37 Times Mother Nature Was Full Of Surprises (Mesmorizing Photos That Capture Nature’s Wonders)

Burtland Dixon | May 18, 2025 2:30 pm

Nature is as captivating as she is unpredictable. One moment she'll leave you in awe, the next she’ll send a chill down your spine. That’s the magic of it—you never quite know what to expect.

What you’re about to witness strikes a perfect balance between breathtaking and eerie.

A Flower From A Land Far Far Away

Flower that looks like a Galaxy
Photo Credit: shady_robot / Reddit
Photo Credit: shady_robot / Reddit

This petunia looks like a portal that will transport you to a whole new galaxy if you stare at it long enough.

The color patterns are so mesmerizing, you might start questioning if you're even still sober.

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Whale Tongues Don't Go Quietly

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dead whale with a giant bloated tongue protruding out of its mouth
Credit: PandaPropaganda_ / Reddit
Credit: PandaPropaganda_ / Reddit
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What you're looking at is the bloated tongue of a dead whale, believe it or not.

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Whales are filter feeders, which means they swallow large amounts of water filled with their prey. Their tongues are shaped like tube socks, able to invert and hold all that water. When they die, decomposition gases fill up these tongues, causing them to balloon like this. It's a fascinating yet somewhat eerie natural process.

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Carefully Framed

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plant condensation frames leafs
Photo Credit: edrocketinn / Reddit
Photo Credit: edrocketinn / Reddit
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How amazing is the way the condensation formed on this blackberry plant, delicately framing each leaf?

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It almost feels as though nature had a small paintbrush, gently dotting the edges with droplets, creating a beautiful, natural masterpiece.

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All The Fall Colors In One

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Color gradient moss through street concrete
Photo Credit: littlewrenbird / Reddit
Photo Credit: littlewrenbird / Reddit
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Moss often gets a bad reputation, but it has the ability to be incredibly beautiful, especially when it lays itself out in such a stunning seasonal color gradient.

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The shade shifts gently with each brick, creating a soft, organic pattern that's as soothing as it is striking.

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The Rough-Nosed Horned Lizard

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Photo Credit: DrFetusRN / Reddit
Photo Credit: DrFetusRN / Reddit
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This is a fine specimen. It's not a lizard you see every day, but if you’re lucky enough to come across one, make sure to snap a cool picture like this—they’re incredibly photogenic.

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Would you keep one as a pet? Imagine how stunning they’d look in your collection!

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What Do You Call This??

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Photo Credit: Voodootroy / Reddit
Photo Credit: Voodootroy / Reddit
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Is this some kind of cross between a butterfly and a lizard? Only nature could come up with something so bizarre and extraordinary.

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But if one of these comes near you, make sure to shield your face—bug spray won't do any good.

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The Fleeting Fire-Opal

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Photo Credit: leakytoquito / Reddit
Photo Credit: leakytoquito / Reddit
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You don't get to see a fire opal whenever you want. It's dazzling, but fire opals only get created under certain circumstances.

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It happens when water mixes with lava in a volcano.

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The Cute Yet Disturbing Cuttlefish

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Photo Credit: Mets4Ever2k / Reddit
Photo Credit: Mets4Ever2k / Reddit
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What you're looking at are cuttlefish just before they hatch from their eggs.

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They have a mix of both eerie and endearing qualities, but I wouldn't risk touching any of them.

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Mother Finds A Butterfly In The Making

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Photo Credit: aglazeddonut / Reddit
Photo Credit: aglazeddonut / Reddit
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This skull's eye socket has become the resting place for a soon-to-be butterfly. It’s curious why it chose such a risky spot instead of somewhere safer.

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That head could easily be taken at any moment.

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Some Mossy Frogs

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Photo Credit: A Tree Frog Collective / Facebook
Photo Credit: A Tree Frog Collective / Facebook
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There are regular looking frogs, and then there are these guys.

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It looks like you could put them under a faucet and wash them smooth, but I wouldn't try it—you'd be scrubbing for a while.

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A Dead Whale Feeds An Entire Ecosystem

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Photo Credit: Zairy47 / Reddit
Photo Credit: Zairy47 / Reddit
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When a whale dies, it becomes a vital food source for marine life for an extended period.

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Given that whales are the largest known creatures in the ocean, it's no surprise they leave behind such an impact.

