Buzz
The animal kingdom remains under constant scrutiny, examined by countless researchers through the years. Yet, each year, astonishing new creatures emerge, and familiar species surprise us with behavior that defies expectations.
The most captivating discoveries are often the strangest—explosions, glowing bones, and a communication system that almost mirrors human language.
10. The Pompeii Horse
The tragedy of Pompeii is primarily remembered for the haunting sight of human figures, frozen in pain. Around 2,000 people perished when Mount Vesuvius erupted and engulfed the Roman city in AD 79.
While a few animal skeletons, such as those of mules and donkeys, have been discovered, only two casts were successfully made—a dog and a pig. These are what modern visitors observe as the 'bodies' of Pompeii today.
In 2018, archaeologists working on a stable outside the city uncovered the first horse from Pompeii. A distinct ear shape revealed it was not a mule. The animal had died inside the stable and was found on its side, where it had fallen.
The horse, measuring only 152 centimeters (5’0″) tall at the shoulder, would be considered small by modern standards. Nevertheless, it was far from insignificant. A bronze-and-iron harness found near its head suggested the horse had been used in parades.
9. Chameleons Shine Bright in the Dark
In 2018, scientists placed several scaly creatures in total darkness and exposed them to UV light. To their surprise, many of the chameleons began to emit a brilliant electric blue glow.
The dazzling glow wasn't related to the chameleons' famous color-changing ability. Incredibly, the neon light was emitted from their bones. This phenomenon, known as bioluminescence in bones, is not new to science and is commonly used to locate fossils.
However, the bones of living creatures are usually obscured by muscle and skin, making it difficult to detect. In chameleons, this glowing ability was easy to observe because their bones are more superficially structured.
The chameleons' bones have bony extensions that almost touch the skin, providing an unimpeded fluorescence. Since chameleons can perceive ultraviolet light, they likely glow for courtship (with males having more radiant protrusions) or as a form of communication.
Not all chameleons possess this glowing ability. It is a characteristic specific to rainforest species where bioluminescence thrives in dark environments. Interestingly, their skin may also amplify the glow by filtering blue light wavelengths.
8. Dolphin Choked by Octopus
In 2015, a dolphin was discovered stranded south of Perth. The male bottlenose was in perfect health. The cause of death was apparent—a Maori octopus stuck in its mouth. While it seemed the dolphin had choked, the circumstances were far from ordinary. From the outset, it was a case never documented before.
Dolphins are known to hunt these creatures, but it was unprecedented for one to fatally choke on an octopus. During the autopsy, the lump sticking out of the bottlenose’s mouth shocked the doctor when it revealed a long specimen. The tentacles extended to 1.3 meters (4.2 ft), and the octopus weighed 2 kilograms (4.6 lb).
To consume larger prey, dolphins briefly alter their respiratory structure by detaching the tissue that connects the blowhole to the larynx. However, the octopus encircled its tentacle around the larynx, preventing the dolphin from restoring its ability to breathe properly.
The dolphin didn’t choke on the octopus—it suffocated. There's even a possibility that the deceased prey played an active role in the dolphin’s death. After death, an octopus’s arms can remain responsive for a considerable time.
7. The Most Unusual Squid in the World
In the Gulf of Mexico, a mysterious creature floats that might or might not be a squid. Even experts in tentacled curiosities are at a loss regarding what they're observing.
In 2018, NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer, a remote submarine, discovered a bright red creature thousands of feet beneath the ocean's surface. The animal had short, stubby arms, but its other tentacles seemed to be absent. Oddly, the squid also moved like a nautilus.
Biologists were puzzled by its posture. Some arms were curled up on its back, others were positioned underneath, and some extended outward. This may have been a defensive stance, suggesting the squid was aware of the submarine's presence.
Another possibility for the squid's peculiar appearance is that the curled arms prevent 'marine snow' from falling off its back, enabling it to store food particles for later. These particles, which originate from shallower waters, nourish many deep-sea creatures.
If this is the case, it would mark a new survival strategy for the record books. Additionally, the creature could be Discoteuthis discus, a squid known only by fragments and never before observed alive.
6. Paramedic Ants
When matabele ants feel hungry, they head to a termite mound to feast on the insects inside. Since termites are formidable opponents, a fierce battle always occurs before the ants can enjoy their meal. While termites rely on brute strength, the tiny sub-Saharan ants have a clear advantage in numbers, thanks to an extraordinary behavior first witnessed in 2017.
Matabele ants exhibit a unique behavior by rescuing their injured comrades and carrying them back to the safety of their colony. No other ant species displays this behavior. By rescuing their wounded, the colony size increases by up to 30 percent compared to leaving the injured behind.
Once safely returned to the colony, the injured ants recover in just a few days and often return to participate in future raids. Before assuming that the ants are acting out of compassion, researchers caution that empathy likely plays no role in their decision to help fallen comrades.
