MetaFilter posts tagged with wildlife

Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle

hadjiboy — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:34:03 -0800

The largest Herbarium in the world.

The 1956 Pictorial Wildlife and Game Map

jjray — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:06:58 -0800

Where Do The Animals Live? A pictorial game and wildlife map from 1956, from AzraelBrown's excellent blog The Infomercantile.

The Kingpin

gman — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:39:58 -0800

An exposé of the world's most notorious wildlife dealer, his special government friend, and his ambitious new plan. Photo Gallery and more info.

Time to get in the water, ya?

Hypnotic Chick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:39:13 -0800

National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen (pre vi ously) relates the harrowing tale of a sweet, insistent, and ferocious lunchmate (note - clip begins with a dramatic drumbeat, mind your speakers) As a side note, jontyjago has shown us that human/leopard seal encounters do not always end well.

World's Longest Invisible Fence

webhund — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:59:13 -0800

Twenty years ago this month, the nearly 700 mile border between East and West Germany started to disappear. "The fence is long gone, and the no-man's land where it stood now is part of Europe's biggest nature preserve. The once-deadly border area is alive with songbirds nesting in crumbling watchtowers, foxes hiding in weedy fortifications and animals not seen here for years, such as elk and lynx. But one species is boycotting the reunified animal kingdom: red deer." According to the Bavarian National Forest Park Service, scientists [link in German] have recorded nearly 11,000 GPS locations for 'Ahornia," a red deer who appears to never enter the Czech Republic.

Great photographers

Matthias Rascher — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:28:41 -0800

Great photographers: Clark Little (surf photography), Nick Brandt (mostly African wildlife), John Hyde (mostly wildlife and Alaska), Veronika Pinke (landscapes), Dale Allman (miscellaneous; particularly beautiful are his Australian cityscapes and the HDR/DRI photos), Ansel Adams (the undisputed master of nature photography who died in 1984; famous quotes: "You don't take a photograph, you make it.", "A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words. "), Michel Rajkovic (mostly marine landscape, exclusively in black and white). And again, as a tribute to a gifted artist who died far too early, the work of Bobby Model (adventure photographer). Last but not least: Onexposure, probably the biggest collection of quality photography on the net.

Mulder and Scully have been sent to investigate.

SansPoint — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:09:18 -0800

A mysterious black blob of something is floating along the Alaskan coast... and it's biological. According to the Coast Guard, "It's definitely not an oil product of any kind." The strange goop even has a taste for flesh... "[S]omeone turned in what was left of a dead goose -- just bones and feathers..."

400 Years Ago

netbros — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:35:41 -0800

Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? Find out at The Mannahatta Project, by navigating through the map to discover Manhattan Island and its native wildlife in 1609. “The goal of the Mannahatta Project has never been to return Manhattan to its primeval state. The goal of the project is to discover something new about a place we all know so well, whether we live in New York or see it on television, and, through that discovery, to alter our way of life. New York does not lack for dystopian visions of the future…. But what is the vision of the future that works? Might it lie in Mannahatta, the green heart of New York, and with a new start to history, a few hours before Hudson arrived that sunny afternoon four hundred years ago?”

Your Voice for Wildlife and Nature

netbros — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:05:44 -0800

OdyseeTV explores the pressures faced by wildlife and habitat. Featuring video content like the Plight of the Snow Leopard, or a feature about manatees, Can Gentle Survive?, by conservation organizations worldwide. Limited at present to about 30 programs, but growing as more groups come on board.

Elephant Diary, Day One: Rolled in mud. Considered meaning of life.

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:24:44 -0800

Dame Daphne Sheldrick runs an orphanage in Kenya. For elephants. The orphanage has been the focus of a report on 60 Minutes and a special called "The Elephant Diaries" on BBC1. At the orphanage, elephants are taught skills they will need to know in the wild, including how to play football.

