Primates
laelaps | February 4, 2010A female lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.A note about "Photo of the Day": I recognize that this daily feature has not been as exciting lately. I often visit zoos, museums, and other places rich in photo ops throughout the year, but during the past several months my opportunities to do so have been limited. I have therefore had to mine my stores for miscellaneous photos from previous trips which I have not posted before, but I am hoping to get back out to take some fresh shots sometime around my birthday at the end of the month. Thank you for your patience.
laelaps | January 20, 2010A ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
Who doesn't love lemurs? The strepsirrhine primates, or wet-nosed cousins of ours, are favorite documentary subjects and extremely popular zoo attractions. And, in one of those bits of zoological trivia that everyone knows, lemurs only live on the island of Madagascar off Africa's southeastern coast. The question is how they got there.
Documenting the paths of animals during geological history is not an easy task. In the days before scientists understood plate tectonics, land bridges, now sunk beneath the ocean, were often used…
laelaps | January 4, 2010How can you turn a monkey into a man? By feeding it "Rex" Brand Extract of beef, of course!
I might just have to throw in a bid on this Victorian promotional card. In bizarre fashion it combines several mythical elements common to popular depictions of human origins; that we evolved in a straight-line fashion, that consumption of meat made all the difference in our transformation, and that men "led the way" in the evolution of our species. Each of these misconceptions has been cast out of the scientific arena in turn, but they still pop up from time to time, especially in advertising.…
laelaps | December 15, 2009Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), photographed at the Central Park Zoo, NY.
laelaps | November 27, 2009A western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) with an upset stomach, photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
laelaps | November 18, 2009Via NatureBreak.org, a capuchin monkey bathes using a stolen orange;
I think she is correct. Capuchin monkeys regularly rub citrus fruits on their fur and this activity appears to keep them free of parasites and keep some of the biting insects away.
laelaps | November 18, 2009A group of geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in pursuit of a troop member (off camera) that had made the faux pas of grooming the wrong female . Photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
laelaps | November 17, 2009A young Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
laelaps | November 14, 2009A group of silvered leaf monkeys (Trachypithecus cristatus), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
laelaps | November 12, 2009A black-and-white colobus monkey (Colobus guereza), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.