View allAll Photos Tagged encroachment
This service station or repair shop has obviously been closed for a long time. I think I can identify the name of this garage as being Swinn’s or Shwinn’s and the word on the bottom right is Service. I can’t make out the word on the bottom left. It seems to end in an H or an E. All the words that would normally go with a garage, like ‘Repair,’ ‘Automotive‘ or ‘Tire’ don’t really fit. I could use some help on this one. I tried to look it up online, but I could find nothing on this old building or business.
It is located in Northumberland County, Virginia.
Update: Thank you to Ross Walker www.flickr.com/photos/ross_v_walker/ for finding a picture of Swann’s Motor Service in Heathsville, Virginia taken in 2014 before the encroachment of all the vines and trees. www.facebook.com/AbandonedNNK/photos/pcb.312068688942716/...
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Juvenile)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
I am sorry, but there doesn’t seem to be a beaver in this photo. I wanted to call it ‘Beaver ... Damn’ but I thought it might upset people to think that I know that word.
I waited several minutes for one to appear, but then I got bored. Besides, the ‘Beaver Authorities’ may have relocated the little fellas, which they tend to do when their dam causes the water to encroach on the road. (There is nothing worse than encroachment apparently. We can all be plagued with tics and chiggers and nothing is done. Just let a beaver show up and immediately the authorities are taking care of the problem).
The other explanation, which I am rejecting out of hand, is that this is just a pile of dead detritus from the winter months. This pond has no current which would float the logs (well small logs ... okay sticks) into place. Besides, it looks too well planned to be an accident.
This was taken on 21 December. I wandered here after the Cathedral and the weather forecast looked good for an excellent blue hour. Bristol's name is derived from the Saxon 'Brigstowe' or 'place of the bridge', but it is unclear when the first bridge over the Avon was built. The first stone bridge was built in this location in the 13th century, and houses with shopfronts were built on it to pay for its maintenance.
In the 1760s a bill to replace the bridge was carried through parliament by the Bristol MP Sir Jarrit Smyth.By the early 18th century, increase in traffic and the encroachment of shops on the roadway made the bridge fatally dangerous for many pedestrians. Thomas Paty completed the new bridge between 1763 and 1768. Resentment at the tolls exacted to cross the new bridge occasioned the Bristol Bridge Riot of 1793. The toll houses were turned into shops before they were removed. In the 19th century.
The picture was taken with a tripod with a Sony A550 with a Sigma 10-20mm lens at 18mm. I took 1 shot. In Photoshop I used Topaz Clarity plugin for more detail.
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The back 40 is growing a new crop these days on this old farmstead along Route 23 south of DeKalb,IL.This is becoming a popular scene in parts of the Midwest,but in this windfarm they are in rows,which is almost a little scary...
Happy Windmill Wednesday all!
Continuing my farm series taken during late summer through fall harvest...with development and other encroachment on lands previously used for farming, all spaces and open areas are increasingly used for production in local farms. Land cost in congested living areas are at a premium and small farms find trouble competing. Some studies have theorized small farms may disappear from all congested living areas in the United States as cost to produce for agriculture is hard to compare with the cost for land use in doing so.
Vine encroachment alert. I decided I should get a picture of this fence while there is still some fence visible. The vines are not content with just covering the tree. Obviously they are interested in world domination. HFF
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Kenya
East Africa
The plains zebra (Equus quagga, formerly Equus burchellii), also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra remains common in game reserves, but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.
The striping pattern is unique among ungulates in the region, and its functions are disputed. Suggested functions include crypsis, forms of motion camouflage, social signaling and recognition, and discouraging biting flies.
The plains zebra's range is fragmented, but spans much of southern and eastern Africa south of the Sahara. Its habitat is generally but not exclusively treeless grasslands and savanna woodlands, both tropical and temperate. They generally avoid desert, dense rainforest and permanent wetlands, and rarely stray more than 30 kilometers from a water source.
