Only half of this bench is safe to sit on. Most places would just replace the whole thing, but zoos are all about recycling and re-use, so there you go.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Frozen Zoo
You can’t get good photos of animals at the frozen zoo … but if you’re interested in endangered species, this is the place where they are.
In each canister are hundreds of genetic samples … living stem cell lines of critically endangered AND extinct species.
I got to visit with some of the scientists who work there and, while I am not allowed to share any photos from inside, I can tell you that I got to see a living stem cell line of a Northern White Rhino that had died decades before. If there is any hope to preserve even a small slice of what we’re losing every day, it’s going to come from here and its associated facilities.
Giant Golden Orb Weaver (nephila pilipes)
Pedipalps have chemical sensors, functioning as smell and taste detectors. They’re used to help spin webs and assist with feeding. They’re also used to transfer sperm.
Reduce, reuse, recycle, I guess.
Wood Lake – Infrared
You don’t want to see what kind of bird chooses to live here, in infrared land.
Wood Lake – Infrared
They sure gots some mighty strong foxes ’round these parts.
Wood Lake in Infrared
There was a time, once, when no bridge yet existed.
Today, it does.
Between then and now, someone had a vision, a few collaborated on the design, many worked together to achieve it, and several cross it every single day.
The bridge, of course, goes nowhere.
Zoo
By this point, I had been at the zoo for a full hour and hadn’t seen a single other human. It was another hour before I saw anyone else.
Notice the complete lack of prints in the snow.
Sculpture
Few people realize that there is a sculpture out across the lake.
Snowstorm
I went out walking in the snowstorm earlier this month. You’ve already seen the squirrel photo, but that wasn’t the only interesting thing that I saw.
The holes in the roof that they put in to grow trees create an interesting portal-like view that I’ve never seen there before.
Peru 2015 – Goodbye to Peru
This is the last of my highlights from Peru. I hope you enjoyed them.
Peru 2015 – River
When your brother is 35, instead of 5, he no longer believes you when you tell him things like “this is what happens when the chocolate and caramel rivers merge”.
Peru 2015 – Lotus Pads
Peru 2015 – Tarantula
Once bitten, the palm gained the ability to sense danger proportionate strength, and the ability to climb walls.
Thus, spider-plants were created.
Peru 2015 – Tree
Trees sure do grow big in Peru
Snail
The snails over in Europe are much more serious about their work than the dinky little critters we have in the U.S.
Cactus
Side by side, the ocotillo looks like it isn’t even trying.
Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
Vincent and Jules
Water
The Isle of Jersey has a weird concept of rain. The raindrops don’t fall so much as gently drift in all directions, with minute drops sticking to everything around.
It’s like fog with intent.
Durrell – Scorpion Box
Before I went to Ireland (like, immediately before) I took a side trip to the Isle of Jersey and visited the Durrell Wildlife Park. I had read about it in some of Gerald Durrell’s many excellent* books, and since I was going to be in Ireland anyway, I figured I’d go check it out. What makes this place special is that the balance between endangered species management, education, and entertainment is shifted much further to the endangered species side of things and considerably away from entertainment. Think of them as the anti-SeaWorld.
They have a considerable amount of land and they place their animals very sparsely, so they have tons of space in which to roam. There is a piece of wood in which marmosets are (somewhat) free to roam. I walked around it five times before I saw any, because they are extremely small monkeys in a very large space. The same goes for their lemurs though, lemurs being larger, they were easier to see.
They also pay attention to history. The history of this park is quite well documented in the twenty six autobiographical works. Being able to see the places that were described was fascinating, but perhaps the most interesting was the little two-room museum to Gerald Durrell’s life. This particular sculpture illustrates a memorable scene from My Family and Other Animals, in which Gerald Durrell, as a boy, puts a scorpion with babies in a matchbox for safe keeping. As often happens when one is young, this is forgotten and his brother goes to get a match for his cigarette. Hilarity ensues.
If you haven’t read the book, you probably should. The others are good, but none of them come close to the brilliance of My Family and Other Animals.
* This is not to imply that all of his books were excellent, just many of them.
Net Web Spider (Kukulcania arizonicus)
In Arizona, these guys live under couches. Think on that before you go to rescue those cat toys.