Silence

before the vows

Honey Possum or Noolbenger (Tarsipes rostratus) feeding on nectar, looking for nectar... family Tarsipedidae, order Diprotodontia, found in SW Western Australia

One of the world's smallest marsupials, weighing only 7 - 16g.

This video depicts a moment that is nearly impossible to observe: a sperm whale surfacing with a giant squid clenched between its teeth. These predators hunt at depths exceeding 800 meters, where light does not penetrate, and only biosonar directs the pursuit. Consequently, clear surface images are exceedingly rare.

My favorite thing about this clip is that, in the original uncropped footage, you can see her calf is right beside her, ascending from the depths along with her. Whale calves don't dive until they're taught by their mothers. It is very likely that this footage is of a mother whale teaching her calf to hunt on one of its very first dives.

Not one, but two Magnapinna Squid!

The Doldrums expedition team spent 35 days studying and exploring a region of the middle of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Doldrums Megatransform and Fracture Zone, which lies just north of the equator, about 800 miles off the northeast coast of Brazil. They discovered two new hydrothermal vents and had thrilling encounters with deep-sea animals. On one of the dives, the team observed two elusive Magnapinna sp., commonly known as bigfin squid, at approximately 4,300 meters (about 2.7 miles). Magnapinna is the deepest-dwelling squid. Sightings of these animals are extremely rare — seeing two in one dive is extra exciting! With eight arms and two tentacles, which can measure up to 8 meters (26 feet) in length, they are well equipped to hunt for their next meal in the resource-poor deep sea. One odd feature is the bend in their arms and tentacles, which looks a bit like a human elbow. Scientists suspect this bend helps keep their wispy appendages from getting tangled. “Even in the Atlantic Ocean, where plate boundaries have been studied for decades, there are still places where the first close look can reveal something entirely new,” said Doldrums Chief Scientist and senior scientist at ‪MBARI‬ Dr. Aaron Micallef. “This expedition showed that even in one of the most remote corners of the ocean, our planet remains alive, dynamic, and full of surprises.”