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Shockingly large animals

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02:36 / 28.03.04

drop the s.

the one at the end, before you get fruity.

01:43 / 29.03.04

Hyenas. Not objectively huge, but bigger than they should be, for our own good.

In the hills above Berkeley (Cal.), the university has a field station with about 40 hyenas. Hyenas have a rigid matriarchal hierarchy, and the females have extremely "masculinized" sex organs. The folks at the station are studying the role of hormones in social order of hyena society, among other things. It's pretty interesting stuff, really.

I recently had the opportunity to go to the station. I had heard that nature shows, etc. failed to convey the size of hyenas. I can now confirm that they are big. Bigger than I would like any animal to be, when that animal and its pack are clearly figuring out the best way to bring you down when you're in proximity ... and looking so casual and cool while they do it.

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

05:23 / 29.03.04

Indeed, hyenas are bigger than I am comfortable with. And what a clitoris on those female hyena, eh?

08:29 / 29.03.04

I think that foxes are smaller than most people think. They should be the size of a big dog but they are usually only about 2 feet tall. I did see a big one once, though.

14:48 / 29.03.04

Ok, you've hit one of my buttons.

Joy buttons.

Meet liopleurodon, the largest predator ever.

Ever.

It, like ate plesiosaurs.

Its MOUTH was the size of a polar bear. Body, 25 meters (80 feet) long.

How long is 80 feet?

It's architectural -- eight stories tall. Here's a picture of an 80-foot-long houseboat. It has six bedrooms and two bathrooms. Picture it with teeth and flippers.

15:05 / 29.03.04

Before:

After:

15:24 / 29.03.04

I can't get over the picture of the seal. It's the SIZE of a CAR!
I keep thinking it must be a manipulated photo and they're really the size of large cats like I've always imagined.

I was once on a beach when one of these guys came ashore to sun himself, and decided that it was his beach, dammit. Let me assure you that they are not only that large, they are also shockingly fast.

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