It’s official: humpback whales are the superheroes of the sea. Scientists have recorded 115 separate cases of humpback whales intervening in orca hunts to save various marine animals. Robert Pitman from the US National Marine Fisheries Service wrote in one published paper, “Anecdotes have been passed down for centuries about dolphins at sea coming to the […] More
Asia is a continent of extremes. It’s home to Earth’s highest mountain range (the Himalayas) and one of the largest expanses of forest on the planet (Eastern Siberia’s vast taiga.) Plus, half of the world’s ten longest rivers are in Asia, including colossal waterways like the Yangtze, the Yellow, and Amur Rivers. These huge river systems […] More
A “fire tornado” doesn’t seem like it would be real. The combination of inferno and whirlwind sounds like the sort of over-the-top phenomenon you’d see in an apocalyptic disaster film. But given the right conditions, “firenados” are very real events with the potential to be incredibly destructive. Watch the incredible footage below to see a […] 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
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
Scientists in China have revealed that one species of spider nourishes its newborns with “milk” — a behavior typically only observed in mammals. Toxeus magnus, an ant-mimicking jumping spider native to southeast Asia, secretes a highly nutritious milk-like fluid containing sugars, fats, and proteins to keep its young alive. The substance contains four times the […] More
These tiny mountain-dwelling marsupials have a unique and unusual mating strategy—the males mate frantically with multiple females until they drop dead. “Reproduce or die trying” is evidently the motto of the antechinus, a miniature shrew-like mammal found only in the remote mountaintops of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. For these animals, mating is a once […] 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
We can’t decide if this is fascinating or horrifying. Your opinion would probably depend on whether or not you’re a fan of spiders. A strange phenomenon sometimes occurs where certain species of spiders “rain down” on entire towns. Watch the video below to see one such sighting caught on camera: This behavior was recorded in San Antonio […] More
Jumping spiders, with their giant, shiny eyes, staccato movements, and stumpy bodies, are among the most charismatic arachnids out there. But all that charisma can’t erase the sense of alienness these spiders give off — perhaps an inevitable side-effect of the hundreds of millions of years of evolution separating them from humans. Now, new research suggests […] More
Hummingbirds may have tiny brains, but they’re unusually powerful. A new study, published in Current Biology, says the way the tiny birds fly — flitting abruptly in every direction and using rapidly-beating wings to hover — requires a lot of brain power. Hummingbirds are the only species of bird that’s able to truly hover, and to do […] More
Another battle in the heart of the African wilderness… Watch what happens when mongoose meets mamba! In Africa, the black mamba is one of the most feared snakes, and it is generally considered the most aggressive and dangerous snake in the world. The black mamba’s venom can kill an adult human in 7-15 hours, and […] More
