View allAll Photos Tagged testosterone
Numenius americanus,
At the edge of the bay (Morro Bay),
Sweet Springs Nature Preserve,
Los Osos, California
See also adjacent four photos.
The fisticuffs lasted only seconds. Prior to the actual grabbing there had been some threat gestures by vigorously pulling at vegetation, then standing tall. After the sword fight neither bird left for many minutes, as if trying to outlast the other. Eventually the bird on right flew away and the other bird preened for minutes. I assume they were two males with too much testosterone, though they do seem to have quite long bills and female curlews average longer bills.
This male (along with another) was challenging us, as we sat in our safari vehicle.
Taken at Kruger Park, South Africa.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir
There are several behaviors associated with the rut. Rutting behavior typically begins around the time that velvet is shed from the antlers (coinciding with decreasing day length and increasing testosterone levels) and ends when antlers are shed (coinciding with declining testosterone levels). The first sign of rutting behavior is often sparring among bucks. Sparring may take place between bucks of equal stature or between a dominant and subordinate buck.
The aftermath of a scrap between 2 bull grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). The challenger got off worse as can be seen by the blood on its neck! Taken at Donna Nook, Lincolnshire.
The male lion's mane is the most recognisable feature of the species. It may have evolved around 320,000–190,000 years ago. It starts growing when lions are about a year old. Mane colour varies and darkens with age; research shows its colour and size are influenced by environmental factors such as average ambient temperature. Mane length apparently signals fighting success in male-male relationships; darker-maned individuals may have longer reproductive lives and higher offspring survival, although they suffer in the hottest months of the year. The presence, absence, colour and size of the mane are associated with genetic precondition, sexual maturity, climate and testosterone production; the rule of thumb is that a darker, fuller mane indicates a healthier animal.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion
Photo capture date & Location: 2016-01 Mabula Timeshare
......to the day's Testosterone fuelled proceedings!, first light and fog at Richmond park, during rutting season, thanks for looking, cheers!
Red Deer / cervus elaphus. 10/10/18.
´RUTTING BEHAVIOUR.´ (5)
I captured the stag as he started to get up after a lengthy wallow in his own urine. All part of his breeding behavioural routine, designed to drive the hinds wild, though I have to say, the females close by didn‘t bat an eyelid.
I've told Dudette's story many times, but I'm sure we have new people viewing this sexually confused whitetail. In 2011 a game ranger told me about an antlered doe. Developed antlers, but they never hardened due to lack of testosterone. Over the years the antlers have gotten progressively gnarlier.
I photo'd Dudette many times and showed her to friends. Then one day in 2014 while processing photos, I discovered that Dudette is actually a buck with no testicles. Behaves like a doe and hangs out with the does. In the rut, bucks pay him no mind.
Our beautiful world, pass it on.
Apart from the obvious tenderness between a Mother & her pup the grey seal breeding colony is also a cauldron of aggressively protective mothers who'll attack anything coming near their pup & testosterone charged male bulls who know that when the pups wean at three weeks old the females are then receptive to mate.
The bulls don't eat for weeks while they tirelessly patrol their harem waiting for the right time & fending off other males who try & encroach on their females.
A large dominant bull (weighing up to fifty stone) will have few challengers but when the bulls are more evenly matched like the two in the photo above then a fight will occur which normally doesn't last long but will cause the pups & mothers to scuttle to a safe distance to avoid being crushed by the fighting bulls
A magnificent black-maned lion close-up, Puruma Pride Lion Park, South Africa. Darker, fuller manes indicate a healthy lion with plenty of testosterone. Black manes are perhaps the most telling status-symbol; manes darken with age, and thick dark hair indicates a well-fed lion. That means a black-maned lion is likely in his prime with good breeding success.
24/09/2019 www.allenfotowild.com
Red Deer / cevus elaphus. 10/10/18.
´WILD EYES - RUTTING BEHAVIOUR.´ (6)
This fine stag had worked himself into quite a lather during last year‘s rut and made himself both seen and heard in equal measure. I watched him from a distance for over an hour and found his behaviour fascinating ... unlike the group of eight hinds he presided over. Whilst he wallowed and thrashed about in mud, they fed. Whilst he dug his antlers into the grass and adorned them with pieces of turf, they fed. The same goes for when he urinated then rolled in it and when he bellowed burst after burst of throaty calls ... they fed without so much as a glance in his direction.
He got a 10 from me for sheer effort !!!!
The bucks have run together for months, but as fall arrives their social club breaks up. They are loners now, their bodies full of testosterone and their senses on high alert. They will challenge one another for the right to breed. This young buck is certainly capable of breeding, but only if he can find a doe that isn't tended by a larger buck. Nature allows only the strongest the right to pass on their genes. This buck has his nose to the ground trailing a doe. Our beautiful world, pass it on.
