Get this: when Leopard Slugs mate, their organs unite to create a huge, bright blue…well, flower. A slime flower. David Cameron’s creations, thrilling as they were–and I saw Avatar in IMAX 3-D, ok?–got nothing on the Leopard Slug.
Squeamish? You still won’t be able to stop watching this. Even better: turn your volume up. SlugSex has its own deliciously creepy sound.
So why am I posting Slug Porn? Not out of parental pride because my younger son, who sent me this link, is a UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug. (But yeah, while I’m at it, Go Fighting Slugs!)
I’m posting this because it is REAL. Gross, mind-blowing, beautiful–and REAL. In this world of virtual wonders, it is so refreshing to find something so humble that, all by itself, can blow my little mind.
Sometimes I think if one more person tells me, “Hey, guess what you can do with your [fill in the name of any expensive and teeny electronic product here]!” I’m going to scream, or hurt somebody. I’m just trying to get through my day. Do I really NEED to know how to make all the photographs in my collection look like they were taken by professionals before I instantaneously woosh them off to friends in the far corners of the globe? Do I NEED to be able to mate my phone with someone else’s to acquire their photos too, or their music, or the bar coded embedded in their forehead their website?
Nope. What I do need is my daily dose of natural wonder. And thanks to the Leopard Slug and its…umm…interesting sex life, I now have enough doses to last me well into next weekend.
How ’bout y’all? What is your favorite natural wonder that goes unnoticed? Or tell us about a new one we need to know us! Post a video if you’d like! Just try not to make it grosser than mine.
Wing's World 
Wow! That was really cool! Although, the–um–dismount looked painful.
I know, right? Plenty of admiration–NO envy.
The music actually made it a bit romantic in a mucus-ey sort of way. Beats those wildebeest mating scenes on Discovery. Thanks for posting it and thanks for the reply to my first sober blog post! Just kidding. I think I could get used to this blogging thing. Seems to be a great way to find one’s voice. Speaking of Discovery Channel, have you seen North America? It features some brilliant animal photography.
Ooh, I’ll have to check that out. Know what you mean about the music…made me chuckle. Thanks for visiting! Watch out: from here on in, everything looks like a blog post (rather like, when you have a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail)…
Uh Gretchen, I can’t take the slugs girl. Yuk! No can do. Now about my favorite natural wonder that goes unnoticed. Hmm. Well, I don’t know. I do know that there will be a supermoon on this Sunday since the moon will not only be the closest to the earth this year, but a full moon also. So Sunday evening should be beautiful! 🙂
Ha! Sorry, Karen. Guess I found your weak spot, huh? But thanks for the heads-up about the moon! It was gorgeous enough last night, can’t wait to see it tomorrow night! That WILL be a wonder.