WE GAZED from our lodge on the rim of Tanzanias volcanic Ngorongoro Crater, at 7,600 feet above sea level. Our vision ended abruptly in a wall of mist. Our disappointment at the thought of having made a journey to this extraordinary crater to be faced with a fog was soon dispelled by our guide, Joseph. He assured us that the scene would be different when we dropped down.

WHEN Russian fur traders explored Kodiak Island in the 1760s, they encountered a nine-foot-tall, shaggy monster with menacing teeth and huge paws. The startled men had seen brown bears in Siberia but none like this gigantic fellow. Traders dubbed him Ivan the Terrible. Today this giant bruin is called the Kodiak bear.

ABOUT sixty-five years ago Swiss physiologist Auguste Forel was breakfasting with his family on his garden terrace. Some bees discovered the honey and marmalade on their table. Each morning afterward the bees came to nibble at these at the same hour and in increasing numbers. Breakfast on the terrace finally became impossible and the family moved indoors.

OTTERS are among earth’s most playful animals. They seem to take delight in sliding on their bellies, either down snow-covered slopes or wet riverbanks. They play tag and engage in mock combats. They are not averse to including other creatures—dogs, raccoons or foxes—in their endless games.

Earthworms usually push through the soil, forming burrows.

The bushveld farmer and his friend left their Land Rover and crept carefully forward. Soon they could see the courting pair in a clearing. What huge birds! The ostrich is easily the largest bird on earth. But how gracefully it can dance!

HERE in Panama we encounter a wide variety of snakes. There are more than 125 different types, but of these only twenty-one are poisonous. And the nonpoisonous varieties are much more populous than the poisonous ones. A number of missionaries of Jehovah’s witnesses have had interesting encounters. One of them, who lives in a town in the interior of the country, relates:

DURING hot, midsummer days, the air above fields and ponds becomes the stage for some of the most amazing fliers in insectdom—the dragonflies.

Have you ever wondered why a mother cat will pick a hidden, dark place in which to give birth to her kittens?

For the first few months I was hardly distinguishable from my sisters. Our tail feathers were the same. At eight months it came time, under the peacock system, to leave home and fend for myself. This gave mother a respite before her next stint at family raising. By this time I was developing my characteristic tail feathers that grow above the real tail feathers. It is a slow process. Not until my fourth year of life could I hope to attain the full male plumage.

A MONSTROUS head, eyes at the corners of an enormous mouth, no ear lugs, just a hole in the head for nostrils. This is the profile of Mr. Whale. When his mouth opens, a cavernous void that would hold a full-grown African elephant appears! There are no teeth. Just long, slender, white body whiskers hanging down both sides from the roof of the mouth.

IT ALL began when I chipped my way through the eggshell and stumbled into the realm of birdlife. I stood there blinking in the tropical sunlight, bewildered. It was all so strange, everything was frightening. Instinctively, I knew mama. I snuggled into her, underneath her protective wing. There I was safe, I was loved. To me mama appeared so strong, so confident, it made me feel secure.

THE following report on shepherding in the Middle East casts interesting light on Jesus’ illustration at John 10:2-5, wherein he speaks of the sheep as knowing the voice of their shepherd and their being given names:

As I observed its maneuvers, I could not help but think that the nearest man has got to the design of a hummingbird is a helicopter. And yet, what a clumsy contraption it seems in comparison!

Remarkable speeds of 53 miles per hour (85 km/h) in normal flight, with peaks of over 71 miles per hour (114 km/h), have been measured. Migratory species are even more surprising, for they cover tremendous distances. Of the three North American hummingbirds, ruby-throat and rufous migrate some 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to their winter quarters.