A large male tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) fluffing himself up and singing loudly to assert his territorial dominance as his mate flies in to join him in feeding on nectar from the flowers of a waratah. Their effectiveness as pollinators is clearly evident in the form of yellow pollen - probably flax - around the base of the bills of both birds.
Una imagen que esta latente en mi cabeza desde el 2005, cuando el disco TESTOSTERONA llegó a mis manos y oí por primera vez la canción "Inundación":
Rebalsó.
La gota que nadie esperó.
Sin verla ni beberla nos ahogamos en un vaso.
En esta inundación.
La gota que nadie esperó.
Sin verla ni beberla nos ahogamos en un vaso.
Sin agua.
-"Just me, that I can not swim".
An image that is latent in my head since 2005, when the disk TESTOSTERONE came to my hands and I heard for the first time the song "Flood".
✔ Mi facebook personal.
✔ Mi Instagram. Registro visual cotidiano.
Quiet summer months are days of development for young bucks in Minnesota. This buck, at an estimated 2.5-3.5 years of age, is busy adding girth to his strong body in anticipation of the fall rut.
During this growth stage, a buck at this age will eat around 6-8 pounds of high-protein food a day, one bite at a time as they build up their strength for the fall.
His velvet antlers will continue to grow for the next couple of months before hardening as his testosterone levels rise. By mid-September, the velvet will be gone.
It is fairly common to see bucks like this hanging around other young and middle-aged bucks. Deer experts tell us these bachelor groups of deer are non-aggressive and actually are cooperative as they learn about territory and common threats.
That congenial spirit disappears in the fall when the rutting season arrives.
(Photographed near Cambridge, MN)
You can really tell that the rut is about to start at Wildpark Neuhaus as this formidable red deer hart kept turning towards the human visitors and eyeing them suspiciously, not knowing what to do with all the testosterone coursing through his body. At the moment there are no deer challengers but I've no doubt that soon he'll be oblivious to the presence of humans again, once his fellow stags have reached the same stage.
.
Respecte les filles !! Respect the girls !! Respeta las niñas !!
.
Ecouter moi mon ami,
toutes notres amies qu'un jour avez vous d'entendre
et vous besoin pour bien comprendre
que vous devez écouter et avec elle apprendre
oui et rappelez-vous que l'autonomie des choix est un droit
sacré sans discuter le pourquoi !
comme le droit que appartient aussi à sa soeur,
le même droit que de sa petite amie,
oui ou les droits de ta mère !
comment chacun de vos droits !
qu'alors mon ami,
rapeller les droits aussi
de toutes les femmes
ne seulement pas de ceux
de qui vous tant aime !
simplement aimer les et les respecter !
peu importe le pourquoi !
s'il vous plait, de ça, ne va oublie pas !
Ivan
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Il est avec une grande tristesse que nous percevons les faits, selon la police du Canada, causés par les jeunes hommes, que les hommes, qui se disent Incels, involontaire célibataires, donnant l'écoulement à leur frustration sexuelle et sociale par l'agression aux gens, en particulier les femmes.
Bouddha et Jung ont dit la même sagesse: « La pensée crée l'acte, l'acte construit l'habitude, l'habitude construit le caractère et le caractère construit le destin »
Et qu'est-ce qui construit la pensée ?
Ce qui construit notre pensée, ce sont nos neurones, la neurotransmission, l'endophénotype, la génétique moléculaire.
Les réseaux de neurones résumant beaucoup, réseau de neurones sérotoninergiques améliore l'intelligence émotionnelle, le réseau dopaminergique améliore l'intelligence logique. Les deux travaillent ensemble, simultanément à tout moment. La prédominance du réseau sérotoninergique génère de l'empathie, la prédominance de l'intelligence logique, sans tenir compte de l'intelligence émotionnelle, génère des schémas mentaux et des stratégies, l'attachement au pouvoir et la capacité d'attaquer.
L'exposition intra-utérine du réseau neuronal naissant de fœtus à la molécule de testostérone favorise la construction de réseaux dopaminergiques. Oui, les hommes ont plus de capacités mentales en mathématiques.
Cela a déjà fait l'objet d'une controverse célèbre à l'Université de Havard.
Qu'en est-il de l'empathie ?
C'est a manqué d'empathie !
Peut-être que l'expression du réseau sérotoninergique était manquante !
Allons-nous encourager nos enfants, garçons et filles,
à activer l'attitude d'empathie dès le début ?
Stimuler l'action du réseau sérotoninergique ?
Ou nous allons stimuler en eux l'extrême compétitivité
et les stratégies pour les "opposants" vaincre ?
Stimuler l'action du résau dopaminergique ?
Alors, nos filles, en particulier, grandiront-elles aussi en demandant à l'avenir à leurs médecins
de leur prescrire du gel de testostérone
à mettre sur la peau ?
