Raccoon's intelligence

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This looks just way too intelligent. I am thinking about selective breeding of raccoons to make them smarter and possible achieve human-like intelligence, so our species will have a companion.

The Fermi Paradox, Imgur edition

The Fermi Paradox, Everyone feels something when they’re in a really good starry place on a really good starry night and they lo

Some people stick with the traditional, feeling struck by the epic beauty or blown away by the insane scale of the universe. Personally, I go for the old “existential meltdown followed by acting weird for the next half hour.” But everyone feels something. Physicist Enrico Fermi felt something too—”Where is everybody?”...

This is how starts this Imgur post. Go there and read further.

The Fermi Paradox (I haven't seen this on here yet so I hope you enjoy)

Australian Privet Hawk Moth

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The Privet Hawk Moth (Sphinx ligustri) is one of the bigger insects. Not an animal record or anything like that, but still its one of these things that is interesting to see alive if possible.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Dailymail

One very interesting animal - The Springhare

This is what we've got when the kangaroo, the hare and the squirrel had a threesome :). On more serious note this a bit strange animal is called South African springhare (Pedetes capensis) or Springhaas in Dutch and is a rodent (which means its not related to the real hares), native to southern Africa.

Image courtesy: Wikipedia

 What is not visible on the pictures is the size of the springhare, which is not small like it seems on first sight, but rather similar to that of small rabbit.

 Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the bit of information about that cute beast.

Golden Eagle vs Red Fox

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) fight Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). Here are series of shots of this encounter. The winner is likely to be the Eagle. The photo is taken on February 22nd 2006 South Finland, by ©Pekka Komi.


In this case the Eagle despite of the brave attack is in trouble. Generally is likely in encounter between the two animals to win the Eagle, but the Fox also have great possibility for success.

Source: Tarsiger

The world's largest rat

The Gambian Pouch Rat is the largest rat in the world according many sources. The true is that it is rather the biggest rat-like creature, because the nutria is double in size and that rat is not true rat. He can grow up to 3 or 4 kg. The creature on the picture is may be him smaller cousin - the Emin's rat, I am don't sure. Here we have also funny video where we can see how smart they can be.


Source: Altpet

Unusual Horned Beetle

Photo Douglas J. Emlen

Photo E. Greene

The name of this male unusual stag-horned beetle could be Proagoderus rangifer (or Onthophagus rangifer), which is species in Tribe Onthophagini, Subfamily Scarabaeinae, Family Scarabaeidae. It is about 11 mm length. Closely relative beetles can be found in Europe as well, but dark coloured.

Source: Douglas J. Emlen - Division of Biological Sciences UM, Whyfiles

Thylacine - video records

The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Native to Australia and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (due to its striped back), and also known as the Tasmanian Wolf. The seven film clips above comprise near all of the motion picture footage known to exist of living Thylacines. The last known specimen died in Hobart Zoo 1936. I want to believe that there are still surviving Thylacines in some remote place.

Source:Wikipedia

Goshawk hunting

Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) chasing different animals. One of the most fearsome birds. Spectacular agility in fly. Here another very good video of Goshawk chasing hare. Here Goshawk call at nest.

Albino animals - part II

Partial albino chimpanzee (or bonobo ?)

Albino Gorilla, the famous Snow Flake.

Albino macaque.

Albino hedgehog.

Albino Bactrian Camel.

Albino (or may be not) wolf.

Albino whale.

Albino kangaroo, I'm not sure for the species.

See more: Albino animals - part I

Tidal Wave

It is too fast for lunar tidal wave. May be it is tsunami? I'm don't sure.

Albino animals

Albino Common Raven (Corvus corax).

White American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Note the blue eyes, similar like albino humans.

Partial Albino Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), very strange.

Albino Sand Martin (Riparia riparia). In some countries is said that the albino swallows and martins bring good luck and will comply a wish.

See more: Albino animals - part II

Red Rectangle Nebula

The Red Rectangle Nebula is a very unusual celestial object. There are two cases of rectangular objects on the sky. Other is the Red Square Nebula.

Squirrel wrestling

Very cute.

Cobra vs Mongoose

The Mongooses have very fast reactions and interesting tactics when they decide to attack a snake. It looks like a fencer or martial artist. They make feints, provocations, counter attacks, true fighting art. The Small Asian Mongoose is particularly famous snake-eater, they eat even King Cobras.

Iapetus

Saturn's satellite Iapetus (or Japetus) is one of the strangest objects in our Solar system. There is equatorial ridge about 20 km wide and 13 km high extending 1300 km through the center of Cassini Regio. Parts of the ridge rise more than 20 km over the surrounding plains. The ridge forms a complex system including isolated peaks, segments extending for more than 200 km and sections with three near parallel ridges. A an conclusion I'd say that all this seems to be way too unnatural in my opinion.

Source: Wikipedia

Bad birds

This picture is called "bird vs rabbit", but there is no much in therms of "versus", the poor rabbit is adversary in the same sense a Big Mac is an opponent for me. The bird actually is Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and the rabbit is most likely to be pet dwarf rabbit (at least in my opinion, we can judge from the shape of ears, head and the colour, also it seem too dark for young Hare). It looks bizarre and abnormal for us, but the Herons usually will eat all small enough animals they can catch.


In this video is shown the St James's park in London, where a pelican swallows alive pigeon. The moment was caught on camera by the photographer Cathal McNaughton. The pelicans usually eat fish, but if they are starved, they will eat almost anything they can catch. There are known cases where they have eaten ducklings for example.

All is OK, all it's natural, but the last one is already excessive.

Sources: Daily Mail, BBC

Red Square Nebula

The Red Square Nebula is a very unusual celestial object. Also it is one of the most symmetrical celestial objects ever discovered. It is amazing how can exist similar thing in the space.

Source: Wikipedia

The Hexagon on Saturn

It is an old news, but it still impresses me. This hexagon (or rather hexagonal formation) lies on the north pole of the planet Saturn and its about 25,000 kilometres (15,000 miles) across. Nearly four Earths could fit inside it.

"This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides," said Kevin Baines, atmospheric expert and member of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

There are some explanations involving possible standing wave but I think it doesn't look convincing enough. Here is an example.

Sources: NASA, Physorg

How bright is a Supernova

Supernova 1994D in Galaxy NGC 4526. The distance is about 55 million light-years. Compare the luminosity of the galaxy core and the supernova. Only a supernova can radiate energy like billions stars.

Source: http://www.spacetelescope.org