Beautiful Animals

Anyone who thinks a peregrine falcon is the fastest animal hasnt seen a group of soldiers dismissed after the end of a long deployment. Dont stand in front of them.

There's no referee to enforce swoop rules. But I've seen hawks living near Central Park freeze on the spot while the really big raptors cross overhead; we have bald eagles living up the Hudson, and they regularly fly to the Atlantic to catch fish to bring home to their families:

Thanks to Rosborne and High Seas for the falcon/swift discussion. I'm insufficiently knowledgeable to participate, but I was interested to read what you both had to say.

I saw a video of a falcon in the midst of a descent. The camera was on the falcon. Whoa, that's one speedy descent.

Black stallion, what a handsome guy:

German shepherd:



Samoyed:

Two wonderbar pooches!

My two favorite breeds. If I had my druthers (whatever the hell they are), I'd have one (or more) of each.

Get 3 of each and you have a dog sled team. Great for those NYC icy snowy sidewalk days where one needs to get to an appointment but don't want to get soggy leg cuffs or frozen feet.

Now why didn't I think of that? I'm always paying cab fares. And for what? Six large dogs could get me where I'm going in the snow.

Aside: Since the picture of the large shark jumping out of the water, everything I've posted has been a favorite. I'm celebrating--the three hundred thousandth view of this thread, which will probably happen on Saturday. More favorites on the way. I've posted only one boid and haven't even started on pets.

Congratulations on the thread based milestone!

Robert should be sending you a royalty check for such a successful thread.

Thanks for the congrats. I ain't gonna hold my breath, checkwise. But I love this thread. Love hunting for pics and seeing what other people are posting.

Green violet ear hummingbird:

Thanks to you for keeping this wonderful thread - but you should know no particular animal knowledge was involved in these posts, Rosborne, Ionus and I being trained in aerodynamics. The video (previous page) of that Peregrine falcon is breathtaking - btw, the voice-over mentions the plane (a beat-up single-engine Cessna) got to 15,000 ft, which is at least 1,000 too high for its ceiling, but even if it was 13,000 ft, the ease with which the falcon just stepped off into the void is awe-inspiring; you can tell that's her natural element. As to the eagle picture on this page, doesn't that bird look like it should be carrying a ribbon with Pluribus Unum on it?! As it happens it's carrying a striped Atlantic bass - probably more useful to little eaglets waiting in the nest
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,239472,00.html

These remarkable pictures show the moment a tiger shark snatched an expensive camera from the hands of a petrified photographer during an underwater diving expedition in the Bahamas. After photographer Karin Brussaard took several photos, the shark decided enough was enough and grabbed the equipment in its jaws before swimming off...
Picture: KARIN BRUSSAARD / CATERS NEWS

...Brussaard, from the Netherlands, said: "Luckily it did drop it eventually and remarkably the camera only seemed to have a couple of scratches on it"...
Picture: KARIN BRUSSAARD / CATERS NEWS

Wow, with the camera snatching.


Delight of the iguana: The Waldorf Salad comes highly recommended at the Tropiquarium of Servion near Lausanne, Switzerland.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty Images (via sfgate)

Scary-looking creatures, those iguanas!

Here's a couple of cuties...

A real-life owl and the pussycat. A kitten and owl have become inseparable. The unlikely friendship began after a litter of stray kittens were handed in to the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Hampshire, after they were found abandoned on a nearby road, and one of the litter has become firm friends with Nigel, a white-faced scops owl.
Picture: MATHEW GROWCOOT / CATERS NEWS

High Seas, Thanks for the thanks. And I'm thrilled to know that there are eagles in our neck of the woods. Not surprised to hear that Pale Male got a little tense as one flew over.

Irish, Amazing shots. Lucky for the photographer that it wasn't a bull shark. Those guys will eat anything, including cameras. Luckier still for the photographer that the shark was interested in the camera and not the photographer.

The owl and the pussycat. I love unusual animal pairings. This fills the bill.

osso, That iguana looks like it's smiling. A lovely salad.

Big Red--Secretariat. I hope this is the original. The movie made finding the right photos a bit of a challenge:

Asta, star of the Thin Man movies, and some guy:

Reuters Pictures 13 minutes ago Coco, one of a pair of five-month-old red panda twins, watches from a wooden house in Zagreb Zoo November 13, 2010, on the occasion of International Red Panda Day on which Zagreb Zoo invited visitors to suggest names for the two young red pandas.

Had to include a pic of this young fan who really gets into the spirit of the day!! She's almost as cute as Coco!

Reuters Pictures 11 minutes ago Young Una watches five-month-old red panda twins in Zagreb Zoo November 13, 2010, on the occasion of International Red Panda Day on which Zagreb Zoo invited visitors to suggest names for the two young red pandas.

Mmmmmmm, carrots!

Irish, The red panda is definitely high on my list of most adorable looking animals. Even the adults are cute, cute. The kid is cute too. Thanks.

The bird in this photo looks like my first parakeet (budgie). Her name was Billie Boy (from the song). We found out she was a girl after she was named. This boid was wonderful. I took her to school one day for show and tell. She was the most alpha animal I ever encountered. Dive bombed our dog. Danced to Elvis (her favorite song was Don't Be Cruel). She had dinner with us every night. I remember putting a strand of spaghetti on the table for her. She nibbled it from one end to the other.

She laid many eggs. None hatched. There was no Mr. Billie.