Faux Paws

Swallowed Alive

Evolution has created countless wondrous creatures that are colorful, amazing and strange. The darker side of nature reveals some of the most bizarre forms natural selection has produced. Gaze into the realm of gulpers: animals who waste no time eating their prey — often swallowing it whole. Something deadly lies silent in the leaf litter of West Africa. The Gaboon viper is loaded with the largest fangs and fastest strike of any snake. Further south, the solifuge, or sun spider, darts through the desert, seeking an unlucky bug to mince with its massive mandibles. Strange mouths are also in the ocean. The moray eel is a bizarre fish, but its most characteristic charm is hiding down its dark throat. These and more lie in store.