mammals
laelaps | October 19, 2007
Although I've been able to capture some good Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) pictures when the animals have been bright-eyed and busy-tailed (then again, aren't they always bushy-tailed?), I love this shot because I was able to make a "boring" sleeping subject seem more interesting. It was taken at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. this past spring at about 6 AM and the two red pandas sleeping in the trees did not move the entire day.
If you want to know more about these fascinating (and endangered) mammals, Jeremy at The Voltage Gate ran a multi-part series about them earlier this year; Part…
laelaps | October 18, 2007
This is one of the better shots of an African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) that I was able to get during my trip to the Disney Animal Kingdom Park last year (the ride that lets you view the elephants jolts you so much it's hard to get a decent shot). This variety of elephant, distinct from the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus), is the larger of what are perhaps two species of elephant inhabiting Africa at present. The second species is the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), although the splitting of the forest group into a new species is still controversial. Regardless of…
laelaps | October 17, 2007
This is Zeff, one of the Amur (or Siberian) Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) at the Bronx Zoo. She may look rather fierce in the above photo, but actually it's not so much a picture of a snarl but a yawn. The picture below directly preceded the one above, although somehow it isn't quite as impressive as the shot taken a split second after it;
laelaps | October 15, 2007
The WCS-run Bronx Zoo is one of my most favorite places to visit, their Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) making a visit worthwhile in and of itself. While you may hear "George" the lion roaring or any of the many tigers resident at the zoo calling to each other, they are veritable chatterboxes compared to Snow Leopards, which don't roar despite possessing the proper vocal equipment like other big cats. Such silence was part of the reason for placing the Snow Leopard within it's own genus, Uncia, but it now seems that the Himalayan cats really do belong within Panthera although their exact…
laelaps | October 14, 2007
It's a whole new week, so I'm moving away from the artiodactyl theme (for now, at least) and the PotD will probably take on a more random aspect for a while. Today's photo is of the tiger cubs Terney (center, with tire), Changbai (left), and Koosaka (right), born at the Philadelphia Zoo a few months ago. They are Amur (or Siberian) tigers, Panthera tigris altaica, the largest of the extant tigers and also critically endangered. While the zoo notes that they contribute to tiger conservation initiatives like the Tiger Conservation Fund, it seems that these cubs will remain in captivity and…
laelaps | October 13, 2007
You might not normally think of them as artodactyls, but suids (i.e. pigs and their relatives) are another major family grouping within the order. Pictured above is one representative from Africa, the Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus), which lives in large groups of between 4 and 20 or so as Leopards (Panthera pardus) sometimes crave bacon. Commonly, it's often called the "Bush Pig" but shouldn't be confused with the actual Bushpig, Potamochoerus larvatus, another social swine from Africa.
laelaps | October 12, 2007
The Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger) is one of the larger varieties of antelope in Africa, sometimes being referred to as one of the "Horse Antelope" belonging to the Subfamily Hippotraginae [of which the Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) and Oryx (Oryx sp.) are also members]. Sable Antelope differ from the Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) mentioned earlier this week in that both sexes bear large horns, and while there is some sexual dimorphism (males having the larger horns), females also bear a respectable set. Even so, the male Sable Antelope don't let anyone forget that they're in charge, and…
laelaps | October 11, 2007
Given that the last two "pictures of the day" were of artiodactyls, I figured I'd keep going with the theme for the rest of the week. Today I've picked out a pair of shots of the Mhorr Gazelle (Gazella dama mhorr), taken last January at the Philadelphia Zoo. As you can guess from the scientific name I just mentioned, the Mhorr is a subspecies of Dama Gazelle (Gazella dama) which previously inhabited parts of the Sahara near Morocco in northern Africa. Today, however, the Mhorr is extinct in the wild and the Dama is critically endangered.
laelaps | October 10, 2007
The photo I posted yesterday of a male Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) has prompted some discussion about other long-necked artiodactyls, especially the living representatives of the family Giraffidae. Although the family once contained more members (like the oddly-ornamented Sivatherium), only the Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and the Okapi (Okapia johnstoni) are extant. Pictured above is a female Okapi at the Bronx Zoo, the distinction between the sexes being easily distinguished as the female lacks the skin-covered protrusions made of ossified cartilage known as "ossicones" that are…
jlynch | October 9, 2007I note that Minazo, Japan’s largest seal died this week. Minazo became an Internet icon:
He will be missed.
