The grey winged trumpeter, as seen here, has black wings and no trumpet.
Unrelated, did you know that when naturalists explored new places, they would often imbibe in the native alcoholic specialties?
Tag Archives: Saint Louis Zoo – Saint Louis
Throwback Thursday
It appears as though this fish may be infected with a neurological disease. Since many of these diseases are caused by prions which can infect humans, it should not be eaten.
Flamingo
Flamingos are suspicious of your true intentions, but are willing to try just one more time.
Pelican
Sometimes a mirror can disclose the true reality, warped but recognizable, with the façade stripped away.
Preying Mantis
A while back, I read Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin, which discussed the basic plan of chordates and how all animals have similar growth patterns. Interestingly, he briefly mentioned similar findings for insects as well, at a genetic level. This would imply that, if we could find the right genetic tweaks, you too could get Batmanesque arm spikes.
Tentacled Snake (Erpeton tentaculatum)
Tentacled snakes use their appendages to locate obstacles, such as this glass ceiling, commonly experienced within large American corporation.
White Cheeked Turaco (Tauraco leucotis)
Turacos have no shame.
Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)
The sacred iBis is known throughout the world, due to the fervor of their worshipers. Though there are many birds that are just as good, the iBis has a vast and powerful marketing team behind it that provides ongoing self-reinforcement of its own fame.
Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus)
Each horn of the bongo has a slightly different sound. The lower tone of the macho horn, when combined with the higher tone of the hembra horn, allows the antelope to create highly intricate rhythms with no additional instrumentation.
Butterfly
In the Autumn, the butterflies change their colour to organges and reds as the trees suck all the other pigmenting away as they prepare for Winter.
Jungle Nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata)
The jungle nymph grows random spikes as a youth, to better fit into the punk scene.
Rhinoceros Viper (Bitis nasicornis)
The rhinoceros viper is so named due to it’s thick skin and large stompy feet (not pictured).
Throwback Thursday!
The cloudy eyes indicate that this fish was caught during a month with an “R” in it. It is not safe to eat and should be thrown back.
Garden Snail
Due to the clockwise curl of the snail’s shell, you can tell from the Coriolis Effect that this particular snail grew up in the Southern hemisphere.
Sun Bear
The sun bear is very interested in what you have say. Just be honest. There’s no reason to worry, to feel intimidated.
No. Reason. At. All.
Caucasus Viper (Vipera kaznakovi)
Caucasus vipers hail from the caucasus region of eastern Europe. Like most Caucasoids, they present in a wide range of colours.
Elephants
Elephants guard their young by walking on both sides of them. This helps to keep them from wandering off into traffic or exploring nearby candy stores.
Flamingo
She’d been living in the woods for weeks. It took a while, but she was able to adapt her skills from the streets to her new environs. Stealing a gentleman’s wristcomp wasn’t all that different from snaring a grouse. Street rats and squirrels both gathered caches of food that could be pillaged if you watched and waited. Keeping an eye out for coppers, even when sleeping, required the same ever-present awareness you needed to avoid the invaders.
Until today.
Today, in fleeing one triad, she ran into another that she has not sensed. Though she successfully got away, she found herself in a part of the forest she’d never seen before. She could hear both triads off in the distance, looking for her. Taking a few deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down and she climbed a tree to ascertain her whereabouts. Though she saw nothing familiar, there was a glint of sun coming nearby from the green. She marked hew way to the water, hoping that she could lose her scent.
Before she could climb down, though, there was a tremendous flash far off in the distance that could only mean one thing. The dome had given way. London had fallen. As she watched, fighter pods converged where she knew the city must be. Letting a sigh, she climbed down and, resignedly, made for the lake. She knew it wouldn’t last forever, but living half starved in the wild was better than the half-life she could expect were she captured.
The noise of the triads pursuing her faded into the distance as she neared the lakes edge. Exhausted, she waded to her waist and stopped, staring down at her reflection. She thought of her friends (and enemies) in the city and the fate that was almost certainly befalling them. She thought of the life she wanted, but now could never have. As she watched, a tear fell, ripping the still waters.
Then she heard a voice. “It is time.”
As the water began to bubble, the voice spoke. “Long, long, ago, this day was foretold. Seize your weapon. The future rests on you.”
As she stared in astonishment, a perfect flamingo rose from the depths, shaking itself three times. As if in a daze, she reached out, and grasped its leg, preventing it from flying free.
It was England’s darkest hour.
And Alice was armed.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars that eat from the left side of the tree turn into butterflies. Those that eat the right, become moths.
Throwback Thursday
This fish obviously has a lot of growing to do. It should be untangled from the bait and thrown back.