zoo
laelaps | October 29, 2007Female Snow Leopard twins born last year at the Bronx Zoo.When I initially started posting pictures on my blog, I didn't know if anyone would have anything to say about my pictures. I frequent zoos, museums, and aquariums, usually shooting between 200 and 600 shots per trip, the handful of good shots making their way onto the internet. I've been certainly pleasantly surprised, therefore, to see all the positive remarks made about my pictures, especially since I don't really have any idea what I'm doing. Still, many of you have asked how I have been able to get the kind of shots I've posted…
laelaps | October 29, 2007
There are some animals that seem to exist in a bit of taxonomic confusion (at least in the literature; I don't think zebras lose sleep over their species names), the Plains Zebra being one of these. The animals pictured above are from the Philadelphia Zoo and listed as being members of the species Equus burchellii, but recent work appears to show that this most common of Zebra species should really be called Equus quagga. Burchell's Zebra, then, is relegated to the status of a subspecies with the name Equus quagga burchellii, itself taking precedence over the subspecies Equus quagga…
laelaps | October 28, 2007
This is Cali and Summer, two California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Both rescued from wild populations (Summer was abandoned by her mother and Cali's mother died soon after Cali was botn), the two were raised by human keepers and so require a lot of care. They still play with each other nearly constantly, however, this shot taken during a sort of "King of the Rock" game.
laelaps | October 27, 2007
The interplay of light and shadow on yesterday's Photo of the Day (Amphicyon) reminding me of another photo I recently took of a far more benign creature, the Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi). I had never seen or heard of these animals until a little more than a year ago, but there is an entire family of Elephant Shrews (the Macroscelididae) constituting at least four genera of about 15 species. Their appearance has caused their taxonomic affinities to shift quite a bit since the time of their discovery, but genetic evidence has grouped them within the Superorder…
laelaps | October 25, 2007
While I love to visit the zoo on warm summer days, I usually don't come home with many good pictures, and the reason why can be summed up in one word: Strollers. Anyone who's visited a museum, zoo, or other such institution with me knows that the never-ending sea of strollers is pretty high on my list of pet peeves, and on at least one occasion the shuffling mob gave me a migraine and sent me off home. There is an easy way to avoid this, however; visit in the wintertime. The above photo is of Zeff, a 14-year-old female Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), taken right around 10 AM on a cold…
laelaps | October 23, 2007A male Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) at the Philadelphia Zoo. To the best of my knowledge this animal is not involved in any breeding or conservation programs.According to LiveScience, a female Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) was captured, examined, and released by WCS workers this week. The leopards, being among the most endangered of big cats and estimated to number less than 40 individuals in the wild, are most likely inbreeding to continue their population, a problem that could have devastating long-term repercussions. While it is not clear whether the problem is…
laelaps | October 23, 2007
Yesterday's photographic subject, the cougar (Puma concolor), has plenty of common names by which it is known by (some of which are better than others), and the White Nosed Coati (Nasua narica) is another mammal that is known by many other monikers. Pizote, Antoon, and Harrington all sound more like the names of places rather than a long-nosed member of the Family Procyonidae (which also includes raccoons, the Kinkajou, and Olingos), but that is precisely what they are. One should also be mindful that there is at least one other species of coati, distinct from the Pizote, being known as the…
laelaps | October 22, 2007
Cougars (Puma concolor), while currently ranging from Canada to the Andes Mountains in South America, still inhabit only part of their former range. Before European colonization, the big cats ranged from coast-to-coast in the U.S., the eastern populations being wiped out with the exception of a small population in Florida. Some have suggested that the cats may eventually make a comeback and reclaim their previous ranges, potential sightings popping up every now and again in Pennsylvania and other states, but by and large if you want to see a cougar and live on the east coast of the U.S. you…
laelaps | October 21, 2007
Yesterday's photo of Tai Shan received so many positive responses I thought I would put another one up. Getting these shots could be a little difficult at times, however, (warning: bad pun ahead) as it was definitely pandemonium around the enclosure when the young bear came out. His parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian certainly didn't get as much attention, but they also were not as active or curious as their offspring. If you want to look in on the pandas yourself the National Zoo has a Panda Cam that will allow you to do so.
laelaps | October 20, 2007
As I mentioned in the description of yesterday's "Photo of the Day," when I visited the National Zoo I wanted to make sure I got there especially early, and this Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) cub is part of the reason. Any exhibit that holds a giant panda, especially a baby one, is going to get swamped by visitors so I wanted to make sure I had a chance to get some decent shots (although I didn't know that the pandas would not be let out until 10 AM so I had a bit of waiting to do). This particular individual is a 2 year old male named Tai Shan, the offspring of Mei Xiang (the mother…
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 16, 2007
Some of you may have noticed some changes to the front page of Sb and some new photos in the category sections, and I'm proud to say that one of my photos made the cut for this week under the Life Science section. Hence, I've decided to post the "full" version of the photo here. In case anyone's unfamiliar with the animal, it's an Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, although not everyone could merely enjoy the aesthetics of the striking display of the male bird. Writing to Asa Gray, Charles Darwin once related;
...I remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over, but I…
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…