Planet Earth

Planet Earth

Antarctica's "bleeding" glacier

Taylor Glacier in Antarctica has been known for the blood-like liquid that pours from it since the "Blood Falls" was discovered in 1911.
The eerie waterfall cascades into one of Antarctica's dry valleys—snowless, barren wastes where almost nothing lives.
The Falls—get their color from the dietary habits of microbes, which live in ancient seawater trapped beneath the glacier. They draw their energy from iron deposits leeched from the rocks the slowly moving glacier grinds to dust—leaving the water streaked rust red.
Even more awesome: This is one of the few places on Earth exobiologists can easily study the kind of extreme life—creatures that survive and thrive in incredibly cold, sunlight-free environments—that might also live on other planets.
*****

 

Photo via The Telegraph

At 60 year old, Rajan still enjoys taking a dip in the crystal waters off his island home--and he doesn't let the fact that he weighs as much as a large truck slow him down. In fact, Rajan the elephant, and his human swimming companion, Nasru, two years his junior, have become something of a tourist attraction on Havelock Island in the Indian Ocean. It was there, while floating gracefully amid the waves with the unlikely pair, that photographer Cesare Naldi snapped what would become a prize winning shot. But, as with most captivating photographs, there's more to their story than meets the eye.

Article continues: Ocean-Loving Elephant Redefines "Swim Trunks"

Rare 'alligator snapping turtle' caught in Chinese lake

A fisherman in China was surprised after catching this striking creature, which looks like a cross between a turtle and a dinosaur. The man discovered the alligator snapping turtle, which is not native to the country, in Weishan Lake, in southern China's Anhui province.

The species is only native to North America and was probably someone's pet before being dumped in the lake, the local fishing department said. The creature's alien status meant that it could have posed a danger to the local ecological system, they added.

Fisherman Sun Yongcheng said he was surprised when he netted the alligator turtle, which measures 76cm long and 30cm wide and weighs 7kg. He said: "I suddenly noticed a black thing was hooked on the net, which scared me. It was struggling and biting the net when I pulled it up".

The spokesman for the Jining Fishing Bureau said this was the first time an alligator snapping turtle had been found in the local water system. He said: "Somebody may have dumped their pet into the lake, which could greatly endanger the local ecology."