Month: October 2024

A mother leopard had a full-on brawl with a lion for the small chance of saving her babies. This was hands-down one of the bravest and most selfless acts we’ve seen in the wild, and we don’t know how she managed to do it!

Carol and Bob were on an African adventure of a lifetime, at ‪@andBeyondTravel‬ Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge. However, experiencing just how serious a mother leopard’s maternal instincts were against a lion, was more than anyone could have imagined!

Like all Safaris, it started with a very early morning. Carol and Bob were met by their brilliant ranger, Godliving Shoo, who had fresh coffee, and everything ready for their drive!

Godliving knew of a leopard denning in the area and thought it would be a great time to try and spot her. Much before long, that’s exactly what happened! The leopard mom was in sight, and as a huge bonus, there was visibility on her two babies as well!

This was a precious moment, but it was quickly overshadowed for everyone, by a feeling that something was off. The leopard was outside of her den, and there was a sense of paranoia; overall, she seemed very uncomfortable.

Carol explains; “The leopard was outside her den when my husband spotted a lioness crouched just a few meters away, watching intently in the same general direction. We initially thought two separate events were unfolding — the leopard and her cubs, and the lioness watching the wildebeest in the distance. But as she crept forward, we realized she was actually focused on the leopards!”
The lion crept up to striking distance, and it was all or nothing for the leopard. Being considerably smaller, the leopard was at a massive disadvantage, but with everything to lose and the instincts of a mother, she stood her ground with amazing courage!

Without a second thought, the lion leaped in to engage the leopard! The rest of the lion pride was just around the corner from the scene, but the lioness was feeling so confident, that she didn’t bother with waiting for backup! A choice that she would with no doubt, end up regretting!

The leopard jumped to meet the lioness back, and the pair locked into a grapple as they hit the ground. Once again, the lion was at an upper hand, as she landed on top, but to describe the little leopard as being ferocious, would be subtle!

The leopard kicked, bit, and tore at the underside of the lion with serious intent. It was almost overbearing, and it took the lioness by surprise! With limited options, the lion decided to bite at one of the leopard’s back feet, but it wasn’t enough!

With so much happening in the footage, it was tricky to see exactly how she did it, but the leopard managed to latch onto the lion’s leg and target a soft spot. The lion’s reaction made it clear how much it hurt, as she jumped away from the leopard and held out her paw like an injured puppy!

Going up and down stairs is a regular part of most people’s days. Whether you live in a two-story house, work on the fifth floor of an office building, or live in a city with lots of hills and stairs to climb, you probably don’t think much about them when you encounter a flight of stairs. But I’m sure we all know that feeling where you accidentally misstep while walking down them or think you’ve reached a last step a tad bit prematurely, and suddenly, your heart skips a beat and your life flashes before your eyes. Going up or down a staircase can be the most mundane activity in your day, or it can be the most frightening moment in an otherwise normal and safe day…

If you’re curious about all of the most dangerous and frightening staircases the world has to offer, allow us to introduce you to the Death Stairs Facebook group. This community, (whose witty name we are absolutely obsessed with) is dedicated to sharing photos of the most dangerous staircases members can find. From extremely long stretches of steps snaking their way up mountains to carpeted stairs covered in trippy patterns that will make your eyes hurt, we’ve gathered some of the craziest death stairs down below.

Keep reading to find interviews with both of the group’s administrators, Lane Sutterby and Duffy Toler, and be sure to upvote the pics that you think deserve a death stare. Then let us know in the comments if you’ve ever encountered any particularly scary stairs, and if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article featuring questionably designed stairs, look no further than right here!

#1 Takes Some Guts To Step Onto Here! I Gather It’s Tijuca Peak – Rio De Janeiro And I’m Not Planning To Visit Any Time Soon!

#2 About 9 Years Ago, My Employer Put New Carpet On The Stairs. I Died 3 Times

#3 And Yes: I “Tripped” When Coming Down Because I Thought I Had 1 More Step To Go

The Death Stairs Facebook group was first created on November 8th, 2020, and it has already amassed over 61k members. The group’s description welcomes visitors and members to the community, noting that Death Stairs is “where ascension is perilous and descending is deadly”. They invite people to share the “deadliest staircases” and to “tread safely”, as many of the photos shared there feature staircases that are certainly not for the faint of heart.

To learn more about the history of Death Stairs and what it’s like running the page, we reached out to the group’s administrators, Lane Sutterby and Duffy Toler, on Facebook. Lane, who created the page, shared that his original vision for the group was just for it to be a “tag group”. “One where someone would comment and tag the group’s name in a relevant post in another group such as That’s it, I’m architecture shaming,” he explained.

“I never could have dreamed of how large the group has become!” Lane told Bored Panda. “Running the group is a breeze, I have an excellent team of mods and admin that handle the very few issues that arise. Special shout-out to Duffy Toler, he stays on top of things, he’s the man!” Duffy also noted that running the page hasn’t been too challenging. “Page is just very light amusement, so there’s almost no flame wars or dumpster fires.”

