Picture Of The Week - Web Of Dreams

Today's Picture Of The Week is simple in composition but stunning nonetheless. there's a magical quality about this photo; it looks like an image from a dream or a fairy tale. Or perhaps a real-life version of "Charlotte's Web"?

We found this image through a Tumblr titled "Wistfully Country" which is full of gorgeous photos of country life. Give it a look - you won't be disappointed.

Picture Of The Week - A Swarm In The Sea

This photograph, which was taken in 2010, captures a bit of animal behavior that has rarely (if ever) been seen before or since it was taken. German photographer Florian Schulz snapped the image while flying over Baja California Sur in Mexico. It's a mass of Munkiana Devil Rays, swimming toward an unknown destination.

Of the photograph, Schulz said: "Not even my pilot, who has surveyed this area for 20 years, had seen anything like it. As we got closer we started to discover its nature: an unprecedented congregation of rays. The group was as thick as it was wide, all heading towards the same direction. I have asked around why this took place but no one has been able to explain it to me."

The photograph earned him the CIWEM Environmental Photographer Of The Year Award in 2012.

Picture Of The Week - Small But Mighty

Not only does this picture prove the power of teamwork, it's also a testament to the amazing strength of ants! According to The Telegraph, a photograph snapped this shot of three ants carrying a dead dragonfly away after it fell out of a spider's web.

We've written before about how incredibly strong ants are, able to carry more than 50 times their weight, but it's always awesome to see it in action!

Picture Of The Week - Frosty Faceplant

You might notice a striking similarity between last week's Picture Of The Week and today's. No, that fox isn't actually face-planting into the snow. He's diving into, hunting for mice.

This amazing photo is just one in a sequence caught by Tin Man Lee during a trip to Yellowstone National Park. He told The Daily Mail: 'I never knew the fox could jump so high and fast - I was in awe,' he said. 'The fox completely ignored my existence.'

'After waiting to see one in six days we couldn't believe it when it decided to hunt right in front of us,' he said. 'We were extremely lucky - it was a dream come true.'

See the sequence of events as they unfolded right before Lee.

Red foxes typically hunt rodents. Their extraordinary sense of sound helps them hunt; they can hear mice squeaking from approximately 300 feet away and can locate noises within one degree. To read more about Lee's photos, click here.

Picture Of The Week - Dive, Dive!

There were a couple reasons why we chose this photo as our Picture Of The Week. The first is because it's timely, with low temperatures and snow and ice prevailing in many parts of our country right now. And second is because of the impressive hunting skills it showcases.

The photo is of a kingfisher plunging into the icy waters and coming back up with three tasty fish to feast upon. Kingsfishers hunt from perches not far above the water. They open their wings underwater and their eyes are covered with a transparent third eyelid. Many young Kingfishers drown during their first attempts at hunting.

Picture Of The Week - Motherly Protection

This incredible image shows a lioness attacking a crocodile as she tries to cross a stream in Africa. But what's even more incredible is why the lioness is attacking: It wasn't just to save herself, it was to protect her lion cubs from the deadly predator.

This photo is just one in a sequence that show the incredible events unfolding. The photographer told the Daily Mail: 'I watched a lioness carefully move out into the channel and then there was a huge splash in the water,' she said.

 

'The sequence of six pictures of the real action were taken in one second.

'Luckily for the lioness the crocodile did not have an opportunity to do the death roll because her mouth was kept closed between the front legs of the lioness,' the photographer added.

'It was only after checking my pictures on the camera viewer that I really realised what I had witnessed. Luckily the story had a happy ending because all the lionesses and cubs made it safely to the other bank.'

 

To read more, and see the entire incident unfold, visit the Daily Mail website.

Picture Of The Week - Hey, That's My Nose!

This week's picture isn't quite as astounding or head-scratching as some of our others, but we had to post it for several reasons. 1) It's adorable. 2) It's just puts us in the Christmas spirit. Although, we do feel for that poor snowman ;-)

How many of you have seen a sight like this in your backyards?

Picture Of The Week - A Dirty Bath

We really don't have much to say about this photo of an elephant taking a dust bath other that it's beautiful. And it makes us very thankful that we take showers! 

Photo via.

Picture Of The Week - Run Aways

What do you think these turkeys are thinking? In the spirit of Thanksgiving humor, we imagine it's something like "Run, boys! I heard them say something about stuffing"! They're running away from the Thanksgiving table, we think, and into freedom :-)

Picture Of The Week - Guess What?

When we saw this picture pop up on our Tumblr feed, we were intrigued, then surprised. And we knew we had to share it with our readers! Can you tell what this? We'll give you three guesses.

1) Did you guess it was some kind of two-headed snake? Sorry, wrong!

2) Did you think it was possibly an exotic bug? Wrong!

3) Maybe a newly-discovered underwater sea creature? Also wrong!

This was a bit of a trick question, since this is a magnified image. This is actually the tip of a hummingbird tongue, which is forked and able to curl into a straw shape so they can suck nectar out of flowers or feeders. The picture is one of a series from the book "Microcosmos" by author Brandon Broll, which includes images of everyday objects magnified up to 22 millions times!

