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Chan Lap Hin (Leslie) visually narrates another side of the ego, that of a supposed loser, a delivery person for a local Cha Chaan Teng (茶餐廳), someone with a low level of education who nevertheless takes a kind of clever revenge on his customers and his employer.
Ego Systems / 身份實例
Featuring the work of:
劉英傑 Lau Ying Kit (Rijk), 林安琪 Lam On Kit (Kristin), 陳立憲 Chan Lap Hin (Leslie), 余展宏 Yu Chin Wang (SteveCow), 陳卓嘉 Chan Cheuk Kar (Carmen), Siu Tsz Kuen (Patrick), 陳綺婷 Chan Yee Ting (Jill), Fan Chun Kit (Roy), 潘柬芝 Poon Kan Chi (Kit), 吳綺玲 Ng Yee Ling (Elaine), 梁家寶 Leung Ka Po (Dez)
Curated by:
Tse Ming Chong, Andrew Guthrie
These artworks are the result and apex of 3 different semester’s final assignments to Poly U students attending Andrew Guthrie’s Digital Imaging class, part of the SPEED program at The Hong Kong Art School.
The final assignment of these classes required students to create an alternate, or “fake” identity, using themselves as the subject or model. This identity was presented in the form of an Artist Book, a much-disputed genre, as no one is quite sure what that name fully indicates.
Nevertheless, this identity was presented as a sequence of images, something like pages in a book, a series of photographs, or indeed, a movie.
This visually distinctive silver hallmarked badge was designed Eric Gill, one of the most well know British artists of the early 20th century. In January 1937, Gill received the sum of 3 guineas for his design work; it showcases his forte for letterform design with the prominent, statuesque initials, ARP. The letters are nicely balanced with inter-points (dots), and this gives the acronym a strong visual presence. Gill used the King's 'Imperial Crown' to complete the overall regal effect. The first orders for this badge from the Royal Mint had crescent lapel fittings (for men), followed by the later issued brooch fittings (for women).
The badge emerged of course during the period leading up to WW11, as the British government created plans for a number of civilian volunteer services such as air raid wardens, first aid centres, report centres to support and help towns and cities deal with the potential devastating fall out from bombs, poisonous gasses and fires. The overarching name given to these civilian volunteer services was Air Raid Precautions (ARP) and by February 1939, over 800,000 government issued ARP badges, similar to the one above, had been shipped to local authorities.
After volunteers completed a period of training, they received a badge identical to the one shown here. Again, like this example, early issue ARP badges were silver hallmarked, but by 1940 these badges were made of white metal. By 1943, this particular type of government ARP badge ceased being made as most volunteers had, by this time, a uniform.
Photography, layout and design: Argy58
(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a
variety of print sizes e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded
format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)
Visually one of my favorite looking guitars in my collection...it just SCREAMS "1980s heavy metal hair bands"...the Warlock shape...the snakeskin...the pink color...the matching headstock...this one had me at "hello"...and it plays beautifully.
While visually a peculiarity among the other nobles occupying Oléon's High Council, Noorah Al-Ghareeb de La Roche de Tarzout can trace her noble lineage far back to when Oléon first arrived in Guelph. Sensing an opportunity to gain more influence and strength, Noorah's ancestral tribe was quick to ally with the northern kingdom and was a loyal ally during the ensuing civil war. Over time, the political power of the family grew through clever diplomacy and sometimes devious scheming. The tribe left the inland desert of Guelph and claimed the fortress of La Roche - the Rock - as their new home, from where they ruled Tarzout and Ouaganda first and later all of their dominions in Guelph, Oléon and the New World. They made their uncountable fortunes in agriculture and trade and own vast swathes of land throughout the Empire.
Noorah is a political power player and worked her way up into the highest echelons of Oléonese political life with patience and clever insights. Although some also suggest a more sinister path to power, which includes blackmail and other forms of subterfuge. In either case, as the head of le Bureau de Preuve, Noorah is responsible for the orderly conduct of all interior affairs of Oléon. A task she takes very seriously. A worker bee and somewhat of a control freak, Noorah has considerably expended the shadowy sections of her cabinet and keeps a close eye on possible dangerous elements within the Empire.
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
The O2 arena, visually typeset in branding as The O2 arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, United Kingdom. With a capacity of up to 23,000 depending on the event, it is one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe alongside the MEN Arena in Manchester. In 2008, The O2 arena took the crown of the Worlds Busiest Arena from the MEN Arena, a title which it held since 2001
Michael Jackson, who died from a fatal heart attack in June 2009, was scheduled to play 50 concerts from July 2009 to March 2010, making it the longest residency at the arena. All 50 dates sold out within a few hours of their release, for both the presale and general sale phases.
Source: Wikipedia
Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.
–
Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).
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Contact : photos [at] handisport.org
This lovely wine was from the 2 Lads Winery. I had it with a delicious plate of snacks that included crackers, cheese, white fish pate, smoked almonds and a tiny little raspberry chocolate. Yummy!
I also posted this because I realized I had little fall color in my stream and it bummed me out. So there's a little bit of what fall looked like, reflected in the bottom of the glass.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
Visually speaking this is not the most mind blowing image every created. It's more of a simplistic take of the story. Nevertheless it doesn't come close to the awesomeness of the special edition cover featuring HAL in close up. At least, it feels better than this weird scifi version of the standard DVD edition (you know, the one showing a flying space ship - which has so important for the overall story. Because, you know, he wouldn't have reached the space station without it.)
213/365
I have internet....finally!! Been without for well over a week and I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms from flickr :s I have still been taking pictures every single day and I will slowly be uploading them.
Work has been hectic as has moving house and so the stress has been plentiful, hopefully I can dedicate a large amount of time to flickr this weekend :)
This was taken on a mini stroll around my new local area, just a flower....anyone know what it is?
Toute reproduction sur un support imprimé ou publication sur internet devra faire l'objet d'une demande expresse auprès du service communication de la Fédération Française Handisport.
–
Toute utilisation ainsi autorisée devra mentionner le crédit photo (voir nom du fichier ci-dessus : “©…” ou métadonnées de la photo dans sa taille originale).
–
Contact : photos [at] handisport.org
I remember many years ago visually scanning the late night sky and thinking "wow, what is that??". Grabbing a pair of binoculars and later a telescope I again had the same reaction.
It was, of course, M34, a striking cluster that stands out well against the backdrop of the sky for any focal length that can contain it.
Equipment
Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
Apertura 6" f/5 Imaging Newtonian
Imaging Cameras
QHYCCD QHY163C
Mounts
Vixen GPDX
Filters
Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow 2"
Accessories
OnStep Telescope Mount Goto Controller · Sharpstar 2" 0.95× coma corrector (CRC2095)
Software
Adobe Photoshop · Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP) · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
Acquisition details
Frames:
Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow 2": 148×120″(4h 56′)
Integration:
4h 56′
Basic astrometry details
Astrometry.net job: 8278073
RA center: 02h42m13s.2
DEC center: +42°45′00″
Pixel scale: 1.083 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 78.943 degrees
Field radius: 0.867 degrees
Find images in the same area
Resolution: 3438x4622
File size: 16.4 MB
Data source: Backyard
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
The visually distinctive Tarboush Cafe in Loughborough town centre.
"Tarboush is a traditional yet modern Cafe with a menu inspired by the Middle East. Tarboush brings Loughborough some of the magic from the ancient world & is the ideal place to escape if you want a break from the norm. The menu offers an array of tantalizing tastes & light refreshing bites which will take you on a journey from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco to Turkey and Greece (to name just a few) & back. The air is filled with the sweet scent of shisha, it's easy to forget where you are..."
Tarboush is the Arabic name for red hat or fez, which is traditionally worn in the Middle Eastern region as part of the traditional custom... Tommy Cooper being one of the most famous to wear this this hat.
I said to the chef, 'Why have you got your hand in the alphabet soup?' He said, 'I'm groping for words!'
I told the waiter, bring me a chicken. So he brought me a chicken. 'Just a minute,' I said, 'It's only got one leg. 'It's been in a fight.' I said, 'Well, bring me the winner.'
My wife said 'Take me in your arms and whisper something soft and sweet'. I said, 'chocolate fudge'.
Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.
You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said 'Parking Fine.'
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
***UPDATE*** 7/2/13 Some things are meant to swim upstream. This is heading exactly that way, where it belongs. Thanks LC.
While visually these are amazing, they're impracticle and the upkeep is a chore:
-The plastic doesn't have breathability and your feet quickly become hot, making them unbearable for all day wear.
-The inside heel has only a thin strip of felt that is easily worn away and needs to be replaced often or the stitching behind can become frayed, splitting the shoe.
-The plastic as well will become cloudy over time and if left in light will also yellow.
-High heat and humidity areas will eventually cause the plastic to become brittle, eventually disintergrating.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
Nikon D200, single frame, 4 sec. exposure @ f/2.8, 100mm lens, ISO 800
Visually, ISON was barely detectable in binoculars.
The reindeer or caribou (Rangifer tarandus) is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only representative of the genus Rangifer. More recent studies suggest the splitting of reindeer and caribou into six distinct species over their range.
Reindeer occur in both migratory and sedentary populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions. The tundra subspecies are adapted for extreme cold, and some are adapted for long-distance migration.
Reindeer vary greatly in size and color from the smallest, the Svalbard reindeer (R. (t.) platyrhynchus), to the largest, Osborn's caribou (R. t. osborni). Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in decline and considered vulnerable. They are unique among deer (Cervidae) in that females may have antlers, although the prevalence of antlered females varies by species and subspecies.
Reindeer are the only successfully semi-domesticated deer on a large scale in the world. Both wild and domestic reindeer have been an important source of food, clothing, and shelter for Arctic people from prehistorical times. They are still herded and hunted today. In some traditional Christmas legends, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.
Description
Names follow international convention before the recent revision[9] (see Taxonomy below). Reindeer/caribou (Rangifer) vary in size from the smallest, the Svalbard reindeer (R. (t.) platyrhynchus), to the largest, Osborn's caribou (R. t. osborni). They also vary in coat color and antler architecture.
