Beautiful Animals

Much too small to be an elk, High Seas. I think it's a reindeer.

Magnifico, osso. Thanks.

Picasso triggerfish:

catching up on some daily B's & O's

Delivering snail mail in Montana....

dj, Thanks for catching up with the B&Os. Love the Bs, especially the second one. De otters is ok too.

Irish, Love that horse. I think it's good way to get mail. If it ain't gonna be fast, it might as well be picturesque.

Red panda in the snow:

Speaking of pandas, here giant pandas, mother and cub:

A two-day-old white lion cub playing with its mother Sumba, in Belgrade Zoo, Serbia, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011.
AP Photo

Twin white tiger cubs play at Aschersleben Zoo in Germany. The two female cubs were born at the zoo on the 28th of October 2011.
Picture: Action Press / Rex Features

Sumatran Tiger cubs tear apart a wrapped Christmas present at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. Animals received Christmas-themed foods as part of the Zoo's regular enrichment programme to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Irish, Thanks for the wonderful, beautiful pics. I've recovered consciousness and will move along.

some local animal news

Great Grey Owl Draws Birders To Southern Ontario
Search for food draws owl from the north to Kingsville, Ont
CBC News Posted: Dec 29, 2011 9:10 AM ET

Birder watchers are flocking to Kingsville, Ont. to catch a glimpse of a wayward great grey owl who is calling the community home.

The owl, rarely seen south of Lake Superior, has been spotted in a grocery store parking lot and on nearby rural Essex County roads.

The majestic bird, the biggest species of owl on the continent, has drawn bird enthusiasts from as far away as New Hampshire. Birders from Ohio and the Niagara region are also lining the rural roads looking for the owl.

Raymond Barlow came to Kingsville from Grimsby. And Ryan Griffiths drove more than four hours from St. Catharines to see the great grey owl.

"When you see a great grey owl, an owl that's not really popular or known around here, it's a spectacle," Barlow said.

"Having it that close, you get to appreciate how big it actually is, so it was pretty neat," said Griffiths, who caught a glimpse of the bird.

Do you have photos or video of the great grey owl? Tweet us @CBCWindsor.

Paul Pratt, a naturalist at the Ojibway Nature Centre, said this is the first time a great grey owl has been found in Essex County.

"Normally, if you want to see them you have to go up to Kenora district in [northern] Ontario or to Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan or out to the Rockies," said Pratt, who leads local owl walks. "They’re not a bird you’d expect find anywhere in southern Ontario."

Pratt said the owl has likely flown south in search of food and that its chances of survival in southern Ontario are slim because it's likely stressed, malnourished and hunting near busy roadways.


This great grey owl has been spotted in various parts of Kingsville, Ont. (James Frith)

Chuck Geraedts watched the owl eat a squirrel on the shoulder of the road near the intersection of Division Road and Second Concession after his son tipped him off about the owl's presence.

"It didn’t take long for me to get out of the house with a camera," Geraedts said.

He described the owl as more than half a metre in height and "kind of docile."

"He didn’t mind if anybody was looking at him," said Geraedts, who got within 10 metres of the bird. "I’ve never seen one in real life. This is definitely a first for me. It was pretty impressive."

Pratt said the allure of any owl is its regal appearance.

"They’re very majestic looking birds," Pratt said. "They have an appearance of being above everything else."

Pratt said local bird watchers shouldn't have any difficulty spotting the owl. It's the largest species of owl in length and, unlike most owls, hunts all day long. He does, however, encourage people to give the bird some space.

dj, Too many animals migrating for food. I hope the owls fare well. They look like magnificent birds. Thanks for the info.

I tell ya. These tanagers are spectacular. Blue-winged mountain tanager:

Another triggerfish. This one's a queen triggerfish:

the yesterdaily B & O

Siberian Tigers in a game preserve in China approach a handler's vehicle.

New Years Eve B & O

Bunny is stocking up on party supplies

Otter is napping to get ready for the big night

Happy New Year to all the Beautiful Animals everywhere

And da bunny is loading up on beta carotene to ward off the hangover. (He should try bitters...works every time)!

What kind of "bitters" works best?

dj, Thanks for the B&O and B&O. B&O 1 are very lovely. B2 made me laugh. O2 almost made me laugh. Thanks, kid, and HNY.

rosborne, Such a picture. They look like a herd of small pussycats from the overhead view. I'd bet a nickel the handler has some cat food in the car. HNY.

In honor of the new year, baby animals. Black leopards:

Happy New Year folks,especially to those working over the holiday period.

Here's Mally....

U.S. Marine Lance Cpls. Brian Hernandez (left), 19, from San Francisco, and Nick Montez (right), 20, from Lewiston, Idaho, a mortarman and an improvised explosive device dog handler with the 81mm mortar platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment provide security with Montez's dog Mally while helping Afghan National Army soldiers clear strains of illegal activity remaining among the bazaar's legitimate vendors during Operation Sandman here, Dec. 28.

Love is in the air...Happy New Year everyone!

Picture: SILVIU GHETIE / CATERS NEWS

Picture: Sussi Kober / Rex Features

Picture: Arthur Xanthopoulos / Barcroft Media

These marmots are fightin', though lol...

Picture: Misja Smits/BNPS

New Years Daily B & O