Qu'en est-il de l'empathie ?
Qu'en est-il du réseau sérotoninergique ?
Et le droit du prochain ?
Oui, le droit du prochain !
Pourquoi dis-je cela ? Pourquoi ?
Avez-vous oublié ce qui s'est passé
au Canada ?
: [
Ivan
------------------------------------------------------------------
Respectez les filles ou vous irez pour derrière les barreaux.
========================================
Listen me my friend,
all our friends that one day you hear
and you need to fully understand
that you must listen and with her learn
yes and remember that autonomy of choice is a right
sacred without discussing the why !
as the right that also belongs to your sister,
the same right as your girlfriend,
yes or your mother's rights!
how each of your rights !
then my friend,
remember the rights too
of all women
not only of those
of whom you love so much !
just love them and respect them !
no matter why !
please don't forget this !
Ivan
-------------------------------------------------- --------------
It is with great sadness that we perceive the facts, according to the police of Canada, caused by the young men, that the men, who call themselves Incels, involuntary celibates, giving outlet to their sexual and social frustration by the aggression to people, especially women.
Buddha and Jung said the same wisdom: "Thought creates deed, deed builds habit, habit builds character, and character builds destiny"
And what constructs thought ?
What builds our thought are our neurons, neurotransmission, endophenotype, molecular genetics.
Neural networks summing up a lot, serotonergic neural network improves emotional intelligence, dopaminergic network improves logical intelligence. Both work together, simultaneously at all times. The dominance of the serotonergic network generates empathy, the dominance of logical intelligence, disregarding emotional intelligence, generates mental patterns and strategies, attachment to power and the ability to attack.
Intrauterine exposure of the nascent neural network of the fetus to the testosterone molecule promotes the construction of dopaminergic networks. Yes, men have more mental abilities in mathematics.
This has already been the subject of a famous controversy at Havard University.
What about empathy ?
It's a lack of empathy !
Maybe the expression of the serotonergic network was missing !
Will we encourage our children, boys and girls,
to activate the attitude of empathy from the start ?
Stimulate the action of the serotoninergic network ?
Or we will stimulate in them the extreme competitiveness
and the strategies for defeating the "opponents" ?
Stimulate the action of the dopaminergic network ?
So, will our daughters, in particular, also grow up asking their doctors in the future
to prescribe them testosterone gel
to put on the skin ?
What about empathy ?
What about the serotonergic network ?
And the right of the neighbour ?
Yes, the right of the neighbour !
Why am I saying this ? Why ?
Have you forgotten what happened
in Canada ?
: [
Ivan
-----------------------------------------------------------
Respect the girls or you'll go to behind the bars.
---------------------------------------------------------------
.
Testoserone. Male Black Grouse. Had a fantastic morning at the lek with Mark Bend. These birds came within 3 feet away as I was lying in the field without a hide, just covered with camo netting. Great experience!
Take a look at www.markmedcalf.co.uk
Processed in GIMP 2.8.16
Flickr doesn't have a Testosterone Tuesday,(or a Tongue-in-Cheek Tuesday) but I decided to post this bad boy anyway. ;-)
For International Cheetah Day 4 Dec 2019 - Acinonyx jubatus in the 5 male coalition in the Masai Mara
Sighted from -1.505517 35.223522 (01°30'19.86"S 035°13'24.68"E)
24 August 2019 12:28pm Jill's shot
2D5_7265
Nikkor 70-200/2.8G VR2
Enaidura Mobile Tented Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya
-1.425222 35.070250 (01°25'30.80"S 035°04'12.90"E)
It's late Summer and this season's calves have lost their rust-red color and are sprouting horns. The bulls are joining the cow/calf herds and the calves will soon be terrified by the bellowing and fighting of the testosterone charged bulls. Likely that many will be wondering "What the hell is he doing. to my momma?" Our beautiful world, pass it on.
Testosterone Variation
Possibly the male version of a Tapajosa. Another variation OR species of the original post's individual. Lateral view of the same individual here: flic.kr/p/266wEnb
Full post here: flic.kr/p/26GZ2Zp
PROJECT NOAH (Português): www.projectnoah.org/spottings/361805331
La Jolla Cove
On their way in and out of the ocean, human swimmers and divers wade right past the sea lions. Male humans all get this look from male sea lions. Roger that!
This is supposed to be simulated hand to hand medieval combat, but boys will be boys and with elevated testosterone and adrenaline levels in this second go around, NOBODY pulled the sword strikes. It was incredible to watch and so incredibly real. This was the place to watch the battle from . The noise, the clang of sword on shield, and the very real curses, bring home the lethality of war in any era.
From Treasureventure at Rockton Fairgrounds.
