Beautifully dangerous animals.

There are a lot of stunningly gorgeous animals in the world, some yet to be discovered I'm sure. When I was a kid, I loved sharks and dinosaurs. I learned all I could about them. That led to a lifelong desire to understand nature. Did you know there are gorgeous frogs--poison dart frogs--with incredible colorations, and are so deadly that you can kill yourself by simply picking one up. A tiny octopus--the delightful blue-ringed octopus--can kill an adult human with a bite so fine you may not even notice. And, the platypus (my favorite creature of all time) hunts with it's eyes closed, can sense the muscle nerves twitching in shrimp, and has poison claws.

A common theme throughout nature is how bright coloring and vivid patterns are signals of a deadly kind. For we humans, it's hardly a sign of anything--aside from style and enjoyment. Interesting, right? I could only imagine how drab our world would become, if bright colored clothing was a sign of danger. We'd end up with gray and black everywhere. Yuck.

However, there are other creatures of profound beauty and mostly harmless, like peacocks, seashells, starfish, unicorns and rainbows. Once you understand the threat, you can easily enjoy the beauty. Yes, even sharks and dinosaurs. Wild animals are not to be toyed with, but there's nothing wrong with watching and savoring. Go out and enjoy nature!

- M