Humankindness photos on Flickr

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A small Mantis Vs. HumanKind

Looking up from the ground by Stefanie Pietschmann

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Imitation lies in the cradle of humankind. In order to become self-reliant, it is essential to mimic our surroundings. What causes a sensation, catches our attention: This setting determines how we speak, move, behave, and what we expect. The longer we grow into this conception, the more we look up to it, and the harder we try to comply with it.

With the assumption that they must know the ultimate truth, we are looking up to those who explain our world. They form the guideline by which we orient ourselves. However, trying to match all the associated expectations is tough work, which leads to a never-ending search for arrival.

It makes disappointment inevitable to act like being somebody that one does not feel like. Looking up from the ground to who we want to be, does not make this expectation more realistic. We are attracted to what represents us externally because it provides a clear direction.

While trying to match what others think is right, we forget too often to listen to ourselves. Hence, we continue looking up to an arbitrarily created ideal, although we already know deep down that trying to accomplish something you don’t believe in never works out in the end.

www.pietschy.de/looking-up-from-the-ground/

“Backlit Surprise” A stunned moment, lit from behind – emotion in profile - The Caucasian squirrel - Sciurus anomalus - Taken at North Aegean region - Türkiye by R ERTUG

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“Curious” – A Morning Encounter in the Olive Grove - Some mornings begin not with words, but with eyes meeting in silence. This was one of them. “Curious – Eyes of the Wild”

Wildlife and nature have always captivated humankind. Perhaps it’s my background in journalism, but nature has gradually drawn me in with a similar pull — that of curiosity, patience, and quiet pursuit.

This morning, I decided to revisit a remarkable encounter I had in the olive groves near my home. It was around 07:00 when I set out — just a ten-minute drive, followed by a walk across freshly tilled earth, soft and uneven beneath my feet. The goal: to find “Curious,” the wild Anatolian squirrel I had met for the first time just days before.

Not far into the grove, I spotted a pale, slender wild rabbit who darted off the moment it sensed me — despite my silent steps. I wondered if I would be lucky enough to cross paths with Curious again. With that thought, I pressed on, determined yet calm.

As I neared the gnarled trunk of an ancient olive tree, nature fell silent. Only the faint calls of birds filled the air. Then suddenly, there he was — Curious. Tucked under a lower branch, his tail wrapped tightly, he stared at me intently, our eyes locking. I hadn't brought nuts this time. I wanted to see how he'd react to just my presence — without any incentives.

I stood still, watching from about two meters away. Curious vanished into his hollow, but I gently stepped closer. Moments later, he peeked out like someone watching from a window, eyes fixed on mine. Then, to my amazement, he climbed out and onto the olive bark, stretching in the morning light as if to put on a show.

I remained silent, steady. In a single leap, he landed on a trimmed branch stump and posed. With no monopod, I began to photograph him with my Nikon Z8, using the Teleconverter TC-14E II for the first time. Curious allowed me within just under 1 meters — a sign of growing trust. It felt like we had momentarily erased the boundary between wild and human.

Later, I followed him to a mulberry tree where, like a silkworm, he nibbled delicately on the fresh young leaves. I also witnessed him gnawing on the bark and twigs of the olive tree — behavior I had never documented before.

This morning was a gift — not only for the images captured, but for the silent conversation we shared. I’ve published six portraits of Curious on my Flickr page, each telling its own quiet story. I hope they resonate with others as deeply as the experience touched me.

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Anatolian Squirrel (Sciurus anomalus) – Distribution and Details in Turkey

The Anatolian squirrel (Sciurus anomalus), also known as the Caucasian squirrel or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel species native to parts of the Middle East. It is the only native squirrel species in Turkey and plays an important ecological role in forested habitats.

Distribution in Turkey

The Anatolian squirrel is widely distributed throughout much of western, central, and southern Turkey, particularly in the following regions:

Aegean Region: Olive groves, oak woodlands, and fig orchards (like those in Pelitköy) provide suitable habitat.

Marmara Region: Thrace and surrounding mixed forests.

Central Anatolia: Especially in forested and steppe transition zones.

Mediterranean Region: Taurus Mountains and surrounding coastal forests.

