It likely had eight legs, and at least one of them is still brandishing a knife. That's the report from archaeologists in northern Peru, who have announced the discovery of a 50-foot mural that once was the centerpiece of a pre-Columbian shrine.
The find was made in November 2020, when farmers seeking to expand their land partially destroyed a huaca — a Peruvian ceremonial structure — sitting among their avocado and sugar cane crops. The huaca, now cut in half, revealed a striking mural.
"What we have here is a shrine that would have been a ceremonial centre thousands of years ago," Régulo Franco Jordán, one of the archaeologists who went about excavating and preserving the elements of the ancient artwork that hadn't been demolished, told the Peruvian newspaper La República.
Spring rains often bring scores of earthworms to the surface, where they writhe on top of soil and sidewalks. But recently, heavy rainfall in a town near New York City was followed by something a little more unusual: a wormnado.
A resident of Hoboken, New Jersey was out for a morning walk in a park near the Hudson River on March 25, when she spotted hundreds of worms spread along the walkway. The woman, who asked not to be identified, told Live Science that after her initial surprise she noticed something even more bizarre — a number of the worms had formed a cyclone-like shape, creating a spiral where the edge of the grass met the concrete.
The woman took photographs and sent them to Tiffanie Fisher, a member of the Hoboken City Council, who shared the images of the "tornado of worms" on Facebook. "Clearly worms come out after it rains but this is something I've never seen!" Fisher wrote in the post.
Five families on the outskirts of Victoria Falls under Chief Mvuthu were left counting their losses after 19 cattle were killed by lightning during a heavy storm in the early hours of Saturday.
The cattle are part of a community project, which was established in 2016 by ten villagers who are into farming who are being assisted by Wild is Life Trust, an organisation that is into wild animal conservation.
The project had 72 cattle before tragedy struck.
The farmers take intervals to keep the cattle and they are meant to assist with manure for their communal farms.
The incident, according to Joseph Ncube who lost four of his cattle is suspected to have happened around 2 AM.
The population of bald eagles in the lower 48 states of the US has quadrupled to more than 316,000 federal wildlife officials say.
The population was once on the verge of extinction but a new survey by the US Fish and Wildlife Service found more than 70,000 breeding pairs of the iconic bird.
Experts say that in the late 1960s there were less than 500.
The success of the raptor, which is the national symbol of the United States, is a "historic conservation success story," said newly confirmed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
"The bald eagle has always been considered a sacred species to American Indian people, and similarly it's sacred to our nation as America's national symbol," said Ms Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet secretary.
In one microscale step for machine, but a potentially significant leap for the treatment of brain cancer, researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China have created controllable microrobots that can breach the blood-brain barrier and deliver cancer drugs to tumors in the brains of mice.
The blood-brain barrier is a layer of cells that prevents circulating blood and any potential pathogens in it from entering brain tissues. Though thin, it's nearly impenetrable. Normally, that's a good thing, but when the brain is afflicted with a malignant tumor, it's not. Just as the blood-brain barrier blocks pathogens from passing, so, too it locks out cancer drugs. That leaves surgery and radiation therapy as the two primary treatments for brain cancer.
Early-stage attempts have been made to temporarily disrupt the barrier, allowing treatments to pass, as well as to design nanoparticles so small that they can sneak through. These methods are progressing.
Laylan Connelly Daily Breeze Wed, 17 Mar 2021 11:45 UTC
A beached juvenile gray whale died on the shoreline at Dockweiler State Beach, on Wednesday, March 17, as a rescue team had grappled with how to save the mammal.
The whale had washed up on shore about 4 p.m. Officials believed the whale was sick, also noting how thin it appeared. Two hours later, the animal died.
Since it washed up on shore, likelihood of survival for the whale, which was about 25 feet to 30 feet long, had been slim, Justin Viezbicke, California stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said late Wednesday afternoon prior to its death.
"At this point, there's not much we can do," he said.
The NOAA response team couldn't pull the animal out to sea for fear of hurting the creature or causing even more damage.
"It can be super dangerous," Viezbicke said. "We don't try and pull a live whale."
A dead adult humpback whale has washed up in the southern end of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the dead whale was located about a half-mile north of Rodanthe on Thursday.
"It's in a decent state of decay already and displays some evidence of shark activity (not necessarily the cause of death, that likely happened after, according to a post on the USFWS in North Carolina Facebook page.
Refuge and National Park Service biologists were able to complete a field assessment, collect tissue samples, and photograph the carcass on site and will report the event to the marine mammal stranding network.
Given its current size and state, they anticipate it will remain on the beach, and stink, for awhile. And with the forecast of rough surf, and continued decomposition, parts of the whale may end up elsewhere on the beach.
Refuge officials said there is no need to call-in reports about the whale, and that nature will eventually take care of it.
Creature 'slightly underweight' but otherwise doing fine
A walrus has been spotted in Wales after being seen in Ireland.
The Arctic animal, which was seen on rocks near Broad Haven South beach, in Pembrokeshire, on Friday, is thought to be the same one seen off the coast of County Kerry the week before.
Officials have warned anyone who spots it in their area to respect the "sensitive species".
"The tired, young Walrus last spotted on Valentia Island, County Kerry, last Sunday has been spotted in Wales!" Sea Rescue Ireland said.
Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis for man's desire to understand. Who knows what mysteries will be solved in our lifetime, and what new riddles will become the challenge of the new generations.
Comment: It was recently discovered that numerous marine creatures also exhibit an as yet unexplained circling motion when traveling: Enigmatic circling behavior observed in numerous marine animals
For more unusual vortex action in nature, see: