Nature surprises us in many ways. On one hand, we face extreme atrocities like earthquakes and cyclones while on the other hand, nature gives us beautiful creations like the Aurora Borealis. Moreover, birds and animals enhance this beauty of nature. They, in their own unique way, craft some very beautiful and amazing things. Here, we bring you 10 such amazing things created by animals that will just blow your mind.

1 Spider Decoys

A new species of spiders have been discovered in the Amazon that creates fake spiders as decoys from leaves, debris, and dead insects to misdirect predators.

In the Peruvian, Amazon rainforest, a spider has been discovered that builds elaborate, fake spiders and hangs them in its web. This new spider is believed to belong to the genus Cyclosa. The spider uses debris, leaves, and dead insects to craft the larger replica of itself. Though Cyclosa consists of other spider species that sculpt structures, this is the first time that scientists have observed a species that builds a replica of itself with numerous long legs.

Scientists suspect that the fake spiders are built as decoys. This might be a part of their defense mechanism in order to confuse or mislead predators.(source)

2 Puffer Fish Circles

Created by the male pufferfish, this 7-foot diameter geometric pattern is designed to attract a mate and have her lay eggs in the center.

In 1995, some divers in Japan discovered strange, circular patterns on the seafloor. They noticed that the patterns came and went mysteriously. For more than a decade, scientists were unable to discover what these patterns stood for.

In 2013, scientists finally discovered the creature responsible for the creation of this amazing underwater pattern – a newly discovered species of pufferfish. They also learned that these ornate circles are made to attract mates.

To create the patterns, the males swim along the seafloor and flap their fins. Such movements lead to the creation of the beautiful circular patterns. Although the fish are only about five inches long, the formations they make measure about 7-feet in diameter.

Once the patterns are made, females come to inspect them. If they are fond of the creations, they reproduce with the male that created the pattern. It is yet to be discovered what exactly the females look for in the patterns or what traits they find desirable in the formation.(source)

3 Bowerbird Nests

Bowerbirds build intricate, brightly colored structures to attract mates. They pick up colorful objects such as green glass and plastic toys to add aesthetics to their structures.

The forests of New Guinea and Australia are home to a group of unusual birds. Known as bowerbirds, they are named after the elaborate structures. They build elaborate structures as part of a unique courtship ritual.

There has been an instance where one bird has been found to use colorful objects such as green glass, a plastic toy elephant, and a toy soldier to decorate the structure. Some birds have been known to use colorful fruits and decorate their bowers with blue or green saliva.(source)

4 The Great Barrier Reef

Known as the single greatest structure built by living organisms, the great reef is composed of 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands spanning over 1,600 miles.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most remarkable creations of nature. It is the largest structure built by a colony of living organisms. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space. The structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.

The reef supports a diversity of marine life that includes numerous endangered species, some of which may be endemic to the reef system. As of 2006, 30 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef. These include the dwarf minke whale, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, and the humpback whale. A large variety of fish and sea snakes are found on the reef. The reef also supports numerous animals on land and birds.(source)

5 Termite Mound

These termite shelters can be more than 10 meters high and 15 meters wide at their base. Some of them even have a strong resemblance to Disney castles and skyscrapers.

These mound-building termites are nature’s expert architects. They are masters of construction. Their sophisticated and innovative, green-energy designs are an inspiration to architects. An interestingly, they don’t live in these massive structures that they construct.

They, in fact, build their nests in the ground below the mound. These structures are meant for protection from invading ant armies and other threats.

Scientists also had a theory that the mounds are designed primarily to control nest temperatures. But in a recent study, it has been found that one of the primary functions of the mound is to facilitate the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen.

In 2015, scientists discovered an abandoned termite mound that is more than 2,200 years old. Another mound they studied was at least 750 years old. This suggests that termites used the same structures for millennia.(1,2)