Though often brief, I really enjoy reading through the blog posts on the Wildlife Conservation Society's website. When posting articles from them in the past, I usually posted them as their own threads, so I would like to use this thread for blog posts from the WCS, starting with this one;
Chocolate-dipped Hippopotamus
AFTER THE rainy season in Kenya’s Mara Triangle, water sources start to dry up. Riverbeds are exposed and streams become trickles of water. Animals, like hippos, are relegated to using whatever muddy pools they can find. To me, this animal looked like it has been dipped in milk and then dark chocolate.
“Common” hippos, Hippopotamus amphibius, are not as common as we think. There are actually fewer hippos in the wild than the two species of African elephants. The IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species lists hippos as Vulnerable.
We see them in large groups, technically called “bloats”. They range over 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and many populations are in decline. Climate change and the related changes in hydrology will impact the future of this species as well as their role in maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems.
WHILE MOST SCORPIONFISHES can be very bland-looking, this frilled or weedy scorpionfish, Rhinopias frondosa, bucks the trend.
It can be found in colors ranging from red to orange to yellow to purple. The species is highly venomous and care must be taken when handling. Not a great swimmer, it usually hops along the substrate using its pectoral fins.
DURING AN AFTERNOON whale watching cruise out of Anacortes, Washington, we got to see several humpback whales diving and sounding, along with bald eagles, haul-outs of Steller’s sea lions, and other marine life.
THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED Puerto Rican crested toad (Peltophryne lemur) is as resilient as the Puerto Ricans who live on the island and throughout the diaspora. Once thought extinct, a few specimens of the island’s only native toad were found in the mid-1960s and ever since, there has been a concerted effort by many organizations, such as Association of Zoos Aquariums, to rebuild their populations.
The Puerto Rican crested toad has the distinction of being the very first amphibian placed in a Species Survival Plan. It is part of a captive breeding program which includes 31 American and 2 Canadian zoos. One of our facilities, Queens Zoo, has shipped thousands of tadpoles back to Puerto Rico for reintroduction.
as tropical forests or coral reefs, seagrass meadows are among the most productive and important ecosystems in the world. Found globally in shallow salty and brackish waters, seagrasses are marine flowering plants that support thousands of key species and essential ecosystem functions.
Sometimes referred to as the “lungs of the sea”, seagrasses photosynthesize to create energy and grow, absorbing carbon from the water and generating oxygen in the process. In addition to storing carbon in their leaves and roots, seagrasses also trap decaying organic matter and silt, creating carbon rich sediments – making them very effective carbon sinks. It has been estimated that one acre of seagrass sequesters 74 pounds of carbon per year (83 grams per sq meter per year) – the same amount emitted by a car traveling 3,860 miles (6,212 km). Their role in mitigating the effects of human-induced climate change, therefore, is significant.
THE BUMPY FOLDED SKIN on the wing of this Myotis evotis, or long-eared bat, matches the ridged topography of the Little Belt Mountains, where it lives.
Located in central Montana, the Little Belts are one of the mountain ranges that mark the landscape transition from the smooth Midwest plains to the rugged Continental Divide. A Wildlife Conservation Society-led scientific team was there studying whether different bat species use different energetic strategies to hibernate.
THE TRICK to this kind of bat photography is to find a permanent water source where these flying mammals come in for a drink on a fairly dependable flight route.
My friend Dano Grayson and I were working at the pond at Elephant Head south of Tucson in the Sonoran Desert. I photographed this pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) that was getting ready to refuel there. We got a few “backside shots” as the bats flew to the water from the opposite approach, but we were okay with that knowing the perfect shot would eventually come our way.
AS A VOLUNTEER at the Jacobsburg State Park close to our home, I was helping lead a group of kids to look for salamanders under some weathered logs. Fall is the time of year that a lot of amphibians are on the move to hide away for the winter. We did find some red-backed salamanders, but this green sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) stole the show.
