Fa-reaks of nature

[texas_jack]

Originally Posted by zupermaus

Thats amazing. Did he infect them himself? What would happen if a human ate those eggs?

He did infect them himself. I don't think anything would happen to us though. Another cool thing he worked with was a wasp species that attacks ants and injects an egg into them while they are still alive. The ants walk around until the maggot eventually eats their guts.

 

[Coho]

Ligers. Very cool. Not a freak but close enough.

 

[Jelly or Syrup]

great thread. nice pics and info.

i could image the penguin thinking "****...."

 

[Huntsman]

I find the grey owl beautiful.

Your comment on the Watsui should be made into signs for the pens.

"Watsui Cattle

Do not piss off."

Priceless.

 

[j]

Creepy, but great thread.

 

[slycedbred]

very awesome... when i started reading this thread i knew that new prehistoric shark would be mentioned...

this really interests me--as a pre-med major, I'm taking lots of biology courses.

i especially like the parasitic spores--if chuck norris were a spore, this is the spore he'd be.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

A small but highly efficient killing machine"”a hornet two inches long and with a wingspan up to three inches"”lurks in the mountains of Japan. The voracious predator has a quarter-inch stinger that pumps out a dose of venom with an enzyme so strong it can dissolve human tissue.

Bees, other hornet species, and larger insects such as praying mantises are no match for the giant hornets, which often stalk their prey in relentless armies. Just one of these hornets can kill 40 European honeybees a minute; a handful of the creatures can slaughter 30,000 European honeybees within hours, leaving a trail of severed insect heads and limbs.

People are not the Japanese giant hornet's usual prey, but those who have felt its sting describe the pain as excruciating. Masato Ono, an entomologist at Tamagawa University, near Tokyo, said it's "like a hot nail through my leg."

Someone who is stung by the hornet and doesn't receive proper treatment soon thereafter can die from the venom, which is powerful enough to disintegrate human flesh. About 40 people die each year after being stung by giant hornets

 

[Huntsman]

From wiki on that bee thing up there: "In Japan's mountain villages, the larvae and pupae of hornets are valued as a delicacy. They are eaten deep fried or as a kind of hornet sashimi." DAYumm.

 

[RJman]

Cassowaries are badass. One of them threatened me in Vienna, carving up a tree trunk.

Keas are crazy. They live in the mountains -- amid the snow -- in New Zealand and are fiendishly intelligent.

 

[LabelKing]

As an amateur enthusiast of natural history, I appreciate these animals though my Victorian-science side wants to taxidermy every single one of them for a collection.

The Mola Mola:

Gharial:

Coelacanth:

The famous platypus:

Portuguese Man of War:

The Whale Shark:

 

[Kaizen]

I am never going outside again!

 

[zupermaus]

Right, hereby presenting...

The box jellyfish - there are 19 different species

The worlds most venomous creature, said to be the greatest pain one can inflict upon a person. In breeding seasons millions of these things suspend their tentacles through Australian waters forcing thousands of beaches to close - and believe me you wouldnt want to go swimming. 5,600 people have died since 1950.

There are up to 60 tentacles 3 metres long on each one of these suckers. The slightest hair trigger will shoot tiny harpoons into your skin that pump out the venom - a substance so toxic it dissolves human flesh via the arteries, and hits every pain receptor in your immune system.

A researcher describes being stung very very slightly. Whilst holding a jellyfish inside a bucket, one of the tentacles was drooped over the edge of the slop. As the researcher walked the tentacle swayed and just touched his hand. He said that tiny hair touch was like someone holding a red hot poker to him and not moving.

Eyewitnesses describe the death of an unfortunate swimmer who jumped in the sea ignoring the warning signs. Within seconds they heard an inhuman scream, the man was frothing and having a fit. They dragged him out and he had passed out from the pain - he had been stung all across his torso. The paramedics took a while to arrive to the deserted beach, and took him to the city, where he died later in hospital.
...But get this, he was screaming the whole time, on the beach, through the ambulance ride, on the operating table - unconscious. Not moaning, screaming.

survivors are scarred for life

 

[zupermaus]

more Mola mola albino specimen

cute juveniles

adult

Up to 11ft long

 

[texas_jack]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

.
Portuguese Man of War:

[/IMG]

I've been stung by one of these a couple times. It sucks ass.

 

[Mr T]

I try to stay away from nature. The creatures out there always seem up to something.