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TAXONOMY
Class: Elasmobranchii (Sharks and rays),
Order: Rajiformes (Skates and rays)
Family: Potamotrygonidae (River stingrays)
Genus/species: Potamotrygon sp.
DISTRIBUTION: Collected in the Rio Tapajos River, Brazil.
HABITAT: The shallows of major rivers and slow-moving tributaries with substrates of mud or sand. Lost ability to retain urea decreasing osmolarity for fresh water unlike salt water relatives.
APPEARANCE: Patterning is highly variable, with no two examples appearing the same. Some have golden markings, while others are almost white. Similarly, the amount of darker pigmentation can also vary in both shade and coverage.
REMARKS: Consumed by native tribes of the Amazon.
Potamotrygon sp. Have a venomous barb which can cause a serious and painful wound usually in the lower leg. (Walking with a shuffling gate in water will encourage the ray to move out of the way.) In severe wounds symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, fainting, salivation, muscle cramps, diarrhea, seizures, shock and rarely death. Initial treatment uses hot water to help inactivate the venom.
*Not currently on exhibit 10-1-14, 3-2-18
The white tiger is a pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger, which is reported in the wild from time to time in States of India like Assam, Bengal, Bihar and especially in the former State of Rewa.
The New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) is the most endangered sealion in the world.
It is distinguished from other New Zealand otariids by their blunt nose and short whiskers. They have sexual dimorphism, ie males and females are physically different.
Adult females (rāpoko):
length 180–200 cm
weight 85–160 kg
lighter in colour, predominantly creamy grey with darker pigmentation around their flippers.
The age of maturity for females is 3–4 years and the gestation period around 10 months. The average estimated reproductive rate of adult female New Zealand sea lions is 65% per year.
Adult males (whakahao):
length 240–350 cm
weight 320–450 kg
brown to black in colour with well-developed manes reaching to the shoulders.
Males are sexually mature when 5 years old, but they can't sire their first pup until they are strong enough to hold their own territory, at about 8-9 years old.
Given that I was in Louisville for the NBDCC 2025 (National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention), I decided (after hemming and hawing) to drive the hour and forty-five minutes to Bowling Green to try to find the white squirrels on campus. I was told they are all over, but you have decent odds trying at the WKU campus. So off I went. After arriving early (benefiting from the time change to Central), I walked around and noticed a number of Eastern Grey Squirrels on campus, but for the first hour, any white ones were elusive. Then by the Housing and Residence Life building (and the Centennial Mall), I noticed a bright white object moving. I found one! This little guy (little chance to mistake that) was probably the only one I saw. I moved around and did not find any others - but got some great pictures of this little charmer.
FWIW, the white squirrels in Bowling Green, Kentucky are leucistic. A leucistic squirrel has a condition that leads to a partial loss of pigmentation. The distinction between leucistic squirrels and albino squirrels is typically in the eyes. If they have dark eyes and are white or mostly white or off-white, they have leucism. A great squirrel tourism campus indeed! Taken on Friday June 27th, 2025 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The Lumixyl brightening system is clinically proven to help treat hyperpigmentation effectively and safely. Lumixyl has been specially developed to treat age spots and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Unlike many other skin brightening treatments Lumixyl does not kill skin cells but works by regulating the over production of melanin. Its system is easy and safe to use on most skin types and will not irritate the skin. Each Lumixyl system will work in 8 weeks and should be applied daily. Lumixyl is as effective as Hydroquinone without the negative side effects associated with Hydroquinine and can be used long term. Lumixyl products are proven to be powerful but gentle on skin and are are ideal for all skin types. The Lumixyl Topical Brightening System is made up of a simple four step process which builds on four products: Active-Prep Cleanser, Topical Brightening Creme, GlycoPeel 20 Rapid Exfoliating Lotion, and Moisture-Lock Sunscreen SPF 30. Active-Prep Cleanser - Formulated with anti-oxidant power to prepare the skin for optimal brightening. Topical Brightening Creme - Contains a unique active ingredient specially designed for safe and effective skin brightening that diminishes the appearance of hyperpigmentation without killing skin cells. GlycoPeel 20 Rapid Exfoliation Lotion - Exfoliates dead layers of skin for faster cell turnover and stimulates healthier tissue repair for better skin texture. MoistureLock Sunscreen SPF 30 - The only sunscreen with powerful Lumiblock dual protection technology. Protects your skin without any sunscreen residue.
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Iceland Gull 4th cycle (5CY), February 03 2020, Julianadorp, the Netherlands.
5CY bird with brown immature pattern on the wing. Returning bird for the 4th winter.
Over the last years, bird was labeled 'ordinary Iceland Gull', but this winter it has returned with faint subterminal markings, most obvious on P9 but also subterminal markings on P10, P8 & P7. On P9 suggesting some kind of 'ghost
Pictures winter 2016-2017 (1st winter):
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/135194269
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/135029883
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/135584352
winter 2017-2018 (2nd winter):
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/148181601 already with obvious pale iris
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/148166000
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/147949556
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/147769764
winter 2018-2019 (3rd winter):
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/169413907 april
winter 2019-2020 (4th winter):
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/184883449
waarneming.nl/foto/view/24730122
waarneming.nl/foto/view/24691913
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/184927923
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/184943837
waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/184882193
No certainty whether the pattern will still be visible next year when it will be fully adult, or if these markings will disappear completely leaving all-white primary tips. Already it has a very pale staring eye from the 2nd winter (Febr 2018) onwards. Next year this bird may prove to be kumlieni (depends on the definition of kumlieni of course): if the faded brown pattern turns into "some shade of grey" (not necessarily charcoal black, any shade of grey will do) along the outerweb of P9 and P8, plus some sub-terminal markings returning on the outer primaries, that should be 'beyond the limits for glaucoides' - and from a reverse point of view, in Canada, where glaucoides is a rarity, birds with pigmented primaries are rejected as glaucoides, and automatically (and safely) placed within the kumlieni range. From a European view, the staring yellow iris and pale silvery grey upperparts have a better match in glaucoides than they have in kumlieni. Also, the plumage in previous years didn't hint to anything different than glaucoides.
In Iceland, adult Iceland Gulls with the slightest primary pigmentation along the shaft and/or subterminal patterns are considered kumlieni, according to Stefán Ragnarsson, who adopts the simplest approach. "If I would call then glaucoides, then the line between kumlieni and glaucoides becomes even blurrier".
Let's wait another year...
Permanent makeup is an ideal corrective strategy that utilizes miniature pigmentation (inking) to improve the tone and outline of your facial highlights. Permanent makeups give sharpness and shading to eyebrows, eyelids and lips.
"The narwhal was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae. This is based on the Old Norse word nár, meaning "corpse", in reference to the animal's greyish, mottled pigmentation, like that of a drowned sailor. The scientific name, Monodon monoceros, is derived from Greek: "one-tooth one-horn"."
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The Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) is an arboreal lizard found primarily in the southeastern United States and some Caribbean islands. Common synonyms include the green anole, American anole and red-throated anole. It is sometimes referred to as the American chameleon due to its color-changing abilities; however, many lizards are capable of this, and the Anole is not a true chameleon.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Distribution
* 2 Behavior
* 3 Reproduction
* 4 Coloration and color morphs
* 5 Genomics
* 6 Brown anole
* 7 Gallery
* 8 References
* 9 External links
[edit] Distribution
Green anole eating a moth
This species is native to North America, where it is found mainly in the southeastern parts of the continent. Anoles are most abundant on the Atlantic Coastal Plains in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, and the Gulf Coastal Plain in Texas. The species has been introduced into Hawaii and the Ogasawara Islands.
[edit] Behavior
Anole licking
Anoles are often territorial. In fact some have even been witnessed fighting their own reflection in mirrored glass. Stress in an anole can be identified by several symptoms. These symptoms include a constant shade of brown and a persistent black semicircle behind their eyes and chronic lethargy. In a group of one male and several females some aggressive chasing may occur, but the encounters are short lived and less violent than between males.