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Bees Killing A Murder Hornet

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Photo Credit: gasthefurries420 / Reddit
Photo Credit: gasthefurries420 / Reddit
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The murder hornet might be terrifying when you're a solo bee, but when you call in the hive, it's game over.

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The swarm's tactic is basically to tackle it as a group and wait until it overheats. This hornet never stood a chance the moment the whole team arrived.

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It's A Leucistic Moose

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Photo Credit: FormerFruit / Reddit
Photo Credit: FormerFruit / Reddit
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Encountering one of these is almost like winning the lottery. These are rare, but their facial expressions are what make them interesting.

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They look dopey and goofy, almost like an animated character.

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Would You Swim Here?

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Photo Credit: exoduscv / Reddit
Photo Credit: exoduscv / Reddit
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The water here looks really blue, but the cave monster looks a bit creepy. How did the rocks form into such a perfect face?

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There's probably some hidden treasure in there.

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A Secretary Bird Handling A Snake

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Photo Credit: falconsnakecat786 / Reddit
Photo Credit: falconsnakecat786 / Reddit
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The San Diego Zoo has confirmed that the secretary bird is capable of taking down even the most venomous snakes.

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It's wild to see a bird of its size go head-to-head with such a deadly threat—and win.

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A Storm Moved The Road!

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Photo Credit: Craigrets / Reddit
Photo Credit: Craigrets / Reddit
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Nature is the last thing you want to mess with, obviously. Look at how a storm picked up this street and tossed it elsewhere.

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This is complete and utter madness.

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Teeth In A Squid's Suction Cup

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Photo Credit: Nemesis9007 / Reddit
Photo Credit: Nemesis9007 / Reddit
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People who have no knowledge of how suction cups work probably never knew that there are teeth in them.

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As scary as it might seem, this is still nature at its coolest and most interesting. Just keep the squids away from me.

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10,000-Year-Old Skull Found

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Photo Credit: paone22 / Reddit
Photo Credit: paone22 / Reddit
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This farmer found a 10,000-year-old skull of an extinct giant Irish elk. That thing is beyond giant if the head is longer than this whole man.

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Imagine getting a headbutt from that.

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The Man With Seven Fingers

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wide hand with seven fingers
Photo Credit: iceage201 / Imgur
Photo Credit: iceage201 / Imgur
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Although this is an unsettling image no need to fret about it. Because turns out, it's fake.

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This Imgur user has a trick to make it look like he has a super wide hand - and you can watch the video here.

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A Snail's Growth In A Year

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Photo Credit: mossydeerbones / Reddit
Photo Credit: mossydeerbones / Reddit
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This woman showcased how large her snail had become, and it's ridiculous. Imagine stepping on that thing while you're walking in the morning.

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That would be a lot of ooze to clean up.

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After A Tornado...

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Photo Credit: ManWithTheAd / Reddit
Photo Credit: ManWithTheAd / Reddit
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After a tornado, there's no telling what the aftermath will look like. Have you ever seen wood pierce through cement like this?

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That could have easily have gone through a person or a home. Yikes.

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This Snake Has Both Eyes In One Socket

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Photo Credit: officialjoeyacnl / Reddit
Photo Credit: officialjoeyacnl / Reddit
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This looks like some silly cartoon drawing. If I saw this in real life, I probably wouldn't even be afraid of it. That seems like one of the nicest snakes.

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Given the diamondback picture, though, I'll still be keeping my distance. Just in case.

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The Way Into The Spider-Verse

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Photo Credit: chasing_tranquility / Reddit
Photo Credit: chasing_tranquility / Reddit
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If you wanted some spider powers or needed to find the spider-verse entrance, here is it. All you have to do is get permission from this treacherous wolf spider guarding the front.

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Maybe it's best to stay away. Nobody needs spider powers that much.

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The Menacing Black Heron

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Photo Credit: TitaniumPeak / Reddit
Photo Credit: TitaniumPeak / Reddit
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What makes these things so menacing? Well, it has to deal with the way they hunt, which is pretty clever.

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This bird creates a shady spot that tricks the fish into revealing themselves.

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A Wasp Eating Lunch

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Photo Credit: whitecorn / Reddit
Photo Credit: whitecorn / Reddit
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Wasps are some of the vilest creatures in the world. Here is one just casually chomping away at a poor little grasshopper.