The North American range of caribou extends from Alaska through the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut throughout the tundra, taiga and boreal forest and south through the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Of the eight subspecies classified by Harding (2022) into the Arctic caribou (R. arcticus), the migratory mainland barren-ground caribou of Arctic Alaska and Canada (R. t. arcticus), summer in tundra and winter in taiga, a transitional forest zone between boreal forest and tundra; the nomadic Peary caribou (R. t. pearyi) lives in the polar desert of the High Arctic Archipelago and Grant's caribou (R. t. granti) lives in the western end of the Alaska Peninsula and the adjacent islands; the other four subspecies, Osborn's caribou (R. t. osborni), Stone's caribou (R. t. stonei), the Rocky Mountain caribou (R. t. fortidens) and the Selkirk Mountains caribou (R. t. montanus) are all montane. The extinct insular Queen Charlotte Islands caribou (R. t. dawsoni), lived on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands).
The boreal woodland caribou (R. t. caribou), lives in the boreal forest of northeastern Canada: the Labrador or Ungava caribou of northern Quebec and northern Labrador (R. t. caboti), and the Newfoundland caribou of Newfoundland (R. t. terranovae) have been found to be genetically in the woodland caribou lineage.
In Eurasia, both wild and domestic reindeer are distributed across the tundra and into the taiga. Eurasian mountain reindeer (R. t. tarandus) are close to North American caribou genetically and visually, but with sufficient differences to warrant division into two species. The unique, insular Svalbard reindeer inhabits the Svalbard Archipelago. The Finnish forest reindeer (R. t. fennicus) is spottily distributed in the coniferous forest zones from Finland to east of Lake Baikal: the Siberian forest reindeer (R. t. valentinae, formerly called the Busk Mountains reindeer (R. t. buskensis) by American taxonomists) occupies the Altai and Ural Mountains.
Male ("bull") and female ("cow") reindeer can grow antlers annually, although the proportion of females that grow antlers varies greatly between populations. Antlers are typically larger on males. Antler architecture varies by species and subspecies and, together with pelage differences, can often be used to distinguish between species and subspecies (see illustrations in Geist, 1991 and Geist, 1998).
Status
About 25,000 mountain reindeer (R. t. tarandus) still live in the mountains of Norway, notably in Hardangervidda. In Sweden there are approximately 250,000 reindeer in herds managed by Sami villages. Russia manages 19 herds of Siberian tundra reindeer (R. t. sibiricus) that total about 940,000. The Taimyr herd of Siberian tundra reindeer is the largest wild reindeer herd in the world, varying between 400,000 and 1,000,000; it is a metapopulation consisting of several subpopulations — some of which are phenotypically different — with different migration routes and calving areas. The Kamchatkan reindeer (R. t. phylarchus), a forest subspecies, formerly included reindeer west of the Sea of Okhotsk which, however, are indistinguishable genetically from the Jano-Indigirka, East Siberian taiga and Chukotka populations of R. t. sibiricus. Siberian tundra reindeer herds have been in decline but are stable or increasing since 2000.
Insular (island) reindeer, classified as the Novaya Zemlya reindeer (R. t. pearsoni) occupy several island groups: the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago (about 5,000 animals at last count, but most of these are either domestic reindeer or domestic-wild hybrids), the New Siberia Archipelago (about 10,000 to 15,000), and Wrangel Island (200 to 300 feral domestic reindeer).
What was once the second largest herd is the migratory Labrador caribou (R. t. caboti)[9] George River herd in Canada, with former variations between 28,000 and 385,000. As of January 2018, there are fewer than 9,000 animals estimated to be left in the George River herd, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The New York Times reported in April 2018 of the disappearance of the only herd of southern mountain woodland caribou in the contiguous United States, with an expert calling it "functionally extinct" after the herd's size dwindled to a mere three animals. After the last individual, a female, was translocated to a wildlife rehabilitation center in Canada, caribou were considered extirpated from the contiguous United States. The Committee on Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) classified both the Southern Mountain population DU9 (R. t. montanus) and the Central Mountain population DU8 (R. t. fortidens) as Endangered and the Northern Mountain population DU7 (R. t. osborni) as Threatened.
Some species and subspecies are rare and three subspecies have already become extinct: the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou (R. t. dawsoni) from western Canada, the Sakhalin reindeer (R. t. setoni) from Sakhalin and the East Greenland caribou from eastern Greenland, although some authorities believe that the latter, R. t. eogroenlandicus Degerbøl, 1957, is a junior synonym of the Peary caribou Historically, the range of the sedentary boreal woodland caribou covered more than half of Canada and into the northern states of the contiguous United States from Maine to Washington. Boreal woodland caribou have disappeared from most of their original southern range and were designated as Threatened in 2002 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Environment Canada reported in 2011 that there were approximately 34,000 boreal woodland caribou in 51 ranges remaining in Canada (Environment Canada, 2011b), although those numbers included montane populations classified by Harding (2022) into subspecies of the Arctic caribou. Siberian tundra reindeer herds are also in decline, and Rangifer as a whole is considered to be Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Naming
Charles Hamilton Smith is credited with the name Rangifer for the reindeer genus, which Albertus Magnus used in his De animalibus, fol. Liber 22, Cap. 268: "Dicitur Rangyfer quasi ramifer". This word may go back to the Sámi word raingo. Carl Linnaeus chose the word tarandus as the specific epithet, making reference to Ulisse Aldrovandi's Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia fol. 859–863, Cap. 30: De Tarando (1621). However, Aldrovandi and Conrad Gessner thought that rangifer and tarandus were two separate animals, In any case, the tarandos name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus.
The use of the terms reindeer and caribou for essentially the same animal can cause confusion, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature clearly delineates the issue: "Reindeer is the European name for the species of Rangifer, while in North America, Rangifer species are known as Caribou." The word reindeer is an anglicized version of the Old Norse words hreinn (“reindeer”) and dýr (“animal”) and has nothing to do with reins. The word caribou comes through French, from the Mi'kmaq qalipu, meaning "snow shoveler", and refers to its habit of pawing through the snow for food.
Because of its importance to many cultures, Rangifer and some of its species and subspecies have names in many languages. Inuvaluit of the western Canadian Arctic and Inuit of the eastern Canadian Arctic, who speak different dialects of Inuktitut, both call the barren-ground caribou tuktu. The Wekʼèezhìi people, a Dene (Athapascan) group, call the Arctic caribou ekwǫ̀ and the boreal woodland caribou tǫdzı. The Gwichʼin (also a Dene group) have over 24 distinct caribou-related words.
Reindeer are also called tuttu by the Greenlandic Inuit and hreindýr, sometimes rein, by the Icelanders.
Evolution
The "glacial-interglacial cycles of the upper Pleistocene had a major influence on the evolution" of Rangifer species and other Arctic and sub-Arctic species. Isolation of tundra-adapted species Rangifer in Last Glacial Maximum refugia during the last glacial – the Wisconsin glaciation in North America and the Weichselian glaciation in Eurasia – shaped "intraspecific genetic variability" particularly between the North American and Eurasian parts of the Arctic.
Reindeer/caribou (Rangifer) are in the subfamily Odocoileinae, along with roe deer (Capreolus), Eurasian elk/moose (Alces), and water deer (Hydropotes). These antlered cervids split from the horned ruminants Bos (cattle and yaks), Ovis (sheep) and Capra (goats) about 36 million years ago. The Eurasian clade of Odocoileinae (Capreolini, Hydropotini and Alcini) split from the New World tribes of Capreolinae (Odocoileini and Rangiferini) in the Late Miocene, 8.7–9.6 million years ago. Rangifer “evolved as a mountain deer, ...exploiting the subalpine and alpine meadows...”. Rangifer originated in the Late Pliocene and diversified in the Early Pleistocene, a 2+ million-year period of multiple glacier advances and retreats. Several named Rangifer fossils in Eurasia and North America predate the evolution of modern tundra reindeer.
Archaeologists distinguish “modern” tundra reindeer and barren-ground caribou from primitive forms — living and extinct — that did not have adaptations to extreme cold and to long distance migration. They include a broad, high muzzle to increase the volume of the nasal cavity to warm and moisten the air before it enters the throat and lungs, bez tines set close to the brow tines, distinctive coat patterns, short legs and other adaptations for running long distances, and multiple behaviors suited to tundra, but not to forest (such as synchronized calving and aggregation during rutting and post-calving). As well, many genes, including those for vitamin D metabolism, fat metabolism, retinal development, circadian rhythm, and tolerance to cold temperatures, are found in tundra caribou that are lacking or rudimentary in forest types. For this reason, forest-adapted reindeer and caribou could not survive in tundra or polar deserts. The oldest undoubted Rangifer fossil is from Omsk, Russia, dated to 2.1-1.8 Ma. The oldest North American Rangifer fossil is from the Yukon, 1.6 million years before present (BP). A fossil skull fragment from Süßenborn, Germany, R. arcticus stadelmanni, (which is probably misnamed) with “rather thin and cylinder-shaped” antlers, dates to the Middle Pleistocene (Günz) Period, 680,000-620,000 BP. Rangifer fossils become increasingly frequent in circumpolar deposits beginning with the Riss glaciations, the second youngest of the Pleistocene Epoch, roughly 300,000–130,000 BP. By the 4-Würm period (110,000–70,000 to 12,000–10,000 BP), its European range was extensive, supplying a major food source for prehistoric Europeans. North American fossils outside of Beringia that predate the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are of Rancholabrean age (240,000–11,000 years BP) and occur along the fringes of the Rocky Mountain and Laurentide ice sheets as far south as northern Alabama; and in Sangamonian deposits (~100,000 years BP) from western Canada.
A R. t. pearyi-sized caribou occupied Greenland before and after the LGM and persisted in a relict enclave in northeastern Greenland until it went extinct about 1900 (see discussion of R. t. eogroenlandicus below). Archaeological excavations showed that larger barren-ground-sized caribou appeared in western Greenland about 4,000 years ago.
The late Valerius Geist (1998) dates the Eurasian reindeer radiation dates to the large Riss glaciation (347,000 to 128,000 years ago), based on the Norwegian-Svalbard split 225,000 years ago. Finnish forest reindeer (R. t. fennicus) likely evolved from Cervus [Rangifer] geuttardi Desmarest, 1822, a reindeer that adapted to forest habitats in Eastern Europe as forests expanded during an interglacial period before the LGM (the Würmian or Weichsel glaciation);. The fossil species geuttardi was later replaced by R. constantini, which was adapted for grasslands, in a second immigration 19,000–20,000 years ago when the LGM turned its forest habitats into tundra, while fennicus survived in isolation in southwestern Europe. R. constantini was then replaced by modern tundra/barren-ground caribou adapted to extreme cold, probably in Beringia, before dispersing west (R. t. tarandus in the Scandinavian mountains and R. t. sibiricus across Siberia) and east (R. t. arcticus in the North American Barrenlands) when rising seas isolated them. Likewise in North America, DNA analysis shows that woodland caribou (R. caribou) diverged from primitive ancestors of tundra/barren-ground caribou not during the LGM, 26,000–19,000 years ago, as previously assumed, but in the Middle Pleistocene around 357,000 years ago. At that time, modern tundra caribou had not even evolved. Woodland caribou are likely more related to extinct North American forest caribou than to barren-ground caribou. For example, the extinct caribou Torontoceros [Rangifer] hypogaeus, had features (robust and short pedicles, smooth antler surface, and high position of second tine) that relate it to forest caribou.
