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Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Average Betty does for home n' cooking what punk did for rock n' roll: she cuts the length and cranks the volume! But you don't need a mohawk to enjoy Average Betty's culinary creations. Check out www.averagebetty.com for recipes and more.
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Double Check is a sculpture by John Seward Johnson II, dating back to 1982. It was completely covered in ashes during the 911 attack, and mistaken for a real man.
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
See www.faceresearch.org/ for more details. See xn--80ax0d.blogspot.com/2009/09/blog-post_06.html for more comments.
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Common Crane
Grus grus
also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane. Along with the sandhill and demoiselle cranes and the brolga, it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent at the species level.
Description
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Common crane (Grus grus)
The common crane is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane. It is 100–130 cm (40–52 in) long with a 180–240 cm (71–96 in) wingspan. The body weight can range from 3 to 6.1 kg (6.6 to 13.4 lb), with the nominate subspecies averaging around 5.4 kg (12 lb) and the eastern subspecies (G. g. lilfordi) averaging 4.6 kg (10 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 50.7–60.8 cm (20.0–23.9 in) long, the tarsus is 20.1–25.2 cm (7.9–9.9 in) and the exposed culmen is 9.5–11.6 cm (3.7–4.6 in).
This species is slate-grey overall. The forehead and lores are blackish with a bare red crown and a white streak extending from behind the eyes to the upper back. The overall colour is darkest on the back and rump and palest on the breast and wings. The primaries, the tips of secondaries, the alula, the tip of the tail, and the edges of upper tail coverts are all black and the greater coverts droop into explosive plumes. This combination of colouration ultimately distinguishes it from similar species in Asia, like the Hooded and black-necked cranes. The juvenile has yellowish-brown tips to its body feathers and lacks the drooping wing feathers and the bright neck pattern of the adult, and has a fully feathered crown. Every two years, before migration, the adult common crane undergoes a complete moult, remaining flightless for six weeks, until the new feathers grow.
It has a loud trumpeting call, given in flight and display. The call is piercing and can be heard from a considerable distance. It has a dancing display, leaping with wings uplifted, described in detail below.
This species is found in the northern parts of Europe and Asia. Formerly the species was spread as far west as Ireland, but about 200 years ago, it became extinct there. However, it has since started to return to Ireland naturally and there are now plans to help it return to Ireland on a greater scale. The common crane is an uncommon breeder in southern Europe, smaller numbers breeding in Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Denmark and Germany. Larger breeding populations can found in Scandinavia, especially Finland and Sweden. The heart of the breeding population for the species is in Russia, however, where possibly up to 100,000 cranes of this species can be found seasonally. In Russia, it is distributed as a breeder from the Ukraine region to the Chukchi Peninsula. The breeding population extends as far south as Manchuria but almost the entire Asian breeding population is restricted to Russia.
The species is a long distance migrant predominantly wintering in northern Africa. Autumn migration is from August to October and spring migration is in March through May. Important staging areas occur anywhere from Sweden and Germany to China (with a large one around the Caspian Sea) and many thousand cranes can be seen in one day in the Autumn. Some birds winter in southern Europe, including Portugal, Spain and France. Most eastern common cranes winter in the river valleys of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Eritrea with smaller numbers in Turkey, northern Israel, Iraq and parts of Iran. The third major wintering region is in the northern half of Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan. Minimal wintering also occurs in Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, they winter in eastern China, where they are often the most common crane (outnumbering black-necked cranes ten-to-one). Migrating flocks fly in a V formation.
It is a rare visitor to Japan and Korea, mostly blown over from the Chinese wintering population, and is a rare vagrant to western North America, where birds are occasionally seen with flocks of migrating sandhill cranes.
