As the world has slowed down and people have spent more time indoors, it seems that nature has taken notice.
One case has seen some curious penguins exploring the aquarium they call home and visit other exhibits now that there aren’t so many humans around, but other examples of wild animals roaming what are normally busy streets and getting braver in our absence have been popping up throughout the world.
But as strange as they may consider the urban environments we’ve made for ourselves, there’s still a surprising amount that we may not know about their necks of the woods.
Indeed, the photos we’ll be looking at today should make it very clear that nature is still full of surprises after all our years of studying it.
This leopard seal seems to be having a pretty happy moment, but it’s revealing a lot about itself in the process.
Although a cat’s tongue is famously abrasive, this makes it very clear that it’s not the only creature with this feature.
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Also, those are some serious teeth!
This image may look pretty intense, but it’s actually capturing a pretty adorable moment.
What we’re seeing here is a coyote teaching its puppies how to howl. One is obviously taking it more seriously than the other, but it’s up to you as to which one is cuter.
It’s a very new sight for most of us, but it’s not so unusual for beaches in Iceland to have black sand.
That said, if you live in an area known for its volcanic activity, this may seem a little familiar because this sand began as black lava.
While discovering the remains of whale is hardly pleasant for any of us, it probably feels a little like Christmas for these octopuses.
When a whale sinks down into the ocean depths for the last time, this is called a whale fall and it usually results in a feeding frenzy for any creatures lucky enough to be in the area.
While it’s not unusual to see animals get into some perilous situations, it’s a little less common to see this as the aftermath.
Although anything’s possible, it’s fairly unlikely that the bee managed to impale itself on this cactus needle. Instead, this was probably the work of a bird called a shrike that wanted to save it for later.
Although this albino redwood is sometimes called a parasite, its relationship with the larger redwoods is a little more complicated than that.
For one thing, it’s not impossible to see it grow out of the ground instead of simply attaching to another tree.
For another, it’s known to absorb potentially toxic metals it comes into contact with to protect the well-being of its host. With that in mind, you could argue that its relationship is symbiotic, rather than parasitic.
It can be hard to tell how animals are actually feeling even if their expressions seem close to how we express emotions.
And so, we may not be able to assume this snake is as excited as it seems to be eating this frog. By the same token, the frog may be a lot more anxious about this situation than it seems.
But it definitely does seem like this snake is treating the frog like we treat pizza while the frog apparently couldn’t care less.
Just taking this photo on its own, it’s a little hard to tell what we’re even looking at.
Well, besides nature’s answer to Air Pods, anyway. It turns out that this is a branch that is either curvier than it seems, or that has frozen over in a pretty unusual way.
While some of us are wary about the presence of leeches in our local swimming holes, some areas in Asia add an extra degree of difficulty.
In such areas, the land leech can be a pretty unsettling problem. Why? Well, because it’s known to cling onto trees and then jump onto hosts from above.
Yup, raining leeches. That’s just great, isn’t it?
The praying mantis may not particularly religious, but this one has a much more fitting name.
What we’re looking at here is a black ghost mantis, which was presumably named according to how edgy it naturally looks.
I wouldn’t what to think about someone who would name it the cuddly candyland mantis or something.
It’s hard to imagine how much damage a predatory snail could do, but such creatures do exist.
Case in point, we have these black Decollete snails, which are known to eat other snails and their young.
They’re not a threat to us, though.
It must be difficult to catch an osprey on the hunt like this, but this shot captures its intimidating majesty perfectly.
And considering where it’s grabbing this rainbow trout, the fish will probably spend the rest of its short life not quite knowing what’s happening to it.
Even if we can’t see the animals in action, however, they do tend to leave some evidence behind.
For instance, based on the tracks and the distinct wing patterns in this snow, it would seem that a cat had little issue catching a bird by surprise here.
If there’s one thing we can say for the honey locust, it’s that it lays all of its cards on the table.
After all, this network of big thorns makes it look like an incredibly painful plant to come in contact with and this is apparently one case in which looks aren’t deceiving.
This trail cam footage makes it a little hard to tell who’s winning, but one creature here has the upper hand for now, at least.
This snake may have thought it had some easy prey here, but this kangaroo rat just kicked it right in the face.
Still, no matter how many pictures we may see of a snake getting embarrassed, that doesn’t take away from what they’re capable of.
For instance, here we see a scrub python patiently and methodically climbing a tree just by wrapping different parts of itself around it at a time.
Without the social distancing programs many of us are going through right now, this photo wouldn’t have been possible.
In the Yunan province of southwestern China, these two elephants apparently raided a village while the humans were isolating themselves indoors.
They were searching for food, but ended up drinking about 30 quarts of corn wine. Even for an elephant, that’s a lot and they ended up passing out in a nearby tea garden as a result.
This snake may be little, but it just made a pretty big catch.
The way that it’s holding this little fish up reminds me of how proudly I’d see my grandpa show off his latest catch.
He didn’t take the photo with the fish in his mouth, of course, but you get the idea.
Giant spiders may not everyone’s favorite thing, but at least the regular huntsman spiders tend to show themselves right away.
As we can see, however, the lichen huntsman can blend in with tree bark well enough that it’ll seriously scare the crap out of anyone who unwittingly brushes against it.
Despite how it may seem, this bird doesn’t have the dozen or so legs that we see here.
Instead, this Jacana bird is actually carrying all of its children under its wings and it’s obviously more difficult to hide their legs than the rest of them.
