Living Root Bridges in India

In the depths of northeastern India, in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren’t built – they’re grown.


The living bridges of Cherrapunji, India are made from the roots of the Ficus elastica tree. This tree produces a series of secondary roots from higher up its trunk and can comfortably perch atop huge boulders along the riverbanks, or even in the middle of the rivers themselves.

Cherrapunji is credited with being the wettest place on earth, and The War-Khasis, a tribe in Meghalaya, long ago noticed this tree and saw in its powerful roots an opportunity to easily cross the area’s many rivers. Now, whenever and wherever the need arises, they simply grow their bridges.

In order to make a rubber tree’s roots grow in the right direction – say, over a river – the Khasis use betel nut trunks, sliced down the middle and hollowed out, to create root-guidance systems.
The thin, tender roots of the rubber tree, prevented from fanning out by the betel nut trunks, grow straight out. When they reach the other side of the river, they’re allowed to take root in the soil. Given enough time, a sturdy, living bridge is produced.

The root bridges, some of which are over a hundred feet long, take ten to fifteen years to become fully functional, but they’re extraordinarily strong – strong enough that some of them can support the weight of fifty or more people at a time

Because they are alive and still growing, the bridges actually gain strength over time – and some of the ancient root bridges used daily by the people of the villages around Cherrapunji may be well over five hundred years old.



All the credit for this post goes to Atlas Obscura’s Wonderful Post on living root bridges

World’s Smallest Frog

This coin sized frog was found in Andes mountains’ upper Cosnipata Valley in southern Peru. Their size was the most intriguing thing as females grow to 0.49 inch at most and males make it to only 0.44 inch. Yes it is pretty small size compared to usual frogs we see. And another funny thing about them is that they live at high elevations. And general assumption is that larger animals are found at greater heights.

Amazing bond between man and lions

Animal behaviorist Kevin Richardson has such an incredible gift with wild animals that he can spend the night curled up with lions without trepidation or fear of being attacked. Cheetahs, leopards and hyenas hold no threat to him.
Richardson is based in a wildlife conservation area near Johannesburg in South Africa, where he works his unusual gift with wild animals.

Animal behaviorists typically study the behavior of social groups of animals and the social structure within them. Kevin is so instinctively in tune with these beasts that volatile mother hyenas even allow him to hold their newborn cubs without leaping to the rescue in attack.

But lions are his favorite. He lavishes them with unconditional love, he says, treating each individual differently, speaking to them, caressing them, and above all, treating them with respect.


Here is a short video showing Kevin Richardson and some of his animals on the feature film 'White Lion-Home is a Journey'.

Amazing creatures found in polar seas

Shell-less pteropod or swimming snail, clione limacina, found in both Arctic and Antarctic waters, which preys exclusively on its fellow shelled pteropods.

Sand-flea hyperoche capucinus, a common predator swimming
in polar waters.

Chionodraco hamatus, one of the Antarctic’s ice fish, which can
withstand temperatures that freeze the blood of all other types of fish.

Pelagonemertes rollestoni hunting for zooplankton prey that it will
harpoon with a dart attached to the tongue coiled within it.
Its yellow stomach reaches out to feed all parts of the body.

Swimming snail, limacina helicina, occurring in both Arctic and Antarctic
waters. It spins a mucus-net off its paddle-like foot-wings to trap algae
and other small particles on which it feeds.

Platybrachium antarcticum, going through the deep Antarctic waters
hunting the shelled pteropods (another type of snail) on which it feeds.

Calycopsis borchgrevinki, which is one of the more common
hydromedusae encountered in Antarctic waters.

A bar inside a tree

Tourists have started to flock to this unusual tree in Limpopo, South Africa, not because this tree just might be one of the largest and oldest living things on the planet, but because there is always a frosty brew waiting for those who come inside.

Carbon dating have placed the age of the Baobabb Tree at around 6,000 years -- roughly before the Pyramids at Giza were built. When Baobabbs are about 1,000 years old they begin to hollow naturally and it's within this hollow that the aptly named Big Baobabb Pub is located.

The pub can comfortably sit fifteen people although the owners admit to having over 50 at a time for special occasions. The tree is still sturdy with walls measuring about 6.5 feet thick.

The tree even has its own cellar with plenty of ventilation to keep the beer cold.

Aurora Borealis

Auroras, sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae (singular: aurora), are natural light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions. They typically occur in the ionosphere. They are also referred to as polar auroras. In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas by Pierre Gassendi in 1621.[1] The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, the chance of visibility increasing with proximity to the north magnetic pole, which is currently in the arctic islands of northern Canada. Aurorae seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from further away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun was rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and from March to April. The northern lights have had a number of names throughout history. The Cree people call this phenomenon the "Dance of the Spirits."

Japan's Amazing Living Fossils

Frilled Shark

The Frilled Shark is a truly ancient species that has changed very little since pre-historic times—fossil evidence of the shark dates back to 95 million years. The shark is rarely seen alive since its natural habitat is over 1600 feet (488 meters) below sea level. Specimens have been found scattered around the globe, but the majority of Frilled Sharks have been found in Japanese waters.

