Photos: Times nature took people by surprise

If you flip on any nature documentary or scroll onto any travel blog, you’re going to get about 100 pictures of a lion roaming the savannah. Not that that’s not great, but we want to see more than the king of the jungle.

These photos of animals, places, and things that are rarely in the spotlight really pull back the curtain and show us what life is like behind the scenes and off the pages of the travel magazine. Spoiler alert: nature is way cooler than we ever imagined.

This Spider Dreamed Bigger Than The Regular Old Web Design

This spider recently took a trip to Europe and, like every other exchange student, wants us to know all about it.

So instead of building a normal web like literally every other spider, it decided it would really show its friends how the experience “really changed” them.

Elephant Tails Up Close Look Like Something You Clean Your Pipes With

We’re all so focused on the rest of the elephant… and how big it is, that we’re not really paying attention to its tail.

This bristly appendage looks like a strange toilet brush, but it’s actually a fly swatter to keep the critters off.

When You See Every Color

This breathtaking photo was snapped at North Dunes Nature Preserve in Illinois, on the western shore of Lake Michigan near the Illinois border.

Just about everyone can appreciate a good sunset, and this pic shows a particularly vivid one. The right side of the photo shows a scene that could have been taken at midnight, while the sun’s rays add a ton of color to the left side.

Flying Away

We see so many plants with airborne seeds, like dandelions, that it’s easy to look past them without letting it register just how remarkable nature can be with its adaptations.

When you think about it, it’s pretty incredible that a plant can flower, then transition into something with multiple seeds that can fly untold distances on a gust of wind.

This Coral-Looking Fungi Is Truly Fun

It’s rare that we can use the “fun guy” joke and have it be effective, but in this case, it works.

These coral-esque mushrooms look like they’re having a grand old time and raving to some excellent club music. One just told me to put my hands in the air and I did it because he seemed like a fun guy.

What Frog Footprints Look Like On Foggy Glass Will Blow You Mind

Nevermind drawing hearts on a foggy window to show your love — roll up with a little frog and watch it scurry along because the prints it leaves are way cooler than your finger will ever draw.

Your significant other may be a little weirded out though.

This Tomato Plant Grew So Large It Became A Canopy

Tomato plants really are here to dazzle us. Not only do they provide us with tomatoes which give us ketchup, marinara, and pizza, but they also give us quality shade.

This massive plant is the definition of being a bro.

He’s More Than Just A Carp-enter

This is a sawfish, which is aptly named considering his nose.

Sawfish can be over 23 feet in length, and are usually harmless to humans unless they’re simply trying to defend themselves.

The Changing Of The Seasons Can Be Tough

This pooch was walking on the ice when he stumbled upon this fox that was preserved under the ice.

It looks like he froze in the cold water, and eventually the stream froze over its body.

This Is Almost Beautiful

This is what happens when a group of wasps build a home out of colored construction paper.

It just goes to show you how crafty and resourceful they can be.

It’s Hard To Believe This Isn’t Photoshopped

Red rainbows are extremely beautiful and quite rare, but they have a simple explanation.

They occur when there is low sun so the green and blue rays are weakened. It’s just like the reason why sunrise and sunset always seem to be oranges and reds.

Is That Bird Poop?

It’s actually a bit grosser, depending on who you ask.

It’s a spider that looks like they’re bird poop in order to protect themselves from predators and be able to sneak up on prey.

Look At Those Stars

This is what the milky way looks like when you don’t have a bunch of street lights and buildings.

It’s crazy that it’s always there, we just can’t always see it.

There’s Something You Don’t See Every Day

This is what an albino giraffe looks like. It’s possible that there might only be one white giraffe left in the world.

He has a skin condition called leucism which causes a loss of pigmentation.

Imagine Seeing That Over Your Home?

This is a storm supercell over a field.

This is what it looks like when a big storm starts moving in, so you should probably consider taking some cover if you see it rolling in.

That’s Quite The Snail

This is Platymma tweediei, otherwise known as a fire snail.

They can only be found in a 100 km radius in Malaysia because it thrives on very specific conditions and can’t exist outside of them.

Nothing About This Is Photoshopped

This is what the skies looked like in California around 8 am in early September as the wildfires started to spread farther and farther.

There is something about it that feels apocalyptical, isn’t there?

Is That All One Tree?

This tree has one branch that grows apples and the rest don’t. It’s called grafting.

Grafting is a process that joins two plants together. It’s usually done to heal sick plants, making them stronger and more resilient to certain diseases.

Those Are Some Tightly Wound Roots

This plant had been sitting in a planter for many months.

It had long grown out of that planter, but since it wasn’t repotted, the roots had nowhere to go other than around and around.

What A Cute Little Lady Bug

Was I the only one who thought that ladybugs only came in red? These little yellow ladybugs eat mildew instead of aphids like their red counterparts.

That’s what the ladybug is going after on this leaf.

We Really Are Getting Old

This is a can of Play-Doh that had been left in someone’s basement for many, many years.

In a move unknown to most of us, the Play-Doh dried and became crystallized.

They’re All The Rage These Days

This shirt looks like it’s something that you can walk into a shop and purchase, but it’s actually the result of some sun dying.

This shirt sat in the back of someone’s car and got bleached by the rays.

It Has To Start With One

Looks like it’s starting to become fall in this little area of the world.

The first leaf turns red and the rest aren’t far behind. This leaf was the first to lose chlorophyll.

Is This Extra Lucky Then?

Instead of a four-leaf clover, this person found a seven leaf clover!

Does that mean that this is three times luckier than a four-leaf clover or not? I’d make a few extra wishes just in case.

The Exact Moment Lightning Hit This Tree

It’s rare that we actually get to see the moment a tree bursts into flames because of a lightning strike.

Fun fact, the reason they do this is because the lightning super-heats the sap and then the sap explodes. So lightning literally makes its blood boil.

Is That A Baby Dinosaur?

This is what a little baby snapping turtle looks like when they are freshly hatched from their shell.

As they get older they get much bigger and their tail gets much thicker and more powerful.

Believe It Or Not, That Blue Lobster Is Real

This blue lobster was pulled out of the waters in Nova Scotia, which is really quite amazing.

The chances of seeing a blue lobster are extremely rare as only one in every two million lobsters has the chance of being that color.

Believe It Or Not, This Happened Naturally

This is absolutely beautiful. Opal, which is what’s in the middle of this log, is often found in petrified wood.

Opal is actually hardened once liquid silica is in the presence of a lot of water.