Earth is the only planet we know contains life. Is our planet special? Scientists over the years have mulled over what factors are essential for, or beneficial to, life. The answers will help us identify other potentially inhabited planets elsewhere in the galaxy.
Antony Burnham, Australian National University and Hugh O’Neill, Australian National University
Pallas’s cat (scientific name: Felis manul or Otocolobus manul), also known as simply manul, is a small Central Asian wild cat. Its characteristic face, short nose, and long and dense light grey fur make the cat easily distinguishable even from a distance. Here are 12 amazing Pallas’s cat facts.
Tarsiers are small (and very cute!) primates that live in the islands of Southeast Asia (especially the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei). They are the only living member of the family Tarsiidae. Here are 10 amazing tarsier facts.
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is probably one of the most exotic and beautiful animals in the world. It is one of the five species classified in the genus Panthera, the others being the lion, leopard, jaguar, and snow leopard (see notes 1). Here are 20 amazing tiger facts.
Like crocodiles, snakes also suffer from a prevalence of “big fish” stories and over-exaggeration in the internet era. In fact, it is very difficult to measure how large actually a snake is, especially if it’s really big. So, how big are the longest snakes actually? Here’s the list of the largest snakes in the world.
Caracal (scientific name: Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized cat that has characteristic long tufted ears. They are native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India.
Caracal is also called the “desert lynx”, but they actually do not really look like a lynx. They have longer legs, a more slender body, and their tail is considerably longer than true lynx. Only their big, muscle, and powerful hind legs actually resemble the lynx. Here are 10 amazing caracal facts.
The liger, a hybrid offspring of a male lion and a female tiger, holds the title of the largest cat to ever roam the Earth, surpassing even the extinct giants of the feline world. Not even the formidable saber-toothed tiger (see notes 1 at the bottom of this post), renowned for its strength and size, could rival the sheer mass of a liger. These magnificent creatures, a blend of the two most iconic big cats, are rare and fascinating. Here are 20 incredible facts that will deepen your appreciation of the liger’s extraordinary characteristics.
Ocelot (scientific name: Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized spotted wild cat. It is about twice the size of a typical housecat. The Ocelot is native to Mexico, Central and South America, the southwestern United States, and to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. They occupy tropical forests, mangrove forests, savanna grasslands, coastal swamps, and thorny plains.
Ocelot is also known as the dwarf leopard because of its unique color patterns. Here are 10 amazing ocelot facts.
The wind is caused by the differences in air pressure. These atmospheric pressure differences are created by the uneven heating of the Earth (or any planetary body which have an atmosphere, see notes 1) by the Sun.
Bombetoka Bay is a bay on the northwestern coast of Madagascar, where the Betsiboka River flows into the Mozambique Channel. It is near the city of Mahajanga, a popular tourist destination, and also an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar. Here are the 5 most amazing photos of Bombetoka Bay from space.