Earth Matters

April Puzzler

April 17th, 2022 by Kathryn Hansen

Update: A running hare. A jumping frog. A hungry dinosaur. Readers suggested that the arrangement of islands pictured here bears resemblance to such terrestrial creatures. But in this part of the southern Philippines, it is the aquatic life that sustains the livelihoods of many islanders. Read more about Tawi-Tawi in our April 23 Image of the Day. Congratulations to Reven Gibaga, Matthew Meyers, and Krzysztof Luszczki for being among the first readers to correctly identify the location. Thanks also for sharing your creative interpretations of the image.

Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The April 2022 puzzler is shown above. Your challenge this month has a new twist: In addition to telling us the location of the image, we invite you to get creative and tell us what you see.

How to answer. Using the comments section, tell us the image location and any features that stand out to you. Do you see an interesting resemblance, shape, or pattern? Share your ideas in a few words or several paragraphs. Note that responses will be vetted for appropriateness.

The prize. We cannot offer prize money or a trip on the International Space Station, but we can promise you credit and glory. Well, maybe just credit. Within a week after a puzzler image appears on this blog, we will post an annotated and captioned version as our Image of the Day. After we post the answer, we will acknowledge the first person to correctly identify the image. We will also highlight some of the most creative comments. Please include your preferred name or alias with your comment. If you work for or attend an institution that you would like to recognize, please mention that as well.

Recent winners. If you have won the puzzler in the past few months, or if you work in geospatial imaging, please hold your answer for at least a day to give less experienced readers a chance.

Releasing Comments. Savvy readers have solved some puzzlers after a few minutes. To give more people a chance, we may wait 24 to 48 hours before posting comments. Good luck!

109 Responses to “April Puzzler”

  1. Ferrito Tony says:

    A young moose galloping across a field

  2. Reven Gibaga says:

    It is Tawi-Tawi Island in the Philippines. It shaped like a crocodile that the mouth is open.

  3. Matthew Meyers says:

    It is Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines! It reminds me of a leaping frog. I posted a crude drawing/outline of my vision on the Facebook post.

  4. Krzysztof Luszczki says:

    It’s a beautiful Tawi-Tawi island that belongs to Philippines.
    The shape of the islands looks like an open dinosaur jaw trying to bite something 🙂
    Wish I could travel one day to Philippines. It has millions of interesting places that I would like to explore also from my drone.

  5. Jeffre Blanco says:

    Tawi-Tawi province, Philippines

  6. sarbast says:

    As earth trying to increase (eat like whales) more land but at the back human keep destroying it.

  7. Dave Ziemann says:

    Havana, Cuba!

  8. Alicanda, Jay says:

    In this image, i saw different patterns of various animals/organisms. I saw a frog , snake , dinosaur and crocodile. The pattern have something to say to the humanity that there are also different species/organisms that lives here in earth.

  9. Chellou or Cilli says:

    It’s the Tawi-tawi Islands in the Philippines and for me it looks like the head of a Crocodile.

  10. MaryAnn_G says:

    The image shows the Tawi-Tawi Province here in the Philippines. The moment I first saw the image, I imagined an image of a frog jumping on rocks!

  11. Lawrence Thomas Jr says:

    Tawi Tawi island,.. is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao
    5° 12′ 0″ N, 120° 5′ 0″ E

  12. Marcelina Gacita says:

    its Tawi-Tawi Island of the Philippines

  13. Andreas Kuhnert says:

    A Frog

  14. Wesley Clarke S. SIlvederio says:

    Location: Tawi-Tawi, Philippines (Tawitawi island, Philippines)
    Features: I can see a giant broken eyeglass. A legend from the Philippines states that two giants, one from Luzon and another from Mindanao fought each other by throwing giant balls of dirt that formed the Visayas. Maybe the gain from Mindanao was hit by a ball of dirt and his eyeglass was thrown away which became the Tawitawi island.

    From Notre Dame of Marbel University 🙂

  15. Marcelina Gacita says:

    Tawi-Tawi Island
    and for me its ressembles a flea ?

  16. Amy Wirth says:

    Tawi Tawi Island

  17. Pedro says:

    It’s in Tawi-tawi province in the Philippines, it’s like a gigantic green Tyrannosaurus rex eating an entire island lol

  18. Sajad Meer says:

    As far as i am able to recognize, this satellite pic is of the Caribbean islands, Cuba, Havana et al.
    This depiction seems like a Tyrannosaurus with its mouth open wide across the sea!

