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Warpaint shiners ( Luxilus coccogenis) - Top

Striped Shiner (Luxilus chrysocephalus) - Bottom

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Fishing cat by Mark Dumont

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Chintimini Wildlife Center:

National Squirrel Appreciation Day 2016

by Katherine Hick

It was summer and in the 90’s. I received a call from our clinic regarding a possible orphaned Western Gray Squirrel which had been seen earlier that morning in downtown Corvallis.

Given a general location, I got in my car and went to check it out. It had already been several hours since the last sighting, so I didn’t have high hopes. Wild animals have a habit of wandering off and not staying in the same place for very long.

When I got to the location, I began looking around. Over the phone I had been told the person who called had left bread on their porch for the squirrel before they went to work.

When I found it, some nibbles had been taken but there was no squirrel in sight. I checked the area; looking in every crack and crevice I could find. Noticing the neighbors were home, I began to walk that direction. Maybe I could ask them if they’ve seen any baby squirrels. Then I saw her and my heart sunk…

(read more: Chintimini Wildlife Center)

photograph by Katherine Hick

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The guilt trip: It’s all in how they’re raised.

For almost two years, I felt like I had failed as a dog owner because my Bully mix (Pitterstaff/AmBully, at best guess) turned out to be dog aggressive.

“It’s all in how they’re raised!” is a sentence that makes me cringe.  Anyone that owns a DA APBT or Bully breed probably knows what I’m talking about.  While it is a great sentiment on the ability of dogs to overcome horrible situations, it ignores essential facts about canine behavior while simultaneously putting the blame on dog owners.  

One of the first pictures I have of Zuni and I, on a camping trip in early 2012.

Zuni, my craigslist rescue, wasn’t even a year old when I got her.  Her history before being picked up off the streets by a friendly married couple is unknown.  But she was a fantastic dog and I took her absolutely everywhere with me - she even came to my high school once and assisted me with a theater presentation.  We went to the dog park weekly, ran agility, practiced obedience, and played disc anywhere there was enough space for her to run.  When I started working at the kennel, she would go to daycare during my shifts.  Zuni was so good with other dogs that she was used as a neutral dog to test newcomers for the daycare program.

I did everything right with her.  Knowing her breed, I felt an additional sense of responsibility.  I couldn’t raise a dog that would contribute to the “dangerous pitbull” idea.  But I can’t control genetics and breed tendencies.  My breed isn’t dangerous, but ignoring what my breed was meant for is absolutely dangerous.

Around two years of age, the dog aggression began.  We consulted with several trainers and tried so many methods that it makes my head spin thinking about it.  The best answer we could get from anyone was that she was fear aggressive.  I worked with that for nearly a year, but couldn’t ever agree with it.  I know fear aggressive dogs, I work with them frequently.  Zuni’s behavior and body language certainly wasn’t fearful - she would strain at the end of her leash, every muscle standing out, eyes locked onto another dog with an intensity that terrified most people.  It was the same way she looked at squirrels.  I’ve broken up two fights, and both times I knew she’d never quit until she couldn’t get to the other dog.

I didn’t make any progress with Zuni until I accepted the fact that dog aggression was a part of her temperament.  I stopped blaming myself for her behavior and I stopped seeing her dog aggression as the sign of a  “bad dog.”  I stopped trying to make her like every dog she met and instead taught her to ignore other dogs in public and focus on me.  I don’t allow people to bring their dogs near her and we certainly don’t go to the dog park anymore.  I took months introducing her to Maya and making sure that they had the space that they both needed.  She’s able to run agility without losing focus and has done narcotics detection drills off leash in a room with 30 other dogs.

Zuni’s happier now, I’m happier now. Life goes on.

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(via 500px / Rain Coast Ghost by Shane McDermott)

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Just the two of us!! Rescued giraffe Kiko has formed a friendship with orphaned elephant calf Loboito.The pair struck up a unique bond, with Loboito said to love spending time under the long legs of his buddyHeart warming footage shows the pair having the time of their lives as they scamper and play in their home in Kenya.Baby giraffe Kiko was brought to a wildlife trust in the Nairobi National Park after being found helpless and alone by Kenya Wildlife Service. At one-month-old he was too small to sleep in the giraffe stable, but was instead housed next to the elephants, where he struck up an unlikely friendship with fellow orphan Loboito, a boisterous three-week-old calf. Read on

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Dholes by Roy Lee 

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Surfing by Denis Dumoulin

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“the whale on the left is an adult female. the one on the right is her male escort. we were on our way to roca partida when we heard that the female’s calf had been attacked [and killed] by a few killer whales. when we got there, the mother was inconsolable. the male was trying to comfort her by touching her gently, but it was useless. some of you may already know this, but it’s only the male whales who sing (while mating), so this was obviously a devastating and silent moment.” - rodrigo friscione wyssmann​ 

whales, along with elephants and chimpanzees, mourn the loss of loved one like humans. 

