View allAll Photos Tagged monitoring
May 20, 2017
This water beetle skating around low on the water's surface reminded me of images I had seen of early iron-clad warships of the US Civil War, Monitor and Merrimack.
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2017
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Shot with a Canon 7D.
No use without permission.
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Monitor lizards have a massive body and powerful legs. Most species have strong claws on their feet, and all but the largest monitors can climb well. The tail is long and powerful, usually about twice as long as the body, and can be flailed as a potent weapon. Monitors grow throughout their life, so the oldest individuals in a population are also the largest ones.
Monitors have a long, specialized tongue with a bifurcated tip that is highly sensitive to smell and taste. The tongue is extended to pick up scent chemicals, and is then retracted into the mouth where the scents are analyzed using an organ on the roof of the mouth.
Monitor lizards grow replacement teeth in the gaps between their mature teeth. They have at least 29 vertebrae above their hips. Nine of these are neck vertebrae, supporting the unusually long neck of these lizards. Their powerful jaws are hinged in the middle, allowing them to swallow large prey. The head of monitors is tapered, and there are distinct ear holes.
Monitors are active predators, hunting during the day. They stalk a wide range of animals and eat carrion and eggs as well. Monitors ingest their prey whole if it is small enough, but they can also dismember large prey items so they can be swallowed.
Monitors, like all lizards, are poikilothermic or “cold-blooded.” They are most energetic after they have been heated by the morning sun, since their muscles work much more efficiently and easily when they are warm. Monitors can run quickly to chase down prey. When doing so they lift their body and tail clear off the ground.
Monitors also swim well, and may seek water as a refuge when threatened. They can walk underwater, and can use their tongue to smell underwater.
When threatened, monitors can be formidably aggressive animals. They can inflict painful bites and scratches, and the largest species are capable of killing a human. However, monitors can be readily tamed in captivity.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. press L to enlarge;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi L per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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the story of Pablo Pino told in the caption of one of my photos
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Last Monday, an alert call from the local emergency health service 118 came to the emergency room, it was necessary to be ready, one person had drowned, the news had come that the rescuers were practicing external heart massage, and if all had gone at best, they would arrive in the ambulance with blaring sirens; everything is already set up to intubate together with the emergency drugs, the defibrillator is perfectly in order, the infusion and the aspirator of organic fluids (certainly mixed with sea water) are ready, visors, gloves, protective coats, protective masks for covid-19 are always worn in the hospital (in cases like these there will certainly not be time to swab for covid-19, this will certainly be done, but in a second time): time passes, a second lasts an eternity, too much time passes ... that patient will never arrive. The Mediterranean Sea is a sea that apparently could seem devoid of pitfalls, yet every year there is always someone who drowns in it: there are various causes, one is hydrocution syncope (once understood as "congestion") caused from entering the cold water and after eating (even drinking hot and quickly a frozen drink can lead to the same fatal consequences), then there is the stormy winter sea and, on the Ionian coast, there are also violent currents (the strait of Messina involves a narrowing both horizontally and vertically of the passage of water from the Ionian sea to the Tyrrhenian sea, and the other way around, waters pushed by the gravitational attraction exerted by the moon), then there is the dangerous "step" immediately beyond the shore (two meters from the water's edge, it immediately plunges into water where it is deep and it's no possible to touch the bottom). In the sea of Letojanni a boy lost his life who, to define a hero, is an understatement, his name was Pablo Pino, on 19 February '72 he jumped into the stormy winter waters to save three American sisters sucked by the waves while they were playing on the shore , he saved two, the youngest of eight years could not save her, but he did not leave her, he kept her afloat close to him, until his strength gave out, both disappeared forever among the waves. (I'll put a link, I talked about it some time ago).
In this group of photographs, there is a photo in which you can see a huge cloud: in reality that is not a normal cloud heralding some summer storm coming (many swimmers thinking that a storm was coming quickly they collected towels and umbrellas, leaving the beach in a hurry), but it is a gigantic cloud laden with ... volcanic ash: the Etna volcano plays these tricks from time to time, it is not uncommon that in a good weather, suddenly you have to equip yourself with umbrellas to protect yourself from a dense rain of volcanic ash.
