10 striking examples of how merciless nature can be (11 photos)

Nature is beautiful in its creations and manifestations.





Isn't it a miracle when an unpleasant caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly? But at the same time, the medal has a reverse side - dark and creepy in our opinion. And some animals have their own dark secrets that make us look at the world around us differently.

1. Hippos kill about 500 people in Africa every year



That's more than lions, elephants, leopards, buffalos, and rhinos combined.

2. For every person on Earth, there are 200 million insects





And not all of them are cute, cuddly, and harmless.

3. Great white sharks can smell blood in the water from up to 5 kilometers away



The end of a bleeding object is predetermined.

4. Bees are a real threat



Three times more people die from bee stings than from snake bites. The chances of encountering an insect are much higher, and a bite, especially in the eye, neck, tonsils, can provoke anaphylactic shock and death.

5. Blood squirt as a means of defense



The toad-like or horned lizard (Phrynosoma) squirts blood from its eyes at a predator when all other methods of defense prove ineffective.

6. Carnivorous Helpers



The Ganges River in India is famous for two things: the Hindu ritual of sending the dead into its waters for their final resting place, and the pollution of the environment. In connection with this, turtles were brought into the river so that they could consume the bodies of those whose families could not afford cremation. The project with carnivorous turtles in the Ganges River continues. This is one of the points of the Namami Ganga (Worship of the Ganges) program to clean the river. Since 2017, a thousand individuals have been released into the river every year. The project has been extended until 2026 because some turtles died in the wild, unable to adapt, and the rest were actively caught by poachers.

7. Giant Rodents



Most big cities have to deal with a lot of rats. But in Tehran, Iran, residents are battling giant rats that weigh up to 5 kilograms. The rats are likely genetically mutated by the various radiation and chemicals used to control them. In addition to standard methods, snipers armed with rifles with infrared and optical sights are engaged in extermination.

8. Industrial Necessity



Beaver teeth never stop growing. To control their length, the animals have to constantly gnaw wood. The incisors of animals sharpen themselves. The back part made of dentin is softer and wears down faster, leaving a sharper outer part made of enamel. The growth rate is about 1 millimeter per day. And if you do not wear down the length, the teeth can begin to curl and lose their functionality.

9. Poisonous Little Thing



This cutie, which measures no more than 4 centimeters, secretes a poison called batrachotoxin. It is so strong that one golden poison dart frog contains enough of it to kill ten healthy adult men.

10. Flying Snakes



And this is not a figure of speech. The paradise ornate snake (lat. Chrysopelea paradisi), which lives in tropical forests, can move through the trees using a series of short jumps or perform an almost real flight. The snake is capable of gliding up to 24 meters. It does not pose a danger to people due to the very small doses of poison. But you don’t really want to understand the features when such a meter-long flyer is rushing through the air at you, clearly not with good intentions.