Absurd Planet

Time to talk about the birds, the bees and all the other animals with strange mating rituals. When two scorpions make love, it’s anything but lovely.

For Earth’s largest rodent, life’s a beach. For mayflies, it lasts only one day. What counts isn’t quantity, but quality — and occasional cannibalism.

Bizarre dramas unfold in the world’s wet and wild oceans, including a leopard seal and a crustacean that team up to ruin an octopus's day.

The miraculous Jesus Christ lizard and goo-spewing bombardier beetle stand out among nature’s oldest, fastest and just plain kookiest creatures.

Take to the skies to discover amazing murmurations of starlings and adorably pudgy puffins. Don’t mind the flying snakes, those wingless weirdos.

A butterfly that drinks turtle tears is just one of many organisms with unusual appetites and even odder methods of hunting and digesting their food.

Get ready for a rumble in the jungle. Whether clawing, crashing or headbanging, animal gladiators like to fight if love or status is on the line.

The parade of curiosities kicks off with a tiny lizard that fits on a fingertip and monkeys with huge noses. Some Hawaiian sand is fish poop — fact.

Humans share a surprising number of traits with their critter kin, such as using tools, yawning, soaking in saunas and flipping real estate.

Did you know goats speak in different regional dialects? Incredible facts about everyday animals lead to one conclusion: being different is awesome.