Humans started hunting reindeer in both the Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods, and humans are today the main predator in many areas. Norway and Greenland have unbroken traditions of hunting wild reindeer from the Last Glacial Period until the present day. In the non-forested mountains of central Norway, such as Jotunheimen, it is still possible to find remains of stone-built trapping pits, guiding fences and bow rests, built especially for hunting reindeer. These can, with some certainty, be dated to the Migration Period, although it is not unlikely that they have been in use since the Stone Age.
Cave paintings by ancient Europeans include both tundra and forest types of reindeer.
A 2022 study of ancient environmental DNA from the Early Pleistocene (2 million years ago) Kap Kobenhavn Formation of northern Greenland identified preserved DNA fragments of Rangifer, identified as basal but potentially ancestral to modern reindeer. This suggests that reindeer have inhabited Greenland since at least the Early Pleistocene. Around this time, northern Greenland was 11–19 °C warmer than the Holocene, with a boreal forest hosting a species assemblage with no modern analogue. These are among the oldest DNA fragments ever sequenced.
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus in 1758 named the Eurasian tundra species Cervus tarandus, the genus Rangifer being credited to Smith, 1827.
Rangifer has had a convoluted history because of the similarity in antler architecture (brow tines asymmetrical and often palmate, bez tines, a back tine sometimes branched, and branched at the distal end, often palmate). Because of individual variability, early taxonomists were unable to discern consistent patterns among populations, nor could they, examining collections in Europe, appreciate the difference in habitats and the differing function they imposed on antler architecture. For example, woodland caribou males, rutting in boreal forest where only a few females can be found, collect harems and defend them against other males, for which they have short, straight, strong, much-branched antlers, beams flattened in cross-section, designed for combat — and not too large, so as not to impede them in forested winter ranges. By contrast, modern tundra caribou (see Evolution above) have synchronized calving as a predator-avoidance strategy, which requires large rutting aggregations. Males cannot defend a harem because, while he was busy fighting, they would disappear into the mass of the herd. Males therefore tend individual females; their fights are infrequent and brief. Their antlers are thin, beams round in cross-section, sweep back and then forward with a cluster of branches at the top; these are designed more for visual stimulation of the females. Their bez tines are set low, just above the brow tine, which is vertically flattened to protect the eyes while the buck "threshes" low brush, a courtship display. The low bez tines help the wide flat brow tines dig craters in the hard-packed tundra snow for forage, for which reason brow tines are often called "shovels" in North America and "ice tines" in Europe. The differences in antler architecture reflect fundamental differences in ecology and behavior, and in turn deep divisions in ancestry that were not apparent to the early taxonomists.
Similarly, working on museum collections where skins were often faded and in poor states of preservation, early taxonomists could not readily perceive differences in coat patterns that are consistent within a subspecies, but variable among them. Geist calls these "nuptial" characteristics: sexually selected characters that are highly conserved and diagnostic among subspecies.
Towards the end of the 19th century, national museums began sending out biological exploration expeditions and collections accumulated. Taxonomists, usually working for the museums began naming subspecies more rigorously, based on statistical differences in detailed cranial, dental and skeletal measurements than antlers and pelage, supplemented by better knowledge of differences in ecology and behavior. From 1898 to 1937, mammalogists named 12 new species (other than barren-ground and woodland, which had been named earlier) of caribou in Canada and Alaska, and three new species and nine new subspecies in Eurasia, each properly described according to the evolving rules of zoological nomenclature, with type localities designated and type specimens deposited in museums.
In the mid-20th century, as definitions of "species" evolved, mammalogists in Europe and North America made all Rangifer species conspecific with R. tarandus, and synonymized most of the subspecies. Banfield's often-cited A Revision of the Reindeer and Caribou, Genus Rangifer (1961), eliminated R. t. caboti (the Labrador caribou), R. t. osborni (Osborn's caribou — from British Columbia) and R. t. terranovae (the Newfoundland caribou) as invalid and included only barren-ground caribou, renamed as R. t. groenlandicus (formerly R. arcticus) and woodland caribou as R. t. caribou. However, Banfield made multiple errors, eliciting a scathing review by Ian McTaggart-Cowan in 1962 Most authorities continued to consider all or most subspecies valid; some were quite distinct. In his chapter in the authoritative 2005 reference work Mammal Species of the World, referenced by the American Society of Mammalogists, English zoologist Peter Grubb agreed with Valerius Geist, a specialist on large mammals, that these subspecies were valid (i.e., before the recent revision): In North America, R. t. caboti, R. t. caribou, R. t. dawsoni, R. t. groenlandicus, R. t. osborni, R. t. pearyi, and R. t. terranovae; and in Eurasia, R. t. tarandus, R. t. buskensis (called R. t. valentinae in Europe; see below), R. t. phylarchus, R. t. pearsoni, R. t. sibiricus and R. t. platyrhynchus. These subspecies were retained in the 2011 replacement work Handbook of Mammals of the World Vol. 2: Hoofed Mammals.[8] Most Russian authors also recognized R. t. angustirostris, a forest reindeer from east of Lake Baikal.
However, since 1991, many genetic studies have revealed deep divergence between modern tundra reindeer and woodland caribou. Geist (2007) and others continued arguing that the woodland caribou was incorrectly classified, noting that "true woodland caribou, the uniformly dark, small-maned type with the frontally emphasized, flat-beamed antlers", is "scattered thinly along the southern rim of North American caribou distribution". He affirms that the "true woodland caribou is very rare, in very great difficulties and requires the most urgent of attention."
In 2011, noting that the former classifications of Rangifer tarandus, either with prevailing taxonomy on subspecies, designations based on ecotypes, or natural population groupings, failed to capture "the variability of caribou across their range in Canada" needed for effective subspecies conservation and management, COSEWIC developed Designatable Unit (DU) attribution, an adaptation of "evolutionary significant units". The 12 designatable units for caribou in Canada (that is, excluding Alaska and Greenland) based on ecology, behavior and, importantly, genetics (but excluding morphology and archaeology) essentially followed the previously-named subspecies distributions, without naming them as such, plus some ecotypes. Ecotypes are not phylogenetically based and cannot substitute for taxonomy.
Meanwhile, genetic data continued to accumulate, revealing sufficiently deep divisions to easily separate Rangifer back into six previously named species and to resurrect several previously named subspecies. Molecular data showed that the Greenland caribou (R. t. groenlandicus) and the Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus), although not closely related to each other, were the most genetically divergent among Rangifer clades; that modern (see Evolution above) Eurasian tundra reindeer (R. t. tarandus and R. t. sibiricus) and North American barren-ground caribou (R. t. arcticus), although sharing ancestry, were separable at the subspecies level; that Finnish forest reindeer (R. t. fennicus) clustered well apart from both wild and domestic tundra reindeer and that boreal woodland caribou (R. t. caribou) were separable from all others. Meanwhile, archaeological evidence was accumulating that Eurasian forest reindeer descended from an extinct forest-adapted reindeer and not from tundra reindeer; since they do not share a direct common ancestor, they cannot be conspecific. Similarly, woodland caribou diverged from the ancestors of Arctic caribou before modern barren-ground caribou had evolved, and were more likely related to extinct North American forest reindeer. Lacking a direct shared ancestor, barren-ground and woodland caribou cannot be conspecific.
Molecular data also revealed that the four western Canadian montane ecotypes are not woodland caribou: they share a common ancestor with modern barren-ground caribou/tundra reindeer, but distantly, having diverged > 60,000 years ago — before the modern ecotypes had evolved their cold- and darkness-adapted physiologies and mass-migration and aggregation behaviors (see Evolution above). Before Banfield (1961), taxonomists using cranial, dental and skeletal measurements had unequivocally allied these western montane ecotypes with barren-ground caribou, naming them (as in Osgood 1909[85] Murie, 1935 and Anderson 1946, among others) R. t. stonei, R. t. montanus, R. t. fortidens and R. t. osborni, respectively, and this phylogeny was confirmed by genetic analysis.
DNA also revealed three unnamed clades that, based on genetic distance, genetic divergence and shared vs. private haplotypes and alleles, together with ecological and behavioral differences, may justify separation at the subspecies level: the Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou (COSEWIC DU11), an eastern montane ecotype of the boreal woodland caribou, and the Baffin Island caribou. Neither one of these clades has yet been formally described or named.
Jenkins et al. (2012) said that "[Baffin Island] caribou are unique compared to other Barrenground herds, as they do not overwinter in forested habitat, nor do all caribou undertake long seasonal migrations to calving areas." It also shares a mtDNA haplotype with Labrador caribou, in the North American lineage (i.e., woodland caribou). Røed et al. (1991) had noted:
Among Baffin Island caribou the TFL2 allele was the most common allele (p=0.521), while this allele was absent, or present in very low frequencies, in other caribou populations , including the Canadian barren-ground caribou from the Beverly herd. A large genetic difference between Baffin Island caribou and the Beverly herd was also indicated by eight alleles found in the Beverly herd which were absent from the Baffin Island samples.
Jenkins et al. (2018) also reported genetic distinctiveness of Baffin Island caribou from all other barren-ground caribou; its genetic signature was not found on the mainland or on other islands; nor were Beverly herd (the nearest mainly barren-ground caribou) alleles present in Baffin Island caribou, evidence of reproductive isolation.
These advances in Rangifer genetics were brought together with previous morphological-based descriptions, ecology, behavior and archaeology to propose a new revision of the genus.
The scientific name Tarandus rangifer buskensis Millais, 1915 (the Busk Mountains reindeer) was selected as the senior synonym to R. t. valentinae Flerov, 1933, in Mammal Species of the World but Russian authors do not recognize Millais and Millais' articles in a hunting travelogue, The Gun at Home and Abroad, seem short of a taxonomic authority.
