Results tagged “mammal” on Earth Touch Blog
Flickr group: pic of the day – capybara Jun 9 2008
The capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) is the world’s largest living rodent. Adult capybaras can grow up to 130cm (4.3ft), and weigh up to 65kg (140lb). They are herbivores, living on grasses and aquatic plants.
Tags: capybara, flickr, mammal, photograph, photography, rodent, south america, vertebrateWarthog chases cheetahs away Jun 9 2008
The Earth-Touch crew witnessed an unusual encounter in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, recently. They were filming a group of cheetahs resting in the bush, when a family of warthogs arrived on the scene and the female warthog proceeded to chase the cheetahs away.
Tags: africa, chase, cheetah, feed, forage, hluhluwe, imfolozi, mammal, south africa, vertebrate, warthogThe week’s most viewed stories Jun 6 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 30 May to Thursday 05 June 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Flickr group: pic of the day – leopard Jun 6 2008
Leopards (Panthera pardus), according to the World Conservation Union, are found widely in Africa, as well as parts of Asia and the Middle East. They are the smallest of the cats of the Panthera genus, which includes lions, tigers and jaguars.
Tags: africa, cat, flickr, kenya, leopard, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateFlickr group: pic of the day – armadillo Jun 3 2008
Armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus) are small mammals with distinctive bony shells covering most of their bodies. According to the World Conservation Union, they are native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Suriname and Uruguay.
Tags: armadillo, flickr, mammal, photograph, photography, south americaMacaques at both ends of the tail scale Jun 2 2008
Tags: asia, diet, feed, long-tailed, macaque, mammal, monkey, stump-tailed, tail, thailand, vertebrate
The week’s most viewed stories May 30 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 23 May to Thursday 29 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Seals crowd onto rocks May 29 2008
Earth-Touch filmed thousands of Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) packed into the rocky outcrop that is the Cape Cross seal reserve in Namibia.
Flickr group: pic of the day – binturong cub May 27 2008
Binturongs (Arctictis binturong), also known as bear cats, are found in southeast Asia. They are nocturnal tree-dwellers and eat mostly fruit.
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has a range spanning most of North America and Eurasia, southern Australia and North Africa.
Tags: africa, america, australia, canada, flickr, fox, group, mammal, red foxThe week’s most viewed stories May 23 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 16 May to Thursday 22 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Tags: africa, black rhino, blue, botswana, cub, dolphin, elephant, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, sodwana bay, south africa, western cape, whale, wildebeest, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – bongo May 23 2008
Bongos (Tragelaphus eurycerus) are the largest and heaviest forest antelope. They are a distinctive chestnut colour that darkens as they age.
Tags: africa, antelope, bongo, flickr, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateFlickr group: pic of the day – bat-eared fox May 22 2008
Bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) are native to southern and eastern Africa. They are nocturnal, and live in breeding pairs, with both parents taking part in the rearing of young.
Tags: africa, bat-eared fox, insectivore, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateTwo bulls in the valley May 21 2008
On a late afternoon in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, the Earth-Touch crew encountered two lone bulls: an African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and a nyala (Tragelaphus angasii).
Tags: africa, african buffalo, bird, hluhluwe, imfolozi, mammal, nyala, pied wagtail, south africaDid you know? Flehmen May 20 2008
Flehmen is a behaviour observed in many mammals, which involves curling or pulling back the upper lip so as to perceive a scent.
Tags: behaviour, breeding, flehmen, giraffe, jacobson's organ, lion, lip, mammal, oestrus, scent, zebraHumans and other ocean mammals May 19 2008
Dealing with creatures in the sea on a daily basis often raises questions about how some more “sensitive” animals should be dealt with.
Tags: dive, dolphin, freedive, human, mammal, marine, ocean, sea, seal, sunfish, whaleThe week’s most viewed stories May 16 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 09 May to Thursday 15 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Tags: africa, black rhino, blue, botswana, cub, dolphin, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, sodwana bay, south africa, western cape, whale, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – wallaby May 15 2008
Wallabies are found widely throughout Australia.
Tags: australia, flickr, kangaroo, mammal, marsupial, photograph, photography, wallabyBaboons feed on grass seeds May 15 2008
It’s late afternoon on the banks of the Black Umfolozi River in South Africa’s oldest game reserve, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. In the autumn sunshine, a troop of chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) is feeding.
Tags: africa, baboon, chacma, eat, floodplain, grass, groom, hluhluwe, imfolozi, mammal, primate, river, savannah, social, south africaFlickr group: pic of the day – lion and cub May 14 2008
Lions (Panthera leo) are unusual among cats because of their tendency to live in groups (called prides). A pride usually consists of two to 12 adult females and their cubs. Usually all the females are related.
