Authorities in southeastern Spain were forced to temporarily shut down a popular stretch of sand earlier this week after two venomous sea creatures known as “blue dragons” were spotted. The town of Guardamar del Segura, located just north of Torrevieja on Spain’s Mediterranean Costa Blanca, implemented a swimming ban across all beaches after the rare … Read more
It’s hare today, gone tomorrow — thanks to a face full of freaky tentacles. The grotesque “Frankenstein”-esque rabbits — once just a Colorado curiosity — are now turning up in Minnesota and Nebraska, their furry faces sprouting grotesque horn- and tentacle-like growths straight out of a B-movie. The unsettling deformities are the calling card of … Read more
Skip the selfie safari. A tourist who attempted to snap a photo with an elephant was subsequently severely injured after being trampled and stripped — revealing his bare behind for all manner of beasts to bear witness. Authorities are calling it a reckless and dangerous stunt. The shocking incident, which occurred near a temple in … Read more
I’ve seen a rash of social media posts recommending the application of sticky-tape bands around tree trunks to prevent spotted lantern flies and other garden pests from accessing tree canopies and munching on foliage. But those bands also catch caterpillars, butterflies, bees and birds, which would be difficult to free without ripping off their limbs or breaking their … Read more
Something’s more than a little fishy at this aquarium. Britney Taryn took her 6-year-old son, Leo, who loves animals and sea life, to the San Antonio Aquarium, where the family members are regulars, last month. But after a giant Pacific octopus in a touch tank latched onto her child, she likely won’t be back anytime … Read more
Marine rescue groups in Australia worked quickly to free a dolphin calf entangled in a fishing net, successfully reuniting the baby with its mother. Video from the Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans showed the July 24 rescue as teams from the Sea World Foundation, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Marine … Read more
No, this photo-bombing pachyderm is not an apparition, a phantasm or a spooky specter. He is the only African forest elephant to be spotted — via remote trail cam — in Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park in five long years. The “ghost” epithet can be applied to a range of endangered species, but ghost elephants in … Read more
Stop, hammertime! Weeks of heavy rain have prompted a plague of massive, toxic hammerhead flatworms to erupt from the ground in North Texas, much to the chagrin of frightened locals. “It was terrifying, like these are truly the end times, even the worms are demonic,” Keller resident Adam Ingle told NBC5 of the subterranean scourge, which … Read more
Spying on marine life with a pair of binoculars or just having a fancy spa day, here’s how the better half does Long Island’s better half. Vision quest We spy … Marram hotel guests spotting Montauk wildlife through a partnership with Swarovski Optik. Read McKendree See it to believe it. Montauk’s boutique resort Marram has … Read more
They’re buggin’ out. After lying dormant for nearly two decades, billions of sex-crazed cicadas will be emerging from their subterranean sleep pods hungry for love. However, this year, many will be extra horny thanks to the spread of a creepy, “The Last Of Us”-esque zombie fungus. “Nature is stranger than any science fiction that’s ever … Read more
Jaws and effect. Just when you thought it was safe to Go-Pro back in the water: French scientists have attributed the spike in shark attacks to selfie-taking influencers encouraging tourists to pet the toothy predators, per a “Jaws”-dropping study in the journal Frontiers in Conservation. Contrary to sharks’ portrayal as mindless killing machines in movies, … Read more
Hollywood star Jason Momoa has popped up on the Gold Coast. The actor, 45, enjoyed a day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in the Queensland city’s south this week, where he visited the park’s Wildlife Hospital. Momoa, whose latest film A Minecraft Movie is on track to hit the coveted billion-dollar mark at the box office, could be … Read more
See ya later, alligator. Many Floridians have had bizarre encounters with alligators — but this one might take the cake. A Sunshine State resident took to Reddit to share their frightening experience with two creepy reptiles that came up to their home’s front door, which was all captured on the family’s Ring camera. The footage … Read more
This is moose-see TV. A majestic herd of moose is captivating millions across the globe thanks to Sweden’s now-iconic livestream, The Great Moose Migration. Dubbed “reality TV at it’s finest,” the sublime broadcast returned April 15 — a full week early — after an unusually warm spring jumpstarted the annual inland trek of the country’s … Read more
A North Carolina man decided to take a more creative approach to tackling a persistent bear problem in his backyard by putting on a cartoony bear costume and, somehow, successfully scaring the unwelcome ursid away. Video footage captured a man in Asheville, bravely approaching a ferocious-looking black bear in his own brown bear costume that … Read more
Is it hipp-tocurrency? Moo Deng, the baby hippo who captivated the world this year, now has a billionaire benefactor. Canadian cryptocurrency mogul Vitalik Buterin donated more than $290,000 to her zoo in Thailand so he could be her “adoptive father,” Viral Press reported. “I very much look forward to seeing Moo Deng live long and … Read more
Dogs first became “man’s best friend” at least 12,000 years ago, new research suggests. Indigenous people in the Americas began forming close relationships with the ancestors of today’s dogs around 2,000 years earlier than previously recorded on the continent, based on remains found in Alaska. Researchers unearthed a tibia, or lower-leg bone, of an adult … Read more
This popular zoo animal is about to join the endangered species list. Giraffe populations in the wild savannas of Africa have experienced a dramatic decline, and it has become so severe that the U.S. government is now taking action to protect the animals. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced a proposal to add … Read more
Most living creatures are bound by the fact of birth, aging and death. Few, however, have evolved to break the typical life cycle. The aptly named immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) is one such animal — and, in a surprise discovery now published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists have added its cousin, … Read more
A slithering No.2. An Australian man found a python coiled inside his toilet — twice in one week. Although finding someone’s leftover business inside the toilet is repulsive, it might be preferred to find defecation rather than a scaly reptile hissing at you. Hervey Bay Snake Catchers in Queensland, Australia, received a call on Oct. … Read more