As human beings, we think we have Mother Nature and the planet Earth just about figured out. Yet, day by day scientists and researchers make more and more discoveries that show us just how wrong our previous perceptions of the big blue ball we call our home can be. Below, we’ll look at four of the most incredible, strange, and downright odd things that actually exist in nature.
The Living Rock
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Found off the coast of Peru and Chile, the Pyura Chilensis is essentially a living, breathing rock, which bleeds, reproduces, and is even eaten by locals raw or in stews. Though, the oddest aspect of this strange sea creature may not be that it is, in fact, completely immobile, and looks just like a rock, but that it eats by sucking water through a microorganism, reproduces in clouds of sperm and eggs, and becomes hermaphroditic at puberty in order to reproduce. The odd living sea rocks also secrete Vandium through their clear blood. The rare element is also found in crude oil and tar sands.
The Deer with Gills
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Considered to be one of the world’s rarest large animals, the Saola, a native bovine only to the Annamite forest range of Laos and Vietnam, is a deer like species with a strange attribute on the sides of its face; gills. In the media, Saola’s have been referred to as the ‘Asian unicorn’ for their seemingly bizarre facial features. In reality the Saola’s ‘gills’ are used not for underwater breathing, as it was previously assumed, but are actually sinus glands located in front of the eyes. The species were first discovered in 1993 and have rarely been help in captivity or seen in the wild.
Crystal Clear Lake Looks Inches Deep, has 300 Foot Depth
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Found in the northwestern corner of Montana, Lake Flathead has water so clear that it can actually maximize the view of the bottom making the lake seem inches deep when, in fact, the body of water reaches up to 300 feet in depth. With the lake’s waters being deceptively clear, a magnification occurs, enhancing the view of the bottom to the eye making it appear as much, much closer than it actually is. While someone standing on the shore of the lake, or on a boat in its center, may be able to see the bottom, seemingly inches away, they may actually be starring into depths of up to 320 feet.
South America’s Real Life Hell Hound
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Somewhere between deer, wolf, and fox, is South America’s native Maned Wolf. The creature itself resembles a long legged cross between a wolf and a fox and conjures images of devilish hell hounds when seen agitated in photographs. Mostly solitary creatures, the Maned Wolf has three different vocalizations, a roar bark, angered growls, and high pitched whines, which if heard unknowingly in the wild could cause the hair to raise on the back of your neck. Apparently the Maned Wolf’s urine also possesses a smell like burning Marijuana, a fact Dutch police discovered by accident after being called to a local zoo on suspicions of an active smoker.
There you have it, four of the weirdest creatures, places, and downright weird oddities Mother Nature claims as her own. If you thought humans have discovered it all, for all the strange things we’ve already found on planet Earth, hundreds of thousands more wait just outside of our everyday habitats and explorations. All of them proof that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction when it comes to the things we share our planet with.