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That's the thing with nature, it can be vicious. Sometimes the only thing you can do is to take a picture and move on.

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow

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ALBINO deer beside rainbow
Photo Credit: boBByHiLL-4prez / Reddit
Photo Credit: boBByHiLL-4prez / Reddit
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Someone spotted an albino deer while walking into work.

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If that combined with the rainbow formation to its left didn't put them in a good mood, ready to tackle whatever the work day throws at them, nothing could.

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Nature Has A "Twisted" Sense of Humor

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twisted driftwood found at the beach
Photo Credit: roccobaroco / Reddit
Photo Credit: roccobaroco / Reddit
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This twisted driftwood was found at the beach in the town of Aarhus.

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A native of the town said it became an attraction that encouraged people to come to check it out and enjoy a hiking trail or beach walk while there.

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Beauty Is Not In Size

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Tiny Maple Leaf on hand
Photo Credit: bukunothing / Reddit
Photo Credit: bukunothing / Reddit
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This super tiny maple leaf is proof that size plays no part in defining beauty. It's so small yet so detailed, vibrant, and recognizable.

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Let's make an example of this leaf for beauty standards everywhere.

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Mother Nature Has A Freaky Side

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stabilopod rock with lingerie set on it
Photo Credit: Young_Norf / Reddit
Photo Credit: Young_Norf / Reddit
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These are called stabilopods, and they are used to stop waves near harbours.

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However, it seems like some lonely person out there wanted to give one of these rocks a sexy new look.

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Nature Always Finds A Way

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rare desert flower blooming
Photo Credit: unnaturalorder / Reddit
Photo Credit: unnaturalorder / Reddit
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Even in the harsh conditions and hot climate, these rare desert flowers bloomed in the Atacama desert in Chile.

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It knew exactly how much water and sunlight it needed to survive without any human intervention.

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A Natural Umbrella

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bird stands under umbrella made of ice
Photo Credit: VigoureusePatate / Reddit
Photo Credit: VigoureusePatate / Reddit
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It seems that everything in nature takes care of each other. When this bird needed shelter from the harsh weather conditions, nature made it an icicle umbrella for it to perch under.

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It's perfectly shaped, too.

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A Giant Mountain Hat

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Mountain Covered by pointy cloud looks like hat
Photo Credit: jpba1352 / Reddit
Photo Credit: jpba1352 / Reddit
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Mount Fuji looks like it's setting the fashion standard now for mountains worldwide. Pointy cloud hats are in and clear sky backgrounds are out.

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Weather conditions may affect the trend.

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Pushing Through Concrete

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Sunflower Sidewalk
Photo Credit: Batholith_forge / Reddit
Photo Credit: Batholith_forge / Reddit
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If you've ever wondered about the strength of nature, it can literally push through concrete.

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These sunflowers grew out of the sidewalk just a few steps away from the parent patch. Where there's a will there's a way.

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Nothing Can Stop It From Growing

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Burnet Tree continues to grow
Photo Credit: deleted / Reddit
Photo Credit: deleted / Reddit
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This tree was burnt in a bushfire, but it wasn't done living yet, so it continued to grow anyway.

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Even though the bottom is barely holding on, the top is in full bloom. It's quite inspirational.

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All The Colors Of The Rainbow In One Cabbage

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Colorful Cabbage
Photo Credit: Schology / Reddit
Photo Credit: Schology / Reddit
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This cabbage showing its fall colors barely looks real. It's more believable to think that someone took a whole painting palette and individually painted each row than to believe that nature was just doing its thing.

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This is why we shouldn't mess with it.

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Bald Eagles Don't Run From A Fight

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Photo Credit: Enzo_Gorlahh_mi / Reddit
Photo Credit: Enzo_Gorlahh_mi / Reddit
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Who knew that bald eagles were the same size as wolves?

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This fight looked like it was going to be epic, but the wolf figured it was best if it took a loss this time.

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Why Does This Ice Look Like It's Staring?

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5e9ee3859c77f_8m4jya7jg0h21__700
Photo Credit: alexadlynn / Reddit
Photo Credit: alexadlynn / Reddit
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This might be the coolest ice ever. It looks like a giant blue eye on the ground, and now you can't stop staring.

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I wouldn't want to find out what is in the black space.