Humans don’t exactly have the most sterling reputation when it comes to how well we treat members of our own species. Any discussion about our propensity for violence is bound to involve the common, self-directed lambasting that among animals, humans are homicidal to a unique degree. But scientists have actually managed to quantify relative tendencies […] More
The largest deer species ever to walk the earth bore 12ft antlers but died out more than 10,000 years ago — leaving scientists debating its evolution. Megaloceros giganteus has many names, including the Irish elk and Irish giant deer, both of which are incorrect due to the fact the animal was neither an elk nor […] More
This creature is commonly regarded as the “demon fish” and boasts teeth longer than steak knives. Everyone’s heard of piranhas due to their insatiable hunger and shoaling behavior. Can you imagine falling into a river full of starved piranhas? They’d clean your flesh to the bone in minutes. Now, imagine a piranha that’s five times […] More
These fascinating frogs are peculiar — but absolutely real. Hairy frogs (Trichobatrachus robustus), also known as wolverine frogs or “horror frogs”, are unique amphibians native to Central Africa. As their name suggests, the male frogs are quite “hairy”, although the “hairs” are not actually hairs — they’re dermal papillae, which are physical extensions of the skin that […] More
Big cats, like tigers, lions, leopards, and jaguars are powerful, visually stunning and intimidating predators — so it’s completely understandable that they steal much of the limelight. At the same time, small wild cats garner attention as unmatched hunters, not all that different than the cunning, domesticated felines we share our homes with. But mid-sized […] More
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
Meet the largest crab in the world. Weighing up to 40 pounds and reaching up to 18 feet from claw to claw, it can grow to triple the size of the average man! The Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) is actually the largest known arthropod, a group which includes crustaceans, spiders, and insects. It’s usually […] 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
They are the largest fish on the planet, reaching more than 40 feet in length and weighing up to 47,000 pounds. But as intimidating as their size may seem, whale sharks are virtually harmless. Unlike other sharks, these beautiful, bus-sized behemoths don’t have an appetite for flesh. Instead, they feed on plankton, which they filter […] More
In the popular Alien sci-fi film franchise, the titular species—known as the “xenomorph”—targets hapless humans, often horrifically implanting their bodies with its own eggs. When the eggs hatch, the young emerge explosively from their unwilling incubator, with invariably fatal results for the human host. The jarring life cycle seems like something cooked up entirely in […] More