The Frilled Shark resembles a giant eel more than a shark. However, the species possesses six gill slits, which identify it as a shark rather than an eel. The Frilled Shark has an upper jaw that is part of its skull, which is unique among living sharks. Most sharks living today have a hinged top jaw.

The Frilled Shark gives birth to live young and remains pregnant for as long as 3 1/2 years—the longest gestation period of any vertebrate known on Earth.

Iriomote Wildcat

The Iriomote Cat, nearly unchanged from its primitive form, is a "living fossil" that lives exclusively on the Japanese Island of Iriomote. The wildcat is about the size of a domestic cat, with greyish brown fur, black spots, stripes, and a short bushy tail. The cat roamed the island for 200,000 years, but wasn’t discovered until 1967. The Iriomote Wildcat is one of the most endangered species of wildcat in the world. There are only about 60 cats left on the island.

The classification of the Iriomote wildcat has been debated since it’s discovery. It was initially thought to be a separate species of wildcat for at least two million years. Recent DNA studies suggest that the cat is actually a subspecies of the Southeastern Asian leopard.

Despite heavy conservation efforts to try and save the Iriomote Wildcat, the wildcat has continued to diminish in numbers. Getting hit by cars and rapid development due to the Island of Iriomote’s significant increase in tourists are among the greatest threats to the Iriomote cat.

Goblin Shark

The Goblin Shark is a deep-sea creature that we know very little about. It is rarely ever found alive. It was first discovered in the waters around Japan by a fisherman in 1897. It is a “living fossil” that is closely related to sharks of ancient times. The shark has light pink skin with blue fins. The most recognizable feature of the shark is its long trowel-shaped snout.

The globin shark has been found as deep in the ocean as 4265 feet and as shallow as 311 feet.The largest goblin shark ever recorded was 12.6 feet long

Japanese Serow

The Japanese Serow is a goat-like mammal that inhabits the dense forests of Honshu. The Japanese Serow is the most primitive species of cattle alive today. Both female and male Japanese antelopes possess two small horns, which they use to defend their territory.

The Japanese Serow was once on the brink of extinction due to overhunting. They became so endangered that the Japanese government declared the Japanese Serow as a “national treasure”. Strict conservation efforts have been a huge success, to the point where Japan now suffers from overpopulation issues with the serows and often considers them as pests.

Amami Rabbit

The Amami Rabbit, also known as the Ryukyu Rabbit, is found only on the Amami Islands of Japan. The Amami Rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits and is often referred to as a "living fossil". The Amami Rabbit is so unique and has been isolated from other rabbit species for so long, that they are scarcely even related.

The Amami Rabbit has dark fur, short rounded ears, and no tail. It is nocturnal and dwells deep in forests. It is one of the few rabbits who makes calling noises.

The Amami Rabbit is threatened with extinction, with only about 3,000 rabbits believed to remain on the islands. They were overhunted in the 19th century and today they are faced with further pressure from development.

The Barreleye Fish

The two green organs you see inside its head are its eyes while the two orbs that appear where you would think its eyes should be are the equivalent of fish nostrils.
Although very little is known about this fish, scientists believe that it steals its food from the tentacles of jellyfish and so, having its eyes encased inside its clear head protects them from stings.

7 Phenomenal Wonders of the Natural World

1) Sailing Stones

(Images via: f8BeThere and Ian Parker)

The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.

2) Columnar Basalt

(Images via: Centripetalnotion, Habitas and Strahlen)

When a thick lava flow cools it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity - in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man. One of the most famous such examples is the Giant’s Causeway on the coast of Ireland (shown above) though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water.

3) Blue Holes

(Images via: AEAdvisor, BelizeDiving and ScienceRay)

Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation - leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths.

4) Red Tides

(Images via: Carleton, CleanWaterNetwork and UMN)

Red tides are also known as algal blooms - sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.

5) Ice Circles

(Images via Panoramio, CrystalLinks, CropCircleAnswers and DailyMail)

While many see these apparently perfect ice circles as worthy of conspiracy theorizing, scientists generally accept that they are formed by eddies in the water that spin a sizable piece of ice in a circular motion. As a result of this rotation, other pieces of ice and flotsam wear relatively evenly at the edges of the ice until it slowly forms into an essentially ideal circle. Ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes as shown above.

6) Mammatus Clouds

(Images via: John Olson and the DNR)

True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers - appearing around, before or even after severe weather.

7) Fire Rainbows

(Images via: GinaCobb, Unwired and UMN)

A circumhorizontal fire rainbow arc occurs at a rare confluence of right time and right place for the sun and certain clouds. Crystals within the clouds refract light into the various visible waves of the spectrum but only if they are arrayed correctly relative to the ground below. Due to the rarity with which all of these events happen in conjunction with one another, there are relatively few remarkable photos of this phenomena.