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.
On hydrothermal vents deep beneath the Indian Ocean lurks a scaly-footed gastropod. While this minute deep-sea snail might seem unassuming, it actually has a special ability: it incorporates metal into its body, forming a hard protective armor around its fleshy, exposed foot. It is the only animal known to science that can to do this. […] More
In the frozen wastes of the Northern Hemisphere, bears and wolves are often considered a serious threat to hikers, hunters, and other humans wandering through their territory. But, they aren’t the most dangerous animals to wander the northern latitudes. Nope, that would be moose, which attack and injure more people than bears and wolves combined. […] More
Giant waterbugs are exactly what their name implies: huge aquatic insects. Giant waterbugs, also known as toe-biters, are contained within the family Belostomatidae. They are generally found in freshwater lakes, rivers, and ponds worldwide, and consist of several species. The largest of these bugs are members of the genus Lethocerus. These particular waterbugs can exceed 4.75 […] More
Tardigrades are phylum of aquatic, microscopic animals with segmented bodies and eight legs. Because they live in the water and walk much like bears, they are more commonly known as water bears. However, as boring as they may seem, they are anything but that. Water bears are practically invincible and indestructible. Water bears are fairly […] More
Despite their names, woodpeckers are extremely metal birds, and they should probably be nicknamed “metal heads”. When you see them in action, you would assume they are made of steel. Check out this woodpecker drumming against wood in slow motion below to see what we mean. View post on imgur.com As you can see, the […] More
Dragonflies are beautiful, fascinating insects to observe. On warm days, you’ll often see them flitting and fluttering around your local pond or lake. But what you don’t see is their disturbing childhood. As you can see, this weird, wingless creature looks nothing like a dragonfly. In that case, it isn’t all that different from the young […] More
This rarely-seen squid is one of the most hellish, demonic creatures that can be found in the deep sea. When we think about deep-sea creatures, we often picture strange and frightening beasts. Beasts with huge eyes watching from the darkness and teeth larger than their mouths. Yet, even with those images in mind, we’d probably […] More
Despite being much smaller than us, spiders strike fear into the hearts of many humans. Perhaps, it is their hairy bodies. Or, perhaps, it is their cluster of eyes. Whatever the reason, spiders scare a significant amount of people. But, more importantly, spiders scare a significant amount of spiders. How? Well, aside from female spiders […] More
Prairie dogs are adorable, puppy-like rodents that are common across the Great Plains in the Midwestern United States. But, as cute as they are, they have a much darker side, especially white-tailed prairie dogs. Although white-tailed prairie dogs are herbivorous, they have been documented killing rival rodents, such as Wyoming ground squirrels. This makes them […] More
The freshwater bass is an underestimated predator — documented feasting on frogs, snakes, and even baby alligators. In North America, freshwater fish in the genus Micropterus are also known as black basses and are a highly regarded game fish. These animals are widespread throughout the eastern regions of North America, including parts of Canada and Mexico. Although plain […] 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
On this Roaring Earth, the sea is a powerful force of nature, and humanity has spent millennia attempting to quench her fury. Yet, even in the era of steel-hulled ships, we have not fully placated the angry sea, and even the biggest ships are just toys in a furious ocean. These gifs depict the raw […] More
