Sep

15

Identity Crisis – September 2011

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Shot of the Month – September 2011

I never could really keep it straight in my head what the difference was between a stork, heron, egret, and, well, between just about any other tall and lanky feathered thing.  I have just done a bunch of reading on the subject and I would like to say that it is now all perfectly clear.  It isn’t.  I have learned however that the whole naming-of-animals thing is a rather messy affair.  Here is what I know.

There are 64 species of birds that are considered herons.  We call some herons, others egrets, and the rest bitterns.  But they are all herons.

I photographed this elegant heron in Botswana.  Given that it is predominantly white we call it an egret, even though there is no real biological distinction between a heron and an egret.  But if a heron is white, or has some decorative plume feathers, we usually call it an egret.  For the record, this is the Great Egret, aka, Great White Egret.  There are four sub-species of Great Egret spread across the globe with one in Europe, one in the Americas, another in Africa, and the fourth found in India, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

And what about bitterns?  “ Webster says that they are “any of various small or medium-sized usually secretive herons.”  LOL.  Well, that sounds pretty scientific.  Probably more useful for identification, bitterns tend to have shorter necks than most “typical” herons.

Another useful tidbit.  Herons fly with their necks retracted as opposed to storks, ibises, and spoonbills which fly with fully elongated necks

Stork (source)                                                                                                   Heron (source)

 

And remember, when all else fails, “Look at that pretty bird” works just fine.

Until next month… 🙂

Aug

15

Historical Footnote? – August 2011

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Shot of the Month – August 2011

No introduction is required for this fellow.

The tiger is one of the most widely recognized animals in the world.  Humans have been mesmerized by this apex predator for thousands of years.  You could spend a lifetime cataloging all the historical, mythological, religious, literary, and cultural references to the tiger.

The tiger is one of 12 Chinese zodiac animals.  It is an earth symbol. Tigers are the national symbol for at least 6 countries and are found on many national flags.  Tigers are an important symbol in Buddhism.  Tigers play every sport you can imagine: the Detroit Tigers (baseball), the Balmain Tigers (Australian Rugby), the Sunipret Ice Tigers (German Hockey), the UANL Tigers (Mexcan soccer), and well, there are hundreds more.  Elvis thought they played a bit rough and the “Eye of the Tiger” gave Survivor a #1 song in 1982.  A tiger was an important character in The Jungle Book, was a buddy of Pooh, and a tiger was found on a lifeboat in the Life of Pi.  Calvin’s best friend was a tiger and a tiger named Tony helped sell a lot of cereal.  From cultural god to Wall Street hawker, the tiger has been voted, at least in one poll that included 73 countries, as the world’s favorite animal.  Yes, even more popular than Lassie and her canine brethren.

Normally from here, I would attempt to beguile you with a host of fascinating facts and tidbits about the tiger’s amazing physical traits or abilities.  Or regale you with the challenges and risks of getting this photo of a Bengal Tiger in Ranthambore National Park in India –there were a few.

But none of that matters.  What matters is that you understand how completely and utterly we have destroyed a species that we seemingly love and admire so much.  Take a marker and color in most of Asia on a map – a huge swath of the land mass of our planet.  That is where tigers used to live.  Now tape that map on the wall and throw 6 or 7 darts at that colored area.  That will give you a sense of the space where tigers now have to live.

In 1900 there were 100,000 tigers in the wild.  There are now around 3,000.

In just more than a lifetime 97% of tigers have been wiped off the planet.  The Bali tiger went extinct in the 1940s.  The central Asia tiger vanished in the 1970s.  We killed the last tiger in Java in the 1980s.  The South China Tiger was killed off in the 1990s (a few still exist in zoos).  The six remaining subspecies are struggling to survive.

We are destroying the forest they need to live in.  We hunt and kill them to make aphrodisiacs.  We kill them to make coats.

Wow, imagine how we would treat the tiger if it wasn’t our “favorite” animal!

People are finally starting to notice.  Leaders from the 13 countries where tigers still exist attended the Global Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia in late 2010 to launch a campaign to try and double the population of tigers by 2022.  India has been working for quite a few years to try and protect its tigers from poaching and has been increasing the areas that are protected for tigers.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been working tirelessly to raise awareness.

Unless we take action soon, tigers will become our favorite memory.

Want to do something to help?  Click here for ideas from WWF on actions you can take.

Jul

15

Winner by a Nose – July 2011

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Shot of the Month – July 2011

For five days and nights, our wooden boat worked its way up the Sekonyer River through the oppressive heat and pallor of the Kalamatan jungle on the Island of Borneo. (If you can remember Martin Sheen’s trip up the Nung River in the Cambodian Jungle in “Apocolypse Now” you will have a good sense of what the conditions were like – though, luckily, without the gunfire.)

The primary goal of the trip was to see orangutans but along the way, we spotted this homely fellow, a Proboscis monkey, among the trees along the river’s edge.

Pro-what?  New word for Michael.  For you other non-scrabble players:

Proboscis:  /proʊˈbɒsɪs/) an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate, e.g. the trunk of an elephant or the feeding tube of a butterfly.

Scientists aren’t sure but they assume that the larger the nose, the better the luck in attracting the lady monkeys.  Go figure.  The females also have largish noses but they are not as pronounced as in the males.  Proboscis monkeys have the largest noses of any primates.  The male vocalizes through the nose with a kee honk sound.  Really, I couldn’t make this stuff up.

And a gentle reminder, it is not polite to stare.

Adding to the Homer Simpson look, the Proboscis monkey has a pot belly.  Their stomachs are large to accommodate several compartments that use bacteria to digest the cellulose of the leaves of mangrove and pedada trees.  When full, the stomach can represent 1/4th of the animal’s body weight!  These leaves represent 95% of their diet.

Dining primarily on leaves allows the monkeys to remain safely high up in the trees and avoid predators lurking on the ground.

Proboscis monkeys are agile climbers but they are also quite at home in the water.  They can often be spotted walking upright across stretches of water in the mangroves.  Fishermen have even spotted the monkey swimming up to one mile offshore in the ocean.  Proboscis monkeys actually have partially webbed feet – a testament to how much time they spend in or near the water.

In Indonesian (Borneo is part of Indonesia) this monkey is named orang belanda which means “Dutchman.”  Seems the locals thought the Dutch, who colonized this part of the world, often had large noses and pot bellies like their local monkey.  Sounds like payback if you ask me.

There you have it, the web-footed, pot-bellied, elephantine-esque primate otherwise known as the Proboscis monkey.  Another beautiful, uh, well, striking sight from the natural world.

 

Jun

15

Dressed to Kill – June 2011

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Shot of the Month – June 2011

This month we visit with the (Southern) Pale Chanting Goshawk (SPCG).  Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it?

I had never heard of such a bird and I was surprised when I first spotted this striking fellow while visiting the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana.  SPCGs are distributed across southern Africa and prefer dry, open semi-desert environments.  That would explain my lack of exposure to this fellow — I had not visited many southern African countries and I had explored even fewer game parks located in or near the deserts of these countries.

You can see in this lower photo the dapper marking of this raptor.  Take note of the fine striped chest and leggings.  His chest is an exquisite, delicate grey.  And throw in a striking dash of color with those orange legs and black and orange beak.  On several occasions, I almost injured my neck as I snapped my head around as my eyes were drawn to an orange beacon at the top of a tree or bush.  Each time it was an SPCG.  In the late afternoon light, already rich with hues of orange from the sun, his beak and legs seemed to glow with an other-worldly force.

SPCGs dine primarily on lizards, but will also eat small mammals, birds, and large insects.  When hunting the SPCG will often land near his prey and then chase his victim down on foot.

It’s a ridiculous sight really, watching such a large bird sprint from here to there and back again like something out of a keystone cop film. The effect is even greater given that the bird is gussied up like some gangster from the 1940s.  Throw in a pair of suspenders and his retro mobster look would be complete.

And who says that Mother Nature doesn’t have a sense of humor…?

 

 

May

15

By Any Other Name – May 2011

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Shot of the Month – May 2011

 

Many would look at the image above and say that it was a picture of a giraffe.  While this statement would be generally correct, it would also be unfair, or at least unsatisfyingly vague.  Many might not realize that there are in fact 9 types of giraffe in the world (all living in Africa) and each is a bit different than the others.  The specimen above is a Reticulated Giraffe and is only found in northern Kenya, Somalia, and southern Ethiopia.  I photographed this one in Samburu National Park in Kenya.  The Reticulated Giraffe is one of the most common varieties found in zoos.

The creature having a drink below is obviously also a giraffe but his/her markings are clearly different.  This is a Thornicroft Giraffe that I photographed in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.  There are only about 1,500 Thornicroft Giraffes left in the world and they all live in eastern Zambia.

“Giraffe” also includes:

Nubian Giraffe:  Only about 250 remain in the wild and they are found in eastern Sudan and northeastern DR Congo.

Smoky Giraffe:  About 20,000 are left in the wild and they are found in southern Angola, northern Namibia, and parts of Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.

Kordofan Giraffe:  Less than 3,000 remain in the wild and they are found primarily in Chad, Central African Republic, and Cameroon.

Maasai Giraffe:  These are the giraffes that most people see if they go on safari in East Africa.  There are about 40,000 left in the wild and they are found in Kenya and Tanzania.

Rothschild Giraffe:  Less than 700 remain in the wild though they are zoo favorites so there is a good chance you have seen one there.  In the wild they live in Uganda, parts of Kenya, and in southern Sudan.

South African Giraffe:  Less than 12,000 are left in the wild and they are found in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

West African Giraffe:  These are the rarest giraffe in the world with a population of less than 220 left in the wild.  They are found in southern Niger.

Each sub-species of giraffe has a unique size, color, pattern, and distribution.  The next time you see a “giraffe” be sure to dig a bit deeper to find out which particular natural gem you have discovered.

🙂