#4 Floating Death Stairs At Machu Picchu, Peru…. I’m Sure That Drop Off On The Left When You Slip Is Just Fiiiiiiiin

A father captured a series of extraordinary pictures of a rare albino squirrel outside his house. Richard Waugh, 51, was thrilled when he spotted the white squirrel scampering around outside his flat in Edinburgh. The rare squirrel named Lexy has become a regular visitor to the garden.

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A man in Edinburgh captured this stunning photo of a rare albino squirrel.

Richard is a software developer. He said he sees the ultra rare critter, which he has named Lexy. A couple of times a week and sometimes scatter nuts out for her. The condition affects around one in a million grey squirrels, with about 50 such creatures thought to live in the UK. Their unique white colour is caused by an absence of melanin, which affects their skin and hair, and caused their eyes to go red or pink.

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The odds of a squirrel being born white are thought to be about one in 100,000. Father of two Richard snapped pictures of the squirrel rummaging around in the leaves on Saturday, and said she often poses for photos. Richard said: ‘I was going to out to the shops, and she was running about, luckily I had my camera with me. She seemed to be in a good mood and posed for a few photos.

‘I reckon it’s about four years she has been hanging about here now, I’ve been lucky and seen her a lot. ‘I usually see her a couple of times a week, although she seems to disappear for a couple of weeks at a time, it’s always good to see her when she’s back. ‘I don’t really feed her but on rare occasions I sometimes see her from the flat window and take down a few nuts to scatter about in the grass and trees.

‘She is quite cheeky, sometimes she just runs off with a couple of cheeky glances back from the trees, other times it’s like she is sitting posing for photos. ‘She seems to get on well enough with the other wildlife. ‘She’s pretty fast on her feet and she gives as good as she gets when she if she is getting bullied.’ Albino squirrels are believed to have sight and hearing problems, making life in the wild very difficult for them.

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Strong winds at the perfect time of day, 9am, combined with unusually high water volumes for November, created a previously undocumented 2,400 foot rainbow waterfall in Yosemite National Park.

Image credit: Greg Harlow

Utah-based landscape photographer Greg Harlow, who captured this amazing view, said that the rainbow lasted over eight minutes. It certainly was not a planned event – the photographer had “spent over three months total in Yosemite last year and just got lucky.”

Photographer Mei Xu captures rainbow forms at bottom of waterfall in Yosemite | Daily Mail Online

He got lucky when trying to capture a photo of Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point. All of a sudden, the waterfall started “turning into” a rainbow, a phenomenon that only happens at certain times of year and under certain circumstances.

Wood scυlptυres are пot somethiпg пew. However, this artist, Jeffro Uitto, who goes by the пame “Kпock oп Wood” oп social media, maпages to beпd wood to his imagiпatioп iп sυch a υпiqυe way that it does пot eveп begiп to compare to others. Usiпg varioυs pieces of wood, mostly foυпd oп the beaches iп Washiпgtoп State, USΑ, Jeffro creatively traпsforms them iпto beaυtifυl scυlptυres that most ofteп depict aпimals – horses, eagles, rhiпos, lioпs, amoпg maпy others.

“Oп the Washiпgtoп coast, there’s a place where пatυre’s leftovers get a secoпd chaпce at stardom. The place is Kпock oп Wood, aпd [I am] the artist makiпg the magic happeп.” – says Uitto oп his website.

Wheп startiпg a scυlptυre, Uitto has aп iпitial idea of what will be doпe bυt adapts as the work progresses. He пever kпows exactly what will resυlt from his work. Jeffo says that ever siпce he was a child, he liked collectiпg wood, especially driftwood that had patterпs beateп iпto them by the waves. Αlthoυgh driftwood is hard, it is almost as if it has emotioпs of its owп that briпg iпspiratioп to the artist. Throυgh his υпiqυe artworks, the artist waпts to emphasize that each object has its owп ‘life’. Α life that caп be coпveyed as a work of art.

Most of Jeffro’s tools are haпdmade by the artist himself, which is ofteп sυrprisiпg for visitors that stυmble across his shop пear the historic Tokelaпd Hotel. However, oпce yoυ get to kпow the artist better, yoυ realize that пot oпly are the cυstom tools пot sυrprisiпg, they are, iп fact, expected. It is evideпt that Jeffro Uitto is aп artist who bυrпs hot with aп iпextiпgυishable passioп for his wood art aпd his scυlptυres attest to that.

“It’s really пatυre-iпspired, the love aпd cυriosity for the sυbjects aпd the iпfiпity of materials. It’s really hυmbliпg to see how maпy people coппect with these scυlptυre artworks. It’s also importaпt to briпg atteпtioп to these aпimals, their mysterioυs beaυty, aпd the extiпctioп they face.” – said the artist to Bored Paпda.