The scientific name groenlandicus is fraught with problems. Edwards (1743) illustrated and claimed to have seen a male specimen (“head of perfect horns...”) from Greenland and said that a Captain Craycott had brought a live pair from Greenland to England in 1738. He named it Capra groenlandicus, Greenland reindeer. Linnaeus, in the 12th edition of Systema naturae, gave grœnlandicus as a synonym for Cervus tarandus. Borowski disagreed (and again changed the spelling), saying Cervus grönlandicus was morphologically distinct from Eurasian tundra reindeer. Baird placed it under the genus Rangifer as R. grœnlandicus. It went back and forth as a full species or subspecies of the barren-ground caribou (R. arcticus) or a subspecies of the tundra reindeer (R. tarandus), but always as the Greenland reindeer/caribou. Taxonomists consistently documented morphological differences between Greenland and other caribou/reindeer in cranial measurements, dentition, antler architecture, etc. Then Banfield (1961) in his famously flawed revision, gave the name groenlandicus to all the barren-ground caribou in North America, Greenland included, because groenlandicus pre-dates Richardson’s R. arctus,. However, because genetic data shows the Greenland caribou to be the most distantly related of any caribou to all the others (genetic distance, FST = 44%, whereas most cervid (deer family) species have a genetic distance of 2% to 5%)--as well as behavioral and morphological differences—a recent revision returned it to species status as R. groenlandicus. Although it has been assumed that the larger caribou that appeared in Greenland 4,000 years ago originated from Baffin Island (itself unique; see Taxonomy above), a reconstruction of LGM glacial retreat and caribou advance (Yannic et al. 2013) shows colonization by NAL lineage caribou more likely. Their PCA and tree diagrams show Greenland caribou clustering outside of the Beringian-Eurasian lineage.
The scientific name R. t. granti has a very interesting history. Allen (1902) named it as a distinct species, R. granti, from the "western end of Alaska Peninsula, opposite Popoff Island" and noting that:
Rangifer granti is a representative of the Barren Ground group of Caribou, which includes R. arcticus of the Arctic Coast and R. granlandicus of Greenland. It is not closely related to R. stonei of the Kenai Peninsula, from which it differs not only in its very much smaller size, but in important cranial characters and in coloration. ...The external and cranial differences between R. granti and the various forms of the Woodland Caribou are so great in almost every respect that no detailed comparison is necessary. ...According to Mr. Stone, Rangifer granti inhabits the " barren land of Alaska Peninsula, ranging well up into the mountains in summer, but descending to the lower levels in winter, generally feeding on the low flat lands near the coast and in the foothills...As regards cranial characters no comparison is necessary with R. montanus or with any of the woodland forms."
Osgood and Murie (1935), agreeing with granti's close relationship with the barren-ground caribou, brought it under R. arcticus as a subspecies, R. t. granti. Anderson (1946) and Banfield (1961), based on statistical analysis of cranial, dental and other characters, agreed. But Banfield (1961) also synonymized Alaska's large R. stonei with other mountain caribou of British Columbia and the Yukon as invalid subspecies of woodland caribou, then R. t. caribou. This left the small, migratory barren-ground caribou of Alaska and the Yukon, including the Porcupine caribou herd, without a name, which Banfield rectified in his 1974 Mammals of Canada by extending to them the name "granti". The late Valerius Geist (1998), in the only error in his whole illustrious career, re-analyzed Banfield's data with additional specimens found in an unpublished report he cites as "Skal, 1982", but was "not able to find diagnostic features that could segregate this form from the western barren ground type." But Skal 1982 had included specimens from the eastern end of the Alaska Peninsula and the Kenai Peninsula, the range of the larger Stone's caribou. Later, geneticists comparing barren-ground caribou of Alaska with those of mainland Canada found little difference and they all became the former R. t. groenlandicus (now R. t. arcticus). R. t. granti was lost in the oblivion of invalid taxonomy until Alaskan researchers sampled some small, pale caribou from the western end of the Alaska Peninsula, their range enclosing the type locality designated by Allen (1902) and found them to be genetically distinct from all other caribou in Alaska. Thus, granti was rediscovered, its range restricted to that originally described.
Stone's caribou (R. t. stonei), a large montane type, was described from the Kenai Peninsula (where, apparently, it was never common except in years of great abundance), the eastern end of the Alaska Peninsula, and mountains throughout southern and eastern Alaska. It was placed under R. arcticus as a subspecies, R. t. stonei, and later synonymised as noted above. The same genetic analyses mentioned above for R. t. granti resulted in resurrecting R. t. stonei as well.
The Sakhalin reindeer (R. t. setoni), endemic to Sakhalin, was described as Rangifer tarandus setoni Flerov, 1933, but Banfield (1961) brought it under R. t. fennicus as a junior synonym. The wild reindeer on the island are apparently extinct, having been replaced by domestic reindeer.
Some of the Rangifer species and subspecies may be further divided by ecotype depending on several behavioral factors – predominant habitat use (northern, tundra, mountain, forest, boreal forest, forest-dwelling, woodland, woodland (boreal), woodland (migratory) or woodland (mountain), spacing (dispersed or aggregated) and migration patterns (sedentary or migratory). North American examples of this are the Torngat Mountain population DU10, an ecotype of R. t. caboti; a recently discovered and unnamed clade between the Mackenzie River and Great Bear Lake of Beringian-Eurasian lineage, an ecotype of R. t. osborni; the Atlantic-Gaspésie population DU11, an eastern montane ecotype of the boreal woodland caribou (R. t. caribou); the Baffin Island caribou, an ecotype of the barren-ground caribou (R. t. arcticus); and the Dolphin-Union “herd”, another ecotype of R. t. arcticus. The last three of these likely qualify as subspecies, but they have not yet been formally described or named.
Physical characteristics
Naming in this and following sections follows the taxonomy in the authoritative 2011 reference work Handbook of Mammals of the World Vol. 2: Hoofed Mammals.
Antlers
In most cervid species, only males grow antlers; the reindeer is the only cervid species in which females also grow them normally. Androgens play an essential role in the antler formation of cervids. The antlerogenic genes in reindeer have more sensitivity to androgens in comparison with other cervids.
There is considerable variation among species and subspecies in the size of the antlers (e.g., they are rather small and spindly in the northernmost species and subspecies), but on average the bull's antlers are the second largest of any extant deer, after those of the male moose. In the largest subspecies, the antlers of large bulls can range up to 100 cm (39 in) in width and 135 cm (53 in) in beam length. They have the largest antlers relative to body size among living deer species.[116] Antler size measured in number of points reflects the nutritional status of the reindeer and climate variation of its environment. The number of points on male reindeer increases from birth to 5 years of age and remains relatively constant from then on. "In male caribou, antler mass (but not the number of tines) varies in concert with body mass." While antlers of male woodland caribou are typically smaller than those of male barren-ground caribou, they can be over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) across. They are flattened in cross-section, compact and relatively dense.[36] Geist describes them as frontally emphasized, flat-beamed antlers. Woodland caribou antlers are thicker and broader than those of the barren-ground caribou and their legs and heads are longer. Quebec-Labrador male caribou antlers can be significantly larger and wider than other woodland caribou. Central barren-ground male caribou antlers are perhaps the most diverse in configuration and can grow to be very high and wide. Osborn's caribou antlers are typically the most massive, with the largest circumference measurements.
The antlers' main beams begin at the brow "extending posterior over the shoulders and bowing so that the tips point forward. The prominent, palmate brow tines extend forward, over the face." The antlers typically have two separate groups of points, lower and upper.
Antlers begin to grow on male reindeer in March or April and on female reindeer in May or June. This process is called antlerogenesis. Antlers grow very quickly every year on the bulls. As the antlers grow, they are covered in thick velvet, filled with blood vessels and spongy in texture. The antler velvet of the barren-ground caribou and the boreal woodland caribou is dark chocolate brown. The velvet that covers growing antlers is a highly vascularised skin. This velvet is dark brown on woodland or barren-ground caribou and slate-grey on Peary caribou and the Dolphin-Union caribou herd. Velvet lumps in March can develop into a rack measuring more than a meter in length (3 ft) by August.
A R. tarandus skull
When the antler growth is fully grown and hardened, the velvet is shed or rubbed off. To the Inuit, for whom the caribou is a "culturally important keystone species", the months are named after landmarks in the caribou life cycle. For example, amiraijaut in the Igloolik region is "when velvet falls off caribou antlers."
Male reindeer use their antlers to compete with other males during the mating season. Butler (1986) showed that the social requirements of caribou females during the rut determines the mating strategies of males and, consequently, the form of male antlers. In describing woodland caribou, which have a harem-defense mating system, SARA wrote, "During the rut, males engage in frequent and furious sparring battles with their antlers. Large males with large antlers do most of the mating." Reindeer continue to migrate until the bulls have spent their back fat. By contrast, barren-ground caribou males tend individual females and their fights are brief and much less intense; consequently, their antlers are long, and thin, round in cross-section and less branched and are designed more for show (or sexual attraction) than fighting.
In late autumn or early winter after the rut, male reindeer lose their antlers, growing a new pair the next summer with a larger rack than the previous year. Female reindeer keep their antlers until they calve. In the Scandinavian and Arctic Circle populations, old bulls' antlers fall off in late December, young bulls' antlers fall off in the early spring, and cows' antlers fall off in the summer.
When male reindeer shed their antlers in early to mid-winter, the antlered cows acquire the highest ranks in the feeding hierarchy, gaining access to the best forage areas. These cows are healthier than those without antlers. Calves whose mothers do not have antlers are more prone to disease and have a significantly higher mortality. Cows in good nutritional condition, for example, during a mild winter with good winter range quality, may grow new antlers earlier as antler growth requires high intake.
A R. t. platyrhynchus skull
According to a respected Igloolik elder, Noah Piugaattuk, who was one of the last outpost camp leaders, caribou (tuktu) antlers
...get detached every year...Young males lose the velvet from the antlers much more quickly than female caribou even though they are not fully mature. They start to work with their antlers just as soon as the velvet starts to fall off. The young males engage in fights with their antlers towards autumn...soon after the velvet had fallen off they will be red, as they start to get bleached their colour changes...When the velvet starts to fall off the antler is red because the antler is made from blood. The antler is the blood that has hardened; in fact, the core of the antler is still bloody when the velvet starts to fall off, at least close to the base.