The plains zebra is a highly social species, forming harems with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring; there are also bachelor groups. Groups may come together to form herds. The animals keep watch for predators rather than attempting to hide; they bark or snort when they see a predator, and the harem stallion attacks predators such as dogs, hyenas and leopards to defend his harem. The species population is stable and not endangered. – Wikipedia
往四草鹽田文化村的路邊
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sihcao_Wetlands
The Sihcao Wetlands (四草) are a protected ecological environment in Tainan County, Taiwan. They were set aside in 1994 by the Tainan City government and consist of approxiamtely 515 hectars.[1]
The protected area consists of mangrove swamps, salt marshes, rivers, canals and drainage ditches. It is located in Tainan City's Annan District, and consists of the area bounded by the southeastern side of the Luermen River, the southwestern side of Xi-Bin Road, and the northern side of the Yan-Shui River.[1]
In November 2004, the Sihcao Wildlife Refuge(四草野生動物保護區) was created to further protect the area, especially from possible encroachment from the nearby Tainan Technology Industrial Park.[2]
On 10 December 2007, the Sihcao Wetland, along with the Zengwun Estuary Wetland (曾文溪口濕地) were listed as international wetlands under the Ramsar Convention.[2]
四草也是鄭成功登陸臺灣之後跟荷蘭人的第一戰場。目前四草大眾廟後方保有鄭荷戰爭骨骸。四草正好位在台江，因此境內有豐富生態，擁有紅樹林所形成綠色隧道（闢有觀光竹筏航線）、及溼地景觀，是台灣旅遊景點。2009年成立台江國家公園，亦一併將四草劃入。
Serengeti National Park
Tanzania
East Africa
The plains zebra (Equus quagga), also known as the common zebra, or locally as the "quagga" is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa.
The plains zebra remains common in game reserves, but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.
The plains zebra is a highly social species, forming harems with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring; there are also bachelor groups. Groups may come together to form herds. The animals keep watch for predators rather than attempting to hide; they bark or snort when they see a predator, and the harem stallion attacks predators to defend his harem.\
The species population is stable and not endangered, though some populations such as in Tanzania have declined sharply. – Wikipedia
is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The species is classified as Vulnerable by IUCN. Threats include loss of habitat, human encroachment, collisions with pylons (at some point in the early 1980s, powerlines were responsible for 80% of deaths among birds in their first year of life) and illegal poisoning.
The scarlet ibis inhabits tropical South America and islands of the Caribbean. The highest concentrations are found in the Llanos region between western Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The fertile and remote tropical grassland plain of the Llanos provides a safe haven far from human encroachment.
In form it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it unmistakable. It is one of the two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. This medium-sized wader is a hardy, numerous, and prolific bird, and it has protected status around the world.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_ibis
Photo taken at the AVIARIO NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA, Barú, Cartagena, Colombia.
Colombia is the number one country in the world to have the largest varieties of birds, having about 1,876 species and almost 70 kinds that belong specially to Colombia. AVIARIO NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA has done an amazing job to show that. You see some of birds free and others in beautiful habitats. Peacocks, Toucans, Pink Flamingos, Crane Corona, Guacamayas, Pelicanos, Ducks, all types of little colorful birds Colombia is most famous for it, every imaginable birds are here.
This place is so well design, and so well taking care of, that you think some times you are in paradise!
www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g1507145-d982271...
Brown Swiss at evening feeding time from the Vanderham Dairy before being forced to move because of encroachment of housing and industrial parks in Jurupa Valley, CA.
Jethro Tull - Farm on the Freeway
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Juvenile)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Serengeti National Park
Tanzania
East Africa
The plains zebra (Equus quagga), also known as the common zebra, or locally as the "quagga" is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa.
The plains zebra remains common in game reserves but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.
The plains zebra is a highly social species, forming harems with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring; there are also bachelor groups. Groups may come together to form herds. The animals keep watch for predators rather than attempting to hide; they bark or snort when they see a predator, and the harem stallion attacks predators to defend his harem. The species population is stable and not endangered, though some populations such as in Tanzania have declined sharply. – Wikipedia
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Kenya
East Africa
Photographed on the way to the airport taking us from the Lewa Wildlife conservancy to the Masai Mara National Reserve in the early morning.
On August 26th, our awareness is called to focus on World Painted Dog Day. These majestic creatures are also known as African wild dogs or African hunting dogs, which are wild canines and natives of sub-Saharan Africa. Their prey are gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, warthogs, and other small animals. Painted dogs are extremely vulnerable to human encroachment and agricultural expansion, which has been destroying their habitats.
“The threats are many,” Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) Executive Director Peter Blinston pinpointed. “Loss of quality habitat and poaching represent the biggest problems. Unless we take action to address these threats, painted dogs will become extinct in our lifetime.”