The wounded ants release pheromones from their mandibles, signaling the paramedic ants to rush to their aid. It's highly probable that the rescuers aren't even aware that they are assisting an injured ant in need of help.
5. Killer Whale Infanticide
For years, Jared Towers has been researching killer whale pods in the waters off Canada. In 2016, his equipment began picking up urgent signals from orcas located northeast of Vancouver Island.
Upon arriving to investigate, Towers discovered two family groups. He identified a 32-year-old male orca accompanied by his mother, and the pair was bullying another pod, which had a newborn calf.
Aggression between killer whales is rare, so Towers was stunned when the mother-and-son duo worked together to kill the calf. They didn’t consume or maim the baby but instead drowned it. Despite the mother’s violent attack on the male, during which he was shaken and blood splattered, she couldn't stop them.
Infanticide, or the killing of an infant of the same species, has never been observed in orcas. Researchers believe the pair attacked the family for the same reason other animals kill unrelated young: to enhance their own chances of passing on their genes. The involvement of the adult male's mother offers the first evidence that killer whale mothers may assist their sons (who often stay with them for life) in mating opportunities.
4. Exploding Ants
In the rainforests of Borneo, a newly discovered ant species has an extremely unusual defense mechanism. First identified in 2018, Colobopsis explodens is filled with toxic liquid. When it senses an intruder, the ant ruptures and sprays yellow poison at the threat. Although the explosion is fatal to the ant itself, it proves an effective deterrent during territorial battles with other colonies.
There are several ant species known for self-detonation in defense, but Colobopsis explodens is by far the strangest. Moreover, not all ants in this species sacrifice themselves in battle. Only the minor workers possess the ability to sacrifice their lives.
The major workers, easily recognized by their larger heads, employ an odd defense strategy to protect the colony. The entrance hole of the nest is just the right size for one of these ants to wedge its head into. In the event of a threat, the ant blocks the entrance by simply jamming its head into the hole, effectively preventing any intruder from entering the nest.
3. Dolphins Have Conversations
In 2016, two dolphins, Yana and Yasha, engaged in a conversation while a microphone recorded their exchange. Upon analyzing the recording, researchers discovered that the dolphins weren’t just making random noises for amusement.
Yana would produce up to five distinct pulsed clicks in a row. During this time, Yasha would remain silent, only responding with his own 'sentence' afterward. Neither dolphin interrupted the other during their exchange. This kind of conversation, though dolphins are known for their intricate communication, had never been documented before.
Until now, scientists believed that dolphins only made simple one-word sounds to communicate about food, emotions, or their whereabouts. However, the two dolphins from Ukraine proved this theory wrong. By varying their volume and rhythm, the pulsed clicks they emitted formed sentences similar to how people converse.
These loquacious dolphins exhibited all the key features of human language. This major discovery confirmed that dolphins possess an advanced spoken language of their own. Unfortunately, scientists remain unable to decode what Yasha and Yana were discussing that day.
2. Deer Eating A Human
In Texas, there’s a 26-acre plot of land where bodies are regularly disposed of in the woods. But this is not the site of criminal activity—it’s a so-called body farm, utilized by the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at Texas State University. Researchers use this site to study human corpses in natural conditions.
In 2017, an experiment was conducted by leaving a human body outdoors to observe its decomposition and the animals that interacted with it. One unexpected visitor was a white-tailed deer, which arrived after the body had been exposed to the elements for 182 days.
To the astonishment of the researchers, the deer did something never observed in its kind—it ate part of the human remains. Specifically, the deer selected a rib bone and began chewing on it “like a cigar.”
Rather than displaying abnormal behavior, the deer was likely after the nutrient-rich marrow. While it’s never been documented that a deer would eat a human in such a manner, other animals like sheep are known to gnaw on bones occasionally.
1. Sharks Missing Their Livers
The fishing town of Gansbaai in South Africa has no qualms about being surrounded by shark-infested waters. In fact, guiding tourists to observe these fearsome predators is essential for the town's economic survival.
In 2017, something unusual began occurring when several great white sharks washed up on the beach. Despite the bodies being discovered days or even months apart, they all shared one chilling similarity—missing livers. Even more disturbing, when scientists examined the mutilated sharks, they discovered that the organs had been removed with surgical precision.
These sharks were enormous, with one female measuring an impressive 4.9 meters (16 feet). With scientists suspecting a more formidable foe, attention turned to local orcas. While killer whales are known to feast on shark organs, the act of removing just the liver while leaving the rest of the body intact was a first for South African waters.
Orcas may be attracted to shark livers because they are rich in vital nutrients like vitamins and squalene. Squalene is essential for vitamin D production, as well as for creating cholesterol and steroid hormones. Alternatively, the orcas might simply find the livers irresistibly tasty.