Eastern Black Sea foothills: Patchy populations, typically in deciduous and mixed forests.

They prefer forests with oak, pine, walnut, almond, fig, and mulberry trees — and are commonly spotted in traditional olive groves, especially where some natural tree cover is retained.

Habitat & Behavior

Arboreal (tree-dwelling), diurnal (active by day).

Solitary and territorial, though tolerant of other squirrels in rich feeding areas.

Nests in tree hollows or builds leaf nests high in the canopy.

Feeds on a variety of nuts, seeds, fruits, and tree buds, including figs, almonds, acorns, and mulberries.

In cultivated landscapes like olive groves, they adapt well if large trees are present. The presence of fig and mulberry trees near human settlements helps maintain stable populations.

Conservation Status & Threats

Currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.

However, local population declines have been observed due to:

Habitat fragmentation (especially loss of old trees and tree hollows),

Agricultural expansion, and

Climate change impacts, particularly in southern and drier regions.

Monitoring efforts in Turkey are still limited, and there's a growing call among researchers and nature photographers for increased ecological surveys and community awareness programs.

Curiosity

The Anatolian squirrel has adapted well to traditional Turkish agroforestry landscapes. In mythology and folklore, squirrels are sometimes seen as guardians of trees, and this species continues to serve that symbolic role in Anatolia.

I've captured some unforgettable moments with my camera, and I hope you feel the same joy viewing these images as I did while shooting them.

Thank you so much for visiting my gallery, whether you leave a comment, add it to your favorites, or simply take a moment to look around. Your support means a lot to me, and I wish you good luck and beautiful light in all your endeavors.

© All rights belong to R.Ertuğ. Please refrain from using these images without my express written permission. If you are interested in purchasing or using them, feel free to contact me via Flickr mail.

Lens - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f5.6 full length.. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.

I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -

Your comments and criticism are very valuable.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and explore :)

Robin, Westport Lake, S.O.T, UK by Tony Rea

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The Robin's red breast and habit of living close to humankind makes it one of our most familiar birds.

Robins are widely distributed in Britain & Ireland throughout the year, from Shetland to the Channel Islands, apart from on the highest mountain tops. Robin breeding numbers increased through the last part of the 20th century and have been fairly stable since, albeit with some fluctuations.

The Robin is both a resident and also a migrant visitor to Britain during the winter months, when birds from northern and eastern Europe help to swell numbers. During particularly cold weather this pugnacious little bird can be seen sharing bird tables with several other Robins, all of them trying to defend the food source they have found.

fly on color by Sun Shaoqing 孙少青

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fly on color is so romance, fly always humankinds drams!

Plain tiger, the African queen by Martien Uiterweerd

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The plain tiger or African monarch (Danaus chrysippus) is a medium-sized butterfly of the Danainae subfamily ("Milkweed butterflies") . This butterfly has captivated humankind’s attention since it was first depicted in an Egyptian tomb 3,500 years ago, making it the first ever butterfly to be recorded in history.

Its beautiful striking tawny-orange colouration serves as a warning to predators that this species is distasteful, which ultimately deters predators from attacking. Framing the startlingly orange hues is a bold black border interlaced with white specks. The wingspan is about 7–8 cm. The male plain tiger is smaller than the female, but more brightly colored. The body is black with many white spots.

This widespread butterfly can be found across the entire African continent, southern Europe, the Middle East, eastwards throughout most of Asia south of the Himalayas, southern China and Japan to southeast Asia, Indonesia and even tropical Australia.

De kleine monarchvlinder (Danaus chrysippus) is een vlinder uit de onderfamilie Danainae (monarchvlinders) binnen de familie Nymphalidae (schoenlappers, parelmoervlinders en zandoogjes).

Op een 3500 jaar oude graftombe in Luxor (Egypte) wordt een fresco van deze kleine monarchvlinder weergegeven. De tekening is daarmee vermoedelijk de oudste afbeelding van een vlinder.

De hoofdkleur is oranje-geel-bruin, de bovenkant van de vleugels is wat donkerder en helderder om roofvogels af te schrikken. De onderkant is bleker om in rust met gesloten vleugels niet op te vallen. De vleugelpunten zijn zwart met grote witte vlekken. De randen van de vleugels zijn zwart met kleine witte vlekjes. Het lichaam is zwart met witte puntjes. De vleugelspanwijdte varieert tussen 70 en 80 mm. Het mannetje is iets kleiner dan het vrouwtje.

