico
Today there are about 20,000 California Gray Whales living off the west coast thanks to accountability treaties between the United States and Mexico, as well as activists that keep a watching on whaling groups. It's not clear if this whale can be seen today, but between December and March whales pop up all over the Pacific after traveling down from Alaska. While in the area they mate and give birth before heading back to their feeding grounds up north.
The sunset over the Giza Pyramids, as seen from Cairo
The three main pyramids of Giza feature intricate burial staging areas that were constructed between 2550 and 2490 B.C. That's less than 60 years, can you imagine how hard the Egyptians had to work to get these amazing structures built up? It's exhausting just to think about.
The ultimate staring contest with a giant crocodile
In February 2021, human remains were discovered inside the stomach of a giant crocodile off of Queensland, Australia. After a local fisherman went missing some of his remains were discovered near his last known location. After investigators located a 14 foot crocodile in the area it was euthanized and the rest of the man's remains were discovered decomposing in the creatures insides.
The urban legend of Michio Hoshino says this is the last photo he ever took
The photo seen here that's been attributed to Hoshino is actually an entry into the Worth1000 Photoshop competition. In this contest entrants were tasked with making a "a last-photo hoax." This excellent photo composite was meant to look like it was snapped moments before the person behind the camera bit the dust. It's safe to say that this photo did the trick.
These goats defy gravity
It just so happens that the walls of the Cigno dam, a hydroelectric power plant, has incredibly salty walls. Zoologist Lucy Cooke explained these salt starved creatures to the BBC:
All animals crave salt, without it your nerves and muscles just don’t function properly and it’s especially important for mums when they’re feeding their young so maybe that’s why you only see females and their kids on this dam.
These little white fluff balls are Honduran white bats that snuggle together in large leaves - not in caves
These white bats are so comfortable sleeping beneath the leaves of the Helciona plant that they don't leave their homes until they're absolutely certain that a predator is directly on top of them. In fact, they really only leave their homes to mate or eat ficus colubrinae, a species of fig that they can't get enough of. Sadly, this four inch bat is so obsessed with this specific brand of fig that it hasn't learned to forage for other fruits.
This Black timber wolf is ready to attack
It's not easy to lock down exactly when black timber wolves started popping up in North America, but a team of researchers from Sweden, Canada, and the United States has determined that wolves with melanism began appearing sometime around 47,000 years ago. That's just an estimate but it shows that long before America was colonized people were breeding dogs and wolves for domestic purposes and ending up with fascinating canine creatures. Today, the black coats of these wolves helps them move nearly undetected through the forests of Yellowstone.
This buff chunky monkey was four times stronger than most humans
The fibers in the muscles of a chimpanzee are distributed in such a way that they're more apt to look shredded, but they also live in heavily wooded areas so they're constantly climbing and working. Over millions of years they've adapted to a lifestyle of physical activity which makes them stronger and more physically fit than the average person. It's likely that if humans had stayed in the forests that we too would be total hardbodies.
This central Texas town has a bird problem
More often than not grackles can be found taking up residence in parking lots and on telephone wires, but why? According to conservation group the Houston Audubon:
Great-tailed grackles are a permanent sight in Houston and can be found in any area inhabited by humans that has some trees. They tend to congregate in large flocks and prefer shopping centers and fast-food store parking lots where there’s trash for food and trees or light posts for perching.
This Deep Sea Jellyfish Looks Like It Came From Outer Space
Deep sea jellyfish take on a variety of sizes and shapes, confounding researchers. In 2020, an incredibly large "stringy" jellyfish was discovered just over 600 meters below the ocean's surface in its inky deep. According to researchers at the Schmidt Ocean Institute the creature is "UFO-like" and one of the largest ever recorded.
This exquisitely mummified dinosaur in a museum in Canada has scientists astounded
The mummified remains of the nodusaur are 110 million years, and while most dinosaur remains of this age are strictly made of bones this fossil is covered in fossilized skin that acts as "intact body armor." The nodosaur was a four-legged herbivore that clomped around the earth with its thick, armor-like skin. It even had spikes all over its body for protection. This creature was discovered in 2011 but it took a solid six years to excavate this 2,500 pound monster from the ground.
This species of a "megabat" is found in the Philippines, and with their wingspan of five and a half feet they can black out the sky when they and they thousands of brethren take to the sky. That is, when they do take to the sky. More often than not these animals just like to chill in the trees and enjoy their vegan diet.
This green snake wrapped itself around the Great White Herons beak to prevent the bird from eating it
According to Garcia he watched the fight play out for nearly half and hour, the perfect amount of time to take some stellar shots. He explained that the green snake made it away safely but it was a fight none the less:
The fight lasted for nearly 20 minutes with the heron having to release its prey.
This kid is never going to forget his trip to the zoo
Zoo attacks are rare but they do happen. In 2020, a tiger mauled a zookeeper in Zurich in front of his staff and the zoo's visitors. As much as we don't want to think that the animals that live in zoos are aggressive we forget that these are wild animals with instincts that can't be erased. It's definitely for the best that this kid was protected by a glass wall.
This lava pit looks like it's sucking the souls of the damned into Hell
A lava flow skylight occurs when an opening in the roof of a lava tube collapses, providing a look into the flow of lava below. In many cases the crust laden roof is too thin to support itself and it caves in, exposing the lava below. While they make look like a vision into hell they also provide a rare look into the what happens beneath a volcano, something that most people never get a chance to see.