A male ruddy duck doing its testosterone fueled thing on local a pond in Strathcona County, Alberta.
for We're Here - Testosterone Tuesday
basically practicing my photo editing... found old photo I never used, photographed guys in front of plain background and combined the two.
Face to face with a Red Deer Stag – This morning, as I stepped into Bradgate Park, I didn’t know what awaited me — but soon I found myself face to face with a magnificent red deer stag in its natural habitat.
It was a rare and thrilling encounter. By pure chance, the stag approached to within about 5–7 meters, allowing me to capture these close-up portraits.
At this time of year, red deer stags usually roar and clash their antlers in dramatic displays of strength and dominance — the “Deer Rut” is in full swing. Yet this morning was surprisingly calm.
During the rutting season, males are heavily driven by testosterone. They often forget to eat, become restless, and spend their days fighting rivals. For photographers, safety and respect are vital: never stand between a dominant stag and his harem, nor between two rivals who haven’t yet decided the outcome of their contest.
Wildlife photography often requires careful planning, logistics, and tested camera settings. In short, knowing your subject and your equipment is essential when working with such fleeting moments.
Despite the overcast light, I was greeted first by a young male and his lone female companion. Later, as I crossed the River Lin, I spotted two impressive stags — likely just after their morning feeding. This year, with the mild weather, the rut seems less intense; roaring is rare, and many stags appear calmer than usual.
After waiting patiently for Stonechats and Robins, I took a short break — and sometimes, as nature photographers know well, that’s when magic happens. About two hours later, two large males appeared from different directions and met near my path. One moved closer to me, watching the other intently. I quietly took cover behind an old oak fence, and to my surprise, the stag approached and paused just in front of me.
He was aware of my presence, yet remained calm. I didn’t move suddenly; when our eyes met, I pressed the shutter. He then passed by, continuing on his way.
These portraits were taken with patience, respect, and a bit of luck. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the quiet connection with this majestic creature.
Wishing everyone a peaceful and inspiring weekend.
Field Observation: The stag was fully aware of my presence but showed no aggression. Maintaining a calm posture and avoiding direct eye contact for too long helped build trust. The combination of patience, quiet movement, and natural cover made these close portraits possible.
I've captured some unforgettable moments with my camera, and I hope you feel the same joy viewing these images as I did while shooting them.
Thank you so much for visiting my gallery, whether you leave a comment, add it to your favorites, or simply take a moment to look around. Your support means a lot to me, and I wish you good luck and beautiful light in all your endeavors.
© All rights belong to R.Ertuğ. Please refrain from using these images without my express written permission. If you are interested in purchasing or using them, feel free to contact me via Flickr mail.
Lens - With Nikon TC 14E II - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f8 and full length. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.
I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -
Your comments and criticism are very valuable.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and explore :)
Boys checking out the girl with the camera :)
A rough looking gang currently as all these three bucks are losing their winter coats and the normally majestic antlers are only tiny nubs. White-tailed deer males shed antlers between January and March, then grow them back in April or May. The shedding is driven by declining testosterone levels after rut and also the increasing daylight hours.
One of a group of five circus lions.They found a new home and life at "Stichting Leeuw".. The males are all castrated in the past , as a result they lost there manes too (lack of testosterone)
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Een uit de groep van vijf circusleeuwen, die een nieuw huis en leven krijgen bij Stichting leeuw., De mannen zijn gecastreerd .Door het daardoor ontstane gebrek aan testosteron zijn ze hun manen verloren.
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They look quite gentle and benign when they’re not all testosteroned up at the lek. Quite unobtrusive though and I would have driven right past them (there were two) had I not known that that was one of their favourite spots
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hare
The European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include large birds of prey, canids and felids. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape from their enemies; having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils.
Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy, they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is usually not competition between males, but a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or as a test of his determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground rather than in a burrow, and the young are active as soon as they are born. Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. The breeding season lasts from January to August.
The European hare is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it has a wide range and is moderately abundant. However, populations have been declining in mainland Europe since the 1960s, at least partly due to changes in farming practices. The hare has been hunted across Europe for centuries, with more than five million being shot each year; in Britain, it has traditionally been hunted by beagling and hare coursing, but these field sports are now illegal. The hare has been a traditional symbol of fertility and reproduction in some cultures, and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom mad as a March hare.
