Beautiful Animals

bump

olga, Those mantises are too much. Thanks for the pic.

RH, Thanks for the gorgeous wolf. Many years ago when my cat Mikey died, a friend adopted a wolf in my name from a wildlife organization. I wonder if this is the one. BTW, he never called; he never wrote. Kids. Feh.

Coconut octopus:

Stink bug. Found it on my bathroom window a few days ago.


DSC_0007 copy by hapkido1996, on Flickr

DSC_0007 copyab by hapkido1996, on Flickr

I also have a couple of close-ups, if anyone's interested.

thats nasty

Teensy Mouse Deer baby born at Zurich Zoo

A Mouse Deer has given birth to an itty-bitty baby at the Zurich Zoo. Less than 22 inches (55 centimeters) long as adults, Mouse Deer are one of the smallest hoofed animal species. They are not really deer at all, but belong to their own unique family of hoofed mammals.


At first, the baby Mouse Deer hid beneath plants in its enclosure, but then began to follow its mother around the exhibit. The baby’s sex is not yet known.

Mouse Deer have no horns or antlers, but males have long, dagger-like canine teeth that are used as weapons in conflicts with other males. Adults weigh only about 5 pounds (2.5 kg) and have legs about the size of a pencil. Amazingly, the tongue is 5 inches (2 cm) long – long enough for the Mouse Deer to wipe its eyes!

Mouse Deer feed primarily on leaves, shoots, and fruit, and live alone or in pairs. Their tiny size allows them to easily pass through the dense underbrush of the forest. Mouse Deer are eaten by people and sometimes kept as pets in their native Southeast Asian range.

Photo Credit: Zurich Zoo

Oh!
That tiny bear!
Wonderful photograph!

FBM, Interesting bug. As for a close-up. I think that's close enough, thanks. Any closer and we'd be inside the bug.

firefly, Loving the mouse deer/nondeer. Thanks for the pics.

HH, I'm amazed that a bear that size can climb. What a wonderful shot. Thanks mucho.

Nudibranch (very small member of the mollusk family):

"Everything is beautiful
in it's own way~~~"

Plotzing over the bear photo.
Plotzing in another way over the stinkbug..

Minsk, Belarus: a squirrel stretches to eat a nut from a man's hand in a park Photograph: Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA, via Guardian

Really love the gymnast squirrel photo Osso.

osso, Great shot. Hey, Minsk person. Move a little closer to the tree!

Purple ring-topped snail:

Excellent pics guys! I loved those! Especially the fishes!

Wow re that snail, Roberta.

Jersey cows nuzzle each other in Danville, Vt.
Photo: Toby Talbot, Associated Press / SF




Six-month-old arctic foxes explore their enclosure at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Mass.
Photo: Elise Amendola, Associated Press / SF

crow, Glad you like the fish.

osso, Is that snail a doozy or what? Love the cow pic. I once met some cows at a dairy farm. Guernseys. Holy cow, they were big. The foxes are stunners. Thanks mucho.

Very flashy horse, RH. Do you know what kind it is? Love dem horses. Thanks.

For the newbie. One variety of picasso triggerfish:

Retired from the track, Carmella nuzzles Jerry Hefley, an inmate at Putnamville (Ind.) Correction Facility. She's part of the Prison Greyhounds program, in which convicts work as dog handlers to help racing dogs transition to a life outside the sport before they are put up for adoption.
Photo: Matt Detrich, Associated Press / SF