Like many lizards, anoles display autotomy of the tail to escape predation.[citation needed]
Anoles are curious creatures. A healthy lizard usually has a good awareness of its surroundings. The males are very territorial and will fight other males to defend its territory. Many times the other male will be an extremely invasive Cuban Brown anole.
[edit] Reproduction
Juvenile Female Anole
The typical breeding season for green anoles starts from as early as April and ends to as late as August and lasts even occasionally into September. It is during this time that the most brilliant displays of these creatures can be seen, as the males must court the females with their elaborate displays of extending their brightly colored dewlaps while bobbing up and down, almost doing a dance for her while she runs in temptation from the male. The pursuit will continue until the two successfully mate. Usually, when the female is ready to mate, she may let the male simply "catch" her and he will thus grasp a hold of a fold of her skin above her neck area, or she will bow her head before him and simply "let" him take his grasp. At this point, the male will position his tail underneath the female's near her vent and the mating ritual will take place.
Anoles mating
Male Anole with extended dewlap; used to court females.
After a 2–4 week span following mating, the female will lay her first clutch of eggs, usually ranging from 1–2 in the first clutch. She will continue to lay eggs during the season until a total of 10 or so eggs have been produced. When it comes time for her to lay her eggs, she will bury them in the soft soils or compost nearby, and after that she no longer takes any care for it. The egg(s) are/is left alone to incubate by the light of the sun and if successful will hatch in 30–45 or so days.
The hatchlings must fend for themselves, anoles are by nature solitary animals since birth and are not cared for by the mother or the father. The young hatchlings must be wary of other adult anoles in the area as well as larger reptiles and mammals who could eat them.
[edit] Coloration and color morphs
A male green (carolina) anole
The typical coloration for a green anole ranges from the richest and brightest of greens to the darkest of browns, with little variation in between. The color spectrum is a resultant of three layers of pigment cells or chromatophores: the xanthophores, responsible for the yellow pigmentation; cyanophores, responsible for the blue pigmentation, and melanophores, responsible for the brown and black pigmentation when the anole is cold or stressed.
There are a few exceptions which are caused when a lack in one of the pigment genes occurs. These color mutations are also called phases. The rare blue-phased green anole lacks xanthophores which results in a blue, often baby or pastel blue, anole. These specimens have become a recent popularity in the trade market. When the anole is completely lacking xanthophores it is said to be axanthic and the animal will have a completely pastel or baby-blue hue. They are extremely rare -- usually produced in 1 out of every 20,000 individual anoles in the wild. Another 'phase' is the yellow-phased green anole, which lacks cyanophores. Colonies of these rare color-phased anoles have been reported, but anoles with these color mutations rarely live for long, since the green color provides camouflage for hunting down prey as well as hiding from predators.
Turning brown indicates distress. Some catchers prefer not to catch a Carolina anole that turns brown, so as to avoid causing undue stress to the animal.
[edit] Genomics
This species has been chosen as a model reptile for genomics by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) genome sequencing program.[1] It was selected because of the ease and low cost of laboratory breeding and evolutionary value of the diversity of the genus.[2]
[edit] Brown anole
The Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) is a highly invasive lizard in the same genus as the Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis). It is native to Cuba and several other Caribbean islands, but has been introduced to Florida and has spread through the state. It has seriously depleted the population of carolina anoles throughout its range, due to competing with them for food and habitat[citation needed]. Some think that these lizards spread when they laid their eggs in potted plants at nurseries, which were then shipped throughout the state.
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The white deer of Thoresby Park, Nottinghamshire. The white deer are a natural variation of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), which normally have brown coloring. The Seneca White Deer are leucistic, meaning they lack all pigmentation in the hair but have the normal brown-coloured eyes.
Polar Bear
"Region: America
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
Description : Polar bears are considered the largest land carnivores in the world, matched only by very large individual Kodiak brown bears. Both sexes differ in size throughout their range; males being much larger than females and continuing to grow for a longer period of time. These bears have long, massive skulls, necks and bodies with long legs and large paws. Ears and tail are short. The nose is more prominent or “Roman” with a black rhinarium (nose pad). The tongue is black and the eyes brown. The surface of the skin is also black. Fur colour varies slightly with the season: new coats grown just prior to the winter season are very white appearing as slightly creamy white against the stark white of their icy winter environment. This pelage is thick, coarse and long with dense underfur. Guard hairs, found throughout the pelage, are shiny, almost glossy, oily and waterproof and have hollow shafts. Polar bears moult annually between the end of May and August. The coat becomes thinner and has a yellow wash or is almost a golden colour. Male polar bears weigh between 400 – 600 kg, and have been recorded up to a maximum of 800 kg. Females are smaller than the males weighing up to 300 kg, and when pregnant up to 460 kg. Polar bears are 2.5 – 3.5 m long.
Distribution : The polar bear is circumpolar in distribution, inhabiting all Arctic seas and coastlines. It is found on the pack-ice off the Alaskan coast north of Bering Strait, off the coasts of Greenland and along the Eurasian Arctic coast from Spitsbergen to Wrangell Island. Rare stragglers reach Iceland. Individual bears have been seen on the frozen Arctic Ocean as far as latitude 88 degrees North, only 2 degrees from the North Pole. In Canada, they are found along the Arctic coasts from Alaska to Labrador and from the tip of James Bay to northern Ellesmere Island. Polar bears do roam as far as 150 kilometres inland into the coniferous forests, where they live very differently from the polar bears which belong to the high Arctic.
Habitat : They prefer areas of annual ice, which they use as a hunting platform and protective cover. This includes snow-drifted pressure ridges, refrozen cracks and areas of open water surrounded by ice. In areas where the pack ice melts by mid to late summer they come inland and live in coniferous forest areas. Here they remain until the ice re-freezes. Areas of solidly frozen sea ice and the open seas are avoided. Generally they are most common along coastal areas. Some do enter the permanent pack ice.
Food : The ringed seal is by far the most common prey. They also eat bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal. Young walrus are sometimes taken. During the summer months they feed upon the shoreline carrion, fish, mussels, crabs, starfish, lemmings and the eggs and nestling young of waterfowl and cliff-dwelling birds. They will also graze on kelp, grasses and eat mushrooms and crowberries.
Reproduction and Development : Normally they are solitary animals outside the breeding season, the exception being a mother with cubs. Polar bears mate in mid-summer. Females first start to breed at 3 to 5 years of age. In April and May adult females are in oestrus and ready to accept a mate. They are polyandrous, meaning one female will mate with more than one male in one breeding season. Males fight among themselves for the female’s attention and a couple will pair off for a period of a few days to two weeks. With females, delayed implantation occurs, the fertilized egg does not implant in the uterus until mid-September to mid-October. Embryonic development begins at this time. Gestation periods, therefore, vary a great deal when including this period of delay. Females choose suitable locations to build their maternity dens in mid-October and retreat to them for the winter season. They give birth to one to four cubs somewhere between late November and early January. Twins are most common. The newborns are small; 25 to 30 cm long and weigh less than 1 kg. They are covered with very fine hair, appearing almost naked and their eyes are closed. Their eyes open at 6 weeks. Growth is very quick; at two months their fur has thickened; they weigh about 5 kg and move about the den. By mid-March to early April, when the den is opened, the cubs weigh about 10 kg and are surprisingly strong. The cubs suckle for nine months, occasionally one year. They are very dependent on their mother and stay with her for two years. At that time they weigh 90 - 180 kg and are half grown.
Adaptations : Polar bears are wonderfully adapted to their Arctic surroundings.
Locomotion. On land a shuffling walk may be increased to a rolling gallop of 40 km/h and can outrun caribou over a short distance. Bears are often seen standing high on their hind legs, necks stretched to scan the landscape. On thin ice, legs are spread to distribute body mass. Thickly padded and furred soles allow the bear to move quietly as well as providing good traction. Small bumps and cavities on the soles act like suction cups keeping bears from slipping on the ice. The claws are used to dig into icy slopes and to grip prey. They are strong swimmers, paddling with their forefeet only and trailing their hind feet which act as a rudder. They can stay submerged for over one minute, keeping their eyes open. They swim at a speed of approximately 6.4 km/h, often covering long distances.