It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990.
The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is a mammal native only to Africa. It is a member of the canidae family which also includes dogs, coyotes, dingos, jackals and wolves. The African Wild Dog is known by other names such as the Painted Hunting Dog, African Hunting Dog, Cape Hunting Dog and Painted Wolf. In Swahili it is referred to as ‘Mbwa mwilu’.
I thought I'd jump back to something more recent with todays picture! Well not that recent but taken back in the summer with a digital camera at least. This was one of the nicest sunrise mornings I got in Orkney.... however the location I was in did not overly lend itself to sunrises and I prob should have gone to the ring of Brodgar... however I was there and the sun was rising which was rare to see this summer whilst I was on Orkney as I got a lot of overcast glum days... so you make the best of it!
This was a real hard location to get a composition where the broch stood out from the background. Another few steps to the right led to the encroachment of a horrid wee brick tickets/ shop building.
The Broch of Gurness dates back to the Iron Age which housed a substantial community between 500 to 200BC. It would have originally been about 10m high. The tower itself was inhabited by the principal family of the settlement, however in times of attack the surrounding village would also be welcomed in for protection.
Serengeti National Park
Tanzania
East Africa
Wildebeest can be seen behind the zebra.
The plains zebra (Equus quagga), also known as the common zebra, or locally as the "quagga" is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra remains common in game reserves, but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.
The plains zebra is a highly social species, forming harems with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring; there are also bachelor groups. Groups may come together to form herds. The animals keep watch for predators rather than attempting to hide; they bark or snort when they see a predator, and the harem stallion attacks predators to defend his harem. The species population is stable and not endangered, though some populations such as in Tanzania have declined sharply. – Wikipedia
,
The flowers of the Baobab tree are white and changes to yellow as they aged.
This unusual tree is endemic to the island of Madagascar, where it is threatened by the encroachment of agricultural land.
There are eight species of baobabs, six of which are in Madagascar.
The most common species is the Adanosia Grandidieri. They are deciduous and loses their leaves in Autumn.
No need to comment.
88003 'Genesis' sweeps through Lowgill at the head of 4M82 16.11 Mossend to Daventry. This shot is only 'on' for a few weeks a year due to shadow encroachment, as can been seen. This was in fact a test shot to see if it was possible to shoot the new 4M80 working which appears shortly afterwards. 25/7/2021
Like much of England, the site of the New Forest was once deciduous woodland, recolonised by birch and eventually beech and oak after the withdrawal of the ice sheets starting around 12,000 years ago. Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the Bronze Age onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing land for horses.
There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle Iron Age around 250–100 BC, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest.
There are around 250 round barrows within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monuments. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known inhumation burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known Hallstatt culture burial in Britain; however, the acidity of the soil means that bone very rarely survives.
Following Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, according to Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), the area became the site of the Jutish kingdom of Ytene; this name was the genitive plural of Yt meaning "Jute", i.e. "of the Jutes". The Jutes were one of the early Anglo-Saxon tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. The word ytene (or ettin) is also found locally as a synonym for giant, and features heavily in local folklore.
Following the Norman Conquest, the New Forest was proclaimed a royal forest, in about 1079, by William the Conqueror. It was used for royal hunts, mainly of deer. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and isolated farmsteads; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area.
The New Forest was first recorded as Nova Foresta in Domesday Book in 1086, where a section devoted to it is interpolated between lands of the king's thegns and the town of Southampton; it is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth-century chroniclers alleged that William had created the forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the area is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited.
Two of William's sons died in the forest: Prince Richard sometime between 1069 and 1075, and King William II (William Rufus) in 1100. Local folklore asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; 17th-century writer Richard Blome provides exquisite detail:
In this County [Hantshire] is New-Forest, formerly called Ytene, being about 30 miles in compass; in which said tract William the Conqueror (for the making of the said Forest a harbour for Wild-beasts for his Game) caused 36 Parish Churches, with all the Houses thereto belonging, to be pulled down, and the poor Inhabitants left succourless of house or home. But this wicked act did not long go unpunished, for his Sons felt the smart thereof; Richard being blasted with a pestilent Air; Rufus shot through with an Arrow; and Henry his Grand-child, by Robert his eldest son, as he pursued his Game, was hanged among the boughs, and so dyed. This Forest at present affordeth great variety of Game, where his Majesty oft-times withdraws himself for his divertisement.
The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the Rufus Stone. John White, Bishop of Winchester, said of the forest:
From God and Saint King Rufus did Churches take, From Citizens town-court, and mercate place, From Farmer lands: New Forrest for to make, In Beaulew tract, where whiles the King in chase Pursues the hart, just vengeance comes apace, And King pursues. Tirrell him seing not, Unwares him flew with dint of arrow shot.
The common rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the Great Storm of 1703, about 4000 oak trees were lost.
The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under the New Forest Act 1877, which confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and entrenched that the total of enclosures was henceforth not to exceed 65 km2 (25 sq mi) at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).
As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown. The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park.
Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by conifers, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland. Rhododendron remains a problem.
During the Second World War, an area of the forest, Ashley Range, was used as a bombing range. During 1941-1945, the Beaulieu, Hampshire Estate of Lord Montagu in the New Forest was the site of group B finishing schools for agents[18] operated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) between 1941 and 1945. (One of the trainers was Kim Philby who was later found to be part of a spy ring passing information to the Soviets.) In 2005, a special exhibition was mounted at the Estate, with a video showing photographs from that era as well as voice recordings of former SOE trainers and agents.
Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 1999, and it became a National Park in 2005.
For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest and www.thenewforest.co.uk/
The Scottish Highlanders (Dutch: Schotse Hooglanders) in the North Holland Dune Reserve look very cuddly with their long reddish-brown hair, which she also a bit like naughty boys have hung before their eyes. But it also just stay pretty big wild animals, which are not meant to stroke.
To counter the encroachment of the original, open dunes are Highland cattle, goats and sheep herds deployed in the area.
This is what we saw during our Cycling holiday in Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, where we have cycled through the beautiful landscape.
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www.flickr.com/photos/184806716@N02/52850522713/in/pool-i...
COMMON NAME: Bengal Tiger
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Panthera tigris tigris
TYPE: Mammals
DIET: Carnivore
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 8 to 10 years
SIZE: Head and body: 5 to 6 feet; tail: 2 to 3 feet
WEIGHT: 240 to 500 pounds
In the tall grass and dense jungle,
Lurks the Royal Bengal Tiger so agile,
With fur as bright as the setting sun,
And stripes as black as a night begun.
Their powerful legs and jaws so strong,
They hunt their prey all day long,
Deer, pigs, and buffalo too,
Their diet is one of a fierce carnivore's brew.
The pattern of their stripes is unique,
Helping them blend in, without a peek,
Into the forest they disappear,
Without a trace, and without a fear.
But alas, their future is in doubt,
For their habitat is dwindling, no doubt,
Human encroachment and poaching too,
Are the threats that make them few.
Conservation efforts are underway,
To protect the Royal Bengal Tiger each day,
Protected areas and anti-poaching measures,
Help ensure these tigers' survival pleasures.
So let us strive to protect and conserve,
This beautiful beast we truly deserve,
The Royal Bengal Tiger, may it thrive,
And continue to inspire us all to survive.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusually for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
www.flickr.com/photos/184806716@N02/52899336625/in/pool-i...
The Royal Bengal Tiger, also known as the Indian Tiger, is one of the most majestic and charismatic big cats on the planet. These large felines are native to the Indian subcontinent and are the most numerous tiger subspecies, with an estimated population of around 2,500 individuals.
The Royal Bengal Tiger is a carnivorous predator, feeding mainly on deer, wild pigs, and buffalo. They are also known to hunt other animals such as monkeys, birds, and reptiles. Their strong jaws and sharp teeth, combined with their powerful legs and muscular body, make them incredibly efficient hunters.
These tigers are famous for their distinctive orange fur with black stripes. The pattern of the stripes is unique to each individual, and scientists can use these stripes to identify individual tigers. Their fur also helps them blend into their surroundings, providing camouflage in the tall grasses and forests where they live.
Unfortunately, the Royal Bengal Tiger is also one of the most endangered big cats in the world, with habitat loss and poaching being the main threats to their survival. Their habitat is being destroyed at an alarming rate due to human encroachment, and poaching for their bones, skin, and other body parts is a major issue.
