Beautiful Animals

more -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/05/ill-have-another-kentucky-derby-2012-winner_n_1485590.html

osso, Before I came back here, I went to youtube and watched the Belmont four times. Then I came here and watched it again. Thanks for the link. Also thanks for the link to today's derby. You're a good kid.

Iziza wall lizard:

Morning New York.All pics taken from NatGeo....














Over 700,000 views! WoooooooooHoooooooo!!!!!

Wonderful, glorious pics, Barry. I'm grateful. I'm also a pain in the ass. I don't think that the next to last picture is a cheetah. No distinct face marking and the wrong kinda spots. I think it's a leopard. Who am I to argue with Nat Geo? I'm me, that's who.

The cub pics are lovely. Dem cubs is cute. The four cats sitting on the hill is wonderful Also glad to see they have spots. (You hear that, Izzie?) The four cats standing is my favorite. That pic shows total cheetahness, IMO. The last pic is just plain beautiful.

Thanks muchisimo, Barry. You are one good kid.

Oops,pic 5 is a leopard.My bad.
Here's a guy with one of the best jobs in the world -



Gus Mills is a smiling man who speaks with an English accent peppered with what sounds like hints of Dutch—perhaps from all the time he’s spent interacting with speakers of Afrikaans in the South African area of Kalahari Transfrontier Park. For the past five years, Mills and his wife have been studying the approximately 350 cheetahs that live in the region, a highly arid environment consisting primarily of vegetated sand dunes. In often scorching conditions, Mills tracks cheetah lifestyle patterns through a variety of data collection methods. Among these methods is photographic recognition: The park’s nearly 20,000 annual visitors are encouraged to submit photos of any cheetahs they encounter so that the animals’ spot patterns might be identified, much like an iris scan or fingerprint on humans. Another method is radio collaring, which has so far enabled Mills to map the migratory patterns of 19 cheetahs. Mills also conducts DNA sampling from hair specimens from cubs, biopsy darting, and fecal collection, and works with native Bushmen to track spoors and analyze sand patterns.

Through all of these approaches, his overarching goals are to better understand the demographics of the cheetah population, as well as their feeding ecology, land tenure system, mating system, and mortality and limiting factors. Ultimately, Mills aims to compare his results with another famous cheetah study that was implemented in the Serengeti, a far more temperate region.

Aha! I know my cats, and I know my spots. Thanks, Barry, for setting the record straight.

I'm remembering how I would watch wildlife shows about cheetahs and be annoyed that the cats were always shown in slow motion when they were running. Then I found a show that didn't slow things down. Whoosh. What happened? Dem felines is fast. Love those cats. LOVE 'EM.

Hey, Mr. Mills. You want an old, gimpy kvetchy type schlepping around the desert with you? I'm available.

Buedelsdorf, Germany: A bearded collie waits under a table while its owner votes in the state elections, in Schleswig-Holstein
Photograph: Joerg Sarbach/AP / Guardian

Young White Tiger

So great..

Red Panda

Golden Monkey

I know - really majestic animal...

Hey osso, This pic gave me pause. Then I scrolled down and saw the caption. (I thought the top half of the man was missing). Love that dog's face. No so much patient as resigned to waiting.

Snood, Great tiger cub. GREAT. If I wasn't against wild animals being pets, I'd say I want it. Ooops. Just remembering when a man in Harlem had a tiger for a roommate. Full-grown tiger in a apartment. All was going well until he brought home a stray tabby. The tiger got jealous and attacked the man. I remember film on the news of the animal people trying to get in the window and the head of a full-grown pissed off tiger was visible. Some peoples is nuts.

The red panda is beyond beautiful I'm close to swooning. And the golden monkey is also beautiful Definitely a keeper. Thanks for the wonderful pics.

Tube worm:

Look Roberta! Loooook!!






Baby big cats!! Awww! They're the cutest!

German dogs are so lucky. They have the right to vote! Cats and dogs in the US need their suffrage rights established as well!

Thanks for the bearded collie photo Osso.

Roberta? That tube worm is too psychedelic!



For the accompanying article:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2012/0507/Public-private-teamwork-helps-save-Connecticut-s-threatened-alewives

Today's Urban Dictionary Word of the Day:

A Marine dog handler from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Forward Operating Base Duluth, and Smash, the improvised explosive detection dog, prepared themselves for a steak dinner. The steak dinner was provided by Steak Mission Team. The SMT is a nonprofit organization that traveled 7,000 miles to say thank you by grilling a delicious steak meal for the service members on the frontlines. “Smash loved it too,” said her dog handler.

Gracie, All thudworthy. Such cute and beautiful little fluffballs. Thanks mucho.

tsar, I'm with you on animal suffrage. Could they do any worse than humans in the voting department? Dogs will likely vote with their families. Anything for a treat. Cats on the other hand could change the world. The fish appears to be a goner. Do you know what that black bird is? I actually encountered intensive purposes in my editing. But never the marine mammal.

Barry, It looks to me that Smash knew what was coming and loved it before he even got it. Dem dawgs know their steaks.

A herd of marine equines:

Gecko gets warm
A gecko sits inside a light outside a house in the Brisbane suburb of Algester, May 6, 2012.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-09/gecko-sits-inside-a-light/4000868

Love the pic, olga. Thanks mucho.

Clown triggerfish: