Beautiful Animals

What is the deal with those head growths? They have a purpose? Other than completely freaking you out when they get caught in your hair?

hingehead, I didn't like research when I was in college. I'm not thrilled now, but I feel compelled to oblige. (Sigh. Heavy lies the head that starts a thread.)

Here's some info about the doohickeys (scientific term) sticking out of these critters:

A first guess is that it’s a sexually-selected trait, but those are often limited to males, and these creatures (and the ones below) show the ornaments in both sexes. Kemp hypothesizes—and this seems quite reasonable—that “the hollow globes, like the remarkable excrescences exhibited by other treehoppers, probably deter predators.” It would be hard to grab, much less chow down on, a beast with all those spines and excrescences.

Note, though, that the ornament sports many bristles. If these are sensory bristles, and not just deterrents to predation or irritating spines, then the ornament may have an unknown tactile function.

Tokay gecko (definitely better looking than the reptile in the insurance commercials):

This ewe had five lambs and they are sooooooooooooooo adorable!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/03/09/dnt.lamb.quintuplets.cnn?hpt=T2

the daily B & O

Arella Mae, I'll take the black one with the white spot on its head. How cute. Thud.

dj, I'm ok. Temporarily lost consciousness. I'm getting used to it. A bunny on a leash. That otter is thinking, "You ain't gettin' me in one of those things."

Oh yeah?

Haha great find!

Trick photography...

This piping plover may look like it has many legs, but it is taking its four newborns under its wing to keep them warm. Photographer Michael Milicia snapped away as the young shorebirds hid at Sandy Point State Reservation in Massachusetts.
Picture: Michael Milicia/solent

A ferocious male grizzly bear catches a helpless cub, wrestling him in the water and biting him to within an inch of his life. Unfortunately for the bear cub, the mother bear was over 150 yards away. She had just caught a fish and was not facing the kids, totally unaware of the peril her offspring faced...

...But when the mother bear realised what was happening, there was only one winner. Wildlife photographer, Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida, travelled to the Katmai National Park in Alaska to photograph grizzly bears, says: "She let out a blood curdling scream. In that instant knew he had to drop that cub and run for it. He was scared to death. Mom caught up with him, took a couple of swipes and kicked his ass."
Picture: JIM ABERNETHY / BARCROFT MEDIA

drumsticks for everybody

Love dat momma bear! She rocks!

Try to say piping plover 5 times fast!

These two are outdoing their competition for cuteness. Not sure I've seen a bunny quite like that Mr. Dots.

Smiles. I knew, but I also sometimes think, hmmm, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Which sends me off remembering the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in DC, that I've only walked along once for a few minutes.

Quite a structural hopper, that guy. Glad he's usually in Brazil..

Now that one would scare me..

This is actually quite beautiful.. the animal and the photo.

Male bears are often on the prowl for young bears. Even though you wouldn't wanna mess with a mama bear, some males are so big that an angry mama doesn't stop them.

Muskox:

the daily B & O

dj, I have to assume that the box is only for the bunny with the droopy ears. What a cutie. Not crazy about the pictures on the wall. Get a frame!

Bongo antelope:

What is the deal with those head growths? They have a purpose? Other than completely freaking you out when they get caught in your hair?

Treehoppers often have various "ornaments" mimicing plant parts and serving as background mimicry or camouflage to protect them from predators, especially birds. In this photo a group of treehoppers look like a thorny tree.