Today's Fresh Blogs...

• New Hope for Baiji Dolphin Reported Extinct

  Published: September 1, 2007, 10:01 am

  Tags: Offbeat News, Animal, Animals, Baiji, Cetaceans, Dolphin Dolphins, Extinct, Extinction, Mammal, Mammals, Protection, World Wildlife Fund, Wwf, Yangtze River

  in the protection of aquatic mammals and their habitat in the Yangtze River. WWF calls for immediate joint efforts to provide a living space for this beautiful animal, which is a key species indicating the health of its habitat — the Yangtze River. To be effective, efforts must address agriculture, water resources, transportation,

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Prairie Dogs & Godwit News

  Published: September 13, 2007, 1:36 pm

  Tags: Birds, Bryce Canyon, Mammals, Nature Photography

  It had been a while since I'd shot any Utah Prairie Dogs so I stopped by one of the towns this morning just for fun. Though I see them frequently I just hadn't made the time to stop by and make some images. Their habits have changed a bit with the cooler mornings and they usually aren't out and about until mid morning. With fall upon us I do see

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #5: Red River Hog [Laelaps]

  Published: October 13, 2007, 10:08 am

  Tags: Mammals

  You might not normally think of them as artodactyls, but suids (i.e. pigs and their relatives) are another major family grouping within the order. Pictured above is one representative from Africa, the Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus), which lives in large groups of between 4 and 20 or so as Leopards (Panthera pardus) sometimes crave bacon.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #6: Three tiger cubs and a tire [Laelaps]

  Published: October 14, 2007, 11:21 am

  Tags: Mammals

  It's a whole new week, so I'm moving away from the artiodactyl theme (for now, at least) and the PotD will probably take on a more random aspect for a while. Today's photo is of the tiger cubs Terney (center, with tire), Changbai (left), and Koosaka (right), born at the Philadelphia Zoo a few months ago. They are Amur (or Siberian) tigers,

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #7: Snow Leopard Pair [Laelaps]

  Published: October 15, 2007, 10:31 am

  Tags: Mammals

  The WCS-run Bronx Zoo is one of my most favorite places to visit, their Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) making a visit worthwhile in and of itself. While you may hear "George" the lion roaring or any of the many tigers resident at the zoo calling to each other, they are veritable chatterboxes compared to Snow Leopards, which don't roar despite

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Endangered Aye-Aye - Harbinger of Misfortune

  Published: October 15, 2007, 10:17 am

  Tags: Offbeat News, Animal, Animals, Aye Aye, Aye Ayes, Deforestation, Echolocation, Endangered, Extinction, Habitat Destruction, Mammals, Primate, Primates

  the most endangered of all mammals in Madagascar. Today they’re protected by law which is often difficult to enforce. Photo Duke University Their lifespan in the wild is unknown, but in captivity they can live for up to 23 years. The aye-aye is the world’s largest nocturnal primate with an average head and body length of 16

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #9: Zeff, the Amur Tiger [Laelaps]

  Published: October 17, 2007, 9:32 am

  Tags: Mammals

  This is Zeff, one of the Amur (or Siberian) Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) at the Bronx Zoo. She may look rather fierce in the above photo, but actually it's not so much a picture of a snarl but a yawn. The picture below directly preceded the one above, although somehow it isn't quite as impressive as the shot taken a split second after it;

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #11: Red Panda at Sunrise [Laelaps]

  Published: October 19, 2007, 10:45 am

  Tags: Mammals

  fascinating (and endangered) mammals, Jeremy at The Voltage Gate ran a multi-part series about them earlier this year; Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and Part 9. Read the comments on this

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #15: Pizote [Laelaps]

  Published: October 23, 2007, 10:56 am

  Tags: Mammals

  Yesterday's photographic subject, the cougar (Puma concolor), has plenty of common names by which it is known by (some of which are better than others), and the White Nosed Coati (Nasua narica) is another mammal that is known by many other monikers. Pizote, Antoon, and Harrington all sound more like the names of places rather than a long-nosed

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Possible Consequences of Inbreeding in Amur Leopards [Laelaps]

  Published: October 23, 2007, 12:36 pm

  Tags: Mammals

  A male Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) at the Philadelphia Zoo. To the best of my knowledge this animal is not involved in any breeding or conservation programs. According to LiveScience, a female Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) was captured, examined, and released by WCS workers this week. The leopards, being among

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #16: African Wild Dog [Laelaps]

  Published: October 24, 2007, 9:37 am

  Tags: Mammals

  I have never heard sounds come out of a dog like the kind that I've heard out of a pack of excited African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus), the individual pictured above being a member of a large group kept at the WCS-run Bronx Zoo. While their species once ranged over 39 countries and their numbers were estimated as being as high as 500,000, today

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Red Squirrels in Volkspark Hasenheide

  Published: October 24, 2007, 7:43 pm

  Tags: Mammals, Berlin, Germany, Mammals, Squirrel, Volkspark Hasenheide

  In addition to the birds I saw in Berlin’s Volkspark Hasenheide I also saw Eurasian Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). These are not the tiny North American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) that I’m used to but bigger beasts with adorable ear tufts. I only saw a couple, and both were in the northwestern part of the park, near a

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Preview of Coming Attractions: Leopard takes a kill up a tree [Laelaps]

  Published: October 25, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Mammals

  I was planning on putting up one of my patented mega-posts this evening, but unfortunately I just don't have it in me at the moment. It's based on a presentation I made today involving scavenging and early hominids, and while I'm sure some of you will be able to make the right connections (especially if you're familiar with the work of a certain

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #19: Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew [Laelaps]

  Published: October 27, 2007, 11:30 am

  Tags: Mammals

  The interplay of light and shadow on yesterday's Photo of the Day (Amphicyon) reminding me of another photo I recently took of a far more benign creature, the Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi). I had never seen or heard of these animals until a little more than a year ago, but there is an entire family of Elephant Shrews

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Photo of the Day #20: Playing Sea Lions [Laelaps]

  Published: October 28, 2007, 1:22 pm

  Tags: Mammals

  This is Cali and Summer, two California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Both rescued from wild populations (Summer was abandoned by her mother and Cali's mother died soon after Cali was botn), the two were raised by human keepers and so require a lot of care. They still play with each other nearly

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0