Teddy Fotiou is a writer, a photographer, and a naturalist. He loves everything wild, especially the dangerous kind. If he's not scuba diving with sharks and barracuda, he's probably hiking along nature trails, looking for venomous snakes, alligators, and bears.
When you think about predators, you might imagine sharks, tigers, and crocodiles. But some predators don’t have nearly as much street cred as others, even if they’re just as (if not more) vicious as the “famous” predators. Enter the giant petrel. Giant petrels are among the world’s most underrated predators. Why? Because, chance are, you […] More
Rhinoceroses are archetypal African animals, and they are renowned for their size and aggression. Generally, they are indifferent to other creatures around them, but when you invade their personal space, you’d better watch out! Few animals are deadlier than an angry rhino. In fact, rhinos have been known to flip smaller animals, such as warthogs, […] More
Take a look at this insect. Does it look like a wasp to you? If you said yes, we can’t blame you, since it does, indeed, look like one. It has all of the features of a wasp, including the wasp-like head, the recognizable black and yellow stripes, and the bulbous thorax. Even the wings […] More
Polar bears are rather unique among bears. Not only do they inhabit the hostile, frigid ice floes in the North Pole, but they are also adept swimmers. In the cold, arctic seas, they can swim 6 mph (10 km/hr), and in one case, a female polar bear swam continuously for 9 days in the Bering Sea, […] More
Meet the Japanese giant hornet: massive, extremely aggressive, and a honey bee’s worst nightmare. A single giant hornet can kill 40 European honey bees in one minute, and a group of 30 could wipe out an entire hive of 30,000 European honey bees in little more than three hours. Growing up to 2 inches in length, with […] More
These tiny crustaceans are one of the most unusual (and loudest) species in the sea. Known as pistol shrimps, these animals are a family of shrimps that share a unique quality: They have a massive specialized claw which they can snap to create cavitation bubbles. These bubbles implode and create a shock wave of sorts. These […] More
Throughout history, fewer epic brawls in the animal kingdom have gained more renown than the classic battle between the cobra and the mongoose. In ancient Egyptian and Indian civilizations, cobras were feared for their venom and worshiped as deities, and mongooses were revered for their ability to dispatch venomous snakes. Now, of course, cobras are […] More
You just got home from a long day at work. You’re miserable, tired, and cranky. “Tuesdays suck,” you mutter to yourself. “A nice shower should set me straight.” If only. You saunter into your bathroom, flip on the light, and are greeted by a truly horrifying sight: a giant, spider-like creature clinging to the rim […] More
Coyotes and wolves are both pretty much the same, right? Wrong. While coyotes and wolves are both canines, they split paths on the evolutionary tree thousands of years ago, and they have diverged ever since. Coyotes are smaller, weaker, and more ancient and, as a result, are no match for the bigger, stronger, and more […] More
Like most animals, snakes need water to survive. Even deadly, venomous ones. But do snakes actually need to drink water like other animal? For many species, yes, they do, but it can be a bit complicated. Check out this cobra drinking a glass of water. It looks more like a weird, scaly cat than a […] More
Africa has a reputation for containing many dangerous animals. In fact, we ranked sub-Saharan Africa as #1 in The 5 Most Dangerous Places on Earth to See Wild Animals. From lions to black mambas to crocodiles, Africa has a disproportionate share of deadly wildlife. Yet, while lions, leopards, crocodiles, and other big predators get all […] More
Anacondas are four species of giant snakes native to South America, but the snake most commonly referred to as an “anaconda” is the green anaconda, which at 17.1 feet (5.21 meters) and 215 pounds (97.5 kilograms) is the largest and heaviest snake species and among the longest of all snakes. So, with that in mind, […] More
