Beautiful Animals

Don't make excuses for that bully. Nag, shmag. That's a helluva bite.

Those cougar pictures are so gorgeous. I bookmarked that site. Such beautiful animals. Cats will always be my favs.

That one of the lions fighting is something. I can only imagine the sound!

The beauty of cats continues to astonish me, Arella Mae. They may get my vote for overall gorgeous group of animals. Them and nudibranchs.

I've seen photos and films of lions fighting. I don't recall seeing a male taking a chunk out of a female. She musta committed some kind of leonine unpardonable sin.

Did you know that lions' manes serve two purposes? The bigger and darker the mane, the more attractive the male is to the females. The mane also serves as protection in a fight. The neck is protected. The downside of the mane? It adds weight and makes the male lion slower on the run. They're still very big and fast.

Learning form your commentary, Roberta.

Glad to hear that, osso. My knowledge is broad but superficial.

Late morning New York,phone has not stopped ringing....

Another jumbo....

Stayin' under water....

G'night.

Barry, I had no idea that elephants spent so much time underwater. (Not sure what you meant about phones ringing in NY.)

The man with the whale seems to me to be taking an unnecessary risk. Dat's one big mammal.

Cats seem to like small places. Wonderful shot. Thanks, kid.

Spanish dancer (nudibranch):

Slow loris (a poisonous--not necessarily venomous-- mammal):

Protective moms.......

A tigress lays beside a cub she gave birth to in captivity, at the Villa Lorena animal refuge center in Cali, Colombia. The refuge takes in injured and abandoned animals from circuses


Indian lion, Joy, with her two-month-old cub at the zoo in Zurich, Switzerland

Another morning of gorgeous animals. Who could ask for more. I had no clue elephants even went underwater. Can you imagine being in the water with one or with a whale? Exciting but scary! Oh I love the momma and baby cat pics and the nudibranch, as always, amazing.

More protective mamas:

Lions and tigers and bears oh my! Dem bears look cuddly!

I think of all the protective mamas, the grizzly makes me the most nervous. They're accustomed to protecting their young from male bears who would kill them if they could. Dem mama bears is fierce. Don't mess with a grizzly mama.

This might belong in the beautiful people category but...

Beautiful story, Boomer. Thanks for posting it here.

Why it's not a good idea to swim with whales:

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/untamed-and-uncut-pilot-whale-attacks.html

Resplendent quetzal:

This pig has more sense of balance and tenacity then that two legged dog who walks on his hind legs upright like a person.