This little piggy did not make it to the market
In 2019, a pig fell into traffic going 65 mph on Nebraska's Interstate-80. It hit the ground and started rolling and thankfully it was saved by a motorists who didn't feel like having bacon that day. State Trooper Mark White was on the scene. He reported:
He was breathing pretty hard when we put him in the backseat of the car but by the time we got him to the Humane Society he was pretty calm and I think he was taking a nap.
This moose may have survived a lightning strike ⚡
The moose has all but disappeared from the Anchorage area so no one has been able to study it since it popped up in 2014. Originally viewers believed that it been mauled by a bear, but researchers think that it's actually suffering from some kind of parasitic infestation. Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, a veterinarian told the Anchorage Daily News:
Unfortunately -- well, fortunately for the moose -- we weren't able to catch up with it. Without a biopsy and some diagnostics, it is impossible to say what originally caused the skin lesions so speculation is just that: speculations.
This tornado that was caught on camera near Oklahoma City back in 1898
When the editors received the photo they knew that they were being deceived, and rather than publish it they wrote out this statement:
We have watched with interest and curiosity the efforts of some manipulators of the camera to reproduce the phenomena of nature in all her varying moods. There can be no particular fault found with the enterprise of the photographer, be he amateur or professional, who sallies forth at high noon, or soon thereafter, and under the friendly shadow of an accommodating cloud makes moonlight views by the score. We confess, too, that we can pass into the waste basket without hesitation the many poor attempts to fabricate the funnel cloud of a tornado. We received one such not very long ago from Mr. Connor. It was better than the average, and instead of going into the trash basket it went into a convenient drawer.
Tippi Hedren and her tiger Gregory on the set of her film, Roar 1981
While speaking about the film with Variety, Hedren noted that it's insane that anyone survived the shooting of Roar:
I don’t know how we survived it. Our nine-month shoot turned into five years. We were one on one with those big cats. They’re dangerous animals and they’re big. As I made the movie I got into the issue of stopping the government from allowing people to breed lions and tigers as pets. They shouldn’t be pets. They’re apex predators, top of the food chain, one of four of the most dangerous animals in the world.
Two lions battling for supremacy... only one can win
The most devastating thing about a battle between two lions is the way an invading alpha will treat a new pride. If he defeats the current alpha lion then the first thing he does is kill the cubs of the pride to cement his dominance. It's a horrible thing to do but it's the way that nature goes.
Underwater Waterfalls of Mauritius, where the sands from the shores are carried into the depths of the ocean
There's not actually a waterfall here. What viewers are witnessing is sand that's constantly in movement. Mauritius sits on an ocean shelf on top of a gradual slope that ends in a 4,000 meter drop. Silt deposits are constantly in motion, which makes it look like the clear blue waters surrounding the island are a part of an underground water fall.
Volcano Eruption In Chile
Chile isn't a stranger to volcanic activity. With 90 active volcanoes in the country its citizens are more than used to the fiery destruction, but no one loves having to evacuate their homes. The one positive of seeing all of these exploding forms of nature is getting a chance to catch volcanic lightning on a semi-regular basis.
Water density, temperature and salinity of the glacial melt water and the off shore waters of Gulf of Alaska makes them too difficult to mix
The Copper River is a fresh water entity that's full of glacial silt, while the Gulf is thick with salt water and organic matter. When the two bodies of water meet there's a visible break in the Gulf and River. This kind of thing happens all over the world but it's rare to see it in such a stunning delineation.
Water spout in Tampa Bay Florida
When these bad boys make it to the surface they can cause extreme damage, which is why it's good that they only last for about 10 minutes tops. If a person or a boat was caught in one of these spouts it would be lights out immediately. Not only can you be flung in every direction by one of these things, but you can drown as well.
Apparently this kind of thing happens a lot. In 2009, a guy in Los Angeles found his seat brimming with bees and the surefire way to take care of a problem like this is to call over your local bee keeper who can help move them to somewhere less dangerous. It's nice to know that there is a way to fix this if it ever happens to you.
When upset, baby elephants throw themselves into the mud like a child having a temper tantrum
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust explains that these kinds of tantrums are just par for the course to raising a baby elephant:
Elephants also display many of the attributes of humans as well as some of the failings. They share with us a strong sense of family and death and they feel many of the same emotions. Each one is, of course, like us, a unique individual with its own unique personality.
Where did everybody go?
People living in areas that are close to a bear's natural habitats might be used to seeing something like this but it's never not shocking. Imagine walking into your backyard and seeing a scene like this. Even if the bear isn't acting wild it's still hard to know what to do in this situation.
You wouldn't want to get lost on this country road in Northern Ireland
Originally, Stuart planted 150 trees in 1775. About 90 of those trees remain in differing states of health, and the Irish government is doing everything it can to keep them alive for as long as possible. No one is allowed to drive down the road where Dark Hedges can be found, but photography is welcome.
You're looking at a spider’s foot under an electron microscope
According to biomechanics expert Andrew Martin, spiders use electrostatic attraction between molecules to crawl on walls and up their webs. Martin says that spiders can support 173 times its body weight while upside down. Martin's co-researcher Fritz Vollrath noted:
Actually having to hang on for dear life is not a big deal for a spider. But having to hold on to prey that it's been stalking for 20 minutes is a different kettle of fish.
You've heard of a waterfall but what about a sandfall?
There are multiple reasons for a sandfall in Saudia Arabia. The country may not have rivers, but there are plenty of dry riverbeds. After a rainstorm they flood and the water picks up all of the sand in the riverbed and carries it down "stream." This makes it look like a waterfall is happening but with sand. It's believed that climate change is at least somewhat responsible for the sandfalls but more research is needed to get to the bottom of this phenomenon.
