In the below photo stands a weak elderly lion in his final hours. If anything, this sad photograph proves the ways of life in the jungle are often unkind, and absolute. Known as Skybed Scar, this lion made quite a name for himself in South Africa’s Kruger Park. Once the ruler over all — the ultimate king of the jungle — as this recent picture show, those days are now long gone.
Allegedly kicked out of his lion pride, unable to fend for himself in his weakened state, without the protection and food once provided to him by his family, Scar grew increasingly gaunt and thin.
Baby Elephant Goes Out for a Drink (of Water)
Of all the impressive features of an elephant, its trunk is perhaps the most incredible. Basically an extremely long nose, the elephant’s trunk does far more than simply smell. The impressive nubs at the end of the elephant trunk allow the animal to pick up grass and many other kinds of vegetation. Incredibly, the trunk alone can also weigh up to 100 pounds. Additionally, elephants are able to use their trunks as a snorkel when submerging underwater.
Elephants also drink through their trunks, thus serving as an adaptive straw, which allows the elephant to drink water from ponds far below, or, as the young elephant in the above image adorably demonstrates, from a man-made fountain. To tell the difference between the African elephant and the Asian elephant, one can even use the trunk as a means of comparing the two elephant species. Indeed, while the tip of an African elephant’s trunk contains two fingers or ‘lips’, the trunk of the Asian elephant only possesses one.
The Elusive Ili Pika: the Ultimate Hide and Seek Champion
The below photograph captures perhaps the best hide-and-seeker of all time: the elusive Ili pika. An adorably small mammal with the appearance of a teddy-bear faced rabbit, this animal was first discovered in 1983, hidden among the Tian Shan mountains of northwestern China. Sadly, in the early ‘90s, this mysterious creature seemed to disappear completely off the face of the Earth.
Just when all hope was lost, in the summer of 2014, researchers finally rediscovered the pika (the very Ili pika in this picture, to be exact)! Found by none other than Weidong Li—the species' original discoverer - and his group of research volunteers, the very pika seen in the above photo was discovered after much pika searching in the Tianshan Mountains.
A Mother Bat Flies Her Baby High in the Sky
This photo captures a truly rare, touching moment of a mother bat and her baby, as they fly across the sky. While Halloween and vampire movies have made bats out to be truly evil, sinister creatures, the notoriously bad reputation of bats is one they really do not deserve. In reality, bats are actually extremely peaceful, incredible creatures. Bat moms, in particular, are widely known as some of the most heroic of mothers in the entire animal kingdom.
In the photo, this grey-headed flying fox is seen working hard to carry her rather large bat pup. While this mother seems to move forward by the “force of motherly love,” in contrast, bat dads are far less doting and are known to leave their female mates and children. For these species, it is the single mother who raises the bat pups as they grow from baby to adult.
Smile for the Camera! A Grinning Crocodile Bears its Teeth as It Jumps Mid-air
This action-packed photograph captures a young crocodile jumping straight up into the sky, in order to catch its next meal. Amazingly, these reptiles are able to do so by generating large amounts of momentum combined with powerful undulations of the reptile’s tail. It is then able to push off from the bottom of the river, so long as it is shallow enough.
From here, the crocodile is able to launch itself unbelievably high into the air. Believe it or not, of the 13 types of crocodiles, species like that of the Cuban crocodile, as well as a few others, are even able to become experts in this unusual tactic, ultimately adapting to habitually hunt for their prey as they perch high up onto tree branches, which extend outward from the land, lingering over the water’s surface.