To see a hummingbird's tongue in action, watch the video below!

Picture Of The Week - Taking Shelter

With Hurricane Sandy gone, and the East Coast starting to rebuild, we thought this picture was timely. It's a photo of flamingos gathered in a bathroom at the Miami-Metro Zoo during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The storm was originally expected to miss Miami, but caused almost $10 billion in damages. 

Pictures Of The Week - Eyes In The Dark

We're sharing two pictures today that remind us of just how scary, menacing and all around creepy animals and nature can be. We think it's the glowing eyes coupled with the animal packs... don't they look like something out of a nature horror movie?

One thing is for certain, we wouldn't want to have to face these animals alone on the farm/in the woods late at night! 

Picture Of The Week - A Kingfisher Goes For A Dive

How stunning is our Picture Of The Week? An underwater photographer caught this amazing shot of a kingfisher diving into water to snap up a fish for dinner. We love the way you can see the motion of the bird in the way the water rushes around it.

Although kingfishers are known for hunting fish, only a few species can dive like this. Other species also feed on crustaceans, frogs and insects. Kingfishers that can dive hunt from a perch above the water; their eyes are able to judge underwater distance very accurately. Upon impacting the water, a membrane covers their eyes to protect their vision.

Pictures Of The Week - Kids & Animals, Part 2

We got such an overwhelming response from our first "Kids & Animals" photo gallery that we decided to do it again! Last time we went with a black and white photo theme; this time we decided to gather pictures of future equestrians with their horses.

If you missed our first "Kids & Animals" post, click here. And to see even more pictures of children and their animal friends, visit our "Kids & Animals" board on Pinterest!

Pic Of The Week - Not Your Average Tree Climbers

In the United States, we're used to seeing birds and squirrels in the trees. Maybe the occasional cat. But, goats? No, never goats!

This picture was taken alongside a road in Morocco. The photographer told The Daily Mail that the goat herder told him the goats climb the tree to get the olive-like fruit, which is hard to come by. Nine goats climbed as high as 17 feet on the small branches to get the fruit, with many more waiting their turn.

Pics Of The Week - Photobombing Animals

If you haven't heard the phrase "photobomb" before, we'll give you a quick vocabulary lesson. A photobomb is when a person or group of people get into a picture right before it's taken, usually in the background, without the people having their picture taken knowing. However, some photobombs are more obvious, especialy when animals are involved.

Take a look at these funny shots of animal photobombers, getting in the way of their owners' (and fellow pets') photos, featured on BuzzFeed.com's list of "Great Animal Photobombers Of All Time".

This photobombing squirrel pictures is the one that started it all, the first evidence of photobombing to go viral on the Interenet!

Photobombing pigeon doesn't want you to take your picture in front of this cathedral.

This photobombing fish thinks kissing underwater is gross. And tacky.

Possibly the best wedding picture ever taken. Seriously, we'd rent a llama just so we could get this shot at our weddings!

It was all Felix could do to get a nice, serious shot of himself without Mr. Whiskers always jumping in the way.

Visit BuzzFeed.com to see the full gallery of epic animal photobombers.

Pic Of The Week - Oh, That's Cold!

You might have seen this adorable picture as it went viral on the internet a couple weeks ago. And it's no surprise why, this image is just too cute not to share (even if it is more than 10 years old)!

This is Yakini, a newborn baby gorilla born in 1999, getting a checkup from Royal Children's Hospital neonatal specialist Neil Campbell at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. Yakini was surprised by the cold stethoscope and mad the adorable face you see on the right.. To learn more about this photo and how Yakini's doing, read this article.

And take a look at this comparison photo we found on Pinterest! It's amazing how much like us monkeys are, isn't it?

Pic Of The Week - Ninja Skills

Who knew squirrels had such good balance (and strong legs muscles)? Not us, until we saw this picture of a squirrel eating while perched between two branches. Not a pose us humans could pull off easily!

But while this squirrels mad ninja skills are impressive, we have to wonder if they're just slightly less so than the ninja skills of this bird, who can balance upside down on tiny sticks and drink water! In the squirrel vs. bird ninja competition, who gets your vote?

Pic Of The Week - Don't Open The Door!

Knock knock. 

Who's there?

Alli.

Alli who?

Alligator, coming to eat you!

 

That's the first thought we had when we saw this terrifying picture of an alligator trying to get into a home (presumably in Florida). We couldn't find any information about this picture, but the image pretty much says it all. Can you imagine the horror of someone opening the door and facing that big creature?!

And while we were searching for information, we came across a similar, and equally scary, picture of an alligator - this time it looks like they were trying to use the front door. Apparently, when you live in Florida, it's always important to look out the door before you open it!

Picture Of The Week - Need A Lift?

Here's a picture you definitely don't see every day (or ever). This shot, an entry in the National Geographic Traveler Photo contest, shows a marine nomad child hitching an underwater ride on a shark pal of his.

In case you're wondering what marine nomads are (like we were), here's the scoop: Marine nomads are people who live their lives at seas, on small boats, and rarely step foot on land. These people live in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia but their numbers are dwindling. Click here to read more.

Image via.