Habitat
In Europe, the common crane predominantly breeds in boreal and taiga forest and mixed forests, from an elevation of sea-level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft). In Northern climes, treeless moors, on bogs, or on dwarf heather habitats, usually where small lakes or pools are also found. In Sweden, breeders are usually found in small, swampy openings amongst pine forests while, in Germany, marshy wetlands are used. Breeding habitat used in Russia are similar, though they can be found nesting in less likely habitat such as steppe and even semi-desert, so long as water is near. Primarily, the largest number of common cranes are found breeding in wooded swamps, bogs and wetlands and seem to require quiet, peaceful environs with minimal human interference. They occur at low density as breeders even where common, typically ranging from 1 to 5 pairs per 100 km2 (39 sq mi).
While winter, this species moves to flooded areas, shallow sheltered bays, and swampy meadows. During the flightless moulting period there is a need for shallow waters or high reed cover for concealment. Later, after the migration period, the birds winter regularly in open country, often on cultivated lands and sometimes also in savanna-like areas, for example on the Iberian Peninsula.
Diet
The common crane is omnivorous, as are all cranes. It largely eats plant matter, including roots, rhizomes, tubers, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. They also commonly eat, as available, pond-weeds, heath berries, peas, potatoes, olives, acorns, cedarnuts and pods of peanuts. Notably amongst the berries consumed, the cranberry, is possibly named after the species.
Animal foods become more important during the summer breeding season and may be the primary food source at that time of year, especially while regurgitating to young. Their animal foods are insects, especially dragonflies, and also snails, earthworms, crabs, spiders, millipedes, woodlice, amphibians, rodents, and small birds.
Common cranes may either forage on land or in shallow water, probing around with their bills for any edible organism. Although crops may locally be damaged by the species, mostly they consume waste grain in winter from previously harvest fields and so actually more commonly benefit farmers by cleaning fields for use in the following year. As in other cranes, all foraging (as well as drinking and roosting) is done in small groups, which may variously consist of pairs, family groups or winter flocks.
Breeding
This species usually lays eggs in May, though seldom will do so earlier or later. Like most cranes, this species displays indefinite monogamous pair bonds. If one mate dies, a crane may attempt to court a new mate the following year. Although a pair may be together for several years, the courtship rituals of the species are enacted by every pair each spring. The dancing of common cranes has complex, social meanings and may occur at almost any time of year. Dancing may include bobs, bows, pirouettes, and stops, as in various crane species. Aggressive displays may include ruffled wing feathers, throwing vegetation in the air and pointing the bare red patch on their heads at each other. Courtship displays begin with a male following the female in a stately, march-like walk. The unison call, consists of the female holding her head up and gradually lowering down as she calls out. The female calls out a high note and then the male follows with a longer scream in a similar posture. Copulation consists of a similar, dramatic display.
The nesting territory of common cranes is variable and is based on the local habitat. It can range in size from variously 2 to 500 hectares. In common with sandhill cranes (and no other crane species), common cranes "paint" their bodies with mud or decaying vegetation, apparently in order to blend into their nesting environment. The nest is either in or very near shallow water, often with dense shore vegetation nearby, and may be used over several years. The size and placement of the nest varies considerably over the range, with Arctic birds building relatively small nests. In Sweden, an average nest is around 90 cm (35 in) across.
The clutch of the common crane usually contains two eggs, with seldom one laid and, even more rarely, 3 or 4. If a clutch is lost early in incubation, the cranes may be able to lay another one within a couple of weeks. The incubation period is around 30 days and is done primarily by the female but occasionally by both sexes. If humans approach the nest both parents may engage in a distraction display but known ground predators (including domestic dogs) are physically attacked almost immediately.
New hatchlings are generally quite helpless but are able to crawl away from danger in a few hours, can swim soon after hatching and can run with their parents at 24 hours old. Chicks respond to danger by freezing, using their camouflaged brownish down to defend them beyond their fierce parents. Young chicks use their wings to stabilise them while running, while by 9 weeks of age they can fly short distances. The adult birds go through their postbreeding moult while caring for their young, rendering them flightless for about 5 to 6 weeks around the time the young also can't fly yet. According to figures of cranes wintering in Spain, around 48% birds have surviving young by the time they winter and around 18% are leading two young by winter. By the next breeding season, the previous years young often flock together. The age of sexual maturity in wild birds has been estimated at variously from 3 to 6 years of age. It is thought that it is common for this species to live up to 30 or 40 years of age.[2]
File:Baltsende en parende kraanvogels-Stichting Natuurbeelden-170687.webm
These are very common here, they out number the people in Wyoming.