— Elder Noah Piugaattuk of Igloolik cited in "Tuktu — Caribou" (2002) "Canada's Polar Life"
According to the Igloolik Oral History Project (IOHP), "Caribou antlers provided the Inuit with a myriad of implements, from snow knives and shovels to drying racks and seal-hunting tools. A complex set of terms describes each part of the antler and relates it to its various uses". Currently, the larger racks of antlers are used by Inuit as materials for carving. Iqaluit-based Jackoposie Oopakak's 1989 carving, entitled Nunali, which means "place where people live", and which is part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada, includes a massive set of caribou antlers on which he has intricately carved the miniaturized world of the Inuit where "Arctic birds, caribou, polar bears, seals, and whales are interspersed with human activities of fishing, hunting, cleaning skins, stretching boots, and travelling by dog sled and kayak...from the base of the antlers to the tip of each branch".
Pelt
The color of the fur varies considerably, both between individuals and depending on season and species. Northern populations, which usually are relatively small, are whiter, while southern populations, which typically are relatively large, are darker. This can be seen well in North America, where the northernmost subspecies, the Peary caribou, is the whitest and smallest subspecies of the continent, while the Selkirk Mountains caribou (Southern Mountain population DU9) is the darkest and nearly the largest, only exceeded in size by Osborn's caribou (Northern Mountain population DU7).
The coat has two layers of fur: a dense woolly undercoat and a longer-haired overcoat consisting of hollow, air-filled hairs. Fur is the primary insulation factor that allows reindeer to regulate their core body temperature in relation to their environment, the thermogradient, even if the temperature rises to 38 °C (100 °F). In 1913, Dugmore noted how the woodland caribou swim so high out of the water, unlike any other mammal, because their hollow, "air-filled, quill-like hair" acts as a supporting "life jacket".
A darker belly color may be caused by two mutations of MC1R. They appear to be more common in domestic reindeer herds.
Heat exchange
Blood moving into the legs is cooled by blood returning to the body in a countercurrent heat exchange (CCHE), a highly efficient means of minimizing heat loss through the skin's surface. In the CCHE mechanism, in cold weather, blood vessels are closely knotted and intertwined with arteries to the skin and appendages that carry warm blood with veins returning to the body that carry cold blood causing the warm arterial blood to exchange heat with the cold venous blood. In this way, their legs for example are kept cool, maintaining the core body temperature nearly 30 °C (54 °F) higher with less heat lost to the environment. Heat is thus recycled instead of being dissipated. The "heart does not have to pump blood as rapidly in order to maintain a constant body core temperature and thus, metabolic rate." CCHE is present in animals like reindeer, fox and moose living in extreme conditions of cold or hot weather as a mechanism for retaining the heat in (or out of) the body. These are countercurrent exchange systems with the same fluid, usually blood, in a circuit, used for both directions of flow.
Reindeer have specialized counter-current vascular heat exchange in their nasal passages. Temperature gradient along the nasal mucosa is under physiological control. Incoming cold air is warmed by body heat before entering the lungs and water is condensed from the expired air and captured before the reindeer's breath is exhaled, then used to moisten dry incoming air and possibly be absorbed into the blood through the mucous membranes. Like moose, caribou have specialized noses featuring nasal turbinate bones that dramatically increase the surface area within the nostrils.
Hooves
The reindeer has large feet with crescent-shaped cloven hooves for walking in snow or swamps. According to the Species at Risk Public Registry (SARA), woodland
"Caribou have large feet with four toes. In addition to two small ones, called "dew claws," they have two large, crescent-shaped toes that support most of their weight and serve as shovels when digging for food under snow. These large concave hooves offer stable support on wet, soggy ground and on crusty snow. The pads of the hoof change from a thick, fleshy shape in the summer to become hard and thin in the winter months, reducing the animal's exposure to the cold ground. Additional winter protection comes from the long hair between the "toes"; it covers the pads so the caribou walks only on the horny rim of the hooves."
— SARA 2014
Reindeer hooves adapt to the season: in the summer, when the tundra is soft and wet, the footpads become sponge-like and provide extra traction. In the winter, the pads shrink and tighten, exposing the rim of the hoof, which cuts into the ice and crusted snow to keep it from slipping. This also enables them to dig down (an activity known as "cratering") through the snow to their favourite food, a lichen known as reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina).
Size
The females (or "cows" as they are often called) usually measure 162–205 cm (64–81 in) in length and weigh 80–120 kg (180–260 lb). The males (or "bulls" as they are often called) are typically larger (to an extent which varies between the different species and subspecies), measuring 180–214 cm (71–84 in) in length and usually weighing 159–182 kg (351–401 lb). Exceptionally large bulls have weighed as much as 318 kg (701 lb). Weight varies drastically between the seasons, with bulls losing as much as 40% of their pre-rut weight.
The shoulder height is usually 85 to 150 cm (33 to 59 in), and the tail is 14 to 20 cm (5.5 to 7.9 in) long.
The reindeer from Svalbard are the smallest of all. They are also relatively short-legged and may have a shoulder height of as little as 80 cm (31 in), thereby following Allen's rule.
Clicking sound
The knees of many species and subspecies of reindeer are adapted to produce a clicking sound as they walk. The sounds originate in the tendons of the knees and may be audible from several hundred meters away. The frequency of the knee-clicks is one of a range of signals that establish relative positions on a dominance scale among reindeer. "Specifically, loud knee-clicking is discovered to be an honest signal of body size, providing an exceptional example of the potential for non-vocal acoustic communication in mammals." The clicking sound made by reindeer as they walk is caused by small tendons slipping over bone protuberances (sesamoid bones) in their feet. The sound is made when a reindeer is walking or running, occurring when the full weight of the foot is on the ground or just after it is relieved of the weight.
Eyes
A study by researchers from University College London in 2011 revealed that reindeer can see light with wavelengths as short as 320 nm (i.e. in the ultraviolet range), considerably below the human threshold of 400 nm. It is thought that this ability helps them to survive in the Arctic, because many objects that blend into the landscape in light visible to humans, such as urine and fur, produce sharp contrasts in ultraviolet. It has been proposed that UV flashes on power lines are responsible for reindeer avoiding power lines because "...in darkness these animals see power lines not as dim, passive structures but, rather, as lines of flickering light stretching across the terrain."
In 2023, researchers studying reindeer living in Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, suggested that UV visual sensitivity in reindeer helps them detect UV-absorbing lichens against a background of UV-reflecting snows.
The tapetum lucidum of Arctic reindeer eyes changes in color from gold in summer to blue in winter to improve their vision during times of continuous darkness, and perhaps enable them to better spot predators.
Biology and behaviors
Reindeer have developed adaptations for optimal metabolic efficiency during warm months as well as for during cold months. The body composition of reindeer varies highly with the seasons. Of particular interest is the body composition and diet of breeding and non-breeding females between the seasons. Breeding females have more body mass than non-breeding females between the months of March and September with a difference of around 10 kg (22 lb) more than non-breeding females. From November to December, non-breeding females have more body mass than breeding females, as non-breeding females are able to focus their energies towards storage during colder months rather than lactation and reproduction. Body masses of both breeding and non-breeding females peaks in September. During the months of March through April, breeding females have more fat mass than the non-breeding females with a difference of almost 3 kg (6.6 lb). After this, however, non-breeding females on average have a higher body fat mass than do breeding females.
The environmental variations play a large part in reindeer nutrition, as winter nutrition is crucial to adult and neonatal survival rates. Lichens are a staple during the winter months as they are a readily available food source, which reduces the reliance on stored body reserves. Lichens are a crucial part of the reindeer diet; however, they are less prevalent in the diet of pregnant reindeer compared to non-pregnant individuals. The amount of lichen in a diet is found more in non-pregnant adult diets than pregnant individuals due to the lack of nutritional value. Although lichens are high in carbohydrates, they are lacking in essential proteins that vascular plants provide. The amount of lichen in a diet decreases in latitude, which results in nutritional stress being higher in areas with low lichen abundance.
In a study of seasonal light-dark cycles on sleep patterns of female reindeer, researchers performed non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) on reindeer kept in a stable at the UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The EEG recordings showed that: the more time reindeer spend ruminating, the less time they spend in non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM sleep); and reindeer's brainwaves during rumination resemble the brainwaves present during NREM sleep. These results suggest that, by reducing the time requirement for NREM sleep, reindeer are able to spend more time feeding during the summer months, when food is abundant.
Reproduction and life cycle
Reindeer mate in late September to early November, and the gestation period is about 228–234 days. During the mating season, bulls battle for access to cows. Two bulls will lock each other's antlers together and try to push each other away. The most dominant bulls can collect as many as 15–20 cows to mate with. A bull will stop eating during this time and lose much of his body fat reserves.
To calve, "females travel to isolated, relatively predator-free areas such as islands in lakes, peatlands, lake-shores, or tundra." As females select the habitat for the birth of their calves, they are warier than males. Dugmore noted that, in their seasonal migrations, the herd follows a female for that reason. Newborns weigh on average 6 kg (13 lb).[148] In May or June, the calves are born. After 45 days, the calves are able to graze and forage, but continue suckling until the following autumn when they become independent from their mothers.
Bulls live four years less than the cows, whose maximum longevity is about 17 years. Cows with a normal body size and who have had sufficient summer nutrition can begin breeding anytime between the ages of 1 and 3 years. When a cow has undergone nutritional stress, it is possible for her to not reproduce for the year. Dominant bulls, those with larger body size and antler racks, inseminate more than one cow a season.
Social structure, migration and range
Some populations of North American caribou; for example, many herds in the barren-ground caribou subspecies and some woodland caribou in Ungava and northern Labrador, migrate the farthest of any terrestrial mammal, traveling up to 5,000 km (3,000 mi) a year, and covering 1,000,000 km2 (400,000 sq mi). Other North American populations, the boreal woodland caribou for example, are largely sedentary. The European populations are known to have shorter migrations. Island populations, such as the Novaya Zemlya and Svalbard reindeer and the Peary caribou, make local movements both within and among islands. Migrating reindeer can be negatively affected by parasite loads. Severely infected individuals are weak and probably have shortened lifespans, but parasite levels vary between populations. Infections create an effect known as culling: infected migrating animals are less likely to complete the migration.
