With a population of 51,803 people, Coron Island located in the north of the Palawan Province, Philippines, is considered one of the most beautiful islands in the world.
With endless shades of tropical blue and stunning ecological features, it really does look like paradise.
On a historical note, Japan used the island as a refueling base during World War II. There are known to be some shipwrecks around as well.
Check out more images of Coron Island after the jump!
On December 26, 2019, amateur photographer Elias Chasiotis captured an incredible ‘red devil horns’ sunrise over the Persian Gulf during a rare solar eclipse.
The Athens-based photographer was vacationing in the coastal city of Al Wakrah in Qatar just before the new year when he snapped the rare spectacle of the moon blocking the sun. The sun appears to rise in two pieces amid the cloudiness.
“Astronomy has attracted me since I was a kid,” Chasiotis said in an interview with Bored Panda. “I’ve been an amateur astrophotographer for the last 15 years as well. I took these photos in the coastal city of Al Wakrah, Qatar, on the morning of December 26, 2019, when an annular eclipse was in progress.”
“I was worried that nothing would come out of the eclipse. However, when the sun finally began to rise, it looked like two separate pieces, some sort of red horns piercing the sea. It soon took the form of a crescent, with the so-called ‘Etruscan vase’ inferior mirage effect visible. Due to its shape, the phenomenon was nicknamed the ‘evil sunrise.’”
Interestingly, images of the red crescent sunrise emerged a few days before the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Make of that what you will.
See more of Chasiotis’s photos on Facebook.
Some call it adorable. Others call it the devil.
Brace yourself for the Venezuelan Poodle Moth, a fluffy one-inch insect that looks like a cross between a poodle and an alien.
The tiny hard chitin scales that create the moth’s fluff help disguise it from bats while also keeping it warm.
Zoologist Dr. Arthur Anker captured the new species in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela’s Canaima National Park in 2009.
The poodle moth bears a strong resemblance to the Muslin Moth, a neotropical moth of the family Erebidae.
However, the internet continues to debate the reality of its existence due to the creature’s scarcity — not many others have identified the bizarre critter.
The beautiful Traelanipa cliffs on the island of Vagar in the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Europe is also known as the “Flying Lake.” It’s quite literally where the lake meets the ocean.
The raw landscape of the perpendicular rock wall jutting out from Sorvagsvatn Lake to the Atlantic Ocean is the type of scene that will take your breath away.
Traelanipa cliffs translate to “Slave Cliff” as the location used to be where Viking settlers would push enslaved women from Ireland and Scotland 465 feet down into the sea.
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View this post on InstagramThe majestic Faroe Islands 🇫🇴 Follow @faroeislands for more! Video by @davidhrng
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The small Dutch town of Lisse is home to one of the most beautiful tulip fields in the world, the Keukenhof flower park.
More than 7 million flower bulbs are planted every year as part of the flower’s annual Tulips’ expo.
The spring flower garden features an assortment of vibrant colored tulips from deep shades like purple and maroon to pure white and yellow.
It’s truly a mesmerizing sight of color.
The Hyperion, located in the Redwood Park of Northern California, is the world’s tallest living tree. The tree stands at a height of 380.3 feet and is approximately 700-800 years old.
To put that in perspective, the tree is nearly 70 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and 63 feet higher than Big Ben. Even the Ponderosa Pine cones are 15 inches long, according to one user who’s seen the redwood giants up close at Sequoia National Park.
Forestry researchers Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor discovered the redwood tree (Sequoia sempervirens) in 2006 — astonishing to think it took that long given the tree’s gigantic stature. However, the exact location is still a well-guarded secret.
The foliage is characteristic of that found in arid environments due to the plumbing challenges of drawing water up the tree.
The Paradox tree located in Redwood Humbolts Park is due to pass the Hyperion tree in height by the year 2031.
Interesting side note: the world’s largest complete fossilized tree (237 feet long) lies in Thailand.
Images above via the Famous Redwoods website which also contains a must-see a virtual tour of the tree.
The Grandidier’s Baobabs (Palmate adansonia) are giant trees indigenous to Africa, predominantly on Madagascar’s beautiful island.
Baobabs can live up to 800 to 1000 years with their unique ability to act as a water storage tank—the tree stores up to 1000 to 120,000 liters of water in their thick trunks. Both the animals and locals tap the trees for H20 during the dry season.
At the heart of many African remedies and folklore, the iconic Baobab is often referred to as the “Tree of Life.”
The 80-plus foot trees have a circumference of 108 feet. They also feature on a 250-meter path called the Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar’s Menabe region. The tree is famous for producing surreal white, bat-pollinated flowers as well.
“A Caliban of a tree, grizzled, distorted old goblin with the girth of a giant, the hide of a rhinoceros, twiggy fingers clutching at empty air and the disposition of a guardian angel,” once wrote the novelist Ernestine Hill about the Baobab’s immensity.
Unfortunately, the baobab trees are at risk of extinction due to climate change with more than ten thousand disappearing each year.
One of the rarest cloud types to appear in nature are the Mammatus clouds.
Mammatus clouds are an epic cloud formation which forms near heavy lightning storms.
As strange and menacing they may look, the clouds also indicate that the worst of a storm has passed.
Pouches of cool, sinking air cause give the Mammatus clouds their meatball-looking shape.
Check out these incredible cloud formations including the Mammatus clouds hovering over Mount Rushmore, Parker County, Texas, and pink ones over Germany.
Nice Mammatus clouds just now over west parker county, @StormHour pic.twitter.com/cHuqHOXye8
— SWxClicks (@jclick65) April 28, 2020
There are certain tree species in the forest that resist touching each other as they grow, a natural phenomenon known as crown shyness.
There is more than one theory why the social distancing amongst the trees occurs.
Scientists suggest that the gaps in the treetops are intended to increase light reception for the leaves. Preventing overlapping canopies also reduces the spread of disease and wards off leaf-eating harmful insects.
The collaborative effort to avoid touching the foliage of its neighbor ensures the safety and survival of all nearby trees. Talk about respecting one’s personal space!
The Harpy Eagle is one of the largest species of eagles in the world, even bigger than the Bald Eagle.
Named after the Greek mythology monsters, the extremely rare animal is found through Central America and South America rainforests, particularly Brazil, where it’s known as the Royal Hawk. The magical creature even inspired the design of Fawkes the Phoenix in the Harry Potter films.
The bird has a wingspan of over 7 feet and nearly the identical claw size of a grizzly bear. So massive, some people think it looks like a human in a costume.
But this powerful raptor is not your worst nightmare, even if the animal can snatch a sloth out of a tree for dinner (see video after the jump).
Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)🐦🦜🕊️🦅🎵🐤❤️🐤 pic.twitter.com/hKmjAslc3c
— World birds (@worldbirds32) August 9, 2020
The Shoebill Stork is your new favorite bird.
Amazingly huge, the Shoebill Stork (Balaeniceps rex) may be one of the most prehistoric dinosaur looking birds alive (note: the cassowary might be the other).
An ambush predator with a height up to 5 feet, the bird stands for long periods before engaging in a vicious attack on pray. It is known to use its bulbous shoe-shaped bill to attack crocodiles when provoked.
However, the big bird is docile with humans — it is quite common to get into staring contest with them.
The bird is endangered, however, with only 5,000 – 8,000 left in the world in the swamps of East-Central Africa.
Witness the bird in all its hugeness below.
Shoebill Stork looks like something out of Jurassic park pic.twitter.com/oUepjw6L9y
— Pet Animals (@CutePetAnimal) July 14, 2020