  19. Nisona Mikahara says:

    The main island shown in the picture is Tawitawi island. Chains of reeves surrounding the island are characterized by beautiful arch structures and a few tidal deltas. In addition, the southern coast of the island seems to have experienced a subsidence event before. The northern one has much simple shapes. Overall this island has a quite dynamic coast and looks very fine!!!

  20. Amitava Paira says:

    Location of the image is Tawi Tawi Island, Philipines.
    The island which is looking like ‘a frog jumping to catch its pray’ is significant for one of the earliest known evidence of human presence in Southeast Asia.

  21. Ena Valiente says:

    Looks like a T-Rex head about to eat something.

  22. Algreg Paras says:

    Location is the southern part of the Philippines Island and it is called Tawi tawi. Shape like rabbit running.

  23. Lakindu Chandira says:

    The animal I see is Tyrannosaurus Rex according to my knowledge, and I guess the location is Fundão Island because I remember when I searching about artificial islands around the world.

  24. Katrina Ciron says:

    Tawi-tawi Island in Philippines
    Looks like a kangaroo to me.

  25. Chandima Viraj says:

    Twai-Twai island and outlying small islands in the Sulu archipelago, Philippines.
    It’s like a jumping toad.
    Highly vegetated main island, white sandy beaches and widespread shallow waters.
    (I used an image searching tool and I found this article https://kapuluanngpilipinas.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/autonomous-region-in-muslim-mindanao/ )

  26. Vladimir lee says:

    Location:Tawi-tawi and It’s look like a head of horse while mouth are open.

  27. Kenma says:

    Location: Tawi-Tawi
    Resemblance: Iceberg slowly melting away into the ocean

  28. Anna Indygo says:

    I have found it! It is a Tawitawi Island, between the Sulu Sea of the Celebes Sea.
    I definitely see a running bear! I was rater shocked though to see that on an ordinary map (not a satellite one) the front leg is just one island!

  29. James Richard says:

    It looks like a Rabbit.
    Tawitawi Island. Philippines

  30. Jerry Johnson says:

    It’s Cuba & Bahamas.
    Looks like Anteater.

  31. Marth Salvador says:

    The island in the photo is Tawi-Tawi Island, from the Philippines. To me, it looks like an upside down cranium fossil of a creature somewhat similar to a dinosaur, or even a dragon (’cause they’re my favorite creatures).

  32. Fredrik says:

    Its islands that is forming a young moose ?

  33. Li Xia says:

    It is Tawi-tawi Island from my country, Philippines. It looks like a T-Rex head.

  34. Anthony says:

    Tawi-Tawi, Philipines
    Home to approximately 400,000 people as well as several unique or endangered species of plants and animals found only in this region. Also the future site of a ‘world class economic zone.’ I think the most striking part of the image is the extent of ecologic damage on the north shore of the island and the neighboring island of Tumbagaan. If you hold out your left arm and “rock on” ? you can line it up so it looks like an x-ray of your hand and fingers.

  35. NAHIGOMBEYE Elvis Blessing says:

    This is the earth, including all the continents.

  36. Mohamed Hassan says:

    Its Tawi-Tawi, Philliphines. ❤️

  37. ngakun1 says:

    looks like Papua New Guinea

  38. Sudarshan Dangal says:

    It looks like a kind of dinosaur.

  39. Mark Anthony O. Matammu says:

    It is Tawi-Tawi Island, from the Philippines.

    In me point of view, It looks like a running bunny. Just by looking at the individual islands, it seems like a connected bones/joints of a bunny. It also timely because it’s Easter day.

  40. Eistine Boateng says:

    Tawi-Tawi, Philliphines. Looks like a frog

  41. Aleksandar Milinković says:

    I don’t know what the location is, but it looks like a green toad swallowing a neon blue firefly.

  42. Dhrubo says:

    Location- Tawi-Tawi province, Philippines
    It’s a bunny running very fast with a filled tummy.

  43. Judith Baban says:

    Jaja Binks eating an ice cream

  44. Olga Traverso says:

    Es la Isla Tawi-Tawi en Filipinas y en cuanto la vi, me pareció un conejo corriendo apurado

  45. Michael Ricciardi says:

    The pale blue ‘borders’ around many of the islands (big and small) indicate (probably) shallow reefs and/or ‘blooms’ of algae (which mutually support the local marine ecosystem.

