During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)

Elephant fights off hyenas to save baby. “This is the incredible moment an elephant came to the rescue of one of its babies being attacked by a pack of hyenas. The elephant is seen charging at the hyenas to ward them off its offspring. The photos were captured by American photographer Jayesh Mehta, 47, in the Savuti region of the Chobe National Park in Botswana”. Photo: The elephant is seen charging at the hyenas to ward them off its offspring. (Photo by Jayesh Mehta/Caters News)

U.S. Marine Lt. Ben Reid from 1/2 Charlie Company of Task Force Tarawa waits to be medivaced after being hit with shrapnel and a machine gun round, in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, on March 23, 2003. The Marines suffered a number of deaths and casualties during gun battles throughout the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle via The Atlantic)

Odontodactylus scyllarus, known as the peacock mantis shrimp, harlequin mantis shrimp or painted mantis shrimp, is a large mantis shrimp native to the Indo-Pacific from Guam to East Africa.

Sharon Montrose has what most people consider a dream job: She photographs adorable animals – from lions to flamingos to knobbly-kneed giraffes – and sells prints online at her store, The Animal Print Shop. But what's her job really like? Does she ever get scared? What's the trickiest animal to photograph?

Veterans Day is right around the corner, so it’s nice to see that one of the time-lapses making the most impact online over the past couple of days is one showing a homeless US Army veteran being given a makeover and, in some ways, a new lease on life.