De wijdverspreide kleine monarchvlinder komt voor op het hele Afrikaanse continent, zuidoost Europa, het Midden-Oosten, oostwaarts door het grootste deel van Azië ten zuiden van de Himalaya, Zuid-China, Japan, zuidoost Azië, Indonesië en zelfs tropische Australië.

Deze opname is gemaakt in de overdekte vlindertuin NaturoSpace in Honfleur (Normandië, Frankrijk).

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All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.

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DSC_0511 by misbahshoots

A Study on the Smallest Trauma (of Humankind) by Babak Shahsiah

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I dream some day in foreign parts. A giant fly will take my heart. I'll stick it in I won't be too big. And there in Heaven we shall live\- Tigerlilies, Flies

- 24” X 9”

- Lithography (reductive drawing)

as the world turns in prayer by A n t o i n e t t e

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If only we could slow things down a bit

and just enjoy the beauty of our world

. . . celebrating the GOOD people who dwell therein.

Prayers for our humankind,

who are innocently suffering from destructible leaders . . .

who insist and exist on greed and the need . . .

to conquer,

relentlessly,

to feed

their insatiable, malicious egos . . .

oh, how history insists on repeating itself

. . . will there ever be peace on earth?

NASA Celebrates Anniversary of Pluto Flyby by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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One year ago, NASA’s New Horizons mission made history by exploring Pluto and its moons – giving humankind our first real look at this fascinating world on the frontier of our solar system.

Since those amazing days in July 2015 the New Horizons spacecraft has transmitted numerous images and many other kinds of data home for scientists and the public alike to study, analyze, and just plain love. From Pluto’s iconic “heart” and sweeping ice‐ mountain vistas to its flowing glaciers and dramatic blue skies, it’s hard to pick just one favorite picture. So the mission team has picked 10 – and in no special order, placed them here.

For the full list of NASA's favorite Pluto photos, click here.

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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights, click here.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. by bebedas

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Happy Earth Day;) xx

FF 2025 - SIMS - Nox Aeterna_02 by Mondi Beaumont

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“The Land of Eternal Night” -

Experience the downfall of humankind and the rise of the lords of the night.

In Nox Aeterna, vampire society has flourished and through impressive spellcraft they’ve even bent the sky to their rule guaranteeing that none need fear the rays of the sun ever again.

Atop the mountains sits one such stronghold, sprawling amongst the crags and peaks. Beneath it a village on the edge of a lake, steeped in tradition and protected as much by the denizens above as the forest surrounding it.

Nox Aeterna -

Sponsored by Quills & Curiosities

Region by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood

A Shopping Region

Larim Warrior by Roberto Pazzi

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Portrait of a Larim tribesman, also known as the Boya (South Sudan).

HUMANKIND, my premium, limited-edition, museum-quality standard book featuring over 200 large-format photos is available here: www.robertopazziphoto.com/#book

The Larim are a small ethnic group living in the Boya Hills of Eastern Equatoria in South Sudan.

The Larim speak a Surmic language and they live in hilly terrain marked by seasonal rivers, savannah and grasslands.

Their livelihood is agro-pastoral: they grow sorghum, maize and beans, while cattle, goats and sheep play a central role in their economy and social life.

The Larim are organised into lineages and maintain strong community ties reinforced by shared rituals and oral traditions that recount their origins and migrations.

Their villages are known for their round thatched huts, and their visual culture includes body scarification, beadwork and elaborate hairstyles, each carrying social and aesthetic meaning within the group.

Among the Larim, men hold responsibilities that are both practical and social. They are herders and farmers, protectors of the community and custodians of livestock, which is a key measure of wealth and status.

Men also play central roles in decision-making and conflict resolution through councils of elders, where experience and reputation carry great weight.

Elders guide the community through advice, ritual leadership and the transmission of oral history. Their role embodies both authority and service, linking everyday life to the continuity of Larim traditions.