“elephants are legendary for their memory and intelligence including attributes associated with grief, making music, altruism and compassion. we came across this elephant whose corpse was overcome by vultures and jackals. from a distance we heard and then saw another elephant approaching at a fast pace. she was successful at chasing away the predators and then very slowly and with much empathy wrapped her trunk around the deceased elephants tusk. she stayed in this position for several hours guarding her friend.” - john chaney, botswana 2007

chimps at the sanaga-yong chimpanzee rescue center in cameroon, orphaned from the illegal bush meat trade and habitat loss, stand in mourning as dorthy, a recently deceased member of their adopted and extended family, is wheeled past them.

this photo was taken by monica szczupider, a worker at the centre, who describes how dorothy was rescued from an amusement park in cameroon, where, tethered to a chain for twenty five years, she was taunted, teased, had cigarettes thrown at her, and made to smoke and drink beer for the entertainment of others.

“despite her tortuous past, dorothy was in fact one of the kindest chimps - or living creatures, in general - i have ever met,” says szcuzupider.

describing the picture, she noted that “chimps are not silent. they are gregarious, loud, vocal creatures, usually with relatively short attention spans. but they could not take their eyes off dorothy, and their silence, more than anything, spoke volumes.”

according to professor emeritus at the university of colorado, mark bekoff, “that animals and humans share many traits including emotions [such as grief] is merely an extension of charles darwin’s accepted ideas about evolutionary continuity, that the differences between species are differences in degree rather than differences in kind.”

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USFWS Open Spaces Blog:

Black-capped Chickadees - Winter Wonders

by USFWS staff

As winter approaches, many birds are headed south. One tiny species, however, will hang around and tough it through the cold months. The black-capped chickadee is a common visitor to refuges and backyards across the Northern states. Weighing in at less than half an ounce, it’s incredible these birds survive freezing temperatures.

Right now (and every autumn) black-capped chickadees stash food for winter. During the summer months, these birds primarily chomp on caterpillars and other insects. In the winter they’ll eat more seeds, berries and even fat from dead animals. Another way they stay warm is their winter coat. A half-inch layer of feathers keeps black-capped chickadees fully insulated…

(read more: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

photograph by Dave Smith © - CC

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The Bat-Hamster-Piglet, or rather, BAT-HAMLET

The Honduran white bat (Ectophylla alba) has snow white fur and a yellow nose and ears. It is tiny, only 3.7-4.7 cm long. The only member of the genus Ectophylla, it is found in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama at elevations from sea level to 700 m. It feeds at least in part on fruit.

The Honduran white bat cuts the side veins extending out from the midrib of the large leaves of the Heliconia plant causing them to fold down to form a 'tent'. They cling to the roof of this tent in small colonies of up to half a dozen individuals, consisting of one male and a harem of females. The tent protects them from rain and predators. Most tent-making bats (such as the aptly named tent-making bat) take flight at even slight disturbances, but researchers in Costa Rica have reported that Honduran white bats take flight only when the main stem of their tent is disturbed, possibly because they are well camouflaged. Although their tents are typically low to the ground (about six feet), sunlight filters through the leaf which gives their white fur a greenish cast. This almost completely conceals them if they remain still. It has been suggested a colony may have a number of tents scattered within the forest. It is one of 15 species of Latin American bats that roost in tents. In the Old World, 3 species of bat from India and Southeast Asia are known to roost in tents.

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Poison dart frogs, members of the Dendrobatidae family, wear some of the most brilliant and beautiful colors on Earth. Depending on individual habitats, which extend from the tropical forests of Costa Rica to Brazil, their coloring can be yellow, gold, copper, red, green, blue, or black. Their elaborate designs and hues are deliberately ostentatious to ward off potential predators, a tactic called aposematic coloration.

Some species display unusual parenting habits, including carrying both eggs and tadpoles on their backs. Although this "backpacking" is not unique among amphibians, male poison arrow frogs are exceptional in their care, attending to the clutch, sometimes exclusively, and performing vital transportation duties.

Dendrobatids include some of the most toxic animals on Earth. The two-inch-long (five-centimeter-long) golden poison dart frog has enough venom to kill 10 grown men. Indigenous Emberá people of Colombia have used its powerful venom for centuries to tip their blowgun darts when hunting, hence the genus' common name.  Their poison is so effective, in fact, that the only natural predator of most of the poison dart frog family is a snake called Leimadophis epinephelus, which has developed a resistance to the frogs' poison.

Scientists are unsure of the source of poison dart frogs' toxicity, but it is possible they assimilate plant poisons which are carried by their prey, including ants, termites and beetles. Poison dart frogs raised in captivity and isolated from insects in their native habitat never develop venom.

The medical research community has been exploring possible medicinal uses for some poison dart frog venom. They have already developed a synthetic version of one compound that shows promise as a painkiller.

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The Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) is a large saturniid moth found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, and is common across the Malay archipelago.

Atlas moths were often considered the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area, but recent sources confer this title upon the Hercules Moth from New Guinea and northern Australia. Their wingspans are also amongst the largest, reaching over 25 cm (9.8 in). Females are appreciably larger and heavier than the males.

