THE MALDIVES

 Just like Bora Bora, the Maldives is another
tropical paradise that feels like a fantasy world.
Hundreds of lush islands, lined with the whitest 
sandy beaches, and surrounded by the
bluest of water; the Malvides is a slice of heaven. 
Check out the beautiful photographs below along 
with information on the world’s lowest country with
the ‘lowest high point’ in the world. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russia's Underwater Crystal Cave

It looks like the set of a Hollywood action movie but these images

were taken by a team of expert cave divers in the depths of Russia.

A team of daring cave divers have produced an incredible

photo-reportage of the longest underwater gypsum 

crystal cave in the world. 

The Orda Cave in the western Urals region is three mile

s of eerily dramatic natural channels created by water so
clear divers can see over 50 yards ahead of them.

A very Speedy Fish

The Smallest Aquarium

 

Russian miniaturist Anatoly Konenko engaged

 microminiature art for three decades.

He came up with its own technology

letters on rice, poppy seed, as well as

 human hair, and has recently created the

world's smallest aquarium with live fish.

This tiny tank is made of fiberglass on the  

bottom rising living algae, and fish in it too,

 very real - 5 danio rerio juveniles, whose

 size does not exceed 4 mm.

Volume mikrorezervuara - 10 ml.

That is 2 teaspoons. 06 more images after the break...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marine camouflage:

these colourful underwater

creatures are masters of disguise

These underwater creatures are masters of deception

so cleverly adapted to their environment that many

would never be found without expert knowledge.

Brandon Cole, a photographer from Washington

state on the west coast of the US, uses his

 expertise as a marine biologist to hunt for

 the almost invisible animals.

A Coleman's shrimp camouflaged among

spines of a poisonous fire sea urchin in Indonesia

"My pictures show hidden marine life blending

into the background of the reef or seabed,"

said Brandon. "They're hard to find - you don't

see them straight away. Sometimes you happen

 upon them - but many of them require a search

 pattern. For example when hunting a cowrie

snail on a soft coral you have to know it lives in

association with that particular coral. So you look

for the host and then look for a needle in a

hay stack - but you have to know which hay

 stacks to look for first."
A ridged egg cowrie snail hidden among soft coral in Indonesia

Brandon explains why these creatures take such

 trouble to remain hidden. "It has to do with

survival," he said. "They adapt to their

environment through natural selection.

Most of these animals are camouflaged

 against the background of their natural

habitat. This increases their odds of

survival so they are less likely to be f

ound by predators. Many are small and

 defenceless so rely on this trick to survive."
A leafy sea dragon in South Australia

The double-ended pipe fish not only looks like

 the sea grass it lives within but also mimics

the swaying motion of the grass as it is moved

by sea currents.
A double-ended pipefish among sea grasses in Indonesia

Brandon has travelled the world to capture

his pictures, and says: "I think a great place

to go to see mimicry in action is Lembeh Strait

in Sulawesi, Indonesia. It's an especially

critter rich habitat where lots of camouflage is present."
A bearded scorpionfish hides in a coral garden in Indonesia

Another bearded scorpionfish camouflaged against a reef in Thailand

A harlequin crab on a sea cucumber in Indonesia

A peacock flounder camouflaged on sand in Dominica

A hairy frogfish in Indonesia

An octopus camouflaged against sand near a

 sea grass bed in a shallow bay in Australia

A devil scorpionfish well camouflaged in Hawaii

A speckled sanddab in California

A crocodilefish in Indonesia

Colorful Creatures Of The Ocean

 This incredible set of photographs reveal capture some
of the sea's inhabitants in a way you have never seen before.
The stunning pictures, taken off the coast of Hawaii, 
were taken in the dead of night with a special flash 
to give a wonderful display of colours.

  




 

Having A Whale Of A Time

fashion, these acrobatic female humpback whales seem

 to fly with the nimble grace of a dolphin a fraction of their size.

Leaping out of the water in majestic 

This picture shows a 50ft, 45-ton humpback fully 

breaching the water - it's nose reaching 40ft in the air. 

Wildlife photographer Jon Cornforth stood just 30

 feet from the gentle giants to capture these amazing images.

 

Majestic: A female humpback whale breaches the 

waters at Frederick Sound in the Alexander Archipelago

, south-east Alaska

 

Feeding frenzy: Humpback whales catch herring in a 

'bubble-net' near Angoon in Frederick Sound, in the 

Alexander Archipelago, south-east Alaska

Mr Cornforth, 39, from Seattle, took the breathtaking 

photos during a visit Frederick Sound, near south-east

 Alaska. 'They really are fantastic creatures to get so

 up close to,' he said. 

'They are extremely curious creatures - they are 

interested in us just like we're interested in them.

'There was a moment when one actually came up

 underneath me and looked like it might try to swallow 

one of the the boats.

'But luckily they're far too clever to mistake a

 boat for their usual prey.'

 

The pictures also show the sisterhood of the sea

 beasts 'bubble net' feeding. The whales feed from

 huge shoals of herring that spawn in the area by

 acting in concert to herd the fish.

One or two plunge up to 500ft underwater and blow

air bubbles in a circular pattern,  trapping their prey 

so the rest of the 12-strong group can scoop up them up.

Behemoths: Mr Cornforth watched the whales for over 

12 weeks over a period of four years to take these photos

Ritual: The entirely female group gathers at the same 

spot at the same time each year

Belly flop: The 45-ton whales seem to be able to throw 

themselves through the air as nimbly as a performing dolphin

The entirely female group forms on the exact same spot each year, AND 

each creature performs exactly the same role in hunting each time.

'It's a mystery as to why females come together in this way,' 

said Mr Cornforth. 'They may have a matriarchal society like some 

groups of killer whales.

'I've seen the same females perform the same job of diving down to 

create the bubble net time after time.

'The bubble net is created far below the surface and can be as big as 

75m in diameter - in order to catch the enormous herring swarms.

'They are such powerful animals that they can do this every

 four to five minutes for as long as ten hours.'  

Moby click: Photographer Jon Cornforth takes 

pictures of the breaching humpback whales 

Mr Cornforth watched the whales for over 12 weeks over a

 period of four years to take these photos. On his most recent trip,

 he had to travel 120 miles by boat and spent three days relentlessly 

searching the ocean to finally find his prize.

'Humpback whales are incredible mammals,' he said.

 'They rise above the water for only a second - and then 

they vanish into the waves once again.

'It's brief, but breathtaking - and worth all the effort. 

When people see these pictures I hope they get a sense

 of just how glorious it is to be in their presence.'