Taxonomy and genetics
The European hare was first described in 1778 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas.[2] It shares the genus Lepus (Latin for "hare"[3]) with 31 other hare and jackrabbit species,[4] jackrabbits being the name given to some species of hare native to North America. They are distinguished from other leporids (hares and rabbits) by their longer legs, wider nostrils and active (precocial) young.[5] The Corsican hare, broom hare and Granada hare were at one time considered to be subspecies of the European hare, but DNA sequencing and morphological analysis support their status as separate species.[6][7]
There is some debate as to whether the European hare and the Cape hare are the same species. A 2005 nuclear gene pool study suggested that they are,[8] but a 2006 study of the mitochondrial DNA of these same animals concluded that they had diverged sufficiently widely to be considered separate species.[9] A 2008 study claims that in the case of Lepus species, with their rapid evolution, species designation cannot be based solely on mtDNA but should also include an examination of the nuclear gene pool. It is possible that the genetic differences between the European and Cape hare are due to geographic separation rather than actual divergence. It has been speculated that in the Near East, hare populations are intergrading and experiencing gene flow.[10] Another 2008 study suggests that more research is needed before a conclusion is reached as to whether a species complex exists;[11] the European hare remains classified as a single species until further data contradicts this assumption.[1]
Cladogenetic analysis suggests that European hares survived the last glacial period during the Pleistocene via refugia in southern Europe (Italian peninsula and Balkans) and Asia Minor. Subsequent colonisations of Central Europe appear to have been initiated by human-caused environmental changes.[12] Genetic diversity in current populations is high with no signs of inbreeding. Gene flow appears to be biased towards males, but overall populations are matrilineally structured. There appears to be a particularly large degree of genetic diversity in hares in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. It is however possible that restricted gene flow could reduce genetic diversity within populations that become isolated.[13]
Historically, up to 30 subspecies of European hare have been described, although their status has been disputed.[5] These subspecies have been distinguished by differences in pelage colouration, body size, external body measurements, skull morphology and tooth shape.[14] Sixteen subspecies are listed in the IUCN red book, following Hoffmann and Smith (2005): Lepus europaeus caspicus, L. e. connori, L. e. creticus, L. e. cyprius, L. e. cyrensis, L. e. europaeus, L. e. hybridus, L. e. judeae, L. e. karpathorum, L. e. medius, L. e. occidentalis, L. e. parnassius, L. e. ponticus, L. e. rhodius, L. e. syriacus, and L. e. transsylvanicus.[15] Twenty-nine subspecies are listed by Chapman and Flux in their book on lagomorphs, including in addition L. e. alba, L. e. argenteogrisea, L. e. biarmicus, L. e. borealis, L. e. caspicus, L. e. caucasicus, L. e. flavus, L. e. gallaecius, L. e. hispanicus, L. e. hyemalis, L. e. granatensis, L. e. iturissius, L. e. kalmykorum, L. e. meridiei, L. e. meridionalis, L. e. niethammeri, L. e. niger, L. e. tesquorum, and L. e. tumak, but excluding L. e. connori, L. e. creticus, L. e. cyprius, L. e. judeae, L. e. rhodius, and L. e. syriacus, with the proviso that the subspecies they list are of "very variable status".[5]
Description
The European hare, like other members of the family Leporidae, is a fast-running terrestrial mammal; it has eyes set high on the sides of its head, long ears and a flexible neck. Its teeth grow continuously, the first incisors being modified for gnawing while the second incisors are peg-like and non-functional. There is a gap (diastema) between the incisors and the cheek teeth, the latter being adapted for grinding coarse plant material. The dental formula is 2/1, 0/0, 3/2, 3/3.[16][17] The dark limb musculature of hares is adapted for high-speed endurance running in open country. By contrast, cottontail rabbits are built for short bursts of speed in more vegetated habitats.[5][18] Other adaptions for high speed running in hares include wider nostrils and larger hearts.[5] In comparison to the European rabbit, the hare has a proportionally smaller stomach and caecum.[19]
This hare is one of the largest of the lagomorphs. Its head and body length can range from 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) with a tail length of 7.2 to 11 cm (2.8 to 4.3 in). The body mass is typically between 3 and 5 kg (6.6 and 11.0 lb).[20] The hare's elongated ears range from 9.4 to 11.0 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in) from the notch to tip. It also has long hind feet that have a length of between 14 and 16 cm (5.5 and 6.3 in).[21] The skull has nasal bones that are short, but broad and heavy. The supraorbital ridge has well-developed anterior and posterior lobes and the lacrimal bone projects prominently from the anterior wall of the orbit.[20]
The fur colour is grizzled yellow-brown on the back; rufous on the shoulders, legs, neck and throat; white on the underside and black on the tail and ear tips.[21] The fur on the back is typically longer and more curled than on the rest of the body.[5] The European hare's fur does not turn completely white in the winter as is the case with some other members of the genus,[21] although the sides of the head and base of the ears do develop white areas and the hip and rump region may gain some grey.[5]
Range and habitat
