A coastal carpet python was caught dragging a brush-tailed possum right in the middle of the women’s toilets at an undisclosed campground near Wivenhoe, QLD, Australia. Luckily, this was recorded in daylight—because if it had happened at night, you might almost convince the Vatican to send an exorcist. The daylight reveals the true nature of the scene—and, just as importantly, what it isn’t: some ghostly apparition. This possum was a hefty one, likely because it wasn’t alone—the carpet python had just killed a female possum that still had a joey clinging to her. When the snake dropped the joey, the onlookers had just enough time to rescue it, while letting the python keep its meal. I don’t usually support human interference in nature, but if there’s ever a “right” way to do it, this is it—the joey survives, and the snake doesn’t go hungry. [📹 jkleidon_ & kaitlinfrost_]

Nara Park in Japan is home to over 1200 wild sika deer freely roaming around in the park and in the city, happy to be hand-fed by tourists. This is what happens when it rains [📹 zonghengjp]

Mangalitsa Pig — the fluffiest pig you never knew existed! 🐷😍

Meet the elephant that collects a road tax

Mantis shrimp boast the most complex visual system in the animal kingdom. With up to 16 photoreceptors, they can see ultraviolet, visible, and polarized light—and are the only known creatures capable of detecting circularly polarized light. [📹 MJ Ogata]

Today’s adorable parade of penguins! 🐧

Believe it or not, badgers hunting skunks is uncommon but does happen, especially in harsh environments like Western North Dakota where both species share overlapping habitats. The American badger is a fierce carnivore that mainly digs for rodents like ground squirrels and mice, but it also preys on small mammals, including skunks. Skunks usually deter predators with their powerful spray, earning them the nickname “fart squirrels,” but badgers—with their thick fur and their own strong musky scent—are less bothered by this defense than most predators. A 2019 study in Montana’s grasslands found that badgers may opportunistically hunt unusual prey like skunks during late fall or winter when their typical food is scarce. In this case, a family of skunks crossing a highway likely caught the badger’s attention, leading it to target a vulnerable individual, probably a juvenile. This behavior highlights the badger’s adaptability in making the most of available prey in tough conditions. [📹 matthew.vera & prestonoutdoors]

Some turtles species "slap" each other, specifically by fluttering their claws, as part of their courtship and mating rituals.

Those goats are casually running along a vertical cliff like it’s the easiest thing in the world! 🐐🥹

Who says that animals have no feelings?

Baby elephant having a bath with its toys

Quite possibly the cutest duck ever! 🦆🌸

American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) are skilled, adaptable predators thriving in coastal mangroves and rivers like Costa Rica’s Tárcoles River. Their diet mainly consists of fish such as mullet, mammals that wander too close to the water’s edge, and birds—including brown pelicans like this one. These crocodiles adjust their prey preferences seasonally, feeding on fish during the rainy months and scavenging carrion during dry spells, making them efficient hunters without chasing every creature with a pulse. In Costa Rica’s ecosystems, birds like herons and waterfowl account for about 10-15% of their diet, while fish make up 50-60%, and mammals such as raccoons represent 20-25%. The range of the American crocodile extends far beyond Costa Rica. They inhabit Florida’s Everglades and Keys, where roughly 2,000 individuals live, as well as Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula in coastal wetlands. Throughout Central America, they occupy estuaries and rivers in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Further south, they can be found in coastal lagoons of Colombia, Venezuela, and northern Peru. Caribbean islands like Cuba and Jamaica also support their populations. [📹 junglecrocodilesafari]

A baby beaver. The young of a beaver is called a kit and is born with all of its fur, its eyes open, and its incisor teeth erupted.

The baby elephant’s adorable tantrum when he can’t catch the dog — then scurries back to mommy 🐘🥹😍

Hyalophora cecropia is North America's largest native moth. The adult cecropia moth lacks functional mouth parts and a digestive system, so it survives just two weeks, enough to mate, like this.

This Dog Stick Library [📹 BakerBarnes]

Two bear cubs playfully wrestling — it doesn’t get any cuter than this! 🐻💖

The sounds of the forest ripple through the air like a stone dropped into a pond—starting whenever something moves and disturbs the silence: leaves rustling, a deer snapping a twig, or a predator making a hard-earned kill. These movements create vibrations that push air molecules, forming sound waves that travel until they reach an ear. In the wild, most sounds are subtle—like tossing a small pebble into that same pond—because staying quiet is often key to survival. Louder noises, such as the chilling death cry of a fox’s prey, rarely exceed 50 to 60 decibels and fade within 10 to 20 meters. A 2019 study on forest acoustics found that trees, leaves, and soil absorb sound waves, especially high-pitched ones, muffling them quickly—unlike open fields where sound can carry much farther. Even the roar of a bear, which can reach about 90 decibels and travel up to 100 meters, is scattered and softened by dense vegetation. This natural sound barrier keeps most of the forest’s brutal drama hidden, with these faint ripples rarely, if ever, reaching human ears. [📹 garrett.erc]

The bat-eared fox is the only extant species of the genus Otocyon and considered a basal canid species. It is named for its large ears, which have an important role in their thermoregulation [📹 cincinnatizoo]