I forget that the rest of the world dosen't see them every day so here's a little information on them.
P.S.
The meat tastes like sagebrush, yuck
The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana),though not an antelope is also known as pronghorn antelope or prong buck. It is a species of ungulate mammal native to interior western and central North America. It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae.
Morphology
Adult males are 1.3–1.5 m (4 1/4-5 ft) long from nose to tail and stand 81–104 cm (2 5/8-3 3/8 ft) high at the shoulder, and weigh 40–60 kg (88-132 lb). The females are as long, but average slightly less heavy, 40–50 kg (88-110 lb). The main color of adults is brown or tan, with a white rump and belly and two white stripes on the throat. A short dark mane grows along the neck, and males also sport a black mask and black patches on the sides of the neck. The tail is short, 7.5–17.8 cm (average 13.5 cm) long. The feet have just two hooves, with no dewclaws. The body temperature is 38.0 °C.
Pronghorns in Montana, United States.Each of the pronghorn is composed of a slender, laterally flattened blade of bone that grows from the frontal bones of the skull, forming a permanent core. As in the Giraffidae, skin covers the bony cores, but in the pronghorn it develops into a keratinous sheath which is shed and regrown on an annual basis. Unlike the horns of the family Bovidae, the horn sheaths of the pronghorn are branched, each sheath possessing a forward pointing tine (hence the name pronghorn). The horns of males are well developed; in females, they are either small, misshapen, or absent.
The orbits (eye sockets) are prominent and sit high on the skull; there is never an antorbital pit. The feet have only two digits; no dewclaws are present. The teeth are hypsodont.
Males have a prominent pair of horns on the top of the head, which are made up of an outer sheath of hairlike substance that grows around a bony core; the outer sheath is shed annually. Males have a horn sheath about 12.5–43 cm (mean 25 cm) long with a prong. Females have smaller horns, ranging from 2.5–15 cm (average 12 cm), and sometimes barely visible; they are straight and very rarely pronged.[5] Males are further differentiated from females in that males will have a small patch of black hair at the corner of the jawbone. Pronghorns have a distinct, musky odor. Males mark territory with a scent gland located on the sides of the head.[3] They also have very large eyes, with a 320 degree field of vision. Unlike deer, pronghorns possess a gallbladder.
It can run exceptionally fast, being built for maximum predator evasion through running, and is generally accepted to be the fastest land mammal in the New World. The top speed is very hard to measure accurately and varies between individuals; it is variously cited as up to 70 km/h, 72 km/h, or 86 km/h. It is often cited as the second-fastest land animal, second only to the cheetah. It can however sustain high speeds longer than cheetahs. University of Idaho zoologist John Byers has suggested that the pronghorn evolved its running ability to escape from extinct predators such as the American cheetah, since its speed greatly exceeds that of extant North American predators. It has a very large heart and lungs, and hollow hair. Although built for speed, it is a very poor jumper. Their ranges are often affected by sheep ranchers' fences. However, they can be seen going under fences, sometimes at high speed. For this reason the Arizona Antelope Foundation and others are in the process of removing the bottom barbed wire from the fences, and/or installing a barbless bottom wire.
Gaits used by the pronghorn include the highly distinctive pronk, a leaping gait.
Distribution
Pronghorns in Fort Rock, Oregon, United States.Pronghorns were brought to scientific notice by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which found them in what is now South Dakota, USA. The range extends from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada south through the United States (southwestern Minnesota and central Texas west to northeastern California), to Sonora and San Luis Potosí in northern Mexico, with a small disjunct population in northern Baja California Sur.
The subspecies known as the Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) occurs in Arizona and Mexico. Other subspecies include the Mexican Pronghorn (A. a. mexicana) and the critically endangered Baja California Pronghorn (A. a. peninsularis).
Bands of pronghorns live in open grasslands, forming small single-sex groups in spring and summer, and gathering into large mixed herds, sometimes up to 1,000 strong, in the fall and winter; they may migrate up to 160 km to avoid deep winter snow.
Diet
Pronghorns live primarily in grasslands but also in brushland and deserts. They eat a wide variety of plant foods, often including plants that are unpalatable or toxic to domestic livestock (sheep and cattle) though they also compete with these for food.In one study forbs comprised 62% of the diet, shrubs 23%, and grasses 15%, while in another, cacti comprised 40%, grass 22%, forbs 20%, and shrubs 18%.
Reproductive ecology
Pronghorns have a gestation period of 235 days, longer than is typical for North American ungulates. They breed in mid-September, and the doe carries her fawn until late May. This is around six weeks longer than the white-tailed deer. Newborn pronghorns weigh 2–4 kg, most commonly 3 kg. Sexual maturity is reached at 15 to 16 months, though males rarely breed until 3 years old. The longevity is typically up to 10 years, rarely 15 years.
"Borrowed" from Wikipedia
Edited by Me
Your average lash on the Chillicothe passes by your not so average angle on the Chillicothe yet.
~Joliet, IL
10/22/11
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Signatures on Reverse of 1959 Grade VIII Class Photo (Average Age 13) - Epson V500 Photo Scan - Photographer Russell McNeil PhD (Physics) lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia where he works also as a writer and a personal trainer.
Greylag & Bar-headed Geese
The greylag goose (Anser anser) is a large species of goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A large bird, it measures between 74 and 91 centimetres (29 and 36 in) in length, with an average weight of 3.3 kilograms (7.3 lb). Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places. It is the type species of the genus Anser and is the ancestor of the domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BC. The genus name is from anser, the Latin for "goose".
Greylag geese travel to their northerly breeding grounds in spring, nesting on moorlands, in marshes, around lakes and on coastal islands. They normally mate for life and nest on the ground among vegetation. A clutch of three to five eggs is laid; the female incubates the eggs and both parents defend and rear the young. The birds stay together as a family group, migrating southwards in autumn as part of a flock, and separating the following year. During the winter they occupy semi-aquatic habitats, estuaries, marshes and flooded fields, feeding on grass and often consuming agricultural crops. Some populations, such as those in Southern England and in urban areas across the species' range, are primarily resident and occupy the same area year-round.
The greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the grey geese of the genus Anser, but is more lightly built and agile than its domestic relative. It has a rotund, bulky body, a thick and long neck, and a large head and bill. It has pink legs and feet, and an orange or pink bill with a white or brown nail (hard horny material at tip of upper mandible). It is 74 to 91 centimetres (29 to 36 in) long with a wing length of 41.2 to 48 centimetres (16.2 to 18.9 in). It has a tail 6.2 to 6.9 centimetres (2.4 to 2.7 in), a bill of 6.4 to 6.9 centimetres (2.5 to 2.7 in) long, and a tarsus of 7.1 to 9.3 centimetres (2.8 to 3.7 in). It weighs 2.16 to 4.56 kilograms (4.8 to 10.1 lb), with a mean weight of around 3.3 kilograms (7.3 lb). The wingspan is 147 to 180 centimetres (58 to 71 in). Males are generally larger than females, with the sexual dimorphism more pronounced in the eastern subspecies rubirostris, which is larger than the nominate subspecies on average.
The plumage of the greylag goose is greyish-brown, with a darker head and paler breast and belly with a variable amount of black spotting. It has a pale grey fore-wing and rump which are noticeable when the bird is in flight or stretches its wings on the ground. It has a white line bordering its upper flanks, and its wing coverts are light-coloured, contrasting with its darker flight feathers. Its plumage is patterned by the pale fringes of the feathers. Juveniles differ mostly in their lack of black-speckling on the breast and belly and by their greyish legs. Adults have a distinctive 'concertina' pattern of folds in the feathers on their necks.
The greylag goose has a loud cackling call similar to that of the domestic goose, "aahng-ung-ung", uttered on the ground or in flight. There are various subtle variations used under different circumstances, and individual geese seem to be able to identify other known geese by their voices. The sound made by a flock of geese resembles the baying of hounds. Goslings chirp or whistle lightly, and adults hiss if threatened or angered.
This species has a Palearctic distribution. The nominate subspecies breeds in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic States, northern Russia, Poland, eastern Hungary and Romania. It also breeds locally in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Macedonia. The eastern race extends eastwards across a broad swathe of Asia to China. European birds migrate southwards to the Mediterranean region and North Africa. Asian birds migrate to Baluchistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh and eastward to China. In North America, there are both feral domestic geese, which are similar to greylags, and occasional vagrant greylags. Greylag geese seen in the wild in New Zealand probably originated from the escape of farmyard geese, and a similar thing has happened in Australia where feral birds are now established in the east and southeast of the country.
In their breeding quarters, they are found on moors with scattered lochs, in marshes, fens and peat-bogs, besides lakes and on little islands some way out to sea. They like dense ground cover of reeds, rushes, heather, bushes and willow thickets. In their winter quarters, they frequent salt marshes, estuaries, freshwater marshes, steppes, flooded fields, bogs and pasture near lakes, rivers and streams. They also visit agricultural land where they feed on winter cereals, rice, beans or other crops, moving at night to shoals and sand-banks on the coast, mud-banks in estuaries or secluded lakes. Large numbers of immature birds congregate each year to moult on the Rone Islands near Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
Since the 1950s, increases in winter temperatures have resulted in greylag geese, breeding in central Europe, reducing their winter migration distances. Wintering grounds closer to home can therefore be exploited, meaning that the geese can return to set up breeding territories earlier the following spring.
In Great Britain, their numbers had declined as a breeding bird, retreating north to breed wild only in the Outer Hebrides and the northern mainland of Scotland. However, during the 20th century, feral populations have been established elsewhere, and they have now re-colonised much of England. These populations are increasingly coming into contact.
he greylag was once revered across Eurasia. It was linked with the goddess of healing, Gula, a forerunner of the Sumerian fertility goddess Ishtar, in the cities of the Tigris-Euphrates delta over 5,000 years ago. In Ancient Egypt, geese symbolised the sun god Ra. In Ancient Greece and Rome, they were associated with the goddess of love, Aphrodite, and goose fat was used as an aphrodisiac. Since they were sacred birds, they were kept on Rome's Capitoline Hill, from where they raised the alarm when the Gauls attacked in 390 B.C.
Bar-headed Goose
The bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest.
The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus Anser by the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. A mid-sized goose, it measures 71–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length and weighs 1.87–3.2 kg (4.1–7.1 lb).
The summer habitat is high-altitude lakes where the bird grazes on short grass. The species has been reported as migrating south from Tibet, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia before crossing the Himalaya. The bird has come to the attention of medical science in recent years as having been an early victim of the H5N1 virus, HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza), at Qinghai. It suffers predation from crows, foxes, ravens, sea eagles, gulls and others. The total population may, however, be increasing, but it is complex to assess population trends, as this species occurs over more than 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi).
The bar-headed goose is one of the world's highest-flying birds, having been heard flying across Mount Makalu – the fifth highest mountain on earth at 8,481 m (27,825 ft) – and apparently seen over Mount Everest – 8,848 m (29,029 ft) – although this is a second-hand report with no verification. This demanding migration has long puzzled physiologists and naturalists: "there must be a good explanation for why the birds fly to the extreme altitudes... particularly since there are passes through the Himalaya at lower altitudes, and which are used by other migrating bird species." In fact, bar-headed geese had for a long time not been directly tracked (using GPS or satellite logging technology) flying higher than 6,540 metres (21,460 ft), and it is now believed that they do take the high passes through the mountains. The challenging northward migration from lowland India to breed in the summer on the Tibetan Plateau is undertaken in stages, with the flight across the Himalaya (from sea-level) being undertaken non-stop in as little as seven hours. Surprisingly, despite predictable tail winds that blow up the Himalayas (in the same direction of travel as the geese), bar-headed geese spurn these winds, waiting for them to die down overnight, when they then undertake the greatest rates of climbing flight ever recorded for a bird, and sustain these climbs rates for hours on end, according to research published in 2011.
The 2011 study found the geese peaking at an altitude of around 6,400 m (21,000 ft). In a 2012 study that tagged 91 geese and tracked their migration routes, it was determined that the geese spent 95% of their time below 5,784 m (18,976 ft), choosing to take a longer route through the Himalayas in order to utilize lower-altitude valleys and passes. Only 10 of the tagged geese were ever recorded above this altitude, and only one exceeded 6,500 m (21,300 ft), reaching 7,290 m (23,920 ft). All but one of these high-altitude flights were recorded at night, which along with the early morning, is the most common time of day for geese migration. The colder denser air during these times may be equivalent to an altitude hundreds of meters lower. It is suspected by the authors of these two studies that tales of the geese flying at 8,000 m (26,000 ft) are apocryphal. Bar headed geese have been observed flying at 23,000 ft.
The bar-headed goose migrates over the Himalayas to spend the winter in parts of South Asia (from Assam to as far south as Tamil Nadu. The modern winter habitat of the species is cultivated fields, where it feeds on barley, rice and wheat, and may damage crops. Birds from Kyrgyzstan have been noted to stopover in western Tibet and southern Tajikistan for 20 to 30 days before migrating farther south. Some birds may show high wintering site fidelity.
They nest mainly on the Tibetan Plateau. Intraspecific brood parasitism is noticed with lower rank females attempting to lay their eggs in the nests of higher ranking females.
The bar-headed goose is often kept in captivity, as it is considered beautiful and breeds readily. Records[clarification needed] in Great Britain are frequent, and almost certainly relate to escapes. However, the species has bred on several occasions in recent years and around five pairs were recorded in 2002, the most recent available report of the Rare Birds Breeding Panel. It is possible the species is becoming gradually more established in Great Britain. The bird is sociable and causes no problems for other birds. The feral population is believed to be declining in Great Britain due to over-hunting.
The bar-headed goose has been suggested as being the model for the Hamsa of Indian mythology. Another interpretation suggests that the bar-headed goose is likely to be the Kadamb in ancient and medieval Sanskrit literature, whereas Hamsa generally refers to the swan.
Average numbers:
- Bath - once a day;
- Change of clothes - 2-3 times
- Change of nappies - 5-6 times
- Meals - 5-6 times
- Sleeping - 15 hours (in 5-50 segments)
- Crying - 3 hours (20-30 times)
PIZZA: C ... Average
Average in the chain pizza category … in Guatemala.
There was some waivering on awarding it a C-, but the horrible reports were exaggerated and the surprise of it being good enough got the C.
Guatemalan pizza can be awful, puffy, marshmallow-consistency, tasteless crust with a spread of sauce and cheese so stingy it is like something Scrooge would be serving if he opened a pizza parlor. Then top it with bologna which is called ham.
So by comparison, the thin, crisp crust topped with decent cheese and sauce and actual pepperoni was ok … just ok. Still, Telepizza or Domino’s is much better. Anyone in Antigua should choose one of the many very good local pizzerias ... especially the pizza at Pangea which is a block away.
Twice the size of the average house cat, the ocelot is a sleek animal with a gorgeous dappled coat. These largely nocturnal cats use keen sight and hearing to hunt rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs. They also take to the trees and stalk monkeys or birds. Unlike many cats, they do not avoid water and can swim well.