European hares are native to much of continental Europe and part of Asia. Their range extends from northern Spain to southern Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and northern parts of Western and Central Asia. They have been extending their range into Siberia.[5] They may have been introduced to Britain by the Romans (circa 2000 years ago) as there are no records of them from earlier sites. Undocumented introductions likely occurred in some Mediterranean Islands.[22] They have also been introduced, mostly as game animals, to North America (in Ontario and New York State, and unsuccessfully in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), South America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and the Falkland Islands), Australia, both islands of New Zealand and the south Pacific coast of Russia.[5][21][23]
Hares primarily live in open fields with scattered brush for shelter. They are very adaptable and thrive in mixed farmland.[5] According to a study done in the Czech Republic, the mean hare densities were highest at altitudes below 200 metres (660 ft), 40 to 60 days of annual snow cover, 450 to 700 millimetres (18 to 28 in) of annual precipitation, and a mean annual air temperature of around 10 °C (50 °F). With regards to climate, the study found that hare densities were highest in "warm and dry districts with mild winters".[24] In Poland, hares are most abundant in areas with few forest edges, perhaps because foxes can use these for cover. They require cover, such as hedges, ditches and permanent cover areas, because these habitats supply the varied diet they require, and are found at lower densities in large open fields. Intensive cultivation of the land results in greater mortality of young hares (leverets).[25]
In the United Kingdom, hares are seen most frequently on arable farms, especially those with fallow land, wheat and sugar beet crops. In mainly grass farms their numbers are raised when there are improved pastures, some arable crops and patches of woodland. They are seen less frequently where foxes are abundant or where there are many buzzards. They also seem to be fewer in number in areas with high European rabbit populations,[26] although there appears to be little interaction between the two species and no aggression.[27] Although hares are shot as game when they are plentiful, this is a self-limiting activity and is less likely to occur in localities where they are scarce.[26]
Behaviour and life history
Hares are primarily nocturnal and spend a third of their time foraging.[5] During daytime, a hare hides in a depression in the ground called a "form" where it is partially hidden. Hares can run at 70 km/h (43 mph) and when confronted by predators they rely on outrunning them in the open. They are generally thought of as asocial but can be seen in both large and small groups. They do not appear to be territorial, living in shared home ranges of around 300 ha (740 acres). Hares communicate with each other by a variety of visual signals. To show interest they raise their ears, while lowering the ears warns others to keep away. When challenging a conspecific, a hare thumps its front feet; the hind feet are used to warn others of a predator. A hare squeals when hurt or scared and a female makes "guttural" calls to attract her young.[21] Hares can live for as long as twelve years.[1]
Food and foraging
European hares are primarily herbivorous. They may forage for wild grasses and weeds but with the intensification of agriculture, they have taken to feeding on crops when preferred foods are not available.[1] During the spring and summer, they feed on soy, clover and corn poppy[28] as well as grasses and herbs.[21] During autumn and winter, they primarily choose winter wheat, and are also attracted to piles of sugar beet and carrots provided for them by hunters.[28] They also eat twigs, buds and the bark of shrubs and young fruit trees during winter.[21] Cereal crops are usually avoided when other more attractive foods are available, the species appearing to prefer high energy foodstuffs over crude fibre.[29] When eating twigs, hares strip off the bark to access the vascular tissues which store soluble carbohydrates. Compared to the European rabbit, food passes through the gut more rapidly in the hare, although digestion rates are similar.[19] They sometimes eat their own green, faecal pellets to recover undigested proteins and vitamins.[20] Two to three adult hares can eat more food than a single sheep.[21]
European hares forage in groups. Group feeding is beneficial as individuals can spend more time feeding knowing that other hares are being vigilant. Nevertheless, the distribution of food affects these benefits. When food is well-spaced, all hares are able to access it. When food is clumped together, only dominant hares can access it. In small gatherings, dominants are more successful in defending food, but as more individuals join in, they must spend more time driving off others. The larger the group, the less time dominant individuals have in which to eat. Meanwhile, the subordinates can access the food while the dominants are distracted. As such, when in groups, all individuals fare worse when food is clumped as opposed to when it is widely spaced.[30]
Mating and reproduction
European hares have a prolonged breeding season which lasts from January to August.[31][32] Females, or does, can be found pregnant in all breeding months and males, or bucks, are fertile all year round except during October and November. After this hiatus, the size and activity of the males' testes increase, signalling the start of a new reproductive cycle. This continues through December, January and February when the reproductive tract gains back its functionality. Matings start before ovulation occurs and the first pregnancies of the year often result in a single foetus, with pregnancy failures being common. Peak reproductive activity occurs in March and April, when all females may be pregnant, the majority with three or more foetuses.[32]