Conservation efforts are underway to protect the Royal Bengal Tiger, including the establishment of protected areas and the implementation of anti-poaching measures. These efforts have helped stabilize some populations, but more work is needed to ensure the long-term survival of this magnificent animal.
In conclusion, the Royal Bengal Tiger is a fascinating and beautiful animal, but sadly, it is also endangered. We must continue to work towards protecting and conserving this species to ensure that future generations can admire and appreciate these majestic creatures in the wild.
Masai Mara Game Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Four zebras out on the savannah, two are behind the ones in front. Widebeest in the background.
The plains zebra (Equus quagga), also known as the common zebra, or locally as the "quagga" is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa.
The plains zebra remains common in game reserves, but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.
The plains zebra is a highly social species, forming harems with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring; there are also bachelor groups. Groups may come together to form herds. The animals keep watch for predators rather than attempting to hide; they bark or snort when they see a predator, and the harem stallion attacks predators to defend his harem.
The species population is stable and not endangered, though some populations such as in Tanzania have declined sharply. – Wikipedia
Built on the eastern most point of Long Island in 1796, it is the fourth-oldest lighthouse in the United States. The tower was built on a bluff 300 feet from the edge of the water, but due to erosion it is now 100 feet from the Atlantic. Stone barricades have been added in hopes of stopping the ocean's further encroachment.
Winter taking over the sloughs and wetlands, the first significant snowfall in the eastern Interior of Alaska. Mentasta Mountains barely visible through the falling snow.
In full living color.
Moremi Game Reserve
Okavango Delta
Botswana
Southern Africa
The common tsessebe or sassaby (Damaliscus lunatus lunatus) is one of five subspecies of African antelope Damaliscus lunatus of the genus Damaliscus and subfamily Alcelaphinae in the family Bovidae. It is most closely related to the topi, korrigum, coastal topi and tiang (all subspecies of Damaliscus lunatus), and the bangweulu tsessebe and bontebok in the same genus. Tsessebe are found primarily in Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and South Africa. Tsessebe are the fastest antelope in Africa and can run at speeds over 90 km/h.
Adult tsessebe are 150 to 230 cm in length. They are quite large animals, with males weighing 137 kg and females weighing 120 kg, on average. Their horns range from 37 cm for females to 40 cm for males. For males, horn size plays an important role in territory defense and mate attraction, although horn size is not positively correlated with territorial factors of mate selection. In the wild, tsessebe usually live a maximum of 15 years.
Tsessebe are primarily grazing herbivores in grasslands, open plains, and lightly wooded savannas, but they are also found in rolling uplands. The periods before and after feeding are spent resting and digesting or watering during dry seasons. Tsessebe can travel up to 5 km to reach a viable water source. To avoid encounters with territorial males or females, tsessebe usually travel along territorial borders, though it leaves them open to attacks by lions and leopards.
The IUCN Species Survival Commission observed a general population decline that would result in the population becoming vulnerable to extinction by the year 2025. Tsessebe populations once were present in much greater numbers, but populations declined due to habitat destruction, with bush encroachment playing a primary role. - Wikipedia.
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Male and Juveniles)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Back to Orkney and the Brock of Gurness. This was the only sunrise I really got during my time on Orkney as most days started off grey. This was a real hard location to get a composition where the broch stood out from the background. I hated the encroachment of the horrid wee brick tickets/ shop building but I liked the lead in lines created from this location. I thought at the time id clone it out... but I decided to leave it in.
The Broch of Gurness dates back to the Iron Age which housed a substantial community between 500 to 200BC. It would have originally been about 10m high. The tower itself was inhabited by the principal family of the settlement, however in times of attack the surrounding village would also be welcomed in for protection.
Serengeti national Park
Tanzania
East Africa
This zebra was photographed in Tanzania in the Serengeti National Park during the dry season on the plains. This makes for a not so colorful background when everything is dried up.
The plains zebra (Equus quagga), also known as the common zebra, or locally as the "quagga" is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra remains common in game reserves but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.
The plains zebra is a highly social species, forming harems with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring; there are also bachelor groups. Groups may come together to form herds. The animals keep watch for predators rather than attempting to hide; they bark or snort when they see a predator, and the harem stallion attacks predators to defend his harem. The species population is stable and not endangered, though some populations such as in Tanzania have declined sharply. - Wikipedia
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Juvenile)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (m)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (m)
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The species is classified as Vulnerable by IUCN. Threats include loss of habitat, human encroachment, collisions with pylons (at some point in the early 1980s, powerlines were responsible for 80% of deaths among birds in their first year of life) and illegal poisoning.