Atlas moths are said to be named after either the Titan of Greek mythology, or their map-like wing patterns. In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as "snake's head moth", referring to the apical extension of the forewing, which bears a more than passing resemblance to a snake's head. Japan only has the A. a. ryukyuensis subspecies which is native to the Yaeyama Islands, and is called theYonaguni-san ("Yonaguni silkworm"). It is said to be the inspiration for the movie monster Mothra.

In India, Atlas moths are cultivated for their silk in a non-commercial capacity; unlike that produced by the related Silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), Atlas moth silk is secreted as broken strands. This brown, wool-like silk is thought to have greater durability and is known as fagara. Atlas moth cocoons have been employed as purses in Taiwan.

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The Saiga Antelope

The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is a critically endangered antelope that originally inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe zone from the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and Caucasus into Dzungaria and Mongolia. Smaller, fragmented populations exist today in Kazakhstan, western Mongolia, and southwestern Russia. They have been extirpated in Romania and Moldova (late 18th century) and China and southwestern Mongolia. 

The saiga typically stands 0.6–0.8 m (2 ft–2 ft 7 in) at the shoulder and weighs between 36 and 63 kg (79 and 139 lb). The horned males are larger than the hornless females. Their lifespans range from 6 to 10 years. The saiga is recognizable by an extremely unusual, over-sized, flexible nose structure, the proboscis. During summer migrations the saigas' nose helps filter out dust kicked up by the herd and cools the animal's blood. In the winter it heats up the frigid air before it is taken to the lungs.

In May 2015, uncommonly large numbers of saiga began to die from a mysterious epizootic illness suspected to be pasteurellosis. Herd fatality is 100% once infected, with an estimated 40% of the species' total population already dead. More than 120,000 carcasses had been found as of late May, while the estimated total population was only 250,000.

According to biologist Murat Nurushev, this disease occurred as a result of foraging on a large amount of easily fermenting plants (alfalfa, clover, sainfoins and mixed wet green grass). In May 2015, the United Nations agency which is involved in saiga conservation efforts issued a statement that the mass die-off had ended. As of June 2015, no definitive cause for the epizootic has been found.

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Kemp’s Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)

The Kemp’s ridley turtle is the world’s most endangered sea turtle, and with a worldwide female nesting population roughly estimated at just 1,000 individuals, its survival truly hangs in the balance. Their perilous situation is attributed primarily to the over-harvesting of their eggs during the last century. And though their nesting grounds are protected and many commercial fishing fleets now use turtle excluder devices in their nets, these turtles have not been able to rebound. A 1947 amateur film showed some 40,000 female Kemp's ridley turtles nesting in Mexico in a single day. Today, it is estimated that only about 1,000 breeding females exist worldwide.

For this reason, their nesting processions, called arribadas, make for especially high drama. During an arribada, females take over entire portions of beaches, lugging their big bodies through the sand with their flippers until they find a satisfying spot to lay their eggs. Even more riveting is the later struggle to the ocean of each tiny, vulnerable hatchling. Beset by predators, hatchlings make this journey at night, breaking out of their shells using their caruncle, a single temporary tooth grown just for this purpose.

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(via Tropical Butterfly House 04/11/12 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!)

The Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum), is a relatively large rodent in the mara genus (Dolichotis). It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare or dillaby. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open and semi-open habitats in Argentina, including large parts of Patagonia. It is monogamous, but often breeds in warrens that are shared by several pairs.

The social organizations have a unique combination of monogamy and communal breeding. Being monogamous, pairs of maras stay together for life with replacement of partners only occurring after its death. The male has almost the sole responsibility in maintaining the pair by following the female wherever she goes. A male will mark his female with urine and mark the ground around her with secretions from his glands and with feces, making the grounds around the female a mobile territory. Pairs will breed together alone or with other pairs in warrens shared by up to 29 pairs. Maras breed, at least in southern Argentina, from August to January. Gestation lasts 100 days in wild. Most births in Patagonia occur between September and October which is before the summer dry season and after the winter rains. Female produce one litter each year in the wild, but can produce as many as four litters a year in captivity. Young can walk almost immediately postpartum.

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(via Ocellated Turkey | Flickr - Photo Sharing!)

Since it’s Thanksgiving, I thought I’d do a post on the lesser-known Turkey of the world!

The ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula. A relative of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), it was sometimes previously treated in a genus of its own (Agriocharis), but the differences between the two turkeys are currently considered too small to justify generic segregation. It is a relatively large bird, at around 70–122 cm (28–48 in) long and an average weight of 3 kg (6.6 lb) in females and 5 kg (11 lb) in males.

Turkeys spend most of the time on the ground and often prefer to run to escape danger through the day rather than fly, though they can fly swiftly and powerfully for short distances as the majority of birds in this order do in necessity. Roosting is usually high in trees away from night-hunting predators such as jaguars and usually in a family group.

The voice is similar to the northern species: the male making the "gobbling" sound during the breeding season, while the female bird makes a "clucking" sound.

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Happy Thanksgiving Tumblr! <3