Amanda Ellis

This extraordinary footage of a close encounter with an elusive black maned Ethiopian lion left the riveted videographer wide-eyed and the rest of the world in awe. More

This incredible creature may appear cartoonish and whimsical, but it is a real species recently discovered off the Atlantic coast of South America… More

Deep sea dragonfishes lurk in the darkest parts of the ocean depths — and are capable of emanating red beams of light from their eyes.  These awesome looking creatures come from a family of fishes called Stomiidae that inhabit the ocean depths at an average of 2000 ft below the surface. They are ferocious predators with extremely large […] More

Although seemingly harmless pets, goldfish have characteristics that make them extremely catastrophic to freshwater habitats. More

This never-ending lightning storm has ravaged the Venezuelan skies as long as anyone can remember. Massive lightning storms over the Catatumbo Delta encompass the skies for ten hours every night in the same place for nearly three quarters of the year. The phenomenon is considered one of the great natural wonders of the world and is […] More

Blenny fish are trading in water for land – and evolving right before our eyes in order to escape formidable aquatic predators. More than thirty other species of fish have undergone this same transformation throughout the last 400 million years. Evolution occurs due to a multitude of factors including habitat pressure, lack of food, and […] More

A crest-tailed mulgara — thought to be extinct for more than 100 years — was found burrowing through the sand dunes of New South Wales. Known previously only through fossilized remnants, the animal is one of two species of mulgara found throughout Central Australia. These marsupials have crested bushy tails, measure up to a foot […] More

The remains of a carnivorous, tyrannosaurid dinosaur were found in Alaska — named Nanuqsaurus, or “polar bear lizard”, after the cold, snowy upper latitudes of its natural habitat.  The single species Nanuqsaurus hoglundi is known from a partial skull fragment from the Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, dating back to the Late Cretaceous period. Although related to Tyrannosaurus […] More

A lynx balances precariously in the treetops and makes a giant leap after a squirrel — but the squirrel has a plan of its own.  Lynxes are medium-sized wild cats distinguished by their short tails and tufts of black hair on the tops of their ears. They have large, padded paws for strolling silently across snowy terrain […] More

Whale hello there! Although belugas commonly learn to imitate other species, this beluga whale was the first ever recorded giving up its own language in order to speak to its dolphin companions. More