Like much of England, the site of the New Forest was once deciduous woodland, recolonised by birch and eventually beech and oak after the withdrawal of the ice sheets starting around 12,000 years ago. Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the Bronze Age onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing land for horses.
There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle Iron Age around 250–100 BC, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest.
There are around 250 round barrows within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monuments. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known inhumation burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known Hallstatt culture burial in Britain; however, the acidity of the soil means that bone very rarely survives.
Following Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, according to Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), the area became the site of the Jutish kingdom of Ytene; this name was the genitive plural of Yt meaning "Jute", i.e. "of the Jutes". The Jutes were one of the early Anglo-Saxon tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. The word ytene (or ettin) is also found locally as a synonym for giant, and features heavily in local folklore.
Following the Norman Conquest, the New Forest was proclaimed a royal forest, in about 1079, by William the Conqueror. It was used for royal hunts, mainly of deer. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and isolated farmsteads; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area.
The New Forest was first recorded as Nova Foresta in Domesday Book in 1086, where a section devoted to it is interpolated between lands of the king's thegns and the town of Southampton; it is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth-century chroniclers alleged that William had created the forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the area is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited.
Two of William's sons died in the forest: Prince Richard sometime between 1069 and 1075, and King William II (William Rufus) in 1100. Local folklore asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; 17th-century writer Richard Blome provides exquisite detail:
In this County [Hantshire] is New-Forest, formerly called Ytene, being about 30 miles in compass; in which said tract William the Conqueror (for the making of the said Forest a harbour for Wild-beasts for his Game) caused 36 Parish Churches, with all the Houses thereto belonging, to be pulled down, and the poor Inhabitants left succourless of house or home. But this wicked act did not long go unpunished, for his Sons felt the smart thereof; Richard being blasted with a pestilent Air; Rufus shot through with an Arrow; and Henry his Grand-child, by Robert his eldest son, as he pursued his Game, was hanged among the boughs, and so dyed. This Forest at present affordeth great variety of Game, where his Majesty oft-times withdraws himself for his divertisement.
The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the Rufus Stone. John White, Bishop of Winchester, said of the forest:
From God and Saint King Rufus did Churches take, From Citizens town-court, and mercate place, From Farmer lands: New Forrest for to make, In Beaulew tract, where whiles the King in chase Pursues the hart, just vengeance comes apace, And King pursues. Tirrell him seing not, Unwares him flew with dint of arrow shot.
The common rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the Great Storm of 1703, about 4000 oak trees were lost.
The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under the New Forest Act 1877, which confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and entrenched that the total of enclosures was henceforth not to exceed 65 km2 (25 sq mi) at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).
As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown. The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park.
Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by conifers, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland. Rhododendron remains a problem.
During the Second World War, an area of the forest, Ashley Range, was used as a bombing range. During 1941-1945, the Beaulieu, Hampshire Estate of Lord Montagu in the New Forest was the site of group B finishing schools for agents[18] operated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) between 1941 and 1945. (One of the trainers was Kim Philby who was later found to be part of a spy ring passing information to the Soviets.) In 2005, a special exhibition was mounted at the Estate, with a video showing photographs from that era as well as voice recordings of former SOE trainers and agents.
Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 1999, and it became a National Park in 2005.
For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest and www.thenewforest.co.uk/
High up on Penang Hill, amidst the lush greenery of Malaysia, I stumbled upon a scene straight out of a wildlife documentary. It was the mating season for the dusky langurs—these adorable, shy monkeys often called "dusky monkeys". A particular pair had chosen an unlikely romantic spot: a tangle of electric cables.
As I climbed a nearby slope to get eye-level with these enchanting creatures, I noticed the female langur pause her playful antics. Her wide, soulful eyes fixed on a stray dog barking in the distance, as if pondering the noisy interruption. In that fleeting moment, I captured her gaze—curiosity, caution, and undeniable charm rolled into one frame.
Nature often surprises us with such intimate glimpses into the lives of its inhabitants, even in the most unexpected places. This encounter reminded me of the delicate balance between wildlife and human encroachment, as these langurs navigate their changing world with resilience and grace.