I’ve been updating the “nature” related pages on this site, so I’ve spent an abnormal amount of time perusing nature related sites for the last few weeks. Along the way I came across more than my fair share of odd nature stories. Many of them were viral, so you may have seen some of them before, but I bet you haven’t seen or heard about all of them. So, here’s a rundown of some of the most noteworthy, fun tidbits that I’ve come across.
First, today, there’s a story about birds going on benders.
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul (YouTube Channel)
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul (Official Website)
A quick search on YouTube revealed that this isn’t even all that unusual.
Next, there was that seal that slapped a man in the face. Of course, the most unusual part of the story was that the seal used an octopus to do it.
A Seal Slapped A Man In The Face With An Octopus Because Nature Never Stops Surprising (TIME, YouTube)
Seal Slaps Kayaker with Octopus in Viral GoPro Video (Caitlin O ‘Kane, CBS NEWS)
Why Did An Octopus-Wielding Seal Slap A Kayaker In The Face? (Rachel D. Cohen, NPR)
Speaking of octopuses, did you hear about the scientists that got octopuses high on ecstasy? It was done in the name of research, and it turns out that the octopuses didn’t respond all that differently than humans.
Octopuses Are Being Given Ecstasy in the Name of Science (Mashable, YouTube)
On Ecstasy, Octopuses Reached Out for a Hug (JoAnna Klein, New York Times)
On the invertebrates on drugs front, there was also a story about the owner of Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound in Maine getting lobsters high before cooking them.
I first saw this in a story from Boston.com.
Then I hunted down a video about it.
CBS Boston (YouTube Channel)
CBS Boston (Official Website)
Of course, after that story went viral, it resulted in this follow-up story a week later about how the Maine Health Inspection Program cracked down on the restaurant for selling “adulterated” lobsters. The owner then claimed that she hadn’t actually sold the lobsters to customers, but she and her father had experimented with eating some “adulterated” lobsters themselves.
Now here’s something that falls a bit more clearly into the “humane” category. There’s this story about an injured turtle that got a Lego wheelchair.
WJZ: CBS News Baltimore (YouTube Channel)
WJZ: CBS News Baltimore (Official Website)
Injured Turtle At The Maryland Zoo Gets Lego Wheelchair (WJZ-TV CBS Baltimore)
A quick search of YouTube did reveal that it isn’t all that original, though. In fact, it’s appears to be about as common as birds on berry benders.
Another one from the “animals and tech” front was this video that pretty much speaks for itself (spoiler alert, “training” was involved).
Then there’s the story about a small town in Greece getting covered in spider webs. However, according to your news source, you may not have heard that it was due to frisky spiders.
Inside Edition (YouTube Channel)
Inside Edition (Official Website)
This Town in Greece is Draped in Thousands of Spider Sebs (Christina Maxouris & Brandon Griggs, CNN)
Finally, no post like this would be complete without a fun cat video or a 360° video, so here’s a 360° video from Big Cat Rescue in Tampa that fits the bill nicely.
Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!
Big Cat Rescue (YouTube Channel)
Big Cat Rescue (Official Website)
If you want to see some more fun “cat” videos there’s a Big Cat Rescue YouTube Channel that even has a 360 VR Playlist with some clips that are guaranteed to make you go Awwww … for a good cause!
I personally liked the one with the kittens, of course! 🙂
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