Tags: africa, cat, cub, flickr, lion, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateElephants enjoy mudbath May 14 2008
As the seasons change in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve, large numbers of elephants begin to move to new sources of water and food.
Tags: africa, botswana, elephant, forest, mammal, moremi, mudbath, okavangoHornbills feed in banyan tree May 12 2008
On a cool, breezy morning in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, the Earth-Touch crew visited a banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) to watch birds and other wildlife feeding on the fruit.
Tags: banyan, bird, eagle, fig, forest, gibbon, hornbill, khao yai, mammal, monitor, pigeon, reptile, snake, thailand, treeThe week’s most viewed stories May 9 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 02 May to Thursday 08 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Unusual reef is full of surprises
It’s a special day at Sodwana, as the Indian Ocean offers up everything from coral and shrimps to dolphins and the world’s largest fish.
Tags: africa, black rhino, botswana, cub, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, south africa, western cape, whale, youngImpala herd grazes in the morning May 9 2008
On a beautiful, rain-refreshed morning in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, the first animal the Earth-Touch crew saw was an impala ram, belonging to a herd of about 200.
Tags: africa, graze, herd, hluhluwe-imfolozi, horn, impala, kwazulu-natal, mammal, prey, ram, savannah, south africaFlickr group: pic of the day – African buffalo May 7 2008
African buffalos (Syncerus caffer) are found widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They mostly move in large herds, grazing and living together.
Tags: africa, african buffalo, buffalo, flickr, graze, herd, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateDid You Know? Hippo bull behaviour May 6 2008
Hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius) have a delicate social network. It is essential that clearly defined roles exist within each pod in order to maintain peace.
Tags: aquatic, behaviour, dominance, female, hippo, hippopotamus, male, mammal, pod, river, social, territoryEgrets follow lechwe May 6 2008
The ridged and lyre-shaped horns of male red lechwe (Kobus leche) can be put to lethal effect in the breeding season, but when the Earth-Touch crew came across a herd in the Moremi Game Reserve, in Botswana, the effect was more decorative.
Tags: bird, botswana, egret, floodplain, graze, horn, lechwe, mammal, moremi, okavangoThe week’s most viewed stories May 2 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 25 April to Thursday 1 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Huge beast shows why it’s one of the most feared and respected creatures in the African bushveld.
Tags: africa, black rhino, botswana, cub, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, south africa, western cape, whale, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – white rhino May 1 2008
White rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) are found in central and southern Africa. According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), they are considered near threatened, with only an estimated 11,670 white rhino individuals left in the wild.
Tags: africa, conservation, flickr, kenya, mammal, photograph, photography, rhino, threatened, vertebrate, white rhinoThe Earth-Touch baby album Apr 30 2008
Over the months, Earth-Touch has been privileged to witness the early days, survival struggles and playful moments of many young animals. Here is a selection of these video clips.
Tags: africa, baboon, baby, bath, bird, botswana, burrow, calf, cape, chick, coast, colony, cub, delta, den, dog, egg, elephant, endangered, fish, fly, foal, giraffe, herd, hluhluwe, imfolozi, juvenile, karoo, kite, kwazulu-natal, lion, mammal, meerkat, monkey, moremi, mud, okavango, piglet, reef, sodwana, south africa, thailand, tree, trunk, video, warthog, water, western cape, whale, young, zebraFlickr group: pic of the day – cheetah Apr 29 2008
Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are members of the cat family, but unique in the fact that they do not climb trees. They are the fastest animals on land, reaching speeds of up to 110km/h (68mph).
Tags: africa, cat, cheetah, flickr, mammal, namibia, photograph, photography, vertebrateFlickr group: pic of the day – Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep Apr 23 2008
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are found in the Rocky Mountain range that stretches across Northern America.
Tags: bighorn sheep, ewe, flickr, mammal, north america, photograph, photography, ram, rocky mountain bighorn sheep, yellowstone national parkFlickr photo essay – polar bears, by Len Haier Apr 17 2008
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are the largest carnivores on earth, and can weigh between 300 and 600kg (660-1320lb). They are found in Arctic areas only, including Denmark, Russia, Norway and Canada.
They are largely dependent on the sea ice environment of the Arctic, and are considered by environmental groups to be extremely vulnerable and a threatened species.