The mating system of the hare has been described as both polygynous (single males mating with multiple females) and promiscuous.[33] Females have six-weekly reproductive cycles and are receptive for only a few hours at a time, making competition among local bucks intense.[31] At the height of the breeding season, this phenomenon is known as "March madness",[32] when the normally nocturnal bucks are forced to be active in the daytime. In addition to dominant animals subduing subordinates, the female fights off her numerous suitors if she is not ready to mate. Fights can be vicious and can leave numerous scars on the ears.[31] In these encounters, hares stand upright and attack each other with their paws, a practice known as "boxing", and this activity is usually between a female and a male and not between competing males as was previously believed.[21][34] When a doe is ready to mate, she runs across the countryside, starting a chase that tests the stamina of the following males. When only the fittest male remains, the female stops and allows him to copulate.[31] Female fertility continues through May, June and July, but testosterone production decreases in males and sexual behaviour becomes less overt. Litter sizes decrease as the breeding season draws to a close with no pregnancies occurring after August. The testes of males begin to regress and sperm production ends in September.[32]
Does give birth in hollow depressions in the ground. An individual female may have three litters in a year with a 41- to 42-day gestation period. The young have an average weigh of around 130 grams (4.6 oz) at birth.[35] The leverets are fully furred and are precocial, being ready to leave the nest soon after they are born, an adaptation to the lack of physical protection relative to that afforded by a burrow.[21] Leverets disperse during the day and come together in the evening close to where they were born. Their mother visits them for nursing soon after sunset; the young suckle for around five minutes, urinating while they do so, with the doe licking up the fluid. She then leaps away so as not to leave an olfactory trail, and the leverets disperse once more.[21][36] Young can eat solid food after two weeks and are weaned when they are four weeks old.[21] While young of either sex commonly explore their surroundings,[37] natal dispersal tends to be greater in males.[33][38] Sexual maturity occurs at seven or eight months for females and six months for males.[1]
Mortality and health
European hares are large leporids and adults can only be tackled by large predators such as canids, felids and the largest birds of prey.[20] In Poland it was found that the consumption of hares by foxes was at its highest during spring, when the availability of small animal prey was low; at this time of year, hares may constitute up to 50% of the biomass eaten by foxes, with 50% of the mortality of adult hares being caused by their predation.[39] In Scandinavia, a natural epizootic of sarcoptic mange which reduced the population of red foxes dramatically, resulted in an increase in the number of European hares, which returned to previous levels when the numbers of foxes subsequently increased.[40] The golden eagle preys on the European hare in the Alps, the Carpathians, the Apennines and northern Spain.[41] In North America, foxes and coyotes are probably the most common predators, with bobcats and lynx also preying on them in more remote locations.[35]
European hares have both external and internal parasites. One study found that 54% of animals in Slovakia were parasitised by nematodes and over 90% by coccidia.[42] In Australia, European hares were reported as being infected by four species of nematode, six of coccidian, several liver flukes and two canine tapeworms. They were also found to host rabbit fleas (Spilopsyllus cuniculi), stickfast fleas (Echidnophaga myrmecobii), lice (Haemodipsus setoni and H. lyriocephalus), and mites (Leporacarus gibbus).[43]
European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) is a disease caused by a calicivirus similar to that causing rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHS) and can similarly be fatal, but cross infection between the two mammal species does not occur.[44] Other threats to the hare are pasteurellosis, yersiniosis (pseudo-tuberculosis), coccidiosis and tularaemia, which are the principal sources of mortality.[45]
Relationship with humans
In folklore, literature, and art
In Europe, the hare has been a symbol of sex and fertility since at least Ancient Greece. The Greeks associated it with the gods Dionysus, Aphrodite and Artemis as well as with satyrs and cupids. The Christian Church connected the hare with lustfulness and homosexuality, but also associated it with the persecution of the church because of the way it was commonly hunted.[46]
In Northern Europe, Easter imagery often involves hares or rabbits. Citing folk Easter customs in Leicestershire, England, where "the profits of the land called Harecrop Leys were applied to providing a meal which was thrown on the ground at the 'Hare-pie Bank'", the 19th-century scholar Charles Isaac Elton proposed a possible connection between these customs and the worship of Ēostre.[47] In his 19th-century study of the hare in folk custom and mythology, Charles J. Billson cites folk customs involving the hare around Easter in Northern Europe, and argues that the hare was probably a sacred animal in prehistoric Britain's festival of springtime.[48] Observation of the hare's springtime mating behaviour led to the popular English idiom "mad as a March hare",[46] with similar phrases from the sixteenth century writings of John Skelton and Sir Thomas More onwards.[49] The mad hare reappears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, in which Alice participates in a crazy tea party with the March Hare and the Mad Hatter.[50]
Any connection of the hare to Ēostre is doubtful. John Andrew Boyle cites an etymology dictionary by A. Ernout and A. Meillet, who wrote that the lights of Ēostre were carried by hares, that Ēostre represented spring fecundity, love and sexual pleasure. Boyle responds that almost nothing is known about Ēostre, and that the authors had seemingly accepted the identification of Ēostre with the Norse goddess Freyja, but that the hare is not associated with Freyja either. Boyle adds that "when the authors speak of the hare as the 'companion of Aphrodite and of satyrs and cupids' and 'in the Middle Ages [the hare] appears beside the figure of [mythological] Luxuria', they are on much surer ground."[51]
