Photography is part skill, part timing, and a great deal of luck, as the photographer of this incredible scene from nature knows first hand, having captured an stunning series of images showing a crow riding an eagle.

Poo Chan has a great deal of wildlife photography experience, but he would never have guessed that these two birds – both with strong personalities and not known for normal interactions – might align in flight for such a strange moment. And if you like this photo, be sure to check the link above – he is amazing at capturing animals in motion, even aside from this once-in-a-lifetime set of shots.

From the photographer: “Crows are known for aggressively harassing other raptors that are much bigger in size when spotted in their territories and usually these ‘intruders’ simply retreat without much fuss. However, in this frame the crow did not seem to harass the bald eagle at such close proximity and neither did the bald eagle seem to mind the crow’s presence invading its personal space. What made it even more bizarre was that the crow even made a brief stop on the back of the eagle as if it was taking a free scenic ride and the eagle simply obliged.”

The post Naturally Amazing: Crow Catches Free Ride on Bald Eagle first appeared on Gajitz.

Mankind’s quest for immortality has spanned centuries, but somehow we always come up empty-handed. And the cycle of life and death is the same for just about every other creature on Earth…but there’s one that seems so have beaten the system. Turritopsis nutricula is a species of jellyfish that seems to be immortal; it has a mechanism for transforming itself from its adult phase to its polyp phase, more or less cheating death – at least in theory.

Most jellyfish have lifespans lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few months, but the Turritopsis nutricula can seemingly manipulate tissues from both its bell (in its mature phase) and its circulatory system. The process is known as transdifferentiation, and it happens either when stem cells transform into other types of cells, or when already differentiated cells morph back into stem cells. The Turritopsis nutricula is the only known animal that’s able to undergo a change like this, shifting from a mature animal back to its infant form.

This transdifferentiation phenomenon hasn’t been observed outside of a laboratory setting. Even then, the switch only occurred under adverse conditions. Scientists believe that the regression is so quick that they probably wouldn’t be able to observe it occurring in the wild. Unfortunately, the T. nutricula have made a rather negative name for themselves: as the biologically immortal jellyfish spread rapidly around the world, biologists are worried that they could take over the ocean. With an ability to stay alive as long as they aren’t eaten or overcome by disease, this particular type of jelly is clogging the seas. And since they reproduce constantly, well, let us be the first welcome our new jellyfish overlords.

The post Who Wants to Live Forever? World’s Only Immortal Animal first appeared on Gajitz.

Call it a tiny sports car with a motorcycle growing out of its side, or call it a sexy motorcycle with the world’s weirdest sidecar…but whatever you call it, the Snaefell is a feat of amateur genius. Built by Francois Knorreck, the wonderfully unique vehicle took more than a decade, 10,000 man-hours and more than 15,000 Euros to construct. The body of the sidecar was all custom-built, and inside it looks like an actual sports car.

The motorcycle portion is built on a Laverda triple 1000cc base, giving it power and grace. And it needs it when it’s hauling around a sidecar that’s as big as a commuter car. But taken together, the motorcycle and sidecar just seem to blend together like they were born attached at the hip, which is likely just what the amazing vehicle’s creator was going for.

The literal sidecar was built from various pieces of a Citroen Xantia, a VW GTI and an Audi 80. Rather than going for the usual configuration of a sidecar attached to a motorcycle with a bridge connector, Knorreck decided to build a smooth body encompassing both parts of this extremely unusual vehicle. The result is something you’d probably have no choice but to stare at enviously if you saw it passing you on the highway.

The post It’s a Motorcycle! It’s a Sports Car! No, It’s…Snaefell? first appeared on Gajitz.