An impressive eagle that can grow quite large, this Tawny Eagle posed nicely for a photo in the Serengeti. They mostly eat carrion and will steal food from other predatory birds.
This one was perched on a dead tree, taking a break from flying and scanning the Serengeti for its next meal.
There is one animal I came across in Africa that gave me nightmares.
No, it wasn’t a lion, hippo, cobra or scorpion. I came across all of those and didn’t flinch. This was more of a wolf in sheep clothing type of scary creature, except it was a Dassie in Devil fur.
The cutely named Dassie has many aliases, probably because of it’s secret scariness. Rock Rabbit and Rock Rat are a couple of alternative names. You get the idea – they are furry things that mostly hang out around rocky outcrops.
In reality their official name is a Hyrax and along with Sea Cows (real name Dugongs) they’re the closest relatives on Earth to Elephants.
The ones I came across in Tanzania are Bush Hyrax, or Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax. Want to see one of these beasts? Are you sure? Ok, you’ve been warned…
Ya, ok. They even look cute. But it is just a disguise. Watch these evil creatures long enough and you’ll see another side to them.
When a mature Hyrax gets excited, a bump on their back starts to form…called a dorsal gland. This gland opens up, pushing fur to the sides, as if giving birth to some mutant life form. They move around oddly too, it’s all so strange that you expect their eyes to start glowing red and shoot laser beams at you. Well, at least that’s what happened in my nightmares.
Supposedly they only secrete some weird liquid or something, no actual aliens and it’s only done when they’re wanting to mate or are feeling threatened.
Still, if you saw one of these things open up a crazy looking gland on it’s back you’d freak out too. I’ve saved you the horror of seeing the scariest photos…you can always use your friend Google if you dare.
Langurs, langurs everywhere! Gray Langurs are a species of monkey found in South Asia, including Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.
These old world monkeys vary in look and appearance depending on their location and there is no real consensus on how many different Gray Langur species there actually are.
The Tufted Gray Langur seen here is only found in Southeast India and Sri Lanka.
This week has been declared National Wildlife Week in the US, by the National Wildlife Federation.
Since National Wildlife Week in Canada isn’t until next month, it means I get to do two ‘wild week’ posts, with this one focusing only on animals I’ve photographed in the USA.
Taking a quick count, it seems I’ve been to around 30 different American states. As far as wildlife goes I enjoyed Utah, Wyoming and Florida the most. From Yellowstone to the Everglades, here are seven wildlife photos in honour of National Wildlife Week, enjoy!
In Canada, it seems that everyone has their own way way to convince themselves that winter has ended and spring is on the way.
One such belief at home is that when the Robins return, spring must be just around the corner. While they are year-round residents in many parts of the US, the American Robin migrates north and south from the colder climates in Canada and Alaska.
Enjoying the sun down in Mexico, they return to Canada for breeding and are usually among the first migratory birds spotted in late-winter.
This particular puffy Robin was photographed in the middle of summer, while camping in Ontario.