Normally travelling about 19–55 km (12–34 mi) a day while migrating, the caribou can run at speeds of 60–80 km/h (37–50 mph).[2] Young calves can already outrun an Olympic sprinter when only 1 day old. During the spring migration, smaller herds will group together to form larger herds of 50,000 to 500,000 animals, but during autumn migrations, the groups become smaller and the reindeer begin to mate. During winter, reindeer travel to forested areas to forage under the snow. By spring, groups leave their winter grounds to go to the calving grounds. A reindeer can swim easily and quickly, normally at about 6.5 km/h (4.0 mph) but, if necessary, at 10 km/h (6.2 mph) and migrating herds will not hesitate to swim across a large lake or broad river.
The barren-ground caribou form large herds and undertake lengthy seasonal migrations from winter feeding grounds in taiga to spring calving grounds and summer range in the tundra. The migrations of the Porcupine herd of barren-ground caribou are among the longest of any mammal. Greenland caribou, found in southwestern Greenland, are "mixed migrators" and many individuals do not migrate; those that do migrate less than 60 km. Unlike the individual-tending mating system, aggregated rutting, synchronized calving and aggregated post-calving of barren-ground caribou, Greenland caribou have a harem-defense mating system and dispersed calving and they do not aggregate.
Although most wild tundra reindeer migrate between their winter range in taiga and summer range in tundra, some ecotypes or herds are more or less sedentary. Novaya Zemlya reindeer (R. t. pearsoni) formerly wintered on the mainland and migrated across the ice to the islands for summer, but only a few now migrate. Finnish forest reindeer (R. t. fennicus) were formerly distributed in most of the coniferous forest zones south of the tree line, including some mountains, but are now spottily distributed within this zone.
As an adaptation to their Arctic environment, they have lost their circadian rhythm.
Distribution and habitat
Originally, the reindeer was found in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Greenland, Russia, Mongolia and northern China north of the 50th latitude. In North America, it was found in Canada, Alaska, and the northern contiguous United States from Maine to Washington. In the 19th century, it was still present in southern Idaho. Even in historical times, it probably occurred naturally in Ireland, and it is believed to have lived in Scotland until the 12th century, when the last reindeer were hunted in Orkney. During the Late Pleistocene Epoch, reindeer occurred further south in North America, such as in Nevada, Tennessee, and Alabama, and as far south as Spain in Europe Today, wild reindeer have disappeared from these areas, especially from the southern parts, where it vanished almost everywhere. Large populations of wild reindeer are still found in Norway, Finland, Siberia, Greenland, Alaska and Canada.
According to Grubb (2005), Rangifer is "circumboreal in the tundra and taiga" from "Svalbard, Norway, Finland, Russia, Alaska (USA) and Canada including most Arctic islands, and Greenland, south to northern Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia), Sakhalin Island, and USA (northern Idaho and Great Lakes region)." Reindeer were introduced to, and are feral in, "Iceland, Kerguelen Islands, South Georgia Island, Pribilof Islands, St. Matthew Island": a free-ranging semi-domesticated herd is also present in Scotland.
There is strong regional variation in Rangifer herd size. There are large population differences among individual herds and the size of individual herds has varied greatly since 1970. The largest of all herds (in Taimyr, Russia) has varied between 400,000 and 1,000,000; the second largest herd (at the George River in Canada) has varied between 28,000 and 385,000.
While Rangifer is a widespread and numerous genus in the northern Holarctic, being present in both tundra and taiga (boreal forest), by 2013, many herds had "unusually low numbers" and their winter ranges in particular were smaller than they used to be. Caribou and reindeer numbers have fluctuated historically, but many herds are in decline across their range. This global decline is linked to climate change for northern migratory herds and industrial disturbance of habitat for non-migratory herds. Barren-ground caribou are susceptible to the effects of climate change due to a mismatch in the phenological process between the availability of food during the calving period.
In November 2016, it was reported that more than 81,000 reindeer in Russia had died as a result of climate change. Longer autumns, leading to increased amounts of freezing rain, created a few inches of ice over lichen, causing many reindeer to starve to death.
Diet.
Reindeer are ruminants, having a four-chambered stomach. They mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina); they are the only large mammal able to metabolize lichen owing to specialised bacteria and protozoa in their gut. They are also the only animals (except for some gastropods) in which the enzyme lichenase, which breaks down lichenin to glucose, has been found. However, they also eat the leaves of willows and birches, as well as sedges and grasses.
Reindeer are osteophagous; they are known to gnaw and partly consume shed antlers as a dietary supplement and in some extreme cases will cannibalise each other's antlers before shedding. There is also some evidence to suggest that on occasion, especially in the spring when they are nutritionally stressed, they will feed on small rodents (such as lemmings), fish (such as the Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)), and bird eggs. Reindeer herded by the Chukchis have been known to devour mushrooms enthusiastically in late summer.
During the Arctic summer, when there is continuous daylight, reindeer change their sleeping pattern from one synchronised with the sun to an ultradian pattern, in which they sleep when they need to digest food.
Predators.
A variety of predators prey heavily on reindeer, including overhunting by people in some areas, which contributes to the decline of populations.
Golden eagles prey on calves and are the most prolific hunter on the calving grounds. Wolverines will take newborn calves or birthing cows, as well as (less commonly) infirm adults.
Brown bears and polar bears prey on reindeer of all ages but, like wolverines, are most likely to attack weaker animals, such as calves and sick reindeer, since healthy adult reindeer can usually outpace a bear. The gray wolf is the most effective natural predator of adult reindeer and sometimes takes large numbers, especially during the winter. Some gray wolf packs, as well as individual grizzly bears in Canada, may follow and live off of a particular reindeer herd year-round.
In 2020, scientists on Svalbard witnessed, and were able to film for the first time, a polar bear attack reindeer, driving one into the ocean, where the polar bear caught up with and killed it. The same bear successfully repeated this hunting technique the next day. On Svalbard, reindeer remains account for 27.3% in polar bear scats, suggesting that they "may be a significant part of the polar bear's diet in that area".
Additionally, as carrion, reindeer may be scavenged opportunistically by red and Arctic foxes, various species of eagles, hawks and falcons, and common ravens.
Bloodsucking insects, such as mosquitoes, black flies, and especially the reindeer warble fly or reindeer botfly (Hypoderma tarandi) and the reindeer nose botfly (Cephenemyia trompe), are a plague to reindeer during the summer and can cause enough stress to inhibit feeding and calving behaviors. An adult reindeer will lose perhaps about 1 L (0.22 imp gal; 0.26 US gal) of blood to biting insects for every week it spends in the tundra. The population numbers of some of these predators is influenced by the migration of reindeer. Tormenting insects keep caribou on the move, searching for windy areas like hilltops and mountain ridges, rock reefs, lakeshore and forest openings, or snow patches that offer respite from the buzzing horde. Gathering in large herds is another strategy that caribou use to block insects.
Reindeer are good swimmers and, in one case, the entire body of a reindeer was found in the stomach of a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), a species found in the far North Atlantic.
Other threats
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) commonly carry meningeal worm or brainworm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis), a nematode parasite that causes reindeer, moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus canadensis), and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to develop fatal neurological symptoms which include a loss of fear of humans. White-tailed deer that carry this worm are partially immune to it.
Changes in climate and habitat beginning in the 20th century have expanded range overlap between white-tailed deer and caribou, increasing the frequency of infection within the reindeer population. This increase in infection is a concern for wildlife managers. Human activities, such as "clear-cutting forestry practices, forest fires, and the clearing for agriculture, roadways, railways, and power lines," favor the conversion of habitats into the preferred habitat of the white-tailed deer – "open forest interspersed with meadows, clearings, grasslands, and riparian flatlands." Towards the end of the Soviet Union, there was increasingly open admission from the Soviet government that reindeer numbers were being negatively affected by human activity, and that this must be remediated especially by supporting reindeer breeding by native herders.
Conservation
Current status
While overall widespread and numerous, some reindeer species and subspecies are rare and three subspecies have already become extinct. As of 2015, the IUCN has classified the reindeer as Vulnerable due to an observed population decline of 40% over the last +25 years. According to IUCN, Rangifer tarandus as a species is not endangered because of its overall large population and its widespread range.
In North America, the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou and the East Greenland caribou both became extinct in the early 20th century, the Peary caribou is designated as Endangered, the boreal woodland caribou is designated as Threatened and some individual populations are endangered as well. While the barren-ground caribou is not designated as Threatened, many individual herds — including some of the largest — are declining and there is much concern at the local level. Grant's caribou, a small, pale subspecies endemic to the western end of the Alaska Peninsula and the adjacent islands, has not been assessed as to its conservation status.
The status of the Dolphin-Union "herd" was upgraded to Endangered in 2017. In NWT, Dolphin-Union caribou were listed as Special Concern under the NWT Species at Risk (NWT) Act (2013).
Both the Selkirk Mountains caribou (Southern Mountain population DU9) and the Rocky Mountain caribou (Central Mountain population DU8) are classified as Endangered in Canada in regions such as southeastern British Columbia at the Canada–United States border, along the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers and around Kootenay Lake. Rocky Mountain caribou are extirpated from Banff National Park, but a small population remains in Jasper National Park and in mountain ranges to the northwest into British Columbia. Montane caribou are now considered extirpated in the contiguous United States, including Washington and Idaho. Osborn's caribou (Northern Mountain population DU7) is classified as Threatened in Canada.
In Eurasia, the Sakhalin reindeer is extinct (and has been replaced by domestic reindeer) and reindeer on most of the Novaya Zemlya islands have also been replaced by domestic reindeer, although some wild reindeer still persist on the northern islands. Many Siberian tundra reindeer herds have declined, some dangerously, but the Taymir herd remains strong and in total about 940,000 wild Siberian tundra reindeer were estimated in 2010.
There is strong regional variation in Rangifer herd size. By 2013, many caribou herds in North America had "unusually low numbers" and their winter ranges in particular were smaller than they used to be. Caribou numbers have fluctuated historically, but many herds are in decline across their range. There are many factors contributing to the decline in numbers.
Boreal woodland caribou
Ongoing human development of their habitat has caused populations of boreal woodland caribou to disappear from their original southern range. In particular, boreal woodland caribou were extirpated in many areas of eastern North America in the beginning of the 20th century.
For this week's Get Pushed challenge, I've been partnered with the king of image manipulation, SlackPacket, aka Slacko, aka Steven. My challenge is the theme, "unrealistic/realistic". As Steven puts it, "Something that appears to be absurd or visually off. Something that physically couldn't be possible or is oddly out of place in the image."