Twenty Times a Day

shoesfullofdust — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:57:07 -0800

...the Department of Transportation will not keep secret the data we collect on birds striking airplanes. - Ray LaHood, United States Secretary of Transportation

From the dreaded mourning dove to the nefarious Canada goose to the humble armadillo, the FAA's recently released National Wildlife Strike Database ON-LINE contains information on aircraft/wildlife strikes from over 100,000 reported incidents between 1990 and 2008. The database was referenced previously in the Birdstrike in the Hudson thread, but until this week the the F.A.A. provided only aggregate data about wildlife strikes - collisions by state, not by airport. Submit your query here or download the current version(15 MB MS Access format) from this page. Federal Aviation Administration - Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Home Page. Wildlife Strikes to Civil Aircraft in the United States 1990 - 2007 - A comprehensive analysis of the database (pdf format). Sharing the Skies (TP 13549E) is an online book about the subject of aircraft/wildlife strikes from Transport Canada.

Castor fiber

chuckdarwin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:10:46 -0800

An escaped beaver has been felling trees in Devon. The large (six-stone) male escaped an animal sanctuary along with two females when an electric fence was shorted by flooding. His owner thinks he went in search of a mate."We've got traps being made up at the moment," he said. "Using the scent from one of the female beavers, we'll be able to catch the male beaver fairly quickly." The beaver became extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth century: Giraldus Cambrensis reported in 1188 that it was to be found only in the Teifi in Wales and in one river in Scotland, though his observations are clearly second hand. In October 2005, six European beavers were reintroduced to Britain in Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire; in July 2007 a colony of four European beavers was established at Martin Mere in Lancashire, and there are plans for re-introductions in Scotland and Wales. See also: Castoreum

Bambi meets Thumper IRL

not_on_display — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:47:51 -0800

An orphaned deer and a wild rabbit quickly become best friends. [original page, auf Deutsch] Tanja Askani ("The Woman Who Lives with Wolves") has plenty of other wonderful photographs and paintings of animals -- wi ld, domesticated, and both toge ther.

European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Korou — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:40:56 -0800

The GDT's* European Wildlife Photographer of the Year; winning image is NSFW. (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001) *Gesellschaft Deutscher Tierfotografen In April, the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year was announced. (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002)

Winter's Beauty

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:53:07 -0800

Steve Winter has won Wildlife Photographer Of The Year. More shortlisted images. Previous winners.

lions and other wildlife from the African bush

madamjujujive — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:49:53 -0800

Brutal or Amazing? - this is just one of many fine posts on the Photo Africa Blog, an excellent source of in-the-wild animal and nature photos and reports from bush field guides. Also see: Madikwe Lions.

What Does a Bear Really Do In the Woods?

netbros — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:37:57 -0800

Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project ― the grizzly bear has had a threatened status for more than 30 years now. Several zones have been established in the northwestern U.S. and Canada to monitor recovery. Kate Kendall of the USGS led a project to investigate recovery through DNA monitoring of the bears. Since the funds dried up, Kate and her team have used remote cameras to capture some interesting footage of bears and other wildlife.

"This listing will not stop global climate change"

salvia — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:22:26 -0800

“I can’t express how extremely disappointed I am that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act," Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski said in a statement issued today. The Department of the Interior Secretary himself, Dirk Kempthorne, stressed his decision was compelled by the Endangered Species Act, "perhaps the least flexible law Congress has ever enacted." "But [listing the polar bear as threatened] should not open the door to use the ESA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources...To make sure that the Endangered Species Act is not misused to regulate global climate change, I will take the following specific actions..." You can find more from the US government, including sea ice photos, audio and video clips, and a statement from the US Fish & Wildlife Service director, here. Here is coverage from the NY Times, Scientific American, the Wall Street Journal, and others.

Kennan Ward Nature-Wildlife Photography

netbros — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:35:21 -0800

Kennan Ward Nature-Wildlife Photography -- “Being a nature-wildlife photographer is a demanding job … but all the hardship is forgotten when I make eye-to-eye contact with a wild animal, or experience the moment when a window in the clouds opens up, highlighting a landscape … I feel honored to be able to bring the inspiring beauty of nature to others.” I first became aware of Kennan Ward through his third book, Denali: Reflections of a Naturalist. A photographer, videographer and adventurer-naturalist Kennan Ward has written several books about wilderness and wildlife. He has dedicated his life to capturing the rare forms of nature first on film, now digitally with stills and video. Ten years of work as a Search and Rescue Ranger for the National Park Service honed his wildlife skills, accelerated his evolution as a natural-light photographer and deepened his love for the outdoors. In 2000 Kennan received a prestigious honor from the BBC's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Kennan’s work has been featured in many national and international magazines, including Audubon, Alaska, BBC Wildlife, National Geographic, Backpacker, GreenPeace, NG Kids, Sierra, Natural History, Outdoor Photographer, Outside, and National Wildlife. In 2001 Kennan published a very special book bringing attention to the stunning natural world of the Alaskan Arctic - The Last Wilderness: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Kennan has lobbied from Alaska to DC to educate law-makers and congress people about the vast, unspoiled wildernesses of ANWR. There are literally thousands of photographs on Kennan's web site. A few of my favorites include a humpback whale breach, the love of a mama polar bear, a grizzly bear taking a bath, and a surprise for the Denali tourists. I hope you enjoy Kennan Ward's photography and videos as much as I do.

Is Tiger Woods Bad for the Environment?

netbros — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:48:59 -0800

Are golf courses bad or good for the environment? Chances are the answer you give depends on whether you are actively involved with the game. Representing anti-golf we have the Organic Consumers Association, the Journal of Pesticide Reform (pdf), and the Global Anti-Golf Movement. Speaking on behalf of golf course management the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (pdf) and the United States Golf Association. A group of leading golf and environmental organizations have jointly developed Environmental Principles for Golf Courses in the United States.

Chasing Wild Horses: "Beauty has a way of teaching us what matters in life."

loiseau — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:19:48 -0800

Located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, tiny Sable Island has a population of about 15 humans, assorted marine birds and seals, and more than 300 wild horses. The island is a bastion of purity, wildness and beauty unmatched in the world. Sable Island and its horses are protected from human habitation and development by strict laws. The only people allowed to go there are government-approved wildlife and Coast Guard workers, people who are shipwrecked or in distress at sea, and those with individual approval from the provincial government. There is no tourism there. Only a small number of humans will ever experience Sable in their lifetime. In 2007, fashion photographer Robert Dutesco made his second journey to the island, which resulted in this stunningly beautiful and haunting set of photographs of feral horses, a small peek into life on Sable Island as it exists every day, untouched by the often-destructive hand of humanity. If you have the opportunity, do make sure you see the gorgeous documentary Chasing Wild Horses, which documents Dutesco's time on the island and the emotional journey he takes there with these magical horses as his subjects and temporary companions. It aired on Bravo in Canada this weekend and hopefully will come to a channel or Internet near you.

photographs of wildlife

Flashman — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:48:59 -0800

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife rehabilitation videos

Upton O'Good — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:11:02 -0800

Wildlife rehabilitators take care of wounded or orphaned animals, nursing them back to health and preparing them for a life back in the wild. This leads to a lot of cute baby animal videos. (Roll over for descriptions.) On a more serious note, if you find an injured or orphaned animal, here are a collection of tips to follow; you can find a wildlife rehabilitator near you by searching here.

Sad.

monju_bosatsu — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 06:47:58 -0800

What I Killed Today. I work with a lot of injured wildlife. Also not wild animals that are just in a lot of pain. Sometimes I have to euthanize them. I decided to record each animal I euthanize here.

Where the wild things are

FunkyHelix — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:28:29 -0800

Build your wild self using a flash game from the New York zoos and aquarium and the wildlife conservation society. Just something cute for Tuesday.