Insulation. Polar bears have a thick layer of sub-cutaneous fat and very dense underfur with several layers of glossy guard hair on the outside. Their pelt is much thicker in winter and provides excellent insulation. The fat layer also adds to buoyancy in the water. Water is shed easily from the oily waterproof fur. Small, furry ears have a heavy network of blood vessels, keeping them warm and conserving heat. The tail is short and rounded also conserving heat. Fur is very dense around the soles of the feet.
Pelage. The creamy white appearance of the coat allows the bear to be inconspicuous when hunting seal. Each hair is similar to an optical fibre; colourless and hollow. Being translucent, it reflects the heat from the sun down to the base of the hair, where it is absorbed by the black skin. Whiteness comes from reflection of light rather than pigmentation.
Hunting. Bears use their keen sense of smell to detect seal breathing holes. These can be up to a kilometer away and covered by a layer of snow and ice. They will stand or lie by the seal’s blowhole in the ice for hours; they may swim towards seals resting on the ice flows with only their nose showing above the water. They will dive quietly, then swim up to the ice edge and jump out on the seal, and will also crawl towards a sunbathing seal using every piece of raised ice to conceal the approach.
Denning. Both sexes occupy dens for shelter. Topographic factors influence the den sites. In Canadian core areas, dens frequently occur on south-facing slopes where northerly prevailing winds create the best drifts, where the wind-chill is least and insulation from received solar radiation is greatest. One of the three largest denning areas worldwide is in Canada. There are three main types of winter refuges: maternity dens, temporary dens and winter shelters. During the winter any bear may dig a temporary den and use it for a few days during a storm, or take shelter in a natural cavity. Winter shelters are used for longer periods of time as resting places. This type of shelter is usually roomier with additional features such as alcoves, porches and ventilation holes. Bears do not hibernate in the strict sense of the word; they have the ability to slow down their metabolism to conserve energy at any time of year. The state of self-induced lethargy while in the shelter allows them to preserve their vital fat reserves. During this time, the body temperature of the polar bear decreases by a few degrees from normal and the respiration rates are markedly reduced. Maternity dens are built and occupied by pregnant females and can vary in size. The denning chamber is at the upper end of an entrance tunnel 1 to 2 m long. It averages 1.5 m in diameter with a height of 90 to 100cm in the middle. Drifting snow seals the entrance. The chamber is higher than the tunnel, trapping bear body heat inside. Dens not only provide a safe place to give birth to her cubs, but are also a place of protection for the cubs during their first few months. During this time she does not leave the den, remaining with her cubs and living on her reserves of fat. In the spring, with her fat severely depleted she must leave to find food to sustain herself and her cubs. After they leave the maternity den she will build temporary refuges in which to nurse, rest and shelter her young cubs and warms them as they all sleep together. She heads with her cubs towards the nearest supply of food, this is usually pack ice.
Sight and sounds. Polar bears have good eyesight. Their eyes have inner eyelids that keep the glare of the sun on snow and ice from blinding them. When defending a food source from other bears they use a deep growl. They hiss and snort to show aggression. Angry bears use loud roars and growls. Mothers scold cubs with a low growl.
Threats to Survival : Polar bears are one of the animals most threatened by global warming. They depend entirely on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals. Reduction of the total ice cover in the Arctic is a serious concern globally. When the ice does not form or forms too late in the season many polar bears starve. In Hudson Bay, scientists have found the main cause of death for cubs to be either lack of food or lack of fat on nursing mothers. Exploitation of minerals and fossil fuels in the Arctic pose a continuous threat. Of the oil and natural gas deposits globally, 20% are located in the Arctic. As the ice cap recedes these become more accessible. Countries are competing which each other in claiming ownership of Arctic and its resources. This can only result in further and more drastic impact on polar bear habitat.
Status : IUCN: Vulnerable; CITES: Appendix II; COSEWIC: Special Concern
Zoo Diet : Toronto Zoo carnivore diet, dog chow, jumbo smelt and herring, carrots, bean sprouts, Vitamin E and Thiamine supplements."
- Courtesy of the Metro Toronto Zoo
© All Rights Reserved - Miles Away Photography
Please! No usage allowed without the consent of Mandi A. Miles
Based out of Flesherton, ON, please write for prices and information!
Collected this one from leaf litter. After many photos of its face, it appears to me to have only 1 very long unpaired midfacial setae. It has very dark lateral body pigmentation. Looks strange to me, so I collected it and tried to document it. Will probably turn out to be just a Ptenothrix sp.3.
Taken in Battle Ground, Clark Co., WA, USA
Chronic inflammation affecting the cornea will lead sometimes lead to hyperpigmentation. It is referred to as keratitis (inflammed cornea).
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Characiformes (Characins)
Family: Characidae (Characins)
Genus/species: Astyanax mexicanus
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: The head is notable for the absence of eyes. Young are born with functioning eyes which become completely enclosed in tissue as fish grows. The lack of sight is compensated by a highly developed lateral line that detects vibrations and changes in the water. The fish is without pigmentation and is plain pink with a silver sheen. They live in schools and grow to about 12 cm or 4.72 inches.
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Texas, New Mexico, and eastern and central Mexico in freshwater pools within dark caves.
DIET IN THE WILD: A keen sense of smell and electrolocation aid in finding food. Blind cave fish are omnivores and feed on animal and plant remains that wash into the caves and on bat droppings from cave ceilings. Much of their time is spent searching for food; they are able to store four times more energy as fat than their surface-dwelling relatives, allowing them to deal with irregular food supplies.
REMARKS: Two forms of A. mexicanus (eyed and eyeless, being members of the same species,) are closely related and can interbreed.
The loss of eye tissue in the blind cavefish, which occurs within a few days of their development, happens through epigenetic silencing of eye-related genes, according to a study led by the National Institutes of Health. Epigenetic regulation is a process where genes are turned off or on, typically in a reversible or temporary manner. This mechanism differs from genetic mutations, which are permanent changes in the DNA code. The study appears in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
References
California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium Water planet Senses Cluster, Dr. Bart Sheperd
Ron's flickr www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/sets/72157608608528651/...
Ron's Wordpress Shortlink wp.me/p1DZ4b-11I
Read more at: phys.org/news/2018-05-eye-loss-cavefish.html#jCp
NIH phys.org/news/2018-05-eye-loss-cavefish.html
7-3-13, 1-20-16, 5-29-18, 1-25-19
Humpback Whales: Black & White
Please don't copy this image without my written permission.
© 2015 All rights reserved: john c. bruckman @ innereye photography
COOL FACTS:
•Males sing complex songs on wintering grounds in Hawaii that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away!
•In the Pacific, humpbacks migrate seasonally from Alaska to Hawaii--they can complete the 3,000-mile (4,830 km) trip in as few as 36 days!
•Humpback whales are well known for their long pectoral fins, which can be up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. Their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big-winged New Englander" as the New England population was the one best known to Europeans. These long fins give them increased maneuverability; they can be used to slow down or even go backwards.
•Several hunting methods involve using air bubbles to herd, corral, or disorient fish. One highly complex variant, called "bubble netting" is unique to humpbacks. This technique is often performed in groups with defined roles for distracting, scaring, and herding before whales lunge at prey corralled near the surface.
•Their body coloration is primarily dark grey, but individuals have a variable amount of white on their pectoral fins and belly. This variation is so distinctive that the pigmentation pattern on the undersides of their "flukes" is used to identify individual whales, similar to a human fingerprint.
•Humpback whales are the favorite of whale watchers, as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads.
•Humpback whales travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest migration of any mammal. The longest recorded migration was 5,160 miles (8,300 km); seven animals, including a calf, completed this trek from Costa Rica to Antarctica.
•Also on wintering grounds, males sing complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away. A male may sing for hours, repeating the song several times. All males in a population sing the same song, but that song continually evolves over time. Humpback whale singing has been studied for decades, but scientists still understand very little about its function.
Source: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whal...
The white tiger is a pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger. The white Bengal tigers are distinctive due to the color of their fur. The white fur caused by a lack of the pigment pheomelanin, which is found in Bengal tigers with orange color fur.
Emirates Park Zoo
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• Prevents the build up of oxidative stress waste that appears as age spots, especially noticeable on the back of hands
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Since I started finding these pale-headed Sminthurinus igniceps springtails locally, Frans Janssens has been asking me to look out for males. These do not have the uniform dark abdominal pigmentation like the females. This is the first I've seen with paler patches in the pigmentation, but there's no obvious genital papilla (not to me anyway!).
In the UK, Sminthurinus igniceps is regarded as primarily a springtail of hothouses and other sheltered environments. The ones I've been finding are all in open grassy areas.
Scarlet Ibis, Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, CA
www.birds.com/species/p-t/scarlet-ibis/
The Scarlet Ibis inhabits tropical South America and islands of the Caribbean. It is the national bird of Tobago and Trinidad. This brightly colored birds only occur naturally in South America, but they can be seen in zoos the world over.
Both male and female Scarlet Ibises are a bright red color and have black tips on their wings. Immature birds are brown with a white belly and rump. As time progresses they will begin producing scarlet feathers. The feather color of the Scarlet Ibis comes from the synthesis of carotene found in their diet. It has been said that the black pigmentation on the wing’s primary feathers gives it strength.
They have very long legs, typical of waders. These help them walk across mud flats, marsh lands and mangrove stands. The long neck also assists them in reaching certain areas. Notable is the Scarlet Ibis’ long curved bill. The bill is highly sensitive and can search out small creatures such as crustaceans, insects, fish and frogs in the mud. Should the ibis or its young be attacked it will fight using its wings, legs and beak.
Scarlet Ibises live in extensive colonies. Males woo females with complex courtship dances. They will typically pair off for life. Both in the pair will construct a nest in mangrove trees with sticks. After mating the female Scarlet Ibis will lay 2 or three eggs. These are a pale green color with brown streaks. Incubation lasts 23 days and the offspring fledge in 39 to 45 days. By the age of 2 years the young ibises have transformed into their scarlet coloration.
Although the Scarlet Ibis is not a threatened species it is still on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) concern list. They are facing over-hunting, habitat destruction and egg collecting.
Humpback Whales: Black & White
Please don't copy this image without my written permission.
© 2015 All rights reserved: john c. bruckman @ innereye photography
COOL FACTS:
•Males sing complex songs on wintering grounds in Hawaii that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away!
•In the Pacific, humpbacks migrate seasonally from Alaska to Hawaii--they can complete the 3,000-mile (4,830 km) trip in as few as 36 days!
•Humpback whales are well known for their long pectoral fins, which can be up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. Their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big-winged New Englander" as the New England population was the one best known to Europeans. These long fins give them increased maneuverability; they can be used to slow down or even go backwards.
•Several hunting methods involve using air bubbles to herd, corral, or disorient fish. One highly complex variant, called "bubble netting" is unique to humpbacks. This technique is often performed in groups with defined roles for distracting, scaring, and herding before whales lunge at prey corralled near the surface.
•Their body coloration is primarily dark grey, but individuals have a variable amount of white on their pectoral fins and belly. This variation is so distinctive that the pigmentation pattern on the undersides of their "flukes" is used to identify individual whales, similar to a human fingerprint.
•Humpback whales are the favorite of whale watchers, as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads.
•Humpback whales travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest migration of any mammal. The longest recorded migration was 5,160 miles (8,300 km); seven animals, including a calf, completed this trek from Costa Rica to Antarctica.
•Also on wintering grounds, males sing complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away. A male may sing for hours, repeating the song several times. All males in a population sing the same song, but that song continually evolves over time. Humpback whale singing has been studied for decades, but scientists still understand very little about its function.
Source: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whal...
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American Oystercatcher (male?), North Beach, Fort De Soto Park, Pinellas Co., FL; iris pigmentation has been shown to be sex-based in Black Oystercatcher, with males usually having a bit of black pigment adjacent to the pupil, usually in the front-lower quadrant, while females typically lack this (a published study using this criterion was able to correctly sex 88% of the species; I do not know whether anyone has looked into this in American Oystercatcher, but, considering the very close relationships of all members of the genus, I'd bet that this species is similar, with this pair of birds showing the same difference as is useful in sexing Black Oystercatchers; 6 Jan update: Susan Heath (who studies Americans in TX) reports that she and a grad student looked into this (compared iris pigment and blood-based DNA) and found that it was not helpful in sex ID in the species
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
Description : Polar bears are considered the largest land carnivores in the world, matched only by very large individual Kodiak brown bears. Both sexes differ in size throughout their range; males being much larger than females and continuing to grow for a longer period of time. These bears have long, massive skulls, necks and bodies with long legs and large paws. Ears and tail are short. The nose is more prominent or “Roman†with a black rhinarium (nose pad). The tongue is black and the eyes brown. The surface of the skin is also black. Fur colour varies slightly with the season: new coats grown just prior to the winter season are very white appearing as slightly creamy white against the stark white of their icy winter environment. This pelage is thick, coarse and long with dense underfur. Guard hairs, found throughout the pelage, are shiny, almost glossy, oily and waterproof and have hollow shafts. Polar bears moult annually between the end of May and August. The coat becomes thinner and has a yellow wash or is almost a golden colour.
Male polar bears weigh between 400 – 600 kg, and have been recorded up to a maximum of 800 kg. Females are smaller than the males weighing up to 300 kg, and when pregnant up to 460 kg. Polar bears are 2.5 – 3.5 m long.
Distribution : The polar bear is circumpolar in distribution, inhabiting all Arctic seas and coastlines. It is found on the pack-ice off the Alaskan coast north of Bering Strait, off the coasts of Greenland and along the Eurasian Arctic coast from Spitsbergen to Wrangell Island. Rare stragglers reach Iceland. Individual bears have been seen on the frozen Arctic Ocean as far as latitude 88 degrees North, only 2 degrees from the North Pole. In Canada, they are found along the Arctic coasts from Alaska to Labrador and from the tip of James Bay to northern Ellesmere Island. Polar bears do roam as far as 150 kilometres inland into the coniferous forests, where they live very differently from the polar bears which belong to the high Arctic.
Habitat : They prefer areas of annual ice, which they use as a hunting platform and protective cover. This includes snow-drifted pressure ridges, refrozen cracks and areas of open water surrounded by ice. In areas where the pack ice melts by mid to late summer they come inland and live in coniferous forest areas. Here they remain until the ice re-freezes. Areas of solidly frozen sea ice and the open seas are avoided. Generally they are most common along coastal areas. Some do enter the permanent pack ice.
Food : The ringed seal is by far the most common prey. They also eat bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal. Young walrus are sometimes taken. During the summer months they feed upon the shoreline carrion, fish, mussels, crabs, starfish, lemmings and the eggs and nestling young of waterfowl and cliff-dwelling birds. They will also graze on kelp, grasses and eat mushrooms and crowberries.
Reproduction and Development : Normally they are solitary animals outside the breeding season, the exception being a mother with cubs. Polar bears mate in mid-summer. Females first start to breed at 3 to 5 years of age. In April and May adult females are in oestrus and ready to accept a mate. They are polyandrous, meaning one female will mate with more than one male in one breeding season. Males fight among themselves for the female’s attention and a couple will pair off for a period of a few days to two weeks. With females, delayed implantation occurs, the fertilized egg does not implant in the uterus until mid-September to mid-October. Embryonic development begins at this time. Gestation periods, therefore, vary a great deal when including this period of delay. Females choose suitable locations to build their maternity dens in mid-October and retreat to them for the winter season. They give birth to one to four cubs somewhere between late November and early January. Twins are most common. The newborns are small; 25 to 30 cm long and weigh less than 1 kg. They are covered with very fine hair, appearing almost naked and their eyes are closed. Their eyes open at 6 weeks. Growth is very quick; at two months their fur has thickened; they weigh about 5 kg and move about the den. By mid-March to early April, when the den is opened, the cubs weigh about 10 kg and are surprisingly strong. The cubs suckle for nine months, occasionally one year. They are very dependent on their mother and stay with her for two years. At that time they weigh 90 - 180 kg and are half grown.
Adaptations : Polar bears are wonderfully adapted to their Arctic surroundings.
Locomotion. On land a shuffling walk may be increased to a rolling gallop of 40 km/h and can outrun caribou over a short distance. Bears are often seen standing high on their hind legs, necks stretched to scan the landscape. On thin ice, legs are spread to distribute body mass. Thickly padded and furred soles allow the bear to move quietly as well as providing good traction. Small bumps and cavities on the soles act like suction cups keeping bears from slipping on the ice. The claws are used to dig into icy slopes and to grip prey. They are strong swimmers, paddling with their forefeet only and trailing their hind feet which act as a rudder. They can stay submerged for over one minute, keeping their eyes open. They swim at a speed of approximately 6.4 km/h, often covering long distances.
Insulation. Polar bears have a thick layer of sub-cutaneous fat and very dense underfur with several layers of glossy guard hair on the outside. Their pelt is much thicker in winter and provides excellent insulation. The fat layer also adds to buoyancy in the water. Water is shed easily from the oily waterproof fur. Small, furry ears have a heavy network of blood vessels, keeping them warm and conserving heat. The tail is short and rounded also conserving heat. Fur is very dense around the soles of the feet.
Pelage. The creamy white appearance of the coat allows the bear to be inconspicuous when hunting seal. Each hair is similar to an optical fibre; colourless and hollow. Being translucent, it reflects the heat from the sun down to the base of the hair, where it is absorbed by the black skin. Whiteness comes from reflection of light rather than pigmentation.
Hunting. Bears use their keen sense of smell to detect seal breathing holes. These can be up to a kilometer away and covered by a layer of snow and ice. They will stand or lie by the seal’s blowhole in the ice for hours; they may swim towards seals resting on the ice flows with only their nose showing above the water. They will dive quietly, then swim up to the ice edge and jump out on the seal, and will also crawl towards a sunbathing seal using every piece of raised ice to conceal the approach.
Denning. Both sexes occupy dens for shelter. Topographic factors influence the den sites. In Canadian core areas, dens frequently occur on south-facing slopes where northerly prevailing winds create the best drifts, where the wind-chill is least and insulation from received solar radiation is greatest. One of the three largest denning areas worldwide is in Canada. There are three main types of winter refuges: maternity dens, temporary dens and winter shelters. During the winter any bear may dig a temporary den and use it for a few days during a storm, or take shelter in a natural cavity. Winter shelters are used for longer periods of time as resting places. This type of shelter is usually roomier with additional features such as alcoves, porches and ventilation holes. Bears do not hibernate in the strict sense of the word; they have the ability to slow down their metabolism to conserve energy at any time of year. The state of self-induced lethargy while in the shelter allows them to preserve their vital fat reserves. During this time, the body temperature of the polar bear decreases by a few degrees from normal and the respiration rates are markedly reduced. Maternity dens are built and occupied by pregnant females and can vary in size. The denning chamber is at the upper end of an entrance tunnel 1 to 2 m long. It averages 1.5 m in diameter with a height of 90 to 100cm in the middle. Drifting snow seals the entrance. The chamber is higher than the tunnel, trapping bear body heat inside. Dens not only provide a safe place to give birth to her cubs, but are also a place of protection for the cubs during their first few months. During this time she does not leave the den, remaining with her cubs and living on her reserves of fat. In the spring, with her fat severely depleted she must leave to find food to sustain herself and her cubs. After they leave the maternity den she will build temporary refuges in which to nurse, rest and shelter her young cubs and warms them as they all sleep together. She heads with her cubs towards the nearest supply of food, usually towards pack ice.
Sight and sounds. Polar bears have good eyesight. Their eyes have inner eyelids that keep the glare of the sun on snow and ice from blinding them. When defending a food source from other bears they use a deep growl. They hiss and snort to show aggression. Angry bears use loud roars and growls. Mothers scold cubs with a low growl.
Threats to Survival : Polar bears are one of the animals most threatened by global warming. They depend entirely on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals. Reduction of the total ice cover in the Arctic is a serious concern globally. When the ice does not form or forms too late in the season many polar bears starve. In Hudson Bay, scientists have found the main cause of death for cubs to be either lack of food or lack of fat on nursing mothers. Exploitation of minerals and fossil fuels in the Arctic pose a continuous threat. Of the oil and natural gas deposits globally, 20% are located in the Arctic. As the ice cap recedes these become more accessible. Countries are competing which each other in claiming ownership of Arctic and its resources. This can only result in further and more drastic impact on polar bear habitat.
Status : IUCN: Vulnerable; CITES: Appendix II; COSEWIC: Special Concern
Zoo Diet : Toronto Zoo carnivore diet, dog chow, jumbo smelt and herring, carrots, bean sprouts, Vitamin E and Thiamine supplements.
Toronto Zoo Website
Oh, while choosing a body to send to Hasel, Bobbie's was rejected due to it's pigmentation. Hasel needed a warmer color, and Bobbie was too pink!
Please Note: If you are interested in going on a Whale Watching trip in the Monterey Bay, I highly recommend contacting Kate at:
www.blueoceanwhalewatch.com/index.html
Did You Know?
Males sing complex songs on wintering grounds in Hawaii, that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away!
In the Pacific, humpbacks migrate seasonally from Alaska to Hawaii--they can complete the 3,000-mile (4,830 km) trip in as few as 36 days!
Species Description:
Weight:25-40 tons (50,000-80,000 pounds; 22,000-36,000 kg);
newborns weigh about 1 ton (2,000 pounds; 900 kg)
Length:Up to 60 feet (18 m), with females larger than males;
newborns are about 15 feet (4.5 m) long
Appearance: Primarily dark grey, with some areas of white
Lifespan:About 50 years
Diet:Tiny crustaceans (mostly krill), plankton, and small fish; they can consume up to 3,000 pounds (1360 kg) of food per day
Behavior:Breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface
Humpback whales are well known for their long pectoral fins, which can be up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. Their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big-winged New Englander" as the New England population was the one best known to Europeans. These long fins give them increased maneuverability; they can be used to slow down or even go backwards.
Similar to all baleen whales, adult females are larger than adult males, reaching lengths of up to 60 feet (18 m). Their body coloration is primarily dark grey, but individuals have a variable amount of white on their pectoral fins and belly. This variation is so distinctive that the pigmentation pattern on the undersides of their "flukes" is used to identify individual whales, similar to a human fingerprint.
Humpback whales are the favorite of whale watchers, as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads.
In the summer, humpbacks are found in high latitude feeding grounds, such as the Gulf of Maine in the Atlantic and Gulf of Alaska in the Pacific. In the winter, they migrate to calving grounds in subtropical or tropical waters, such as the Dominican Republic in the Atlantic and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific. The Arabian Sea humpback does not migrate, remaining in tropical waters all year.
Humpback whales travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest migration of any mammal. The longest recorded migration was 5,160 miles (8,300 km); seven animals, including a calf, completed this trek from Costa Rica to Antarctica. One of the more closely studied routes is between Alaska and Hawaii, where humpbacks have been observed making the 3,000-mile (4,830 km) trip in as few as 36 days.
During the summer months, humpbacks spend the majority of their time feeding and building up fat stores (blubber) that they will live off of during the winter. Humpbacks filter feed on tiny crustaceans (mostly krill), plankton, and small fish and can consume up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) of food per day. Several hunting methods involve using air bubbles to herd, corral, or disorient fish. One highly complex variant, called "bubble netting" is unique to humpbacks. This technique is often performed in groups with defined roles for distracting, scaring, and herding before whales lunge at prey corralled near the surface.
In their wintering grounds, humpback whales congregate and engage in mating activities. Humpbacks are generally polygynous "having multiple female mates" with males exhibiting competitive behavior on wintering grounds. Aggressive and antagonistic behaviors include chasing, vocal and bubble displays, horizontal tail thrashing, and rear body thrashing. Males within these groups also make physical contact, striking or surfacing on top of one another. These bouts can cause injuries ranging from bloody scrapes to, in one recorded instance, death. Also on wintering grounds, males sing complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away. A male may sing for hours, repeating the song several times. All males in a population sing the same song, but that song continually evolves over time. Humpback whale singing has been studied for decades, but scientists still understand very little about its function.
Gestation lasts for about 11 months. Newborns are 13-16 feet (4-5 m) long and grow quickly from the highly nutritious milk of their mothers. Weaning occurs between 6-10 months after birth. Mothers are protective and affectionate towards their calves, swimming close and frequently touching them with their flippers. Males do not provide parental support for calves. Breeding usually occurs once every two years, but sometimes occurs twice in a three-year span.
Habitat
During migration, humpbacks stay near the surface of the ocean.
While feeding and calving, humpbacks prefer shallow waters. During calving, humpbacks are usually found in the warmest waters available at that latitude. Calving grounds are commonly near offshore reef systems, islands, or continental shores.
Humpback feeding grounds are in cold, productive coastal waters.
Distribution
Humpback whales live in all major oceans from the equator to sub-polar latitudes.
In the North Pacific, there are at least three separate populations:
California/Oregon/Washington stock that winters in coastal Central America and Mexico and migrates to areas ranging from the coast of California to southern British Columbia in summer/fall;
Central North Pacific stock that winters in the Hawaiian Islands and migrates to northern British Columbia/ Southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound west to Kodiak; and Western North Pacific stock that winters near Japan and probably migrates to waters west of the Kodiak Archipelago (the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands) in summer/fall. There is some mixing between these populations, though they are still considered distinct stocks.
Threats
Humpback whales face a series of threats including:
entanglement in fishing gear
Whale watch harassment
Habitat impacts
Harvest
Humpbacks can become entangled in fishing gear, either swimming off with the gear or becoming anchored. We have observed incidental "take" of humpback whales in the California/ Oregon swordfish and thresher shark drift gillnet fishery. Potential entanglement from gear from several fisheries can occur on their long migration from Hawaii to Alaska. Humpbacks in Hawaii have been observed entangled in long line gear, crab pots, and other non-fishery-related lines.
Inadvertent ship strikes can injure or kill humpbacks. Whale watching vessels may stress or even strike whales. The central North Pacific stock is the focus of a whale-watching industry on their wintering grounds in the Hawaiian Islands. The feeding aggregation in southeast Alaska is also the focus of a developing whale-watching industry that may impact whales in localized areas.
Shipping channels, fisheries, and aquaculture may occupy or destroy humpback whale aggregation areas. Recreational use of marine areas, including resort development and increased boat traffic, may displace whales that would normally use that area. In Hawaii, acoustic impacts from vessel operation, oceanographic research using active sonar, and military operations are also of increasing concern.
Source: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whal...
Carlita
Female Bengal Tiger at Miami-Metro Zoo
White tigers are ordinary tigers with a genetic condition that reduces the pigmentation on the orange stripes making them white. The dark stripes can be black, gray or brown (chocolate)
It was a bit warm in Miami when I snapped this shot. I don't know if it was the heat , or the exertion of pacing back and forth - Carlita was slobbering a lot!
SRI LANKA, Sigiriya, Sep 04, 2010 – There has been a huge media frenzy recently over the pigmentation of some of the famous fescos in Sigiriya. When I visited the rock, the over 1500 year old frescos appeared to be in far better shape than what was reported in the media. There was no indication of massive pigmentation or discolouration. (Amantha Perera/Perambara)
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
Description : Polar bears are considered the largest land carnivores in the world, matched only by very large individual Kodiak brown bears. Both sexes differ in size throughout their range; males being much larger than females and continuing to grow for a longer period of time. These bears have long, massive skulls, necks and bodies with long legs and large paws. Ears and tail are short. The nose is more prominent or “Roman†with a black rhinarium (nose pad). The tongue is black and the eyes brown. The surface of the skin is also black. Fur colour varies slightly with the season: new coats grown just prior to the winter season are very white appearing as slightly creamy white against the stark white of their icy winter environment. This pelage is thick, coarse and long with dense underfur. Guard hairs, found throughout the pelage, are shiny, almost glossy, oily and waterproof and have hollow shafts. Polar bears moult annually between the end of May and August. The coat becomes thinner and has a yellow wash or is almost a golden colour.
Male polar bears weigh between 400 – 600 kg, and have been recorded up to a maximum of 800 kg. Females are smaller than the males weighing up to 300 kg, and when pregnant up to 460 kg. Polar bears are 2.5 – 3.5 m long.
Distribution : The polar bear is circumpolar in distribution, inhabiting all Arctic seas and coastlines. It is found on the pack-ice off the Alaskan coast north of Bering Strait, off the coasts of Greenland and along the Eurasian Arctic coast from Spitsbergen to Wrangell Island. Rare stragglers reach Iceland. Individual bears have been seen on the frozen Arctic Ocean as far as latitude 88 degrees North, only 2 degrees from the North Pole. In Canada, they are found along the Arctic coasts from Alaska to Labrador and from the tip of James Bay to northern Ellesmere Island. Polar bears do roam as far as 150 kilometres inland into the coniferous forests, where they live very differently from the polar bears which belong to the high Arctic.
Habitat : They prefer areas of annual ice, which they use as a hunting platform and protective cover. This includes snow-drifted pressure ridges, refrozen cracks and areas of open water surrounded by ice. In areas where the pack ice melts by mid to late summer they come inland and live in coniferous forest areas. Here they remain until the ice re-freezes. Areas of solidly frozen sea ice and the open seas are avoided. Generally they are most common along coastal areas. Some do enter the permanent pack ice.
Food : The ringed seal is by far the most common prey. They also eat bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal. Young walrus are sometimes taken. During the summer months they feed upon the shoreline carrion, fish, mussels, crabs, starfish, lemmings and the eggs and nestling young of waterfowl and cliff-dwelling birds. They will also graze on kelp, grasses and eat mushrooms and crowberries.
Reproduction and Development : Normally they are solitary animals outside the breeding season, the exception being a mother with cubs. Polar bears mate in mid-summer. Females first start to breed at 3 to 5 years of age. In April and May adult females are in oestrus and ready to accept a mate. They are polyandrous, meaning one female will mate with more than one male in one breeding season. Males fight among themselves for the female’s attention and a couple will pair off for a period of a few days to two weeks. With females, delayed implantation occurs, the fertilized egg does not implant in the uterus until mid-September to mid-October. Embryonic development begins at this time. Gestation periods, therefore, vary a great deal when including this period of delay. Females choose suitable locations to build their maternity dens in mid-October and retreat to them for the winter season. They give birth to one to four cubs somewhere between late November and early January. Twins are most common. The newborns are small; 25 to 30 cm long and weigh less than 1 kg. They are covered with very fine hair, appearing almost naked and their eyes are closed. Their eyes open at 6 weeks. Growth is very quick; at two months their fur has thickened; they weigh about 5 kg and move about the den. By mid-March to early April, when the den is opened, the cubs weigh about 10 kg and are surprisingly strong. The cubs suckle for nine months, occasionally one year. They are very dependent on their mother and stay with her for two years. At that time they weigh 90 - 180 kg and are half grown.
Adaptations : Polar bears are wonderfully adapted to their Arctic surroundings.
Locomotion. On land a shuffling walk may be increased to a rolling gallop of 40 km/h and can outrun caribou over a short distance. Bears are often seen standing high on their hind legs, necks stretched to scan the landscape. On thin ice, legs are spread to distribute body mass. Thickly padded and furred soles allow the bear to move quietly as well as providing good traction. Small bumps and cavities on the soles act like suction cups keeping bears from slipping on the ice. The claws are used to dig into icy slopes and to grip prey. They are strong swimmers, paddling with their forefeet only and trailing their hind feet which act as a rudder. They can stay submerged for over one minute, keeping their eyes open. They swim at a speed of approximately 6.4 km/h, often covering long distances.