Website: www.robertopazziphoto.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/roberto_pazzi_photo

The Tree of Life by Don Sniegowski

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And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” - Genesis 3:22

A rainbow of colors by Stephanie Stout

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The rainbow flag has become the worldwide banner of the LGBT community because the major colors of the visible spectrum represent diversity among the entire human population. Humankind is one species, but we come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors. We have two basic genetic and anatomical sexes with a small minority that are in between or have some characteristics of both.

Then it gets more complicated. For reproductive purposes, most people are attracted to the opposite sex; however, a fairly big minority is attracted to the same sex, both sexes, or neither, and those attractions may change over the course of a person's life. Gender identity and expression for most people is related to their biological sex but not rigidly tied to it. How a person feels, acts, and presents themselves is part internal and part cultural, so it is subject to change, especially across space and time. Human society is not uniform throughout our planet, and it changes over the years, so is it any surprise that gender appearance, identity, social roles, and behavior can change and vary from person to person?

Unfortunately, some social groups, political organizations, ethnic groups, religious cults, families, and bigoted individuals try to force everybody to conform to rigid sexual conduct, gender roles, and outward appearance. Those who do not conform are branded as evil, perverted, or crazy and either forced to conform, expelled, beaten up, imprisoned, or killed.

In the United States, LGBT folks are fighting for our CIVIL RIGHTS. We are gaining some ground, but so-called "social conservatives" in some state and local governments are trying to erect new legal obstacles in our path. Some of them publicly call for our extermination. Hate crimes against us continue, and a few days ago in Orlando, a major terrorist attack by a lone gunman murdered at least 49 people at a gay nightclub.

2016 is an election year and one of the most vicious ever. In general, the same people who preach hatred against LGBT people are the same crowd who promotes hatred against people of color, opposes reproductive freedom for women, denies Climate Change and opposes meaningful measures to mitigate it, opposes environmental protection, opposes financial regulation, opposes Internet Neutrality, opposes an increase in the minimum wage, opposes election reform, but they approve of CORPORATE GREED, unlimited exploitation of our natural resources, unending overseas conflict, the militarization of our police forces, the expansion of private prisons, and a continued expansion of domestic surveillance without any accountability.

This particular graphic was copied from one of the many LGBT political action groups I subscribe to, and since it is a commonly used banner, this constitutes Fair Use.

Man vs Nature by Mitchell Krog

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A composite image blended with about 7-9 frames of a lightning storm approaching the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (Maropeng) in South Africa.

Lovely Africa by Julia Vixen

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Come visit the Cradle of Humankind! Starting in a camp reflecting the 1920s you soon cross a wide river with the wildlife veterinary station and a savanna lying behind. Or you visit a small native village near the dark jungle. Safari feeling guaranteed!

Theme song youtu.be/GibiNy4d4gc

Fun Theme Song

youtu.be/nbY_aP-alkw

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Coral%20Cape/165/47/23

CODE_GREEN by Nicola-Frank Vachon

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If we don't find it humankind is gone.

Trump - the Fascist Tangerine. by Alisdare Hickson

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On Thursday 12 July 2018, US president Donald Trump, the most dangerous man in the world, was welcomed to the United Kingdom by the British prime minister Theresa May. The following day the streets of London witnessed the biggest protest for over a decade as thousands marched on Trafalgar Square to express their anger at the British government extending a red carpet welcome for Trump.

Protesters pointed out the extreme threat to democracy, to those dependent on welfare, to womens' rights, to civil rights generally and even to the survival of humankind which Trump presents. Such assertions might seem extreme, but they are unfortunately fully justifiable.

As the president of what is by far the richest and most powerful country on earth, Trump has dedicated his term to accelerating the US addiction to fossil fuels and agribusiness, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Accords, thereby accelerating global warming and climate change and presenting a huge threat to the continued existence of humankind.

Trump's presidency also marks another dangerous step in the erosion of democracy in the United States. Far from "draining the swamp" as he promised, Trump has surrounded himself with powerful figures from big business, especially major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, as well as his friends and allies in the fossil fuel and defence industires.

Government policy, more and more, reflects the direct interests of concentrated private power with the public having less and less influence. At the same time the Trump presidency has allied itself with some of the most ruthless regimes in the world and is profiting from Saudi Arabia's illegal war of aggression in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A serious war crime in which Donald Trump and Theresa May are both complicit.