  46. Benedict Tan says:

    That’s in Cuba!!

  47. Sarah Mae Faustino says:

    I see in the image is a polar bear. The location of this image is in the Tawi-Tawi Island in the Phillipines.

  48. Nimmy Mary Abraham says:

    Location- Tawi-Tawi province, Philippines
    It looks like a frog to me!

  49. Filomena Maria A. Morgado says:

    Tawi Tawi Island (Philippines). On the edges of some islands it has a blue glow. Looks like a saber-toothed tiger to me.

  50. Juliet Aranding says:

    It’s Tawi-tawi, Philippines. An island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao. Love lots from Province of Lanao del Norte, Philippines.

    It’s like an iceberg melting in the ocean. ?

  51. Badar uddin Ahmad says:

    Twi-Twi islands in southern Philippines and look like a jumping frog to grab its prey.

  52. Robert Thorndyke says:

    Dominican republic

  53. Kaleb Gowan says:

    Tawi-tawi island in the Philippines! Flipping the image upside down you get an elephant raising its tusk!!

  54. Ryan ritchie says:

    Tawi tawi island

    It looks like a t-Rex gobbling some prey.

  55. İsmail Gönül says:

    Rabbit

  56. Hudha Hakeem says:

    Tawi-tawi island in Philippines. It looks like a frog is jumping to eat something.
    It looks like a dinosaur skull too, and opening it’s mouth to eat

  57. Samit says:

    Tawi tawi island
    Looks like “dinosaur is running “

  58. Parthasarathy Sekar says:

    Baby kangrovve captured during running

  59. Cesar says:

    some where in the Philippine’s and it’s shape like a rabbit

  60. Cesar says:

    some where in the Pacific and it’s shape like a rabbit

  61. schmutzhart manfred says:

    es ist ein hase bzw der osterhase.

  62. Varun Patel says:

    With the north pole melting and south pole gaining sea ice, the poor little polar bear frustrated due to the global warming seems to be desperately migrating from the north pole to the south pole, to try to cross over to Antarctica via the famed drake passage, to not go extinct.

  63. Nilesh Parekh says:

    Beautiful Green Fields the ? of Mother?

  64. Anita Besra says:

    Tawi Tawi Islands of Phillipines. For me it resembles dinosaur fossil and also looks like a Leaping frog.

  65. Shravan Choudhary. says:

    Papua New Guinea looks like a hunting crocodile.

  66. Garvit Nama says:

    Tawi-Tawi Islands, Phillippines
    Looks like a frog, jumping

  67. Ufuk says:

    Brisitsh virgin islands

  68. Shivam says:

    Location : Tawi-Tawi Islands
    Shape : similar to a rabbit.

  69. sutharsini Sivalingam says:

    It is Tawi-Tawi Island in Philippines, For me it is look like a greeny cooling glass!! :p

  70. Gemma Prebble says:

    Some where in the Philippines.
    To me it is definitely the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.
    He is running along, clasping his pocket watch and shouting “I’m late!”.

  71. Silviu Avram says:

    Tawi Tawi, Filipine. It looks like a small Island who got problems at home with his mom, Madame Big Island and is trying to escape so it started swimming and now it reached Black Sea shores because it want to stay for a longer period here to party and forget the home problems! Like we all should do!

  72. Jayjam Isidro says:

    This is the Tawi-Tawi Archipelago in Southern Philippines. The image looks like a dinosaur or a leaping frog.

    There are definitely two areas with loss of forest covers brought about by operations in the extractive industry.

  73. Rakesh chauhan says:

    It’s tawi tawi island in Philippines and look like a rabbit running for his life.

  74. Rakesh chauhan says:

    Tawi tawi island and look like a running rabbit.

  75. Zayda Halun says:

    These are islands of the province of Tawi-Tawi in the southernmost part of the Philippines. It looks like a frog eating something or a dinosaur head.

  76. Kevin Snyder says:

    An Anteater blowing a Lugee out of his snout.

  77. Michael Page says:

    A Moray Eel.