Insulation. Polar bears have a thick layer of sub-cutaneous fat and very dense underfur with several layers of glossy guard hair on the outside. Their pelt is much thicker in winter and provides excellent insulation. The fat layer also adds to buoyancy in the water. Water is shed easily from the oily waterproof fur. Small, furry ears have a heavy network of blood vessels, keeping them warm and conserving heat. The tail is short and rounded also conserving heat. Fur is very dense around the soles of the feet.
Pelage. The creamy white appearance of the coat allows the bear to be inconspicuous when hunting seal. Each hair is similar to an optical fibre; colourless and hollow. Being translucent, it reflects the heat from the sun down to the base of the hair, where it is absorbed by the black skin. Whiteness comes from reflection of light rather than pigmentation.
Hunting. Bears use their keen sense of smell to detect seal breathing holes. These can be up to a kilometer away and covered by a layer of snow and ice. They will stand or lie by the seal’s blowhole in the ice for hours; they may swim towards seals resting on the ice flows with only their nose showing above the water. They will dive quietly, then swim up to the ice edge and jump out on the seal, and will also crawl towards a sunbathing seal using every piece of raised ice to conceal the approach.
Denning. Both sexes occupy dens for shelter. Topographic factors influence the den sites. In Canadian core areas, dens frequently occur on south-facing slopes where northerly prevailing winds create the best drifts, where the wind-chill is least and insulation from received solar radiation is greatest. One of the three largest denning areas worldwide is in Canada. There are three main types of winter refuges: maternity dens, temporary dens and winter shelters. During the winter any bear may dig a temporary den and use it for a few days during a storm, or take shelter in a natural cavity. Winter shelters are used for longer periods of time as resting places. This type of shelter is usually roomier with additional features such as alcoves, porches and ventilation holes. Bears do not hibernate in the strict sense of the word; they have the ability to slow down their metabolism to conserve energy at any time of year. The state of self-induced lethargy while in the shelter allows them to preserve their vital fat reserves. During this time, the body temperature of the polar bear decreases by a few degrees from normal and the respiration rates are markedly reduced. Maternity dens are built and occupied by pregnant females and can vary in size. The denning chamber is at the upper end of an entrance tunnel 1 to 2 m long. It averages 1.5 m in diameter with a height of 90 to 100cm in the middle. Drifting snow seals the entrance. The chamber is higher than the tunnel, trapping bear body heat inside. Dens not only provide a safe place to give birth to her cubs, but are also a place of protection for the cubs during their first few months. During this time she does not leave the den, remaining with her cubs and living on her reserves of fat. In the spring, with her fat severely depleted she must leave to find food to sustain herself and her cubs. After they leave the maternity den she will build temporary refuges in which to nurse, rest and shelter her young cubs and warms them as they all sleep together. She heads with her cubs towards the nearest supply of food, usually towards pack ice.
Sight and sounds. Polar bears have good eyesight. Their eyes have inner eyelids that keep the glare of the sun on snow and ice from blinding them. When defending a food source from other bears they use a deep growl. They hiss and snort to show aggression. Angry bears use loud roars and growls. Mothers scold cubs with a low growl.
Threats to Survival : Polar bears are one of the animals most threatened by global warming. They depend entirely on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals. Reduction of the total ice cover in the Arctic is a serious concern globally. When the ice does not form or forms too late in the season many polar bears starve. In Hudson Bay, scientists have found the main cause of death for cubs to be either lack of food or lack of fat on nursing mothers. Exploitation of minerals and fossil fuels in the Arctic pose a continuous threat. Of the oil and natural gas deposits globally, 20% are located in the Arctic. As the ice cap recedes these become more accessible. Countries are competing which each other in claiming ownership of Arctic and its resources. This can only result in further and more drastic impact on polar bear habitat.
Status : IUCN: Vulnerable; CITES: Appendix II; COSEWIC: Special Concern
Zoo Diet : Toronto Zoo carnivore diet, dog chow, jumbo smelt and herring, carrots, bean sprouts, Vitamin E and Thiamine supplements.
Toronto Zoo Website
The cutest little white lion cub at the now closed MGM Grand lion enclosure in Las Vegas, Nevada
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I bought this plant from the speaker (Norito Hasegawa) at our orchid society meeting this past Saturday. I have high hopes for it, given the leaf pigmentation. I suppose that I'm now completely over the edge in growing this type of Paph - this is my third acquisition of one this year. That makes a total of six complex hybrids - bulldog/toad and vinicolor.
This, the most famous painting by Vermeer, was part of the Amsterdam sale of 1696, no. 31: "The town of Delft in perspective, to be seen from the south, by J. van der Meer of Delft; fl 200."
Topographic views of cities had become a tradition by the time Vermeer painted his famous canvas. Hendrik Vroom was the author of two such works depicting Delft, but they are more archaic because they followed the traditional panoramic approach that we remember from the two cityscapes by Hercules Seghers at the Berlin museum. The latter artist was one of the first to make use of the inverted Galilean telescope to transcribe the preliminary prints and their proportions (more than twice as high as wide) into the more conventional format of his paintings.
Vermeer executed his View of Delft on the spot, but the optical instrument pointed toward the city and providing the artist with the aspect translated onto canvas, which we admire for its conciseness and special structure, was not the camera obscura but the inverted telescope. It is only the latter that condenses the panoramic view of a given sector, diminishes the figures of the foreground to a smaller than normal magnification, emphasizes the foreground as we see it in the picture, and by the same token makes the remainder of the composition recede into space. The image thus obtained provides us with optical effects that, without being unique in Dutch seventeenth-century painting, as often claimed, convey a cityscape that is united in the composition and enveloped atmospherically into glowing light.
We admire the town, but it is not a profile view of a township, but a painting, an idealized representation of Delft, with its main characteristics simplified and then cast into the framework of a harbor mirroring selected reflections in the water, and a rich, full sky with magnificent cloud formations looming over it. This is chronologically the last painting by Vermeer that was executed in rich, full pigmentation, with color accents put in with a fully loaded brush. The artist outdid himself in a rendition of his hometown, which stands as a truly great interpretation of nature.
So, after the best part of five weeks doing little else than take photographs, I decided to spend Saturday painting the shed.
No I didn't, I went out orchiding.
Or did once we went to Tesco for the remainder of the shopping.
Another glorious warm day, that would be very good for photography,I thought.
Home for coffee and fruit for breakfast, before I packed my camera and headed to the Medway towns to meet up with two other people from my orchid group to hunt down some super rare orchids.
But then, they always are.
I drove up the A2/M2 to Chatham, turned off, and in a quiet residential area, I found Ian parked, so I pulled up behind him. Graham soon arrived too, and so we got out and set out down a narrow alleyway between the houses, into woodland behind.
Orchids are variable. Even the most common ones can produce spikes that are as rare as the rarest orchid species. And as all species can produce spikes with little or no pigmentation, they can also produce spikes with hyper-pigmentation.
Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. rhodochila, or a hyper-coloured Common Spotted Orchid. And in a colony where most spikes had strongly marked lips, there were four that really stood out, as the rings and dots had been covered by pigmantation, and the lips were a solid block of colour. I mean, I had seen shots of these, but to see them in person was something else.
We all took lots of shots, and then Graham said, I know of a colony of Lesser Butterfly orchids, would you like to see them?
We would.
The Lesser Butterfly at Barham have died out, and the ones at Stockbury seem to have had their flowers deliberately picked off this year, so another colony would be great to know about.
We drove in convoy for half an hour, met up in a pub car park, then drove in Graham's car to the end of a quiet, little used lane. A six-foot-sixer, Tony! And we set out on foot, a mile up the lane to a gate, where climbed over.
A car went by.
"What are you doing?"