Hoo boy! This is definitely a challenge as my PhotoShop skills are at a beginner level and my time is a bit limited. But since it was snowing yesterday, I thought I could add just a dusting more. Quite proud of my fake snow and kudos to my lovely hand model!
Now if only I could find a gas mask...
2.24.13
The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament is the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center, along with two visually impaired Iowa Veterans. These visionaries created the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for TRAINING, EXPOSURE and EXPERIENCE. In 2008, it became one of six VA national rehabilitation programs for Veterans. The event expanded to include not only blind Veterans, but amputees, wheelchairbound Veterans, and those with other life changing disabilities. It takes place each year in Iowa City.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
Delegates applaud adoption of a new international treaty that will facilitate access to published works for blind, visually impaired and print-disabled persons. The treaty was formally adopted on June 27, 2013. The Kingdom of Morrocco hosted WIPO's Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh from June 17 to 28, 2013.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
Blind representatives and government delegates on June 25, 2013, celebrate agreement on the substantive provisions of an international treaty that will improve access to published works for blind, visually impaired and print disabled people. The treaty will be formally adopted in plenary session on June 27 and signed on June 28, 2013. The Kingdom of Morrocco hosted WIPO's Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh from June 17 to 28, 2013.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
This kindergarten in Tiraspol received support through two sub-projects: "Rehabilitation of visually impaired children from both banks of Nistru River" and "Enhancing capacities for pre-school education in the city of Tiraspol through reconstruction of the kindergarten no. 44 for visually impaired children", implemented within the “Support to Confidence Building Measures” Programme (Summer 2016).
On my first full day in Cambridge, I had a list of City Centre churches to visit supplied by my friend, Simon.
I long walk from the hotel, Little St Mary was the furthest away, and one I called into just before lunch, and just before the lunchtime service.
I don't know the correct term, but the "assistant vicar"? was preparing for the service, reading up on notes for the things she had to have done before people started to arrive.
We talked a long time, and I fear I distracted her from her task, I hope the service went well.
We talked about the church, and how grateful she was to be in Cambridge, then a long talk about wild orchids. Not sure how they came up, but they did.
She made sure I saw the memorial on the north wall of George Washington's uncle, a popular sight for most Americans in the city.
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There has probably been a place of worship on the current site, just outside the original town walls, since before the Norman Conquest. Surviving fragments of typically Anglo-Saxon carved interlace from the original church can be seen inside the north entrance porch and near the south-west exterior corner of the Parish Centre, where they have been reset. According to the earliest known records, this church, known as St Peter without Trumpington Gate to distinguish it from St Peter by the Castle (ad Castrum), was served by three successive generations of the same family, beginning with Langline who was in office around the date of the Conquest. If the records are to be believed, his successor Segar officiated as parson for eighty years and was followed by Henry, who in his turn held the position for another sixty! At some time during one of these prodigious incumbencies the little Saxon church seems to have been rebuilt in stone by the Normans.
Around 1207 the church was given to the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, the forerunner of St John's College, and served by chaplains from that foundation. Remains of the tower of St Peter's can still be seen at the north-west corner of LSM; the present entrance from the porch incorporates the former tower arch and gives us a good impression of the small scale of the original building. The single bell, cast in Stamford in 1608, was rehoused in a small turret during the late 19th century and is now struck electrically, sounding the hours during the day and also the Angelus at noon and 6pm.
Some time in the 1280s Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, lodged some scholars in the hospital, but quickly discovered that the students and sick people did not get on well together, and therefore moved the students in 1284 into two houses on the south side of St Peter's, allowing them the use of the church as their chapel. This was the origin of Peterhouse, the first Cambridge College.
By the 1340s St Peter's was in such decrepit condition that Peterhouse was obliged to rebuild it; the tottering chancel finally collapsed in 1350. In 1352 the new building was rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Grace. To distinguish it from the University Church of Great Saint Mary it became known as Saint Mary the Less. Until the 17th century it remained a dual-purpose structure, serving as both college chapel and parish church — as did our neighbouring church of St Benedict which doubled as the chapel for Corpus Christi (or Bene't) College until the late 16th century, and the chapel at Merton College, Oxford (very similarly proportioned to LSM) which for a long time was also the parish church of St John Baptist. Many members of Peterhouse are buried in LSM: there is a memorial brass in the centre of the chancel to John Holbrook (or Holbroke), a Master of the college, mathematician and Chancellor of the University, who died in 1437. Another brass, smaller and dated around 1500, commemorates an unknown doctor. Sadly, both our ancient brasses are incomplete.
In 1450 a sixth bay was added at the west end of the original five-bay nave to serve as an ante-chapel for the parishioners, who were separated from the collegiate chapel by an oak screen. This screen was removed in the reordering of 1741, and its ancient doors now hang on the stone staircase which leads directly across a bridge into the college, built to give the Petreans direct access to an upper chamber (the present choir vestry) affording a view of the sanctuary.
The beauty of the church arises from its light and airy open plan and the delicacy of its Decorated tracery, which is noticeable especially in the fine east window. Writing in 1910, Fr Edward Conybeare called it "the only really beautiful church in Cam- bridge." The similarity of the design to that of the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral (1349) suggests that they may both be the work of Alan of Walsingham, sacristan of the cathedral and architect of the central octagon there. The niches in the chancel (now containing figures of the patron saints Peter and Mary), the triple sedilia and the piscina uncovered in George Gilbert Scott's 1876 restoration are also typical of the mid-14th century. The church of St Andrew at Sutton in the Isle, a few miles west of Ely, also has similar windows dating from a decade or two later. The absence of aisles and pillars at LSM affords clear sightlines, making the space visually and acoustically ideal for musical and dramatic performances as well as for preaching and liturgy, that twin ministry of Word and Sacrament which is at the centre of the church's corporate life.
When a separate chapel was consecrated in Peterhouse in 1632 during the Mastership of Matthew Wren, uncle of Sir Christopher, LSM reverted to being simply a parish church, but the college remains the patron of the living. Peterhouse and LSM at this time were twin foci of the Laudian High Church movement in Cambridge. Richard Crashaw, the metaphysical poet, ministered at LSM while he was a Fellow of Peterhouse from 1638. In 1643 he was ejected from his fellowship and fled into exile abroad (eventually dying at Loreto in the Italian Marches), and at the end of that year the church's decorations and ornaments were badly damaged by the notorious Puritan iconoclast William "Smasher" Dowsing, whose journal entries for December gloat triumphantly that he "brake downe 60 superstitious pictures, some popes, and crucifixes, and God the Father sitting in a chayer, and holding a globe in His hand." A few days earlier Dowsing had wrought similar destruction next door in the new chapel at "Peter-house".
Godfrey Washington ministered at LSM from 1705 until his death in 1729. His memorial, on the north wall just at the entrance to the church, is always a point of interest for our American visitors because it displays the stars and stripes of the Washington family arms (or in more technical heraldic terms "Argent, two bars Gules, in chief three mullets of the last") surmounted by a black eagle crest. This is thought to be the origin of "Old Glory", the flag of the United States of America, of which Godfrey's great-nephew George was to become the first President.
In 1741 the church was refitted with wooden panelling, box pews, choir gallery and a central pulpit surmounted by a magnificent tester with mahogany inlay (now removed to its present position on the north side of the chancel). All this cost a mere £30! A west gallery added in 1824 was subsequently removed.
The 18th-century woodwork was removed in 1857 when Sir George Gilbert Scott restored the church (by then, according to Willis Clark in The Ecclesiologist, "a mournful skeleton of its former self"). Further work took place in 1876 and 1891, but by 1880 the church appeared substantially as it does now. Scott's reredos from that period was later repositioned on the west wall of the nave; it is of Flemish oak with figures carved in Bruges. The stained glass of the east window is by Charles Eamer Kempe and dates from 1886. The west window (a Jesse Tree of 1890) and the north-east window of 1903, showing the Crucifixion, were also glazed by Kempe. All the other windows are more recent. The high altar, with its riddel posts inspired by the Use of Sarum (the variant of the pre-Tridentine Roman rite customary in most dioceses of medieval England) was designed by Sir Ninian Comper in 1913. The six heraldic panels in the lowermost register of the east window, below Kempe's work, were added by Comper at the same time and bear his characteristic strawberry signature. The two central coats of arms in the lower panels are those of John Willis Clark (1833-1910), Registrary of the University and Fellow of Trinity, and his wife Francisca. The other arms are those of Peterhouse, Trinity College, Cambridge University and the Diocese of Ely.
The Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre, St Mary and All Saints) occupies the site of the 16th-century Hornby chantry, and was added in 1931 to the neoclassical design of Thomas Henry Lyon, architect of Sidney Sussex College Chapel and of St George's Church in the north Cambridge suburb of Chesterton. After an extensive programme of restoration and redecoration, the chapel was reopened and rededicated at Easter 2018.
The lovely little chapel of the Holy Angels and All Souls in the 14th-century crypt under the sacristy, formerly a medieval ossuary or charnel-house, and later a store room for Peterhouse, was restored in 1961 by Stephen Dykes Bower. It is the only such crypt chapel in Cambridge. Like the Lady Chapel it is still in regular use for weekday services. The organ was completed in 2007 by the late Kenneth Tickell of Northampton. Its pipework and action are completely new, but it is housed within the neo-Perpendicular case designed by Lawrence Bond in 1978 for the previous instrument by Bishop & Sons of Ipswich.
The Parish Room at the west end was added in 1892 by William Milner Fawcett (who also reopened the Norman arch to form the present entrance to the nave, and planned a west tower that was never built). It was enlarged in 1990 and again in 2011 to provide the present Parish Centre, an award-winning contemporary design by Cowper Griffith.
Donations for the Blind and Visually Impaired
About Shri Radhe Maa:
Shri Radhe Maa Ji has lent 27 years of her life in serving mankind. She has helped more than 1000's of families in Mukeria, Punjab and Mumbai. She has made several donations like clothes, food, notebooks, computers, sewing machines, wheelchairs, blind sticks, sanitary machine to the people below the poverty line and the underprivileged. She has adopted a tribal village in Wada, Maharashtra (and has been serving there for the past 16 years). Solar panels and water pumps have been distributed free of cost. Radhe Maa is an ardent supporter of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign thus she does every bit from her end to provide them with education, dressing, and basic amenities.
For medical & educational help, we are a helping hand.