Trump has also been keen to patronise the extreme nationalist constituency in the United States and through preaching a propaganda of fear his presidency has managed to oversee some of the most racist immigration policies ever to be implemented in the United States, targeted almost exclusively at Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Ironically, all of them have been massively destabilized and impoverished by US foreign policy.

He was also responsible for the ruthless decision to separate children from their parents as they cross into the United States from Mexico, in his determination to block immigration from central America, where decades of US illegal intervention, including the CIA funded Contra terror operations in Nicaragua and enforced free trade (under NAFTA or IMF rules) have devastated the region and merely enhanced the power of corrupt corporate elites and drug cartels.

As if this was not enough to worry about, Trump has also authorized a huge increase in both US defence spending and in the US nuclear arsenal, and changed the strategic posture of the US so that nuclear weapons can be used even for offensive operations and even when their use is not required to preempt a nuclear strike by an enemy power.

As any historian of conflict since the Second World War knows, it is only by a miracle that humankind has survived since 1945 without a nuclear war. Now the situation is more dangerous than ever before. Not only are we are now dependent on Trump's extremely unpredictable temperament but also increasingly on automated systems which can easily malfunction.

Trump and Republicans maintain they need to spend heavily on military equipment in order to counter the supposed Russian threat. However they seldom remind the public that the United States already spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defence and that Russia's expenditure is far behind both that of the United States and only on about the same level of Saudi Arabia, and spends only 10% of what NATO spends.

It has also to be remembered that it is NATO and US forces which are operating right on the Russian border, not Russian forces on the American border. Russia's defence spending is clearly recognised by academics to be primarily defensive and responsive to US spending. What is desperately needed is a serious international dialogue at the highest level to decrease the danger of conflict, especially the risk of a terminal nuclear war and begin a process of multilateral disarmament.

Plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus) by Martien Uiterweerd

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The plain tiger or African monarch (Danaus chrysippus) is a medium-sized butterfly of the Danainae subfamily ("Milkweed butterflies") . This butterfly has captivated humankind’s attention since it was first depicted in an Egyptian tomb 3,500 years ago, making it the first ever butterfly to be recorded in history.

Its beautiful striking tawny-orange colouration serves as a warning to predators that this species is distasteful, which ultimately deters predators from attacking. Framing the startlingly orange hues is a bold black border interlaced with white specks. The wingspan is about 7–8 cm. The male plain tiger is smaller than the female, but more brightly colored. The body is black with many white spots.

This widespread butterfly can be found across the entire African continent, southern Europe, the Middle East, eastwards throughout most of Asia south of the Himalayas, southern China and Japan to southeast Asia, Indonesia and even tropical Australia.

De kleine monarchvlinder (Danaus chrysippus) is een vlinder uit de onderfamilie Danainae (monarchvlinders) binnen de familie Nymphalidae (schoenlappers, parelmoervlinders en zandoogjes).

Op een 3500 jaar oude graftombe in Luxor (Egypte) wordt een fresco van deze kleine monarchvlinder weergegeven. De tekening is daarmee vermoedelijk de oudste afbeelding van een vlinder.

De hoofdkleur is oranje-geel-bruin, de bovenkant van de vleugels is wat donkerder en helderder om roofvogels af te schrikken. De onderkant is bleker om in rust met gesloten vleugels niet op te vallen. De vleugelpunten zijn zwart met grote witte vlekken. De randen van de vleugels zijn zwart met kleine witte vlekjes. Het lichaam is zwart met witte puntjes. De vleugelspanwijdte varieert tussen 70 en 80 mm. Het mannetje is iets kleiner dan het vrouwtje.

De wijdverspreide kleine monarchvlinder komt voor op het hele Afrikaanse continent, zuidoost Europa, het Midden-Oosten, oostwaarts door het grootste deel van Azië ten zuiden van de Himalaya, Zuid-China, Japan, zuidoost Azië, Indonesië en zelfs tropische Australië.

Deze foto is gemaakt in de tropische vlinderkas van de Botanische Tuinen van de Utrechtse Universiteit.

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All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.

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No Tea With Fascists ! by Alisdare Hickson

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