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Prehistoric carnivore/dinosaur statue seen in front of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I am uploading a lot at the mo, ' cause i am upgrading my camera! Surprise! I backed up all my Canon 400D pictures and i can wait to receive my birthday present!
Una Argiope bruennichi ha catturato una grossa preda (Sympetrum fonscolombei) - Civiasco (VC - Valsesia) 14 Agosto 2012
Another shot of yesterday's snake encounter. Snake is a non-venomous Kopstein's Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis kopsteini), and the poor lizard is most likely the Flying Lizard Draco formosus, able to change its colours to blend in with its surroundings.
In the ten-or-so minutes I stood taking photos of this scene - right from when the snake first captured the lizard (the sudden movement caught my attention), right up to the snake finally heading off into the undergrowth with only about half the lizard's long tail sticking out of it's mouth - I estimated that the snake was longer than my 178cm hight. Like other colubrid snakes (like the Asian vine snake) this one was quite skinny and had a very long tail. Interestingly, in all of the many shots I took yesterday, this snake's tail remained close to it's head the whole time it was trying to swallow this lizard.
Zebras have legs that are long and slender but very strong, enabling the zebra to run up to 40 miles per hour to escape predators. In addition, the zebra is nimble enough to evade predators or to kick them at close range. In fact, the zebra can use its hooves to deliver a kick capable of injuring or even killing an animal as large as a lion.
Constantly on the watch for lions and hyenas, a herd helps with all of its extra eyes to monitor for danger. If a zebra is attacked, other zebras come to its defense and form a circle around it to ward off the predator. ... Zebras are often found mingling with other animals, adding extra protection against threats.
Poor image but good story. Remember the image of the Robber Fly killing and eating the Yellow Jacket? Now here it is in a spider's web. A predator falling victim to another predator. Now I have to be on the lookout for a Yellow Jacket eating the spider. I don't know if that ever happens.
Wolves and humans have shared the planet for millennia. But in the last few decades we seem to have run out of space. How did that happen? Human species keeps growing, expanding and taking over territories of other species, leaving them with no home. When wildlife, especially predators, are seen close to the areas now overtaken by humans, they are usually killed, seen as enemy. Most often labeled as a threat, as "an individual with something wrong with it as they wandered too close to humans". They have as much right to exist on this planet as we do. I wish we could coexist with these magnificent creatures and not drive them to extinction. I wish more people would see the wolves as incredible as they truly are and not believe in irrational, brainwashing statements of wolf haters who would like to see wolves gone. Completely. Eradicated. Extinct.
Minnesota has most wolves in the lower 48 states of the United States. Wolves have not been legally hunted there for over ten years and are federally protected as threatened species. (Sadly, this will most likely change under the current president.) Right now, around 3000 gray wolves live in the state of Minnesota vs for example 300 individual wolves in the entire country of Finland. Finland is 64% larger, with more forests and uninhabited areas. Also, human population in Finland is just under that of Minnesota. (5.5 million vs 5.7 million). As a Finnish citizen who was born and raised in Finland, I travel there yearly and follow the wildlife/nature closely, therefore the following:
Wolves are critically endangered in Finland but are hunted regardless of EU directive that strictly protects wolves in all EU member states. In 2024 Finland downgraded this protective status to "allow more flexible conservation status and wolf hunting to manage the wolf population." The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is again allowing to kill 28 wolves yearly OUTSIDE of the reindeer husbandry areas and double that number with exemption permits IN LAPLAND where reindeer are raised for human consumption. Also, poaching continues to be prevalent in Finland. There are about 200 000 reindeer in Finland vs 300 wolves. Needless to say, the wolf population is fast declining and the future for gray wolves is extremely bleak in the country for its natives, the gray wolves.
"This isn't a wolf problem. It's a human problem." - Dr. David Mech (International Wolf Center)
The marshes, ponds, streams were the home of many, many alligators, was left wondering betimes as to how the newly born birds would ever survive. A hot day, the alligators lie around with mouth open to cool off...