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
Before we had cameras, satellites, scuba gear, submarines, the internet, and a plethora of other modern amenities, sailors at sea worried about more than just seasickness and rogue waves. Throughout history, we have told tales of enormous sea monsters lurking in the deepest reaches of the ocean, and none are more captivating than the tentacled […] More
What happens when you combine a coyote with a wolf? Well, you get a coywolf, of course! Half coyote and half wolf, this canid has the overall appearance and adaptive nature of a coyote and the size and pack mentality of a wolf. While “coywolf” may sound like some ridiculous, fictional creature, coywolfs are actually […] 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
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
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
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
Towering above the trees of the savannah and constantly snacking, giraffes often appear unfazed by life around them — as few predators pose a threat to these impossibly tall animals. But as recent footage from Kruger National Park shows, they aren’t as untouchable as one might think. In the incredible video, a lioness can be […] More