Tags: artic, bear, canada, carnivore, denmark, flickr, mammal, north america, norway, photograph, photography, polar bear, russia, vertebrateWildlife news from around the world
Robotic aircraft to track marine mammals Apr 17 2008
Robotic aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may soon take to the Australian skies in the name of marine mammal research, if a project to test the technology succeeds.
Tags: australia, dugong, humpback, mammal, marine, migrate, whaleFlickr group: pic of the day – mustang foal Apr 16 2008
Mustangs are free-roaming horses. They are often referred to as “wild”, but they are descendants of domesticated horses. They are found in western North America.
Tags: horse, mammal, mustang, nevada, north america, united states of america, vertebrateFlickr group: pic of the day – bonnet macaque Apr 15 2008
Bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) are a type of monkey native to India. They eat fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, and invertebrates.
This photo was taken by our Earth-Touch Flickr group member Subharghya Das, in Karnataka, India.
Tags: bonnet macaque, india, mammal, monkey, photograph, photography, vertebrateDid you know? Elephants and marula berries Apr 11 2008
Elephants are notoriously destructive feeders, breaking off branches, debarking trees and even uprooting or pushing over whole trees. But they also play an important role in the life cycle of trees, by dropping seeds of their favourite trees in their dung as they move from place to place. Birds such as hornbills eat their favourite seeds off the ground, and so the distribution process continues.
Tags: bird, dung, eat, elephant, feed, fruit, hornbill, mammal, marula, savannah, seed, tree, vertebrateDelta animals keep watch for each other Apr 10 2008
The Earth-Touch crew in Botswana’s Okavango Delta recently found antelope, baboons, vervet monkeys and birds mingling in a riverine forest, using each other’s senses for safety.
Tags: africa, alert, baboon, bird, botswana, delta, hear, impala, lookout, mammal, monkey, mopane, moremi, okavango, predator, see, sense, squirrel, vegetation, vervet, warn, waterbuckFlickr group: pic of the day – spotted hyena Apr 8 2008
The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is a carnivorous mammal, indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. They are most well known for their distinctive noise, which sounds similar to human laughter.
Tags: africa, flickr, hyena, kenya, laughter, mammal, masai mara, photograph, photography, sub-saharan, vertebrateA fruitful wait at the river pool Apr 8 2008
Sometimes, it pays just to sit and wait. When the Earth-Touch crew arrived at a pool in a tributary of the Black Umfolozi River in South Africa’s Imfolozi Game Reserve, they decided just to enjoy the view and see what happened.
Tags: africa, antelope, bird, black umfolozi, call, forage, hamerkop, imfolozi, kwazulu-natal, mammal, marking, mocking cliff-chat, nyala, pool, river, riverine forest, south africaFlickr group: pic of the day – Serval Apr 7 2008
Servals (Leptailurus serval) are small to medium-sized wild cats, closely related to caracals. They are usually found on the savannahs and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa.
This photo was taken by our Earth-Touch Flickr group member Achim (AKA AnyMotion), using a Canon EOS 20D, in Tanzania.
Tags: africa, cat, flickr, mammal, photograph, photography, serval, sub-saharan, vertebrate, wild catMud bath cools off warthogs and rhino Apr 4 2008
On a hot, windy afternoon at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, the Earth-Touch crew watched a family of warthogs and a white rhino bull enjoying a cooling wallow in a mud pan.
Did You Know? African wild dog Apr 4 2008
The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is the only species in its genus and is only distantly related to the domestic dog.
Tags: africa, african wild dog, carnivore, hunt, mammal, mate, pack, tailMeerkats as social media in action Apr 4 2008
In all of my years in the wilds of the world, and especially in the African bush, I have never encountered a creature that more embodies the idea of a “social media strategy” than the meerkat.
Tags: africa, mammal, meerkat, social, south africa, vertebrateDid you know? Red duiker Apr 2 2008
Red duikers are tiny, thickset antelopes which are usually solitary, though you might spot a pair or even three of them if you’re really lucky.
Tags: africa, antelope, camouflage, coastal, duiker, eat, flower, forest, fruit, kwazulu-natal, mammal, mozambique, red duiker, shy, south africa, swaziland, tanzaniaA tough day at the office Apr 2 2008
It’s official: I have the worst job in the world.
Tags: bee-eater, bird, fish, indian ocean, mammal, meerkat, whale sharkEye to eye with a giraffe Apr 2 2008
A female giraffe’s long eyelashes, whiskery mouth, tufted horns and patterned coat take on new interest when viewed close up.
Tags: acacia, bird, browse, eat, giraffe, hluhluwe, imfolozi, kwazulu-natal, mammal, oxpecker, parasite, savannah, south africa, tree