MetaFilter posts tagged with Animals and Nature

A Compendium and Bestiary of the Unusual and Bizarre

anastasiav — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:23:05 -0800

Little Armored One

iamkimiam — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:56:06 -0800

What can jump 4 feet straight up, births identical quadruplet pups nearly every time, can curl itself into an armor-plated ball, walk underwater for up to six minutes and can swallow air until it bloats to double its size to float? Dasypus novemcinctus, of course! A place for all things armadillo: DilloScape Armadillos and humans are the only mammals susceptible to leprosy: Armadillos and their role in the study of Hansen's Disease From Mayan Legend, to Texas, and beyond: The Biogeography of the Nine-Banded Armadillo One armadillo's sad story: Otis is Resurrected! Also, Armadillo games, Flickr pool.

The hyena, "our favorite animal"

Kattullus — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:28:15 -0800

"With most animals, males duke it out and the winner gets the girls," says Holekamp. "But with hyenas, females have 100 percent say." They decide when and under what conditions they will tolerate deferential sperm donors. At age 2 or 3 a male leaves his natal clan and wanders off to beg acceptance into another clan. After vicious rejections, he eventually succeeds and reaps his reward: brutal harassment as the clan's nadir, one of the last in line for food and sex. This probation, which biologists call "endurance rivalry," is a test, Holekamp explains: "The guy who can stick it out the longest wins." The trial lasts about two years, after which some females may grant him access. "You do not want to be a male hyena," Holekamp says.

-From an article in Smithsonian Magazine, Who's Laughing Now? Professor Holekamp's hyena site. Also, hyena pictures and The Hyena Pages, a fine site about this fascinating animal.

The Nature Photography of E.J. Peiker

LeeJay — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:18:38 -0800

E.J. Peiker, Nature Photgrapher There are a lot of nature photographers out there -- some better than Peiker and some worse -- but what fascinates me about Peiker's site is the number of photos available. A birdwatcher's dream, it features pages of photos of over 500 different species of birds, including an index devoted solely to wild waterfowl. Maybe animals are more your speed? How about nearly 150 pages of photos of wild animals (including my favorite - a quite handsome, flower-eating porcupine.) There's also a section for scenic photography featuring 23 states and 20 countries (or you can search by national park.) The photos are, unfortunately, not that big but there a ton of them, many of them quite pretty.

The battle of the gentle giants

madamjujujive — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:14:01 -0800

Giraffe mating battles can be brutal but they are generally gentle giants. Man's fascination with these exotic creatures can be tracked from 9,000 year old rock art to the quest for exotics that brought them to the courts of Medici-era Florence, Restoration Paris, and Imperial China, spawning much curiosity and fanciful illustration. Today, giraffe-o-philes can get up close and personal in Kenya's Giraffe Manor. Zheng Hai's giraffe Medici Giraffe Zarafa, the giraffe that walked to Paris in 1827. Michael Poliza's giraffe photos Tall Blondes - Lynn Sherr narrates a wonderful PBS Nature episode on giraffes, available in 11 segments. In pursuit of giraffes - BBC's Joanna Lumley

Earthlings

homunculus — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:00:33 -0800

Earthlings (1 hr 35 min Google video) is "a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called 'non-human providers.'" Also in three parts on YouTube.

Won't someone think of the animals.

dobbs — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:52:13 -0800

Gregory Colbert's Ashes and Snow has been linked to twice before on Metafilter. However, you can now view 10 minutes of his film as part of his Ted Talk--it's the most stunning nature footage I've ever seen. In the talk he also mentions a new concept he's developing called Animal Copyright, which I think is long overdue.

Nature gone Wild

ewkpates — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:06:40 -0800

Birds that rap and cows with accents. The big picture is urban adaptation, which is pretty cool. (...and the egg wins.)

"New" members of our animal kingdom

anjamu — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:30:31 -0800

Free Your Imagination : from the furry "Yeti crab" to the almiqui, animals discovered and rediscovered this millenium.

Brazilian bird songs

mediareport — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:07:26 -0800

Songs of Brazilian Birds A fantastically diverse collection of .au files, including the beautifully evocative Organ Wren or Uirapuru, the mooing of the Capuchinbird, the sci-fi minimalism of the Short-tailed Antthrush and a duet of Laughing Falcons (they'll make you laugh at the end).

Squirrels-For-You.com

Gator — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 06:10:27 -0800

How To Have A Ton Of Fun Raising Baby Squirrels. Husband and wife document their adventures raising these little spazz-monsters with many photos and some Flash movies. Via Cute Overload.