Like other cats, ocelots are adapted for eating meat. They have pointed fangs used to deliver a killing bite, and sharp back teeth that can tear food like scissors. Ocelots do not have teeth appropriate for chewing, so they tear their food to pieces and swallow it whole. Their raspy tongues can clean a bone of every last tasty morsel.
Text taken from National Geographic website.
Image is low resolution, please contact me for high res version.
The gharial is characterised by its extremely long, thin jaws, regarded as an adaptation to a predominantly fish diet. Males reach up to 6 m (20 ft) with an average weight of around 160 kg (350 lb).[6]
It is dark or light olive above with dark cross-bands and speckling on the head, body, and tail. Dorsal surfaces become dark, almost gray-black, at about 20 years of age. Ventrals are yellowish-white. The neck is elongated and thick. The dorsals are more or less restricted to the median regions of the back. The fingers are extremely short and thickly emarginated with a web. Males develop a hollow nasal protuberance at sexual maturity.[7] This bulbous growth on the tip of their snout called ghara is used to modify and amplify “hisses” snorted through the underlying nostrils. The resultant sound can be heard for nearly a kilometer on a still day. The ghara renders gharials the only extant crocodilian with visible sexual dimorphism.[8] Although the function of the ghara is not well understood, it is apparently used as a visual sex indicator, as a sound resonator, or for bubbling or other associated sexual behaviours.[9]
The average size of mature gharials is 3.5 to 4.5 m (11 to 15 ft). The maximum recorded size is 6.25 m (20.5 ft). Hatchlings approximate 37 cm (15 in).[10] Young gharials can reach a length of 1 m (3.3 ft) in eighteen months.[3]
The average body weight ranges from 159 to 250 kg (350 to 550 lb). Males commonly attain a total length of 3 to 5 m (9.8 to 16 ft), while females are smaller and reach a body length of up to 2.7 to 3.75 m (8.9 to 12.3 ft).[11]
The elongated, narrow snout is lined by 110 sharp interdigitated teeth, and becomes proportionally shorter and thicker as an animal ages. The well-developed laterally flattened tail and webbed rear feet provide tremendous manoeuvrability in deepwater habitat. On land, however, an adult gharial can only push itself forward and slide on its belly. The laterally compressed tail serves both to propel the animal and as a base from which to strike at prey.[8] There are 27 to 29 upper and 25 or 26 lower teeth on each side. These teeth are not received into interdental pits; the first, second, and third mandibular teeth fit into notches in the upper jaw. The front teeth are the largest. The snout is narrow and long, with a dilation at the end and its nasal bones are comparatively short and are widely separated from the pre-maxillaries. The nasal opening of a gharial is smaller than the supra-temporal fossae. The lower anterior margin of orbit (jugal) is raised and its mandibular symphysis is extremely long, extending to the 23rd or 24th tooth. A dorsal shield is formed from four longitudinal series of juxtaposed, keeled, and bony scutes. The length of the snout is 3.5 (in adults) to 5.5 times (in young) the breadth of the snout's base. Nuchal and dorsal scutes form a single continuous shield composed of 21 or 22 transverse series. Gharials have an outer row of soft, smooth, or feebly keeled scutes in addition to the bony dorsal scutes. They also have two small post-occipital scutes. The outer toes are two-thirds webbed, while the middle toe is only one-third webbed. They have a strong crest on the outer edge of the forearm, leg, and foot. Typically, adult gharials have a dark olive colour tone while young ones are pale olive, with dark brown spots or cross-bands.[12]
The three largest examples reported were a 6.5 m (21 ft) gharial killed in the Gogra River of Faizabad in August 1920; a 6.3 m (21 ft) individual shot in the Cheko River of Jalpaiguri in 1934; and a giant of 7 m (23 ft), which was shot in the Kosi River of northern Bihar in January 1924. Though specimens of over 6 m (20 ft) were not uncommon in the past, such large individuals are not known to exist today.[13]
Further enhancing its swimming abilities, the body of the gharial is relatively cylindrical in shape, compared with the broader, more powerfully built body of a saltwater or Nile crocodile built for capturing various prey from the edges of waterways.