SPOTTED LAKE
Dumbo doppelganger
SPOTTED LAKE
In British Columbia, Canada, there’ s a lake called the Spotted Lake filled with colourful, circular mineral pools. They appear during summer as water evaporates.
LOOK TO THE SKIES
Fallstreak holes appear in clouds at high altitudes, when part of a cloud forms ice crystals which are large enough to fall through, leaving a massive hole!( Although rare, they can happen anywhere if the conditions are right!).
FREAKY FAUNA
Lurking in the darkest forests in temperate regions of North America, northern South America and Asia, you can find an eerie plant, almost glowing in the shadows. The waxy white ghost plant( Monotropa uniflora) is completely lacking in chlorophyll and doesn’ t need to photosynthesise. Instead, this parasitic plant has a symbiotic relationship with fungi, sapping unsuspecting mycorrhizal fungi of their nutrients.
Dumbo doppelganger
The absolutely adorable Dumbo octopus( Grimpoteuthis) has two ear-like fins near their eyes, and like the cartoon elephant, these flapping appendages aid movement. That’ s where the similarities end though. This deep-sea dweller isn’ t quite so sweet, and can swallow its prey whole!
WHAT A STINKER!
Imagine a plant that smells so terrible it can put you off your dinner!( Hmm, that would need to be reallllly terrible, ed). In the desert regions of Tanzania and South Africa, the Carrion plant( Stapelia gigantea) aka the‘ toad flower’, emits a smell akin to rotting flesh, in order to attract flies to pollinate it(… on second thoughts, yuck! Ed).
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