Awesome Nature

Wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas’ BeetleCam is a “lion-proof” armored case that can carry any camera. It can be controlled from more than 300ft away and can send back live video.

Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty’s Project Yosemite captures the majestic park in time lapse and shows us how to make friends; they were strangers before Vimeo. (Thanks Jeremiah!)

In a high-tech submarine armed with 3D cameras, the director is diving solo 36,000 ft. down to the deepest point on Earth. No man has been in 50 years, and they couldn’t see through the silt.

Superstar physicist and TV host Neil DeGrasse Tyson responds to the question, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe?” Watch the original interview here.

Bird lovers look away. There’s a reason they keep the bird pavilion separate from the lion habitat at the zoo, as is evidenced by this footage of a heron who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Researchers near Madagascar have discovered chameleons that measure in at just 29mm long when fully grown. We’re still waiting for microscopic polar bears we can have as pets, though.

A soothing video about harvesting honey, made by creative studio Tiger in a Jar for Kinfolk Magazine. The music is Hope Valley Hill by Keith Kenniff aka Helios, from his album Caesura.

Ayumu the chimp proves that in some ways, the apes have capacities which exceed most of us – as he memorizes complex numeric patterns faster and more accurately than your average child genius.

Injured in a failed attempt to steal a booby chick from its parents, this crab intentionally amputates its broken limb because he has dishonored his clan safe in the knowledge that it will grow again.

We’re not sure why these roofers were being filmed, but a good reason came up when they stumbled on a colony of bats tucked under a client’s roof. Was their client’s last name Wayne?

We’re not sure how BBC’s Earthflight managed to get so close to these cranes as they flew over Venice, Italy, but the footage captured is incredible – not just of the birds, but of their surroundings.

Watching nature at its most merciless can be fun, but it’s nice to see that animals can be more suave than savage. Watch as the manakin bird proves that ladies can’t resist the moonwalk.

Raise your hand if you knew that devil rays were capable of leaping from the water and flying through the air. Nope, us neither. But these ones in the Sea of Cortez seem ready to evolve into birds.

While at Bwindi National Park in Uganda, YouTuber aleutiandream found himself being groomed by baby gorillas as the primates’ dad stood guard. A heartwarming yet pulse-pounding scene.

This mesmerizing ad for BBC One plays clips of beautiful wildlife and breathtaking scenes of nature while naturalist David Attenborough narrates the lyrics to What a Wonderful World.

Whereas humans enjoy the companionship of tame dogs, baboons at a dump in Ta’if, Saudi Arabia kidnap feral puppies to raise as members of their families. Looks like the apes really are rising.

What do you do when you’ve got three polar bears coming at you? You could run the other way, or you could have cojones the size of bowling balls and chase them off with a big bone.

Surfing off the coast of Santa Cruz, California, a woman comes dangerously close to becoming an accidental whale Happy Meal, as a pod of humpbacks start lunge feeding for fish.

Behold the magic, beauty and poetry that nature surrounds us all with in this video, which shows a chance encounter and shared moment between two humans and a collection of starlings. (Thanks Raz!)

Mountain biker Evan van der Spuy takes a ride through the wilds of South Africa, when out of nowhere pops a Red Hartebeest, ramming into him at top speed. (Thanks, Everyone!)

YouTube user MScharosch demonstrates that with nowhere to hop to and nowhere to hide, you might just have to take a leap of faith to keep from croaking. Or in this case, to keep on croaking.

A proper dinner table about to be ravaged by a venue of vultures. Arresting work by Greta Alfaro, whether you choose to think about its possible meanings or just revel at the sight of nature.

The WWF (no, not that WWF) exposes us to some unusual and extraordinary recently discovered species, encouraging us to preserve our planet and habitats so we still might discover more.