For more info, visit our website at radhemaa.com/
For any queries, You can contact Nandi Baba on : 9820969020
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
My apartment building has a large trash and recycling area that I can visually inspect from my unit. Generally, most of the larger articles of furniture are things like old mattresses and bed frame and most of the other home furnishings tend to be cheaper press board construction with the vinyl fake wood grain print on it. Once in a while, there's the odd table with solid wood legs made out of oak or pine and I try to grab those when I can actually spot them. But generally, finding anything made of decent solid wood that isn't completely damaged beyond hope is a rare find for my building. But a few days ago, this piece in the picture above, appeared on the scene sitting beside a shorter all wood cart that likely served as a TV stand with storage below. That piece was cheaply made and all I removed off of that were the lower doors, the one drawer and some of the metal hardware. It was not a Gibbard product!
This dresser, ready and waiting for the garbage truck to smash it to bits and haul it off to the landfill seemed to silently cry out to me; "Save me, Jeff! I want to live!" So I went back to my unit with the drawer and lower doors from the lesser unit, got my trusty old moving dolly, (with two extremely flat tires) and rescued this fine old girl from a stinky, toxic grave! :)
This likely depression era dresser was constructed of solid walnut with the exception of the drawer bottoms, which are a primitive plywood affair with a 1/8th" walnut slice glued to a 1/16th" slice of spruce for added rigidity.
At first glance, while still outside in the service yard, it was actually somewhat difficult to figure out what kind of wood it was because a dark brown stain was used on much of the exterior sides, legs and top of the dresser with several coats of varnish or shellac on the exterior drawer fronts. So a massive amount of the grain detail of the wood was essentially hidden and lost to the end user. I could see why they chose to do that as they weren't using quarter sawn, matched pieces to build it. There was more just a looser general visual match-up to get the planks together for the glue up of the larger top and side panels, which are all 13/16ths thick, 5, 7 and 8 inch wide planks; same size as all the drawer heights.
So on top of the engineered "camouflage factory stain", there were, and still are, decades of wear on the finish from its previous owner(s); the insides of a couple of the drawers were especially bad with some type of liquid goop that spilled open and left a hardened crust like residue that just looked nasty! lol There were additionally the usual dings, dents, gouges, broken off corners from careless use, paint splatter on all the places you'd expect to see when you don't properly cover over your stuff before the paint rollers fly into action on your walls and ceiling! You know...Wear!!! :)
But I've now completed the process of taking it completely apart and have started on the restoration process of refinishing the worst looking surfaces and cleaning up the rest, which are still in decent shape. I should probably also add that the factory dark brown finish was probably far less of a visual impedance when it was all new and decently clean with no obvious scratches or mars on the finish. Gibbard was said to have a 22 step finishing regiment on woods such as this type, wonderful walnut! So it no doubt gleamed when it was new.
At this point though, I'm of two minds on whether to simply put it all back together again, as designed or to make some modifications to it to build and re-purpose it into a fancy tool chest table stand/secondary prep station with lower storage bays and drawers for my fledgling woodworking hobby, and make use of the leftover solid walnut lumber for some of my other ongoing projects. I'm still working on early design stage of all that...stay tuned for ongoing developments! :).
Cheers! :)
New York Sign is a gesture performed with the hand that mimics the letters N and Y, as in the words of New York. The hand sign is an art expression created by New York's artist Miguel Alonso, to represent visually the city of New York.
The gesture ends showing fingers pinky and ring down forming the N letter, fingers index and middle up in a V shape plus the thumb pointing down so the three fingers form the letter Y. The idea is that “only a real new Yorker” will be able to perform the sign correctly, since it needs some practice to stretch the fingers to form perfect N and Y letters.
The gesture can also be performed in two steps, starting pointing two fingers (index and middle) down, and then, pointing the same two fingers up in a V shape, leaving the thumb down, and pointing fingers pinky and ring down.
Another version of the gesture is finishing the two steps pointing two fingers up as in the victory sign.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
Very easily recognize, visually, when there is light in the night. And it's clear it's useful so that we can find our bindings, and know where we must go to.
But visually it's very easy. What about ourselves? Transparency and honesty are always a tremendous help, as it's cleanness always allows us to distinguish more light. And to get to this transparency and honesty the search for the Truth is quite needed. Not only when it's easy and evident. But especially when it is difficult and when an effort is needed. It is within this effort, or suffering as Gandhi (and so many more) would say, that we find a bigger human advance.
After all, ... darkness isn't anything else than absence of light. In all respects.
See where this picture was taken [?]
Bien reconocemos, visualmente, cuándo hay una luz durante la noche. Y bien nos sirve para orientarnos, y saber dónde estamos, o hacia dónde ir.
Pero visualmente es muy fácil. ¿Y nosotros mismos? La transparencia y honestidad siempre nos son de enorme ayuda, puesto que esa limpieza siempre permite distinguir más luz. Y para llegar a esta transparencia u honestidad siempre es necesaria una búsqueda fiel de la verdad. No tan sólo cuando sea fácil y evidente, sino especialmente cuando sea difícil y suponga un esfuerzo. Y es este esfuerzo, o sufrimiento como diría Gandhi (y tantos otros), el que permite un mayor avance humano.
Al fin y al cabo, ... la oscuridad no es nada más que la ausencia de luz. En todos los sentidos.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
Information about the Museum of Genocide Victims in old town Vilnius:
The museum is housed in the 19th century neo-classical mansion previously used as a court building. The main facade with a front entrance faces Gediminas Avenue. Throughout the Soviet era (1940 to 1941 and 1944 to 1991) the building was occupied by the Soviet repressive institutions such as the NKVD, NKGB, MGB, KBG while during the period 1941 to 1944, the Gestapo reigned in the building. Out of this building came the evil thoughts for the extermination of residents and persecution of the otherwise minded. The basement of the building served as a prison for the Nazis while the Soviets used it as a prison with an execution chamber inside. The stones of the plinth area of the edifice bear the names of the freedom fighters killed from 1944 to 1947. Apart from the museum visually displaying information on the Soviet occupation, the building houses the courts, the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Special Archives where the former KGB archive documents are stored.
About the design:
Punk'ed pays homage to London being the birthplace of Punk, visually realised and conveyed to the viewer by the inclusion of iconic elements associated with the music and fashion genre. Inspired by the Sex Pistols' promo posters for their 1976 debut single, a distressed Union Flag provides the design's dominant feature. Appearing as two Union Flags jaggedly pinned together with punk-esque safety pins, they drape across the bus roof, falling over to cover its sides.
Glimpses into the 1970s world of London Punk are seen through 'rips' in the flag. These include imagery such as: the era when Punk emerged in London; album covers by famous punk bands; the infamous 'God Save the Queen' newspaper image; punk fashion tartan, leather stud belts and spiked pink Mohicans as well as a 'printed' tee shirt to reflect Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren's influence on the movement, namely the King's Road boutique 'SEX' which specialised in clothing that gave Punk its visual definition.
In true 'anti-establishment' torn-newspaper Punk style - often used on albums and posters artwork and in particular by the Sex Pistols - a Punk'ed slogan is sprayed across both sides of the bus. Having dual purpose, it both visually states that the bus design is inspired by Punk while also playing on the phrase 'to be punk'd', meaning to play a trick on someone or something. In this instance a regular London Bus has been 'punk'ed' with art.
About the artist:
Valerie Osment is a professional visual artist based in Essex whose work has painting and illustration at its core. With a BA Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration, she exploits multimedia and visual art forms to create work in 2D or 3D form.
Sponsored by Tesco.
2014 saw a number of anniversaries which will help us tell this story. It's been 60 years since the creation of the iconic Routemaster, 75 years since the launch of the RT-Type bus and 100 years since the world's first mass-produced motor bus, the B-Type 'Battle Bus' that carried soldiers to the frontline during the First World War.
Our buses are the arteries of the capital, moving large numbers of people around the city - across the centre and to the extremities. They have affected great social change and continue to offer a lifeline to a diverse range of Londoners. Buses also support the needs of our growing city and in turn help London to function as the engine room of the UK's economy.
London is naturally proud of its bus network, one of the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite its size, the bus network remains flexible and able to adapt to the challenges of operating in a constantly changing streetscape.
To meet the future needs of the city, while minimising the environmental impact, we are using innovation and new green technology. Our fleet is already one of the cleanest in the UK, but we're constantly striving to see how new technology can further reduce our impact on the environment.
The bus sculptures, which are 2.5m long, 1m high and 0.5m wide, are painted and adorned by well-known and aspiring artists to showcase the vital role that London’s buses play in the life and economy of the city and the UK as a whole.
Londoners and visitors to the city will get the chance to discover the bus sculptures, which will be organised in clusters, on foot by following public art trails in four areas of the capital – three in central London and one in outer London.
Recording legend Stevie Wonder (center) congratulates international negotiators who concluded a new treaty easing access to books for the blind, and urged national lawmakers to swiftly ratify the accord and unlock its benefits for hundreds of millions of people around the world who are blind, visually impaired and print-disabled. WIPO Director General Francis Gurry (left) and Morocco's Minister of Communications and Government Spokesperson Mustafa Khalfi (right) also called for a quick ratification of the treaty. The treaty was formally adopted on June 27, 2013. The Kingdom of Morrocco hosted WIPO's Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh from June 17 to 28, 2013.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
Visually the cupcakes are quite stunning, and look incredible. Tastewise they leave something to be desired. Some were bland, and didn't leave much of an impression on me, except for the one in the center which was supposed to be a chocolate mint, that one I remember cause it tasted like toothpaste.
All photos in this set taken by JEX, all text written by me, unless otherwise noted.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry (second from left), Morocco's Minister of Communications and Government Spokesperson Mustafa Khalfi (third from left), and members of the WIPO Secretariat applaud adoption of a new international treaty that will facilitate access to published works for blind, visually impaired and print-disabled persons. The treaty was formally adopted on June 27, 2013. The Kingdom of Morrocco hosted WIPO's Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh from June 17 to 28, 2013.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Hicham Rachidi. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
Humm.. Visually our engine didn't seem to be running through the flight. The blades were not turning. When we deplaned I asked the pilot if he flew in on one engine and said no it was normal for these blades on this engine model (JT8D-17) not to turn. I'm not a technical expert of any sort.. I always thought the purpose of engine blades was to turn so as to generate suction into the engine to create thrust... Does anyone know what these "blades" are for on this engine if in fact they don't move in flight? Obviously they are not real engine blades. Some sort of protection in front of the actual blades running behind them perhaps? It kinda creeped me out a little especially since the plane kind of listed to my side for most of the flight.