Nature is an amazing thing. Every day, we discover something new about it and even the brightest scientists get to marvel at a new mystery. But sometimes, nature can be fascinating in an eerie way.
Source: Planet Blue Adventure
From scary animals, unreal landscapes, unexpected interactions, unreal landscapes, and puzzling weather conditions – here are a collection of unedited nature photos that can give you the chills.
Lightning and lava
One of the most beautiful yet extremely dangerous things that mother nature has shown us is volcanic lightning. It’s just one of those things that you would be mesmerized by even though they signal impending danger.
Source: History Daily
Volcanic lightning is an electrical discharge that is caused by a volcanic eruption. But this occurrence does not happen every time a volcano erupts. Although it does not happen all the time, it happens more frequently compared to other natural oddities.
Giant man killer of the Nile
Here is a rare close-up picture of the legendary man-eating crocodile of the Nile. He is known as Gustave and the body count under his name has reached over 300. He is the reason why people exercise extra caution while walking the banks of the Nile River.
Source: History Daily
Gustave is believed to weigh about 2,000 pounds and that he is longer than 18 feet. All attempts to capture this huge beast have been unsuccessful. It is believed that he is still at large in the Nile.
The deadliest bushfire
Australia is no stranger to bushfires. The island continent has had them from time to time. But the one that began in September 2019 was declared to be the deadliest one ever. As you can see from this picture, a huge plummet of smoke can be seen from afar.
Source: History Daily
This massive bushfire escalated due to the extreme heat waves that were happening during that time. This particular bushfire has destroyed more than 2,000 houses, leaving thousands of people homeless.
Dinosaur mummy
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta, Canada, has the mummified remains of a 3,000-pound armor-plated nodosaur, a plant-eating horned dinosaur. While most museums have skeletons, they have something better.
Source: History Daily
The dinosaur’s remains were accidentally discovered by a group of miners back in 2012 and the remains were incredibly intact, which stunned scientists and researchers. It is probably one of the best archaeological finds ever.
Buff hairless chimpanzee
This is a rare shot of an incredibly muscular chimpanzee who suffers from alopecia – a condition that makes one lose hair. The absence of hair makes one realize how incredibly close chimpanzees resemble humans. After all, we do share 95% of the same DNA.
Source: History Detail
But what made this chimpanzee so buff? Scientists noted that the muscles of a chimpanzee perform differently. It turns out that their muscle fibers are closer to their bone which makes them denser compared to human muscle.
Underwater waterfalls
Mauritius is a tropical paradise for lovers of beaches, lagoons, and waterfalls. Their most famous attraction happens to be an underground waterfall, and as you can see from this picture, it is spellbinding. But the truth is, it is just an illusion from the top.
Source: History Detail
Water is not falling into the depths of the ocean floor but it is sand and silt – which gives off the illusion of a waterfall. It is completely safe to swim and surf around the area. Tourists have to book a helicopter to get this view but it’s definitely worth it.
Starlings take over the sky
This photo looks like a scene from a doomsday movie. This is a picture of the sky darkening in Italy because it is filled with starlings. Starlings are small songbirds and here, they are flying by the millions, totally blocking out the sky.
Source: History Detail
This actually happens every year during autumn. The birds come from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe and they are migrating to Italy to escape the cold. It is a natural, unavoidable event and the people of Italy are just used to it by now.
The hell hole
At first glance, you’d think this is a scary hole that will take you straight to hell. It is definitely a mortifying sight. But in reality, this is a lava pit. This photo was taken in 1996 in Komokuna, Hawaii.
Source: History Detail
The lava pit has been covered in so much lava flow that a crust has formed over the flowing lava. You would not want to walk around the area though since they can fall apart and form a new lava channel.
Zombie moose
This photo can give anyone the creeps. If a moose was a zombie, this is probably the closest and most realistic depiction of it. This photo was taken in Anchorage and some people first thought the moose was struck by lightning.
Source: History Detail
But the truth is, the moose was attacked by a bear. According to Patricia Grenier, the woman who took this photo, the moose was attacked by a bear near her neighbor’s house. They all thought the moose died but it came back a few days later looking like this.
What lies beneath
Everybody loves a good beach day and swimming among the tides. But if you only know what lies beneath those waters, you’d be scared. This picture just shows how horrific the ocean can get.
Source: History Detail
At first glance, you’d think the horrifying sight is sea snakes or tentacles. But the truth is, they are just overgrown seaweed. Can you imagine swimming in the water and getting yourself entangled in these?