We explained about the LBO and how rare they were and we knew they were in the wood. The gamekeeper knew about them too, and was happy to let us go, and if someone stopped us again, we could mention his name to say we had his blessing. We also said we would tell no one about the site.
We climbed over a fence into the wood, and shortly afterwards we saw the first of about twenty spikes, one measuring in at 68cm tall, and one that had a clear green colour to it.
We took shots of them all, though the humidity was getting to me, fogging the viewfinder and by glasses. Sometimes at the same time.
We walked back to the car, then droove back to the pub, so that we could go our separate ways. My plan was to head back to Dover, to call in at the council offices to see if the unusually marked Bee Orchid was showing.
It was, and had only just opened as the pollina had only just dropped and had not been visited by an insect yet.
I got shots, one of which came out rather well, even if i say so myself.
Then back home for a drink, then a bacon butty and a brew.
Phew, it was a scorcher.
I reviewed shots through the afternoon before we had Caprese again with the leftover bread from the day before.
Life was good.
We listened to Craig in the evening before heading up to bed at half eight.
Phew.
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The Common Spotted-orchid is one of the few species that are still thriving in Britain despite the ongoing environmental damage and habitat desctruction that has caused so many other orchids to decline. Its secret is an adaptability that enables it to colonise new areas. Few of us can have failed to spot the vast numbers of Dactylorhiza fuchsii on urban roadside verges and roundabouts - this orchid is living among us. It lives up to its common name on both counts: this orchid is indeed common, and its leaves are profusely marked with dark spots and blotches. Although best known from alkaline habitats such as fens, dune slacks, old quarries and lime pits, the Common Spotted-orchid is also tolerant of mildly acidic substrates and so can sometimes be found on heathland among heather. In Britain and Ireland this orchid flowers from mid May to the end of July. On mainland Europe the range of Common Spotted-orchid extends from Scandinavia in the north through central Europe and southwards to the Mediterranean.
Taxonomy & Hybrids
Pollination is highly successful, and a number of insects - particularly beetles - are attracted to the flowers' nectar.
The specific name 'fuchsii' refers to the German botanist Leonard Fuchs.
There is one subspecies found in Britain: Dactylorhiza fuchsii subsp. hebridensis which is found in Scotland, the Outer Hebrides and western Ireland.
There are a number of varieties and hybrids. Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. albiflora has unmarked white flowers and is fairly widespread. Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. alpina has small, darker flowers and is found in Scotland and parts of northern England; it has also been reported from Wales. Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. cornubiensis is a smaller plant with a relatively large infloresence and larger flowers; it is found in Cornwall. Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. albiflora has unmarked white flowers and unspotted leaves; it is widespread but uncommon. Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. okellyii is somewhat contentious: it resembles Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. albiflora but the leaves can be either spotted or unspotted; this variety is thought to be confined to western Ireland, the Isle of Man and parts of Scotland. Dactylorhiza fuchsii var. rhodochila is a widespread but rare hyperchromatic variant with excessive pigmentation; the lips of its flowers are reddish purple with a paler border, and the leaves can have either heavily marked or completely purple leaves.
There are also several hybrids. Dactylorhiza x transiens is the hybrid with Heath Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza maculata. Dactylorhiza x kernerorum is the hybrid with Early Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata. Dactylorhiza x mixtum is a rare hybrid with the Frog Orchid Dactylorhiza viridis. Dactylorhiza x venusta is the hybrid with Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella. Dactylorhiza x grandis is the hybrid with Southern Marsh-orchid and is widespread in southern Britain. Dactylorhiza x silvae-gabretae is the hybrid with Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides. Dactylorhiza x braunii is the hybrid with Irish Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza occidentalis and is recorded from County Clare.
There is also an intergeneric hybrid. X Dactylodenia st-quintinii is the hybrid with Fragrant Orchid Gymnadenia conopsea and possibly with Britain's other two Fragrant Orchids.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/hos%201012/orchidphotos/dac...
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Humpback Whales: Black & White
Please don't copy this image without my written permission.
© 2015 All rights reserved: john c. bruckman @ innereye photography
COOL FACTS:
•Males sing complex songs on wintering grounds in Hawaii that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away!
•In the Pacific, humpbacks migrate seasonally from Alaska to Hawaii--they can complete the 3,000-mile (4,830 km) trip in as few as 36 days!
•Humpback whales are well known for their long pectoral fins, which can be up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. Their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big-winged New Englander" as the New England population was the one best known to Europeans. These long fins give them increased maneuverability; they can be used to slow down or even go backwards.
•Several hunting methods involve using air bubbles to herd, corral, or disorient fish. One highly complex variant, called "bubble netting" is unique to humpbacks. This technique is often performed in groups with defined roles for distracting, scaring, and herding before whales lunge at prey corralled near the surface.
•Their body coloration is primarily dark grey, but individuals have a variable amount of white on their pectoral fins and belly. This variation is so distinctive that the pigmentation pattern on the undersides of their "flukes" is used to identify individual whales, similar to a human fingerprint.
•Humpback whales are the favorite of whale watchers, as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads.
•Humpback whales travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest migration of any mammal. The longest recorded migration was 5,160 miles (8,300 km); seven animals, including a calf, completed this trek from Costa Rica to Antarctica.
•Also on wintering grounds, males sing complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard 20 miles (30 km) away. A male may sing for hours, repeating the song several times. All males in a population sing the same song, but that song continually evolves over time. Humpback whale singing has been studied for decades, but scientists still understand very little about its function.
Source: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whal...
The blue color of the blue-footed booby's webbed feet comes from carotenoid pigments obtained from its diet of fresh fish. Carotenoids act as antioxidants and stimulants for the blue-footed booby's immune function, suggesting that carotenoid-pigmentation is an indicator of an individual's immunological state. Blue feet also indicate the current health condition of a booby. Boobies that were experimentally food-deprived for forty-eight hours experienced a decrease in foot brightness due to a reduction in the amount of lipids and lipoproteins that are used to absorb and transport carotenoids. Thus, the feet are rapid and honest indicators of a booby's current level of nourishment.[17] As blue feet are signals that reliably indicate the immunological and health condition of a booby, coloration is favored through sexual selection.
American Oystercatcher (female?), North Beach, Fort De Soto Park, Pinellas Co., FL; iris pigmentation has been shown to be sex-based in Black Oystercatcher, with males usually having a bit of black pigment adjacent to the pupil, usually in the front-lower quadrant, while females typically lack this (a published study using this criterion was able to correctly sex 88% of the species; I do not know whether anyone has looked into this in American Oystercatcher, but, considering the very close relationships of all members of the genus, I'd bet that this species is similar, with this pair of birds showing the same difference as is useful in sexing Black Oystercatchers; 6 Jan update: Susan Heath (who studies Americans in TX) reports that she and a grad student looked into this (compared iris pigment and blood-based DNA) and found that it was not helpful in sex ID in the species
Progne subis. I’ve posted a male at number 8, so here’s a female at number 9. You might think that the setting in front of a nest box is not very photogenic. However, almost the entire eastern population of this species nests in artificial nestboxes erected especially for them. Hardly any nest in their original natural nest sites which were holes in trees. Although humans have helped Purple Martins by providing these nest boxes, they have also introduced Starlings and House Sparrows from Europe. These are both invasive species and are aggressive and compete for nest holes with the Purple Martin. The purple colour of this species is like many species with iridescent plumage, cause by light refracting through tiny structures in the feathers rather than by pigmentation. The pale underparts identify this as a female. I photographed this one at Cape May Point State Park where there is a thriving colony in nestboxes next to the car park.
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Leucistic bald eagel, Washington State. Feb 2014.
Confirmed with a biologist in Yakima...
"Yes, that definitely looks like a Bald Eagle. It also looks like it is leucistic, a genetic condition where pigmentation is reduced, and not just melanin. Brown or black feathers are often faded out or yellowish looking.
Very cool picture and a great find! I’ve never seen this in a Bald Eagle.
Jeff Kozma
TFW Wildlife Biologist
Yakama Nation Fisheries Resource Management"