  78. saurabh kochhar says:

    Papua New Guinea island…it looks like a toad whose tooth just broke while chewing something

  79. carlos r u da costa says:

    Ilhas Twi-Twi no sul das Filipinas. Daniel Boone sentado tomando o bom e velho whisky do Kentucky!

  80. Eric Snow says:

    It’s a bunny rabbit ? , hopping off to the left!

  81. Abhishek Patil says:

    Polar bear walking..

  82. Kristina Isla says:

    It is Tawi-Tawi Island in the Philippines. It looks like a dinosaur that wants to eat something round.

  83. Punit Kumar says:

    Location : Tawi-Tawi Island in Philippines
    The shape / pattern looks like a large animal with long legs, a small tail, and a big nose.

  84. Nurwin Solis says:

    It’s our Home the province of Tawi-Tawi the southernmost part of the Philippines and WOW ? its like a jumping frog eating something ?

  85. Lucia says:

    Tyrannosaurus rex with open mouth running and shaping

  86. Abhijit Bania says:

    Papua New Guinea island

    It seems like a lady crawling

  87. Susan G says:

    Rabbit running with its ears back

  88. Deepak says:

    A pregnant woman kneeling down on the ground , holding one hand on her stomach

  89. Nur-ana Imlani says:

    That location is Tawi-Tawi where I live now. Well, the features that stand out for me are the beautiful shape of Dinosaur and rabbit at the same time as if trying to bite some islands.

  90. Nurwin solis says:

    It’s our Home the southernmost part of the Philippines Tawi-Tawi and at first it looks like a jumping frog but it’s a shape like a crocodile

  91. Edward Chee says:

    It looks like a frog.
    I think it is Japan and the eastern part of Russia.

  92. Shaliha Kayting says:

    22 at 10:22 am
    It’s a beautiful Tawi-Tawi island that belongs to Philippines.
    The shape of the islands looks like an open dinosaur jaw trying to bite something. Tawi-Tawi is my hometown by the way that’s where i lived

  93. Angel Constantine Bajana says:

    This is my hometown… the Island Province of Tawi-Tawi in the Southern Philippines. It is known to be Philippines Southernmost frontier, the cradle of Islam in the Philippines, and its name is derived from the malay word jaui jaui which mean Far Far Away.

  94. Sidi says:

    I was born, raised and currently living here. It is the Tawi-Tawi Islands here in the Philippines. It resembles a jumping frog with a head of a dinosaur.

  95. Magha Garcia says:

    A running hare (rabbit/liebre).

  96. Ellen says:

    I see coral growing around an eroding triple vent volcano (so a coral atoll with three sections) that is being consumed and submerged by sea-level rise.

  97. June Mirecki says:

    I am late to the game but it only took me a few minutes to figure out: 1. The presence of limestone atolls amidst deep water suggests an area of marine volcanism. 2. It doesn’t look like anything in the Caribbean. I went right to the Phillipines and ….you know the rest.

  98. Ivan Kordač says:

    Tawi-Tawi and etc. islands

    Long time, more answer and … I see, but alone for this moment I did !!!

    Thank you

    PC maps hitchhiker Ivan

  99. Sarah says:

    To me it looks like a bear on the move.

  100. Tash Alcala says:

    This is the Tawi-Tawi Archipelago in Southern Philippines, my home town! It is my first time to see the whole Archipelago (in aerial view), it is indeed beautiful.
    It resembles a leaping toad with a dinosaur jaw about to swallow a small island.

  101. Regina Delos Reyes says:

    Proud to say it’s part of our country, the farthest province in the Philippines. This is Tawi-tawi Islands with 11 municipalities and compose of more than 105 islands. But thanks for this, I just noticed this dinosaur trying to eat a small animal. This is very educational and my family even have different views of this map but since I’m the one who saw this first, my image won – Dinosaur!

  102. WijnandH says:

    Tawitawi island, Philipines, near Borneo.
    400,000 people, fisherman, some rubber plants, local agreculture.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawi-Tawi

  103. Humayd Patel says:

    it looks like a fat man with skinny legs and he has no arms but eats only with his mouth.
    also this looks kind of fake but idk maybe its in Hawaii or Cali but i can be wrong.

  104. Oliver says:

    Ants Head bitting for food. Try rotate it ^_^

  105. Rocky says:

    Thank you for this information

  106. DirectorEvil says:

    It is clearly a downwards facing elephant seal.