Life in the Undergrowth

0bvious — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 07:22:56 -0800

Mating Leopard Slugs entwine - one of the untold wonders of the animal kingdom captured on video.... The BBC gets up close and personal with Life in the Undergrowth in their new wildlife documentary. A must see for any animal, insect or David Attenborough fan... (If the main vid link doesn't work for you try it from here - realplayer needed)

Seabirds skull gallery

mediareport — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 21:14:22 -0800

Seabirds Skull Gallery An amateur birder in Holland is fascinated by the internal structure of various seabirds. [via Incoming Signals]

I want to walk up the side of the mountain

Mwongozi — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 16:10:05 -0800

The Nature Anthem Quicktime video.

Infrasound animals

mediareport — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 18:48:32 -0800

"Infrasonic Symphony" Intrigued by reports of tsunami-avoidance behavior in Sri Lankan wildlife? Science News offers a timely antidote to simplistic mumbo-jumbo about the "mythical power" of animal earthquake detection with a detailed look at the latest research into low-frequency sound. The Elephant Listening Project is particularly interested in elephant rumblings that produce Rayleigh waves. "Mammals, birds, insects, and spiders can detect Rayleigh waves," notes The Explainer. "Most can feel the movement in their bodies, although some, like snakes and salamanders, put their ears to the ground in order to perceive it."

The Animaris Rhinoceros Transport

muckster — Tue, 28 Sep 2004 13:54:37 -0800

The Animaris Rhinoceros Transport: "Since about ten years Theo Jansen is occupied with the making of a new nature. Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic matierial of this new nature. He makes skeletons which are able to walk on the wind. Eventualy he wants to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives." [2MB Quicktime Video]

Animal Yawns

hama7 — Fri, 19 Mar 2004 13:57:29 -0800

Animal Yawns.

Once more into the...

jonson — Thu, 11 Sep 2003 10:40:41 -0800

Fantastic images of a Great White Shark breaching (leaving the surface of the water, like a whale or a dolphin would). Note - they apparently usually exhibit this behavior when they are killing/feeding, so those with delicate sensibilities shouldn't click.

And you thought GRIZZLIES were violent...

JollyWanker — Wed, 27 Aug 2003 19:00:18 -0800

Charlie Russell and Maureen Enns - authors of a popular book and the subject of a fascinating and well-recieved documentary - have been living for months at a time with bears in Kamchatka, demonstrating that man and grizzly can, in fact, inhabit the same landscape without violence - at least, no violence on the part of the bears... Their work has been brought to a tragic and all too human end... (Via Rafe Colburn, who notes, appropriately, "People suck.")

Beware the giant squid

plep — Thu, 03 Apr 2003 00:52:12 -0800

'A colossal squid has been caught in Antarctic waters, the first example of Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni retrieved virtually intact from the surface of the ocean. ' Related (old news from January) :- giant squid attacks boat.
More squid sites :- Search for Giant Squid, a Smithsonian exhibit about a 1999 expedition. 'Whether living or extinct, on land or at sea, in literature or in life, large animals have long fascinated people. The largest animals have been known and hunted since prehistory: whales, walruses, elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, and large fishes... However, one large animal has gone almost unnoticed or certainly unobserved in its habitat. That animal is the giant squid. Although these animals have been found in the nets of commercial fishermen, in the stomachs of sperm whales, and washed ashore on different continents, no scientific information has been gathered by direct observations of live giant squid ... '
The UnMuseum's article on the giant squid.

MiguelCardoso — Sat, 24 Aug 2002 15:06:35 -0800

On Solidarity, Community Spirit And Going Meerkat-Mad: They're cute, they're smart; they're funny, they're sociable; they're even considered the epitome of cooperative living. In fact, they could probably teach MetaFilter a lesson or two. In their September issue, National Geographic has gone stark, raving meerkat-bonkers - and not a moment too soon either. We're talking new desktops here, no mistake..[Flash needed for first link - definitely worth waiting for it to load - Real or WindowsMedia for some other on-site features.]

mediareport — Fri, 09 Aug 2002 07:35:48 -0800

Crows better than chimps at making tools? British scientists were reportedly "astonished" when a captive crow named Betty "spontaneously bent a straight piece of wire and used it to retrieve a snack." But another scientist says crows have been seen making two kinds of hook tools in the wild, although he's not sure we should say they have "insight." It's clear that there are lots of different kinds of animal intelligences, so why are humans so surprised when dolphins recognize themselves in mirrors, chimps demonstrate culture and lions engage in social problem-solving? What explains the reluctance to admit that animal "consciousness" exists?