The hare is a character in some fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare of Aesop.[52] The story was annexed to a philosophical problem by Zeno of Elea, who created a set of paradoxes to support Parmenides' attack on the idea of continuous motion, as each time the hare (or the hero Achilles) moves to where the tortoise was, the tortoise moves just a little further away.[53][54] The German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer realistically depicted a hare in his 1502 watercolour painting Young Hare.[55]
Food and hunting
Across Europe, over five million European hares are shot each year, making it probably the most important game mammal on the continent. This popularity has threatened regional varieties such as those of France and Denmark, through large-scale importing of hares from Eastern European countries such as Hungary.[5] Hares have traditionally been hunted in Britain by beagling and hare coursing. In beagling, the hare is hunted with a pack of small hunting dogs, beagles, followed by the human hunters on foot. In Britain, the 2004 Hunting Act banned hunting of hares with dogs, so the 60 beagle packs now use artificial "trails", or may legally continue to hunt rabbits.[56] Hare coursing with greyhounds was once an aristocratic pursuit, forbidden to lower social classes.[57] More recently, informal hare coursing became a lower class activity and was conducted without the landowner's permission;[58] it is also now illegal.[59]
Hare is traditionally cooked by jugging: a whole hare is cut into pieces, marinated and cooked slowly with red wine and juniper berries in a tall jug that stands in a pan of water. It is traditionally served with (or briefly cooked with) the hare's blood and port wine.[60][61] Hare can also be cooked in a casserole.[62] The meat is darker and more strongly flavoured than that of rabbits. Young hares can be roasted; the meat of older hares becomes too tough for roasting, and may be slow-cooked.[61][63]
Status
The European hare has a wide range across Europe and western Asia and has been introduced to a number of other countries around the globe, often as a game species. In general it is considered moderately abundant in its native range,[13] but declines in populations have been noted in many areas since the 1960s. These have been associated with the intensification of agricultural practices.[64] The hare is an adaptable species and can move into new habitats, but it thrives best when there is an availability of a wide variety of weeds and other herbs to supplement its main diet of grasses.[1] The hare is considered a pest in some areas; it is more likely to damage crops and young trees in winter when there are not enough alternative foodstuffs available.[21]
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has evaluated the European hare's conservation status as being of least concern. However, at low population densities, hares are vulnerable to local extinctions as the available gene pool declines, making inbreeding more likely. This is the case in northern Spain and in Greece, where the restocking by hares brought from outside the region has been identified as a threat to regional gene pools. To counteract this, a captive breeding program has been implemented in Spain, and the relocation of some individuals from one location to another has increased genetic variety.[1] The Bern Convention lists the hare under Appendix III as a protected species.[26] Several countries, including Norway, Germany, Austria and Switzerland,[1] have placed the species on their Red Lists as "near threatened" or "threatened".
One for the way I feel.
This is last weekend's 52 shot. Tad late.
Fun fact: The lines are the rhythm of my walking. I had the camera slung over my shoulder and took a 10-second exposure of the street as I walked. It made for some interesting patterns.
In space, no one can hear you scream.
explore 334
A Bison bull feeling a heavy dose of "T" testosterone building in his system digs, paws and plows earth and rocks in a dramatic, heated dust storm. All rights reserved.
This kind of cracked me up, like the young bull had some left-over testosterone from the rut season. In a rather comical way, this does show the mix of land use of this historical and grand national seashore place. Ranchers and dairy farmers lease property while the Tule Elk roam free. Not too sure what the elk was thinking in these last moments of sunlight.
Backyard. Shot throuigh my office window. This little guy is only slightly larger than a hummingbird, and man is he FAST! He won't sit still for more than 1 second --- always hopping from one branch to another. The females don't have the red crown. On a perfectly calm male you can't see it but if his testosterone levels are high he displays the red all the time.
A little lizard with some interesting color patterns posed for me at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. It looks to me that this is a yellow-throated individual, perhaps a "sneaker" male.
Side-blotched lizards are notable for having the highest number of distinct male and female morphs or "genders" within a species: three male and two female.
Orange-throated males are "ultra-dominant, high testosterone", who establish large territories and control areas that contain multiple females. Yellow stripe-throated males ("sneakers") do not defend a territory, but cluster on the fringes of orange-throated lizard territories, and mate with the females on those territories while the orange-throat is absent, as the territory to defend is large. Blue-throated males are less aggressive and guard only one female; they can fend off the yellow stripe-throated males but cannot withstand attacks by orange-throated males. Orange-throated females lay many small eggs and are very territorial. Yellow-throated females lay fewer, larger eggs, and are more tolerant of each other.
Source and more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-blotched_lizard