(HT to Ugly Overload)
laelaps | October 9, 2007
Even though the Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) most readily comes to mind when I think of a long-necked mammal, there are many other living artiodactyls that have long necks for their body size, one of my favorites being the Gerenuk, Litocranius walleri. Gerenuks are most commonly seen in East Africa and often stand up on their hind legs while browsing to make the most of the available food resources, allowing them a bit more reach than many of their antelope relatives. The picture above is of a male, taken in the summer of 2006 at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, as horns are only…
jlynch | October 3, 2007
Miniature wire-haired dachshund finds 13in, 8lb thigh section of a fossilized Southern elephant (Archidiskodon meridionalis) on English beach. Gets to look very happy about it.
[Source]
grrlscientist | October 1, 2007tags: raccoon, Procyon lotor, Image of the Day
Central Park Raccoon, Procyon lotor.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [Wallpaper size]
The photographer writes; I had so much positive feedback about my images of a particular Central Park Raccoon den that I'm pretty sure many will enjoy this. Consider it a reprise of the Talk Like a Pirate Day (9.19.07) and Central Park Nose (9.20.07) Living the Scientific Life posts. It is definitely the same Raccoon cub in the earlier of the two shots and is likely the same one I barely detected snoozing in the same tree cavity. This image was…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2007tags: giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, Image of the Day
The giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is not at an "evolutionary dead-end", according to new research. Previous studies suggested that the bears' isolation, unusual dietary requirements and slow reproductive rates had led to a lack of genetic diversity, which would ultimately lead to extinction.
Image: Yange Yong. [larger].
grrlscientist | August 21, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, evolution, squirrels, rattlesnakes, tail-flagging, behavior, biology
A mother squirrel rapidly waves her tail to warn off a rattlesnake in a confrontation staged by researchers in May 1987. Adult squirrels are immune to rattlesnake venom, but their offspring are vulnerable. New infrared research found that heat from the mother's tail sends an alarming signal to the slithery predators.
Image: Donald H. Owings, UC Davis.
Researchers have long been mystified by the defensive behaviors exhibited by California ground squirrels, Spermophilus beecheyi, when they are…
jlynch | August 16, 2007
Last October I blogged about the reappearance of jaguars in southern Arizona and the possible effect of Bush’s border fence on the species recovery. While jaguars have been seen in Arizona, the closest breeding population is 125 miles south of the border and is being studied by the Northern Jaguar Project. The population is estimated to number between 80 and 120 individuals and illegal hunting has removed at least 25 adults and cubs in recent years. If jaguars are to return to the United States, this population is surely vital.
Kevin McHugh of the Project has kindly let me know that they…
jlynch | August 11, 2007ABC (Australia) is reporting that the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) may not be definitely extinct after all (see here and here). Wang Ding - who headed the survey team - is reported as saying:
This is only one survey and...you can’t have a sample in a survey, so you cannot say the baiji all is gone by the result of only one survey. For example, there is some side channels or some tributaries [where] we cannot go because of a restriction of navigation rules, and also we don’t survey during the night-time so we may miss some animals in the Yangtze River. ...
I’m pretty…
jlynch | August 7, 2007Back last December I reported that the Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) was "effectively extinct". Now I must report that the species has been declared officially extinct, the first official extinction of a large vertebrate for more than 50 years.
grrlscientist | July 24, 2007tags: mastodon fossils, Greece
AMNH 9951, skeleton of the American mastodont, Mammut americanum, Newburgh, NY.
Image: AMNH (American Museum of Natural History, NYC, NY) [larger]
In an astonishing discovery, a three million year old "fossilized zoo" was discovered by Greek geologists yesterday in the northern Milia region near the town of Grevena. This "zoo" contains the fossilized remains of prehistoric rhinos, mastodons, gazelles and carnivorous mammals.
The discovery included a pair of tusks from a mastodon (pictured left. Image: Evangelia Tsoukala), an ancient species of elephant that…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2007tags: Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, Zaglossus attenboroughi, monotreme, endangered animals, New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Cyclops mountain range
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, Zaglossus attenboroughi,
the only specimen known to exist in museum collections.
Prepared as a shmoo (a flat skin lacking most bones).
Image: Natural Museum of Natural History in the Netherlands (NMNH) [larger]
In May of this year, a team of experts from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) went on a one-month preliminary research expedition to the Cyclops mountain range in Papua on the island of New Guinea.…