SOME OF MY EARLIEST childhood memories took place at the Wildlife Conservation Society’sBronx Zoo. Those experiences inspired me to pursue a career working with wildlife. I remember going to the zoo’s Jungle World when it first opened. In the second major exhibit amidst the mangrove swamp was a troop of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus). As a kid, I didn’t realize how amazing and special they were. In all honesty, I didn’t develop an appreciation or interest in primates until college when I started taking classes in primatology.
AT FIRST, the dholes, (Cuon alpinus), were perpetually in motion, pausing only briefly, but they eventually settled down long enough to allow me to take this relaxed portrait of them together at the Wildlife Conservation Society’sBronx ZooHimalayan Highlands.
MARINE MAMMALS can generate their own heat and sustain a stable body temperature despite fluctuating environmental conditions. Like all mammals, they are warm-blooded. California sea lions (Zalophuscalifornianus) maintain a core body temperature between 95 and 98 degrees which is only slightly lower than humans. Unlike people, sea lions are capable of swimming in very cold water and enduring freezing air conditions. How are these things possible?
In the wild, California sea lions are found in many different climates, as far north as British Columbia, Canada, and as far south as Baja, Mexico. They have unique adaptations that allow them to maintain their high body temperatures during the winter months at the Wildlife Conservation Society’sNew York Aquarium in New York City.
AS I WATCHED the waves smack the snow-covered rocks along the southern coast of Maine, I spotted something white that nearly blended into the frozen surface. It was a snowy owl sleeping lightly, eyes squinting and head moving slowly from side-to-side, like a sentry of the sea.
Snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus), spend their summers in the Arctic and subarctic hunting prey (lemmings at the top of their list), breeding, and raising owlets. As the season winds down, and if food and young are favorable, large numbers of snowy owls occasionally fly south in an event called an irruption.
HAVE YOU EVER seen a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) leap high out of the water and return headfirst? It is a natural behavior called “porpoising”.
Sea lions can reach bursts up to 25 mph. Speed is critical in the wild enabling these pinnipeds to catch fish or to escape predators. By propelling into the air, they no longer experience water pressure. The reduced pressure gives sea lions a “boost” of speed.
ANGLERS FLOCK to Block Island’s North Rip off the coast of Rhode Island each fall to surf cast for striped bass and bluefish.
Over the past several years, newcomers have joined the party. A boisterous colony of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) now call home to Block’s rugged coastline and can often be seen hauled out along its beaches or foraging beyond the breakers.
I LOVE HAVING THE CHANCE to visit the natural wonders we inspire our Wildlife Conservation Society zoo and aquarium visitors to care about. I was thrilled to visit Costa Rica and explore the Arenal area and rainforest.
MIOMBO WOODLANDS extend across much of central and southern Africa, from Angola in the west to Tanzania in the east, down to the northern edge of South Africa. The name originates from Bantu words for Brachystegia tree species which dominate this woodland type in addition to Julbernardia and Isoberlinia. Miombo trees are broadleaf and considered semi-deciduous given they shed leaves in the dry season, then produce a “flush” of new, brightly colored leaves just before the rains return.
IN THE CANOPIES of Indonesia you are likely to find a unique and breathtaking species, the knobbed hornbill (Rhyticeros cassidix). Also known as the Sulawesi wrinkled hornbill, this bird gets its name from the red knob or casque at the top of its bill that is detailed with wrinkles or ridges. Cassowary, some curassow, and other bird species have casques. This hollow structure made of keratin that adorns the top of the bird’s bill can be used for a number of tactics that shape the bird’s biology.
Interesting is that practically no exhibit in any zoo recreates African dry forests, although they cover large areas and are home of many standard zoo animals.
At least carnivores and birds could be so presented, even when, I imagine, hoofed animals would destroy trees and bushes. Is there an issue with dense bushes being possible agent to spread ticks or other parasites?
