Favoritos de napoleon1799

At least three crocs ripping up a zebra. Fish (catfish?) also churning the water around the carcass. Interesting observation of behavior of a hippo attracted to the scene, see paired observation: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/843690

A cool thing I witnessed thanks to radio-telemetry. This was one of our largest rattlers (a male) and he was nearly back at his den at this point in the year. It took him 45-50 min. to get his meal down.

A green chiton attached to a half crab. We observed this alien looking commensal beast while undertaking an intertidal survey on the reefs off Hawera. It made us jump when we first turned over the rock.

©williamwisephoto.com
OBSERVATION IS FOR THE SNAKE (frog observation at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/77635301)

Phinizy Swamp Nature Center; Richmond County, Augusta, Georgia.

• Sunny, high 84 F
• Sunrise 6:40 AM; Sunset 8:10 PM
• Day length 13 hours, 29 minutes (+1min 46sec)

VIDEO AT: http://williamwisephoto.com/photographyblog/predator-prey-bullfrog-watersnake-phinizy-swamp

Large (~9 ft, perhaps more) male preying on a smaller, but still substantially sized (~4 ft) subadult. Not sure if the initial encounter was predatory or territorial in nature, but it was clear the intent to consume became realized at some point.

After spending over a week canoeing and camping in Temagami, Ontario, on July 14, 2012 we arrived in Toronto at about 7:00 pm; as always, Catherine moved her van from her driveway as I was going to park there. As I was very slowly backing up into her driveway, I suddenly felt that one of my tires ran into something in the driveway and I was unable to continue. I got out of the car and saw a big, dead raccoon lying next to the rear car’s wheel. Initially, I thought that perhaps the raccoon was simply hiding under Catherine’s van, seeking shade, and as Catherine was moving the van, she inadvertently ran over it. But once we closely examined the hapless creature, we immediately discovered the cause of its untimely demise: apparently, it had found a big empty peanut butter jar, which had some traces of peanut butter inside, so the raccoon obviously attempted to get whatever was left inside the jar by inserting its mouth inside the jar, which got stuck… unable to remove it, the raccoon simply suffocated! Catherine’s father was not aware of this incident, but said that indeed, Gabby the dog was somehow attracted to something on the other side of the parked van! Catherine called the City of Toronto and the raccoon was removed overnight.

The second photograph is the same, but much bigger.

Snapping Turtle came out of the water onto the small island in the center of the pond, took a Canada Goose egg, and then went back in the water. The whole thing was over and done with in about two minutes. The Geese were not too happy.

Red-tailed Hawk pursuing a Golden Eagle (observation is for the eagle). Incredible size comparison; the usually large looking Red-tail looks like a tiny hawk.

Park City mountain trails, Utah.

• Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
• Sunrise 6:19 am; Sunset 8:45 pm
• Daylight Hours: 14 hours, 26 minutes (-1m 53s)
• Moon: 0.2% Waxing Crescent

(Larger, darker snake) My mom texted me a photo of two snakes she found hanging out together while she was watering plants. ~3.5 hours later, they were still in the same area and I took some more photos. Sometimes the larger snake would move away a foot or two, and eventually the smaller one would slither over to it again. (will create a duplicate post for the other snake)

An extremely rare event to witness in the wild - a young adult Pine Barrens Timber Rattlesnake giving birth. Talk about being in the "right place at the right time"! This female's activities were closely monitored for over 18 months as part of a NJDEP-sanctioned long-term study on this particular population. She had been observed in the company of a larger male the previous Fall, and in April -May of 1993. Though actual mating was not witnessed, the pair obviously "got busy" making little snakelings! 2 days after this photo, she was again observed in the same exact location - with a total of 7 beautiful babies coiled up beside their proud "Mom".