Circle of Life

This baby stump-tailed macaque reminds me of how similar old age is to infancy, with the white hair, wrinkled skin, and oversized hands.

Oh wait ... that would only hold true for baby macaques. There goes my attempt to be philosophical about the circle of life.

I should stop trying to be so clever. It never works out.

Photo courtesy: Yahoo!

Good Setup

Becca informed me that the blobfish is made mostly of jelly, which is less dense than water. This helps them maintain their pressure where they live in the deep. That explains the jelly, but not the ugliness.

When I think of fishing, I think of quaint settings, with your line hanging lazily in the water for some trout. But the scene below shatters that image. It looks more like the setup for a good horror film.

Thanks for the photos, Ioan.

Photos courtesy: NOAA

Arachnid Fashion?

Mother nature provides for all sorts of disguises and camouflage. But I'm not sure what this spiny orb weaver spider (or crab spider, to those of you in Florida ) is trying to pull off. Maybe those red spines are just a way of differentiating itself from all of the other spiders. Arachnid fashion?

Thanks for the photo, Sean.

Sets the Mood

Mondays following a holiday weekend are always the worst. I feel like this rhino - he kind of sets the mood. I'm going to go find a dirt pit to wallow in. Then I'll get back to work.

Thanks for the photo, Clay.

That's Productivity

I had to smash one of these ladies in my garage the other day. I can always tell when I've stumbled across a black widow web - it is much thicker and tanglier than a daddy-long-leg's or garden spider's web.

The female (the big black ones) reaches sexual maturity in 70 - 90 days, lays 4 - 9 egg sacs per summer, with 250 - 700 eggs per sac, and they live to be 3 years old. That's a potential of 18,900 baby spiders per female! Now that's productivity, folks.

Photo courtesy: Sean McCann

Not a Happy Camper

Ugh. This baboon is not a happy camper. The main way that these primates bond is through grooming. I wonder how this guy's balding affects that behavior? It can't be good.

Did you know that in Africa these uglies are agricultural pests, and are therefore classified as vermin, rather than wildlife? Finally, someone is on to these monkeys.

Photo courtesy: Frank

Enjoy Your Leftovers

These two are egyptian vultures. They are the smallest of the vultures and they don't have a sense of smell. But what they lack in stature and olfactory ability they make up for in a 70 km flight range (that's endurance, baby) and vision that is at least twice as refined as that of a human's.

I had to follow up Thanksgiving with a vulture shot. Aren't we all a bit like vultures in the days following this holiday? We circle and circle, always returning to that carcass in the fridge for more meat. Enjoy your leftovers.

Photo courtesy: Frank

Had to do it

Too easy and too obvious. But I had to do it. Sorry. Happy Thanksgiving - I hope this doesn't spoil too many appetites out there.

Photo courtesy: Melanie Cook