Saru Posted June 30, 2012 #1 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Nobody is able to explain the strange, bare circular patches that appear in the Nimibian grasslands. In the sandy desert grasslands of Namibia in southern Africa, mysterious bare spots known as "fairy circles" will form and then disappear years later for no reason anyone can determine. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.United_Nations Posted June 30, 2012 #2 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Looks like something underneath the soil that is helping this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZaraKitty Posted June 30, 2012 #3 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Your avatar is super cute. :3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfect Symmetry Posted June 30, 2012 #4 Share Posted June 30, 2012 there would have to be a lot of fairies to create so many circles.im sure they have other things to be doing with their time.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ouija ouija Posted June 30, 2012 #5 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Anyone else find them REALLY creepy? There's a definite 'YUK'factor there for me! They look like sores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbur Posted June 30, 2012 #6 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Seems I saw a documentary on this a few years back, and they determined that this was caused by a fungus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Fluffs Posted June 30, 2012 #7 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Magic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted June 30, 2012 #8 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Seems I saw a documentary on this a few years back, and they determined that this was caused by a fungus. In my local parks and rec's we get dark green circles of grass that remind me of these fairy circles, I believe these too are fungi related (well my fuzzy recollection of being told this believes this). This also reminds me of types of bushes that grow outwards in a circular shape leaving no foliage in the centre. Interesting article, thanks for posting Saru. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRIPTIC CHAMELEON Posted June 30, 2012 #9 Share Posted June 30, 2012 It probably is a type of fungus or insect,or maybe even gas bubbles ? but I still like the good old fairy circle story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo_04 Posted June 30, 2012 #10 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Anyone else find them REALLY creepy? There's a definite 'YUK'factor there for me! They look like sores. Yeah, i find it to, its like graves where been there and the soles are still there in there places, its creepy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csspwns Posted July 1, 2012 #11 Share Posted July 1, 2012 lemme guess UFOs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishgent Posted July 1, 2012 #12 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Actually, the real cause is due to a little known and very rare creature called the Lesser Spotted Six legged Pygmy Limping Hyrax Pig. This creature is very small and rarely seen due to it's ability to camoflage itself (like a chameleon). The legs on the right side of it's body are shorter than those on the left causing the creature to move in circles when it walks. Hence, as it walks round in circles, feeding off the grass, you end up with these bare patches. I feel sure that Tailormaneinafog aka Sunny Blues will back me fully on this one 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagestic Posted July 1, 2012 #13 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Fairies wear boots 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliens Exist Posted July 1, 2012 #14 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I personally Love Fairies, and to add circles to them makes it oh so much more intriging, oh yes, oh yes indeed! OMG, I think I just......well ya know. Go Fairy Circles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelasthotrod Posted July 1, 2012 #15 Share Posted July 1, 2012 maybe we aint mint to find the cause Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgoddess11 Posted July 1, 2012 #16 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Fungus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TattooMommy28 Posted July 2, 2012 #17 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Some things just cannot be explained with science and it something walks in circles how does it function? That is a hilarious explanation but something we just arent meant to know or understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnostic-deity Posted July 2, 2012 #18 Share Posted July 2, 2012 i want to believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMike740 Posted July 2, 2012 #19 Share Posted July 2, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted July 2, 2012 #20 Share Posted July 2, 2012 http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Fairy_ring Cheers MadMike, the pictures half way down on the right are exactly what I see in my local grass/play areas. Ties in nicely with the Myths thread I was reading earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Voodoo Posted July 2, 2012 #21 Share Posted July 2, 2012 It probably is a type of fungus or insect,or maybe even gas bubbles ? but I still like the good old fairy circle story. Fungus or insects that destroy grass in circles. Thats new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linttrap Posted July 2, 2012 #22 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Tschinkel does not offer any explanation for the Circles, but was able to rule out some previously offered ones. The most obvious explanation is a fungal or other microbial agent, as with Fairy Rings, but the growth pattern does not match this and no such agent could be found. Another popular explanation is a chemical agent, such as fumes from a subterranean hydrothermal seep, though again no such agent could be found. It has been suggested that the activities of ground-dwelling Termites might be responsible, but no connection between the Circles and Termites has been found. http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2012/06/namibian-fairy-circles.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted July 3, 2012 #23 Share Posted July 3, 2012 A fungus is certainly a possibility, but there are also plants toxic to other plant species that use a chemical warfare of sorts. It is possible that this starts as a single grass seedling, that produces offsets. Many desert plants have clonal colonies that expand outward in a more or less circular pattern from a single pioneer. As the offsets expand outward from the center they leave behind a root system that either uses all the available moisture within the circle (in a semi-arid climate), preventing other seeds from germinating, or giving off toxins that stop all other species from germinating or growing, sort of a natural "Round Up" weed killer. It would be interesting to see if the particular grass that grows around the edges of the circles would have toxic qualities to other plant life when planted in containers with other species, and whether this grass is ONLY found on the edges of such circles. Also what happens to other less mobile vegetation (like a single trunked shrub) outside the circle when approached by the grass? Does it begin to adversely effect and eventually kill the shrub? The chemistry within the circles could have agricultural and perhaps pharmaceutical applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillSoMysterious Posted July 3, 2012 #24 Share Posted July 3, 2012 These 'Fairy circles' were apparntly created when JuniorChubb layed upon the grass and left his imprint. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl.Of.Trumps Posted July 3, 2012 #25 Share Posted July 3, 2012 fungus feels about right. I wonder if they ever tried to grow grass right in the middle of a circle? hmmm anyway the follwing makes a lot of sense to me: "That's science, isn't it?" Tschinkel said. "If you knew the answer ahead of time, it wouldn't be much fun." right, and if you knew all the answers you would not be here at UM. I like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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