The villain’s vulture
This bird is a scary sight. The lammergeier or ossifrage is also known as the bearded vulture and it comes in hues of pink, white, or yellow. It is considered to be an old-world vulture – just like the Egyptian vulture.
Source: History Detail
Most of these vultures have been spotted with red feathers but that’s not their natural color. The feathers are dyed red from the blood of the animals that they eat. Pretty mortifying, isn’t it?
Spider-infested trees
These trees are a scary sight for anyone afraid of spiders. This picture was taken in Pakistan back in 2010, during the monsoon season. The rivers had overflowed, causing insects to seek higher ground.
Source: History Detail
The spiders took shelter in the trees and wove their silky webs around them. When the locals saw this, they were creeped out. The specie of the spider that caused this was not specified.
Eye of the gecko
This picture is an extreme closeup and detailed photo of an eye of a tokay gecko. Who would have thought there is more to them than well, what meets the eye? Such complicated patterns!
Source: History Detail
The tokay gecko is native to Southeast Asia and it is one of the largest geckos in the world. They are speedy and evasive creatures and are stubborn clingers thanks to their sticky feet.
The tunnel of terror
This photo can give anyone a major scare. But this shot is not from a horror movie – this terrifying sight is real and you can find it in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The way the trees were planted in two parallel rows was actually planned by James Stuart in 1775.
Source: History Detail
It was done on purpose to create a beautiful road leading toward the Stuart family estate. As the trees grew, they began to entwine together, creating this natural tunnel. It’s actually a beautiful sight during the day.
Highway landslide
This terrifying and massive landslide took place on a highway in Taiwan back in 2010. It buried multiple people and at least three motorists were missing. It took almost a month to clear it up.
Source: History Detail
Nobody could determine the cause of this horrific landslide. No rain or earthquakes were happening during that week. It was believed that a sharp incline near the road had triggered it.
Mountain goats climbing a brick wall
We have heard of the amazing gravity-defying skills of mountain goats when it comes to climbing chilly mountains and steep cliffs. They are known to reach ridiculous heights as if they were just strolling in the park.
Source: History Detail
These goats climb mountains to escape from predators and they have learned to do it when they are just a couple of days old. But who would have thought that they can climb brick walls too? Without this picture, we would not believe it either.
Nature’s tribute
This gravestone dedicated to John Thomas Alexander Smith and his children has been in the cemetery for more than a hundred years. And in all that time, a giant tree has grown and entwined itself around it.
Source: History Detail
There was no way to stop the tree from growing around the headstone and nobody really wanted to take the headstone out of the way. In the end, the family just agreed to leave things that way. You can find this gravestone at the Nottingham cemetery.
Fire-breathing polar bear
Capturing a good wildlife photo is one of the most challenging tasks a photographer can do. Capturing polar bears means going out into freezing temperatures. But this photographer got lucky to snap this shot.
Source: History Detail
The rising sun gave the illusion that this polar bear was breathing fire. The beautiful pinks in the sky were reflected on the ice and reflected back when the bear exhaled. This is indeed a beautiful illusion.
Icy house after a blizzard
This picture proves that one should never underestimate a blizzard. The harsh winter conditions left a house in Webster, New York, frozen and looking like an igloo in 2017. The job to clean that up looks like a dangerous one.
Source: History Detail
It was not just the freezing temperature that caused this. The violent winds combined with moisture from the lake nearby coated this house with a thick layer of ice. This would make you think twice before you get a house by the lake.
This giant eagle is taller than your kids
The Harpy is the largest eagle in the world and it is known to be a powerful and savage hunter. Its size is very intimidating – they can grow to be as tall as 6 feet! They mostly prey on sloths, monkeys, and other smaller animals.
Source: History Detail
The Harpy eagle has an intense, creepy stare and huge talons that you do not want to mess with. These eagles live in the most remote parts of the tropical forests in Central and South America. They are named after the Harpies of Greek mythology.
Sandfall
We have heard about waterfalls but have you ever heard of a sandfall? Most people have not seen them yet but because of climate change, sandfalls are becoming a thing in the Middle East. Videos of these odd natural events have been popping out since 2013.
Source: History Detail
Sandfall happens over dry riverbeds that get flooded after heavy rain. The floodwater carries a huge amount of sand with it as it pours over a cliff, giving the impression that sand is flowing out like water.
Rhino with bodyguards
Here is a picture of a heavily guarded rhino in Africa. This is Sudan, the last male northern white rhino in the world. Sadly, he was euthanized in 2018 to stop his suffering from age-related health complications.
Source: History Detail
This picture just shows a sad reality of how we must fight to conserve some species. Today, there are only two remaining northern white rhino in the world. Unfortunately, they are both females.