Sunday, September 19, 2010

3 icky round things




1st image) Rat king The "rat king" forms when a number of rats become entwined by their tails - either knotted or tangled together with blood and excrement. The resulting cluster is said to have been observed since the 16th c. and was associated with the plague. There have been several dozen sightings of as many as 32 rats joined like this and a handful of specimens preserved in museums, with the most recent report out of Estonia in 2005.

2nd image) Snake ball An anaconda breeding ball forms when as many as 12 males up to 30' long entwine themselves around a fertile female. Their attempts to impregnate her and to thwart their rivals from doing so may last 4 weeks.

3rd image) Ant circle This ant vortex is also called a death spiral and is an example of circular milling. The phenomena has been observed in army ants since 1944 and occurs when each ant simply follows the ant in front of it and they all get locked into a circular pattern that may last days and results in suicidal death. Here are some more examples.

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