Mautam

Mautam is a cyclic ecological phenomenon that occurs every 48 years in Mizoram; a tiny state of 900,000 people squeezed between India's borders with Bangladesh and Burma - and is linked to the flowering of a rare species of bamboo, melocanna baccifera at one time across a wide range, dropping millions of protein-rich seeds that are devoured by the rats, followed invariably by a plague of rats which multiply in response to the temporary windfall of seeds; when the seed supply is exhausted the rats move to crops and granaries; which in turn causes devastating famine.




The last plague, in 1958-59, provoked a rural uprising that saw the indigenous Mizo people launch a violent 20-year rebellion against the federal government.

Stories of the rats still abound in the tribes' oral traditions. "The rats would wipe out three to four hectares of paddy cropland in one night," an elder said. "We would see our crop standing the night before but next day it would all be gone, eaten away by the rats." It has been estimated that around two million rats were killed and collected by the locals, after a bounty of approximately 1 US cent was placed on each. However, even after the increase in the rat population was noted, preparations by the government to avoid a famine were limited.

Natural Wonders

The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions.

When a thick lava flow cools it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity - in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man. One of the most famous such examples is the Giant's Causeway on the coast of Ireland; though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil's Tower in Wyoming . Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water.

Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation - leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths.






True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers - appearing around, before or even after severe weather.

Red tides are also known as algal blooms - sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals; though no human exposure are known to have been fatal.

A horizontal fire rainbow arc occurs at a rare confluence of right time and right place for the sun and certain clouds. Crystals within the clouds refract light into the various visible waves of the spectrum but only if they are arrayed correctly relative to the ground below. Due to the rarity with which all of these events happen in conjunction with one another, there are relatively few remarkable photos of this phenomena.

Skyscraper

Construction is set to begin on MahaNakhon ( Great metropolis); a pixelated 77 storey urban oasis set to become the tallest skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand.

Its glittering stacked surfaces, terraces and protrusions will simultaneously create the impression of digital pixelation whilst producing unparalleled views across the city. The top of this 1.6 million sq ft project houses a three-floor Sky Bar and restaurant with dramatic double-height spaces and a rooftop outdoor bar with 360° views of the skyline and river, floating 310 meters above the city.

The tower is scheduled to complete in 2012.

Beautiful Fishes

Angelfishes are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantis, Indian and western Pacific oceans. With their vibrant colors and deep, they are some of the more conspicuous residents of the reef. Most angelfishes restrict themselves to the shallows of the reef, seldom venturing deeper than 50 m. They are mainly diurnal, hiding amongst the nooks and crevices of the reef by night .






Albino Peacock Cichlid belong to the family of Cichlidae, which is both large and diverse. There are at least 1300 scientifically described species. Cichlids span a wide range of body sizes, from species as small as 2.5 centimeters in length to much larger species approaching 1 meter .

Cichlids have a great variability in body shape, ranging from compressed and disc-shaped, or triangular shaped to elongate and cylindrical. Cichlids are largely freshwater fish and are less commonly found in brackish and salt water habitats.

Largest Diesel Engine

The Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine is the most powerful and most efficient prime-mover in the world today.

Total displacement comes out to be 1,556,002 cubic inches(25,480liters) for the fourteen cylinders version.

	Total engine weight:	2300 tons (The crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons.)
	Length:	89 feet
	Height:	44 feet
	Maximum power:	108,920 hp at 102 rpm
	Maximum torque:	5,608,312 lb/ft at 102rpm

Even at its most efficient power setting, the big 14 consumes 1,660 gallons of heavy fuel oil per hour.

Barbarism

Residents in Dantesque , Faroe Island , an autonomous province in Kingdom of Denmark, slaughter and eat pilot whales annually. Faroese are descendants of Vikings, they crowd these animals into a bay and kill them, cutting the dorsal area through to the spinal cord. In the process, their main arteries get cut.

This absolute atrocious act commit against several hundred of whales annually normally performed in a traditional custom call Grindadrap is diminishing the population of 5,000 islanders. Many of them get sick and die from high mercury levels in the whales.

Where is Green Peace ? The organization that make the loudest noise about Japanese commercial whaling and shark hunting, but remain largely oblivious about this act of barbarism in Denmark.

Snakes

Cobra is poisonous, when disturbed, most of these snakes can rear up and spread their neck (or hood) in a characteristic threat display. Their preferred preys are rodents and birds. Most Cobra snakes are found in desert regions of Africa and Asia.

The Cottonmouth is large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite (venomous), it is a common aquatic snakes found in wetland areas, rivers, lakes etc. It eats a lot of different prey includes other snakes, fish, lizards, turtles, frogs, small birds and alligators and mammals. It doesn't swallow its prey until the prey is dead. The snake is a strong swimmer, successfully colonizing islands off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. When threatened, this species will often stand its ground and gape at an intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth.

Rattlesnakes belong to the class of venomous snakes known commonly as pit vipers, they like to eat mice, rats and ground squirrels.

Copperhead is generally quiet, almost lethargic, preferring to lie motionless when encountered or making to make a slow retreat. When sufficiently agitated, however, they can strike vigorously with fatal bite (venomous). It grows to an average length of 24-36 in, with a maximum of 52 in. Commonly found in eastern United States.

King snakes are non-poisonous; they eat rattlesnakes as well as other reptiles and mammals.

Racer snake, its name implies a very fast snake; they eat fence lizards, alligator lizards and small rodents and insects.

Pythonidae is a common name for nonpoisonous snakes of boa and python family. Python snakes are large and muscular, and kill their prey by squeezing, or constricting, until it suffocates, they feed on small mammals, some large species can kill and swallow small pigs and goats.

Pythons range from 1 to 10 m long and weigh up to 140 kg, they are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands.