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A closer look at 12 trendy cat mutations

Whether it's soaring in the sky, speeding through the water or trapping prey in sticky pits of doom, examples of convergent evolution can be found everywhere.

The Earth is filled to the brim with color, but there's some places that take it to another level with a little help from pigmented bacteria, millions of years' worth of sedimentary layering or other serendipitous natural forces.

Underneath all those colorful avian jumpers lies a sobering story about captive exotic birds.

Looking for an adventure that's off the beaten path and won't break the bank? Look no further than Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — referred to in shorthand as the "5 Stans."

If you've never visited or read about Death Valley National Park, you might assume from the name that it's a barren wasteland devoid of life, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

Did you know that the world's most biologically diverse ecosystems also happen to be some of the most fragile and endangered?

Hoodoos. Fairy chimneys. Earth pyramids. Tent rocks. They have many different names, but these strange badland rock formations are one and the same, and they can be found in various iterations across the planet.

Sexual dimorphism can manifest in many fascinating ways — size, coloration, behavior and the presence of secondary sex characteristics like tail feathers, breasts or antlers.