Meet Grandma
ONCE upon a time, 3 billion years ago, there lived a single organism called LUCA. It was enormous: a mega-organism like none seen since, it filled the planet’s oceans before splitting into three and giving birth to the ancestors of all living things on Earth today
Cute Attack
From the Fluffington Post: Cute attack!
Why the Octopus Walked
The web is crawling with video of an octopus climbing out of the ocean for a painstaking walk over the rocks before sliding back into a ocean. Along the way, she drops a crab. Onlookers say she was leaving them a gift. (Why do we we humans assume everything is about us?)
Let’s Share Some Spaghetti!
“Counter-walking cats,” you write, “should be kept out of the kitchen during preparation and during dinner when the extra food is just sitting there.” A reader of your column just sent us this video of Mackinaw Queenie and Kenzie in the kitchen:
Swimming with Sharks … in a Bikini!
When you’ve had enough sugary fare and football this Thanksgiving weekend, check out Shark Attack Experiment LIVE on Nat Geo WILD this Friday evening, November 25.
How to Get Dry Without a Towel
David Hu, a researcher at Georgia Tech, has studied how dogs shake themselves dry. Using slo-mo video of his poodle and other dogs, Wu demonstrated that dogs – and furry animals of all kinds – have gotten it down to a fine art.
‘I’ll Take the Photos, Thank You!’
Did the lemur want to take the photos herself? Or did she just like the look of the camera? Either way, she leaped forward at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and made a bid to take the camera from one of the visitors.
NYPD ‘Officer’ Meets Occupy Wall Street ‘Civilian’
A passerby writes that “I saw this on my walk back to the office from lunch. It was a nice contrast to the perception everyone has of the NYPD in the area due to the Occupy Wall Street camp nearby.”
Startling Starling Murmuration
Toward the end of fall, typically at sunset, huge flocks of starlings take to the skies to check out who’s who, what’s what, and where the best food is likely to be tomorrow.
Fish with Their Own Observation Tower
German fish lover T.C.Helmut adds an observation tower to his koi pond. The fish can enter and leave the tower at will. By the looks of this, they prefer the view! (But you can see a couple of them scooting in and out at the bottom.
Dog Saves Mayor Struck by Lightning
Ian Thomas was doing the rounds of his farm, feeding his chickens, goats and donkey when he was thrown to the ground. Stunned and in great pain, he grabbed onto Monty, his large black schnauzer, and the dog helped him struggle back to the house.
‘What’s This Long Thing For, Mommy?’
This newborn elephant, at the Whipsnade Zoo in England, is fully occupied with take her first baby steps and working out which leg does what and, most important, how not to step on her own trunk. She doesn’t seem quite certain what it’s even there for.
Angel in Their Midst
Just before the Pope stepped forward to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and with security as tight as a drum, an intruder appeared out of the crowd and crossed in front of him.
Making Friends with an Elephant Seal
Irish photographer and journalist Charlie Bird was on a special assignment in Antarctica when he sat down near some elephant seals.
Could Grandma Come Back as a Squirrel?
Aithor Ptolemy Tompkins discusses the views of different religions, particularly Christianity and Buddhism, about whether nonhuman animals have souls and afterlives.
Call It a Whoopee Spray!
It was a more explosive variation on the whoopee cushion that when you sit on it, it makes a rude noise. In this case, the entire building had to be evacuated!
The Moon’s North Pole
This photo, by NASA, is actually a composite of 983 individual photos taken at close range by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and carefully stitched together.
World’s Dog-Eared Record
Harbor the hound is all ears – more than 2 feet of ear span from tip to tip. That wins him the 2012 Guinness World Record for the longest ears of any living dog.