Amanda is a feature writer and Assistant Editorial Director. She has a degree in Animal Science and enjoys obsessing over red foxes, rock climbing, surfing, and planning out her next big mountain ascent.
This giant moth boasts five-inch wings, a humongous body, and when agitated, it is capable of producing a loud hissing noise to scare off its enemies. The privet hawkmoth (Sphinx ligustri) is an strange creature endemic to the northern half of the eastern hemisphere including much of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Although they inhabit large woodland […] More
Meet the lake sturgeon — a fish that has been around since the time of the dinosaurs. Lake sturgeons are shark-like in appearance, measuring an average 3-5 feet in length and weighing anywhere from 10-80 pounds, but much bigger specimens have been reported. The fish bears an overall streamlined shape and is equipped with five rows of […] More
Frogs have the incredible ability to entirely freeze their bodies during cold conditions and when it gets warm, thaw back to life and go on their way — without missing a hop. While all wild animals have means of managing the winter season, few perform a feat quite like the frog. Instead of migrating to […] More
With their small bodies, scaly skin, and red-ringed eyes, these reptiles look like something straight out of Game of Thrones. But while they look a lot like baby dragons, they’re actually red-eyed crocodile skinks from the genus Tribolonotus. In the wild, these lizards live in the tropical rainforests of New Guinea, parts of Indonesia, and the […] More
The fennec fox is the world’s smallest canid, but has surprisingly few predators and is adapted to survive in the harshest environmental conditions. Vulpes zerda is an omnivore native to the scorching Sahara Desert and other areas around North Africa. The fennec fox weighs anywhere from 1-4 lbs and stands eight inches tall, comparable in […] More
This four-legged creature boasts both hopping and galloping capabilities — making for the distinctive appearance of a deer crossed with a rabbit. The Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum) is perhaps one of the world’s most unusual creatures. This rare animal is found only in Argentina, persisting in diverse habitats ranging from lowland forests to barren plains. They especially favor […] More
The bearded vulture appears to be one of the most terrifying birds of prey, known for dyeing its feathers blood red and feasting on the bones of animals. The vulture, Gypaetus barbatus, is native to crags in high mountainous regions, including Southern Europe, Africa, Tibet, and the Caucasus. It is the only known animal whose diet is […] More
Scallops may seem like pretty uninteresting creatures — except for the hundreds of eyes imbedded amongst tentacles along the edge of their shells. Scientists have long wondered about the secret behind a scallop’s sight. LiveScience reports that Michael Land first discovered the mirrors at the back of scallop’s eyes and that they projected images onto […] More
Two moose engaged in a deadly fight froze together after falling — antlers locked — into a shallow Alaskan lake. The perfect preservation of their bodies beneath nearly a foot of ice made for a startling discovery by Unalakleet local Brad Webster. The town of Unalakleet is located on the coast of the Bering Sea […] More
The Goliath frog is a three-foot long amphibian the size of a house cat — often weighing as much as seven pounds. This rare species (Conraua goliath) has a very limited habitat range within portions of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. This small range makes its vulnerable to habitat loss, especially due to logging and land clearing for agricultural purposes. These […] More
Some tarantulas and frogs seem to have an interesting relationship – the unlikely pair sometimes co-exist in shared living arrangements. Measuring hardly more than half an inch in length, microhylids might seem like a pretty insignificant family of frogs. But they’ve crossed onto scientific radars in a big way. Many of these tiny, narrow-mouthed frogs have […] More
Image: Wikimedia Commons In this daring rescue a bloodied red fox is relieved of its helpless plight after dangling by its tail suspended in mid air for hours. This footage reveals a member of the red fox family, known as Vulpes vulpes, stuck with its tail caught between the slightly bent panel of a […] More
