Residing near Palolem Beach, in Goa, India, this realistic looking shark never leaves this spot. No, it doesn’t even move a single inch. Why? Because it is a rock. Created by Street artist Jimmy Swift, who painted the figure in 2015, this rock shark has been a favorite spot for tourists to flock to for selfies ever since. According to Swift, he knew upon first laying eyes on this rock, that is was surely fate for it to become a shark.
Inspired by the classic shark horror film, Jaws, this is the second of Swift’s pieces painted for all to see at Palolem Beach. It was his desire to challenge himself that this artist chose to paint the shark head on this unique, three-dimensional surface. “This was the hardest thing I’ve ever painted. I was literally beat up by the waves and rising tide and forced to stop before it was finished,” said Swift in a post on his Instagram page.
An Australian Green Tree Frog Piggy Backs Atop an African Spurred Tortoise
When this photograph began appearing on an increasing number of ‘photo-of-the-day’ and ‘weird news’ sites, immediately journalists began to claim it was false. And, as it turns out, they were completely correct. While the frog is identified as an Australian green tree frog, the tortoise, an African Sulcata, is from the hot, arid regions of Sub-Sahara Africa, and do not do well in the damp, wet, or cold conditions often enjoyed by the Green Tree Frog, who reside primarily in forests, woodlands, and wetlands.
Taken by a photographer in Indonesia, after his photo was called out and tracked down, he eventually admitted to buying his photography wildlife subjects at a nearby, local pet shop. It is with these purchased animals that he poses them for his photos, which he then sells to wire services. Sadly, in reality, while this completely falsified, manufactured photograph is adorable, we must remember that one should not always believe everything you see or read on the internet.
A Newborn Nile Crocodile Prepares to Depart Its Egg
The below photo displays a truly beautiful, rare moment. Here, a newborn crocodile prepares itself as it leaves its shell and enters the world for the very first time. And while this baby croc has successfully made it to this final stage of incubation, many other crocodile infants are not so lucky. Sadly, of the average 10 to 60 eggs laid at a time by the mother crocodile, few reach the hatching stage. The combination of predators, flooding, and a number of other circumstances often lead to the destruction of up to half of all eggs laid by the crocodile mother.
Of all crocodile hatchlings, it is estimated only one percent of these babies survive to full maturity. However, on the bright side, for those lucky crocs that do survive, the tables of fate for these animals quickly turn, and the adult crocodile ultimately emerges as a reptile with virtually no predators. While the length of a crocodile’s life varies by species, the average lifespan of a fully matured adult crocodile ranges from 30 to 75 years.
A Very Dinosaur-looking Baby Blue Heron
In the below photo is a particularly dinosaur-looking blue heron, mouth open as it perches upon one man’s hand. For any doubters of the evolutionary connection between birds and their dinosaur ancestors, the baby blue heron stands as a perfect example of this prehistoric connection. If not for its tiny size, one look at this terrifying bird and one would think it was taken right out of a Jurassic Park film!
Most commonly found near the shores and wetlands of much of North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands, in its prime years as an adult, standing as tall as 4 and a half feet tall (1.37m), with a wingspan often exceeding six feet wide, the blue heron is actually known as the largest of all North American herons!
The Ultimate Stare-down: a Babe Ocelot vs. a Camera
No, the below photo isn’t of an angry house cat. It’s actually a wild ocelot! When compared to your average kitty, ocelots appear far bigger, and far superior, to its domestic, potty-trained counterpart. Approximately double the size of a domestic cat, Ocelots are characterized by their distinctive coat, which ranges in color from light yellow to reddish gray, and is decorated with a wide variety of unique markings and patterns of dark spots and stripes. No two coats are the same!
Because of these unique markings, these wild cats are oftentimes also called painted leopards, as well as dwarf leopards. Despite their coats’ striking similarity to big cats like leopards, in reality, ocelots are only distantly related to these kings of the jungle. While Leopards and tigers belong to the Pantherinae, (aka the roaring cats) subfamily, ocelots identify as a part of the Felinae (or small cats) subfamily.