All the photos I present were taken on the beaches of Taormina and its surroundings (Sicily-Italy); I made photos related to "beach photography" (a genre similar to "street photography");
... I photographed young and old people ... with a great desire for the sea and a great desire to dive into the sea to swim (even if the sea water is still a little cold now ...); I made some photo-portraits of people I didn't know, I thank them very much for their sympathy and their availability; I tried to capture the essence of minimal photographic stories, collected walking along the beaches ... in search of fleeting moments ...
I used a particular photographic technique for some photographs at the time of shooting, which in addition to capturing the surrounding space, also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being moved because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused -focused-imprecise-undecided ... the Anglo-Saxon term that encloses this photographic genre with a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created subsequently, in retrospect, in the post-production
Lo scorso lunedì è giunta al pronto soccorso una chiamata di allerta da parte del servizio di emergenza sanitaria territoriale 118, occorreva tenersi pronti, una persona era annegata, era giunta la notizia che i soccorritori stavano praticando il massaggio cardiaco esterno, e se tutto fosse andato al meglio, sarebbero arrivati con l’ambulanza a sirene spiegate; tutto è già predisposto per intubare assieme ai farmaci dell’emergenza, il defibrillatore è perfettamente in ordine, la flebo e l’aspiratore dei fluidi organici (certamente misti all’acqua di mare) sono pronti, si indossano le visiere, i guanti, i camici protettivi, le mascherine protettive per il covid-19 sono sempre indossate in ospedale (in casi come questi i secondi contano quanto millenni, non ci sarà certo il tempo di fare il tampone per il covid-19, questo si farà certamente, ma in un secondo tempo): il tempo passa, un secondo dura un’eternità, passa troppo tempo….quel paziente non arriverà mai. Il mar Mediterraneo è un mare che in apparenza potrebbe sembrare privo di insidie, eppure ogni anno c’è sempre qualcuno che vi muore annegato: varie sono le cause, una è la sincope da idrocuzione (una volta era intesa come “congestione”) causata dall’entrare in acqua accaldati e dopo aver mangiato (anche bere accaldati e velocemente una bevanda gelata può portare alle stesse fatali conseguenze), c’è poi il mare invernale in tempesta e, sulla costa Ionica, ci sono anche violente correnti (lo stretto di Messina comporta un restringimento sia in senso orizzontale che in senso verticale del passaggio delle acque dal mare Ionio al mare Tirreno, acque sospinte dall’attrazione gravitazionale esercitata dalla luna), c’è poi lo “scalino” subito oltre il bagnasciuga (a due metri dal bagnasciuga si sprofonda immediatamente in acque dove non si tocca). Nel mare di Letojanni perse la vita un ragazzo che, definire eroe, è dire poco, il suo nome era Pablo Pino, il 19 febbraio del '72 si gettò nelle acque invernali in burrasca per salvare tre sorelline americane risucchiate dalle onde mentre giocavano sul bagnasciuga, ne salvò due, la più piccola di otto anni non riuscì a salvarla, ma non la lasciò, la tenne a galla stretta a se, fino a quando le forze non gli cedettero, scomparirono entrambi per sempre tra i flutti. (metterò un link, ne ho parlato tempo fa).
In questo gruppo di fotografie, c’è una foto nella quale si vede una enorme nuvola: in realtà quella non è una normale nuvola foriera di qualche buriana estiva in arrivo (tantissimi bagnanti pensando che stesse arrivando un temporale raccolsero velocemente asciugamani ed ombrelloni, lasciando la spiaggia in tutta fretta), ma è una gigantesca nuvola carica di …cenere vulcanica: il vulcano Etna gioca di tanto in tanto di questi scherzi, non è raro che in pieno bel tempo improvvisamente ci si debba munire di ombrelli per proteggersi da una fitta pioggia di cenere vulcanica.
Tutte le foto che presento sono state realizzate sulle spiagge di Taormina e dintorni (Sicilia-Italia); ho realizzato foto riconducibili alla “beach photography” (un genere affine alla “street photography”);
ho fotografato persone giovani e meno giovani…con tanta voglia di mare e tanta voglia di immergersi in mare per fare qualche nuotata (anche se l’acqua del mare adesso è ancora un po’ fredda…); ho realizzato dei foto-ritratti di persone che non conoscevo, le ringrazio veramente tanto per la loro simpatia e la loro disponibilità; ho cercato di cogliere al volo l’essenza di storie fotografiche minime, raccolte camminando per sulle spiagge... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci s-fuggenti ...
Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, che oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione.
Lizards in general look prehistoric to me, but the rock monitor looks like a smallish dinosaur. The reddish coloration on this lizard is from iron oxide found in the soil in Tsavo National Park.
The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely distributed over the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial, and its length can range from about 61 to 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Young monitors may be more arboreal, but adults mainly hunt on the ground, preying mainly on arthropods, but also taking small terrestrial vertebrates, ground birds, eggs and fish.
"Varanus bengalensis is mainly found in the lowland dry zone of the Sri Lanka, but reaches elevations of ca. 500m. It is one of the most widely distributed of the living varanids. It inhabit a large range of habitats ranging from arid desert fringes to rainforests, but is most common in farmlands (particularly the coconut plantations) and dry, open forests. Land monitors reach a maximum snout to vent length of about 140 cm in Sri Lanka and large specimens can weigh over 10 kg. Land monitors spend the nights in burrows, where their body temperature decreases. The following morning they must raise their body temperatures by basking before commencing activity, hence they are rarely active early in the morning. Younger Land monitors frequent the vicinity of rivers, and that adults are found in drier forest, scrublands and grasslands unlike the water monitors which do not usually venture far from the water. They are excellent climbers. Even large adults can ascend vertical tree trunks with ease, and they are reported to be agile enough to stalk and capture even roosting bats. Despite their large size, these lizards get most of their nutrition from tiny prey and feed mainly on beetles, grubs, orthopterans, scorpions, snails, ants and other small invertebrates, which are consumed in enormous numbers. Hence they are important biological controllers of agricultural pests."-http://www.srilankanreptiles.com/TetrapodReptiles/Varanidae.html
Although usually found close to water, these monitors are not water dependent and will actively forage for food on land, travelling large distances from water if need be. They are also capable of climbing trees but are usually found basking on riverbanks. The streamlined shape of the body is perfect for a semi-aquatic lifestyle and it uses its long, strong tail to propel itself through the water with ease. This individual was around 1.5m in length but can reach 2.5 m.
"Two Members Of Merseyside Police Equine Division Monitoring & Advising Members Of The Public Of The Governments Guidelines That Need To Be Taken During The Corona Virus 'Lock Down'..."*
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M-monitoring what?? I sometimes worry if they're planning against humanity,
Small screens are from here
This ridge forms a tail on the southeast end of Monitor Butte and looks away from the butte itself.
Seen during a hike from SR 313 in Sevenmile Canyon to Monitor and Merrimac buttes.
He looks a bit like a whale if you only see the head in profile but it's a monitor lizard, an African rock monitor. These animals are huge, males reach a length up to 2 meters (6ft 7in), and quite heavy too (5-8 kg / 7-18 lb). I enjoyed watching them because they seemed to react to my presence at their enclosure, most other reptiles simply don't care.
I add another capture in the comments. It shows the claws of the rock monitor which he uses to climb or to defend himself.
Both photos were taken through glass.
The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator), also called common water monitor, is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from Sri Lanka and coastal northeast India to Indochina, Malay Peninsula, and Indonesian islands where it lives close to water. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The Asian water monitor is also called Malayan water monitor, common water monitor, two-banded monitor, rice lizard, ring lizard, plain lizard and no-mark lizard, as well as simply water monitor. The local name in Sri Lanka is kabaragoya, denoting a subspecies with distinct morphological features. The Asian water monitor is widely distributed from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Chinese Guangxi and Hainan provinces, Malaysia, Singapore to the Sunda islands Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo and Sulawesi. It inhabits primarily lowland freshwater and brackish wetlands. It has been recorded up to an altitude of 1,800 m. Asian water monitors are semiaquatic and opportunistic; they inhabit a variety of natural habitats though predominantly this species resides in primary forests and mangrove swamps. It has been noted that these monitors are not deterred from living in areas of human disturbance. In fact, they have been known to adapt and thrive in agricultural areas as well as cities with canal systems (such as in Sri Lanka, where they are not hunted or persecuted by humans). This species does not thrive in habitats with extensive loss of natural vegetation and aquatic resources. Habitats that are considered to be most important to this species are mangrove vegetation, swamps, wetlands, and altitudes below 1000 meters. 16135