A big thank you to my dear friend James for making my banner for me!
- Links
- Blogs I Follow
This is me and my cat, Mister Man. I miss him a lot!
![“Strawberry” Leopard DiscoveredA leopard can’t change its spots, but apparently it can change its color. African leopards normally have tawny coats with black spots. But a male leopard with a strawberry-colored coat has been spotted in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, conservationists announced this week. Tourists in the reserve had occasionally seen the unusual animal. But it wasn’t until recently that photographer and safari guide Deon De Villiers sent a photograph to experts at Panthera, a U.S.-based wild cat-conservation group, to ask them about the leopard’s odd coloration. Panthera President Luke Hunter suspects the pale leopard has erythrism, a little-understood genetic condition that’s thought to cause either an overproduction of red pigments or an underproduction of dark pigments. “It’s really rare—I don’t know of another credible example in leopards,” said Hunter, whose group collaborates with National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative. (The Society owns National Geographic News.) Hunter added, “it’s surprising that [a photo of the leopard] didn’t come out sooner, because he’s relatively used to vehicles.”Read More Photo © Deon De Villiers](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2l6k7BnJA1qji7p5o1_500.jpg)
“Strawberry” Leopard Discovered
A leopard can’t change its spots, but apparently it can change its color. African leopards normally have tawny coats with black spots. But a male leopard with a strawberry-colored coat has been spotted in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, conservationists announced this week.
Tourists in the reserve had occasionally seen the unusual animal. But it wasn’t until recently that photographer and safari guide Deon De Villiers sent a photograph to experts at Panthera, a U.S.-based wild cat-conservation group, to ask them about the leopard’s odd coloration.
Panthera President Luke Hunter suspects the pale leopard has erythrism, a little-understood genetic condition that’s thought to cause either an overproduction of red pigments or an underproduction of dark pigments.
“It’s really rare—I don’t know of another credible example in leopards,” said Hunter, whose group collaborates with National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative. (The Society owns National Geographic News.) Hunter added, “it’s surprising that [a photo of the leopard] didn’t come out sooner, because he’s relatively used to vehicles.”
Read More
Photo © Deon De Villiers
Emperor Penguins Counted From Space—A First
Talk about a bird’s-eye view—scientists have taken the first-ever penguin census from space. What’s more, the high-resolution satellite images reveal that there are twice as many emperor penguins in Antarctica than previously thought, a new study says. Scientists have snapped penguin pictures from space before. But the new work used a technique called pansharpening, which offers high enough resolution for the scientists to differentiate between penguin poop, ice, and the birds themselves.
Read More
I won’t be posting much this week.
I am moving tomorrow and then I’m leaving to go to Charleston, South Carolina until Thursday/Friday. I’m visiting a friend that I haven’t seen in over a year so I doubt I’ll be online much until I get back here and settled in my and my mom’s new condo. Please stick around!
Golden Jackal
Canis aureus
The golden jackal (Canis aureus), also known as the common jackal, Asiatic jackal, and gold-wolf is a Canid of the genus Canis indigenous to north and northeastern Africa, southeastern and central Europe (up to Austria and Hungary), Asia Minor, the Middle East and southeast Asia. It is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern, due to its widespread range in areas with optimum food and shelter. Despite its name, the golden jackal is not closely related to other jackal species, with morphological and molecular studies indicating a greater affinity to the grey wolf and coyote. It is a social species, whose basic social unit consists of a breeding pair, followed by its offspring. The golden jackal is highly adaptable, being able to exploit many foodstuffs, from fruit and insects to small ungulates.
Facts | Photo © Eyal Bartov
Baboons Can Recognize Words
Baboons can learn to tell the difference between real four-letter words and nonsense combinations of letters. And once they figure out the patterns, these monkeys can guess with impressive accuracy whether a new word is real or fake.
Because baboons can’t actually read, a new study supports the theory that the brains of our primate ancestors held the necessary hardware for understanding written words long before humans evolved. Only after we starting writing and reading about 5,400 years or so did we apply our object-recognition abilities to letter symbols.
Read More
Looks like about 200 orangutans were killed. I’ll post more in the am.
Sumatran Orangutan: “It is no longer several years away, but just a few months or even weeks before this iconic creature disappears”
Hundreds of orangutans are believed to have died in fires deliberately lit by palm oil companies in the last few weeks. Conservationists say the rare Sumatran orangutan could now be wiped out within weeks.Read more here.
Palm oil is delicious. It’s used in crackers and candy. It’s a plant that’s grown in tropical areas, mostly Indonesia. Rainforests are burned down to make room to plant the crop. Tens of thousands of animals are killed by the burning. This short video shows the impacts of palm oil production on orangutans. It’s one of three tough-to-stomach documentaries on rainforest destruction.
WARNING: This video is brutal and raw. Guys, I am not messing around here. Parts are extremely graphic.
Her name is GREEN, she is alone in a world that doesn’t belong to her. She is a female orangutan, victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. This film is an emotional journey with GREEN’s final days. With no narration, it is a visual ride presenting the devastating impacts of logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations, the choking haze created by rainforest fires and the tragic end of rainforest biodiversity. We watch the effects of consumerism and are faced with our personal accountability in the loss of the world’s rainforest treasures.
More from Green Planet Films.
Chromodoris willani by Samantha Craven
This species of nudibranch is named for the renowned nudibranch taxonomist Dr. Richard C. Willan.
Chromodoris willani is similar in appearance to Chromodoris lochi, Chromodoris boucheti and Chromodoris dianae. This species can be distinguished by the very prominent white specks found on the gills and rhinophores. Individuals in this species can range in color from dark blue to a translucent white. All have black stripes with the center-most stripe typically being non-continuous.
These two Sumatran Tiger cubs were recently born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This is the 24th and 25th births of this critically endangered species for the Zoo.
The cubs are still too small to leave their den and are being attentively raised by their experienced mother, Delta. On Thursday, keepers gave Mom a short break to stretch her legs and get a little sun while they took the opportunity to socialize with the cubs. The 10- and 11-pound cubs are being desensitized to human touch in anticipation of vaccines and other necessary veterinary care.They are only just beginning to move around the den on their own paws. Keepers expect them to be more agile and ready to explore the outdoors in July.
Only about 400 Sumatran tigers are left worldwide. They’re the smallest of the tiger species, but once grown, males can weigh up to 220 lbs. The San Diego Zoo is home to six Sumatran tigers and are fund-raising to build a new, forested tiger haven that will offer up-close views and highlight conservation efforts
Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo; via
My second favorite animals! :3
Dolphins at Sea Greet Each Other
Bottlenose dolphins swap signature whistles with each other when they meet in the open sea, a new study reports, suggesting that these marine mammals engage in something akin to a human conversation.
Earlier research found that signature whistles are unique for each dolphin, with the marine mammals essentially naming themselves and communicating other basic information.
A signature dolphin whistle in human speak, might be comparable to, “Hi, I’m George, a large, three-year-old dolphin in good health who means you no harm.”
Read More
Yellow-Bellied Glider
Petaurus australis
Yellow-bellied gliders are marsupials found only in eastern Australia. They are able to glide from tree to tree over distances of more than 100 metres at a time. Yellow-bellied gliders depend on eucalyptus trees for food and bite into the trunks to extract the sap. Being nocturnal, they sleep in leaf-lined dens in hollow trees during the day.
Facts | Photos © David Cook (a) and Arcainous (b)
I’ve reached 800 followers!
Thank you all for following and re-blogging! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!
THE GREAT WHITE SQUIRREL
The white squirrels of Brevard, N.C., aren’t albinos. They have a black spot on their heads and a dark stripe across their shoulders. They are said to be descended from a pair that escaped from an overturned carnival truck in 1949.
(photo: Don Weiser) (via: Washington Post)
Tibetan Fox
Vulpes ferrilata
Tibetan foxes are small true foxes that live high up on the remote Tibetan plain where they form life-long partnerships. They live, hunt and share the responsibility of raising the young together. Kits stay with their parents until they are 8-10 months old, when they leave the den to find mates and home ranges of their own. Tibetan foxes are not overly territorial and many pairs live in close quarters and share hunting grounds.
Facts | Photo © dirtroads
