“One of the ocean’s fastest and most powerful predators.” Photographer witnesses elegant hunter prowling for prey

“One of the ocean’s fastest and most powerful predators.” Photographer witnesses elegant hunter prowling for prey

As a school of fish swirls above, a marlin prowls through the blue water, its distinctive stripes glinting in the sun. This is the stunning moment caught on film by wildlife filmmaker Alex Westover. Westover shared the spectacular video on Instagram with the caption “marlin magic”. He describes the event as “a rare encounter with one of the ocean’s fastest […]

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‘No one believed it’: how a YouTube video accidentally proved Libya’s sand cat really does exist

‘No one believed it’: how a YouTube video accidentally proved Libya’s sand cat really does exist

When wildlife photographer Mohammed Almuntasir uploaded 18 seconds of footage to YouTube, he thought little more about the small, pale cat seen digging a hollow in the sand in the remote dunes of south-west Libya. The video, however, posted in 2017, turned out to be the first material evidence that the sand cat (Felis margarita), the world’s only […]

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The biggest claw on Earth is an enormous 20cm long and shaped like a scythe. What it’s used for may surprise you

The biggest claw on Earth is an enormous 20cm long and shaped like a scythe. What it’s used for may surprise you

It is generally known that animals such as bears, tigers and sloths have exceptionally long claws. But the creature that holds the world record might surprise you. While two-toed and three-toed sloths have claws that grow between 7–10cm long, they aren’t the longest claws you’ll find in the animal kingdom. Grizzly bears and Siberian tigers generally have claws that are […]

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On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline

On the brink of extinction, the Javan green magpie gets a conservation lifeline

Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia’s Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the wild. Javan green magpies (Cissa thalassina) are endemic to the upland forests of West Java province, but have been assessed as critically endangered, with as few as […]

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It has a cloak, huge eyes and bright blue snot – AND that’s only the beginning…

It has a cloak, huge eyes and bright blue snot – AND that’s only the beginning…

Strange things lurk in the planet’s deepest, darkest corners. And it doesn’t get much deeper and darker than the bottom of the ocean, or stranger than Vampyroteuthis infernalis – the ‘vampire squid from hell’. As such it is one of the world’s weirdest sea creatures What is a vampire squid? Despite its name – inspired by its dark […]

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