Some people say lions sleep 22 out of every 24 hours. It's true we often see them lying in the grass, sometimes yawning. But it doesn't mean they sleep when we're not there. “Lions lying sleeping in the shade on a hot day are […] conserving energy during the least energetically efficient time of the day. […] If the energy costs involved in an activity aren’t outweighed by its potential benefits, they simply won’t do it.” Clever.
These are not the Dolomites but rather the Kelinshektau mountain range in the Karatau Mountains in #Kazakhstan. The remote place with its lush green meadows & impressive peaks which looks like the hats of Kazakh brides (Kelinshek = Bride) invites you to have a relaxed picnic. 🧺 #travel#photography
President Biden has signed a new amendment in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that will make it borderline impossible to track private jet activity. This puts the kibosh on social media attempts to hold famous folk accountable for their jet-related CO2 emissions, although @thrillist reports that a new study provides some insight into the worst celebrity polluters. Here's more.
@blterrible Jack Sweeney is the best-known of the plane-spotters. He has the dubious honor of Elon Musk banning him from Twitter and threatening to sue him, and received a cease-and-desist letter from Taylor Swift. He has already said that this law won't stop him — his full statement is here: https://grndcntrl.net/pdf/?file=/docs/HR3935_Thoughts.pdf
In Hoi An, Vietnam, this charming street is adorned with vibrant red silk lanterns that cast a warm, inviting glow on the rustic yellow walls. The scene captures the essence of traditional Vietnamese culture, offering a serene and enchanting ambiance under the night sky.
The ostriches of the Kenyan savannah have never been so prized: first by jockeys, who ride them to the delight of spectators, and then by meat lovers, their flesh being reputed to be healthy.
These birds, which can reach up to 2.60 meters and weigh a hundred kilos, can kill with a single blow of their legs.
The ban imposed at the end of 2003 on the sale of meat from wild animals, apart from ostrich and crocodile, has led to an increase in demand for ostrich meat, which is high in protein and low in cholesterol. Only the meat of the legs is marketed. Ostriches are slaughtered at the age of eight months to ensure that the meat is tender.
Ostriches have a life expectancy of 70 years and females can lay up to 35 eggs per clutch, some of which are never fertilized.
The Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchii), also spelled Maasai giraffe, also called Kilimanjaro giraffe, is the largest subspecies of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai giraffe can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. It has distinctive, irregular, jagged, star-like blotches that extend to the hooves. A median forehead lump is usually present in bulls.
D'Arnaud's barbet is a small East African bird that feeds on insects, fruits, and seeds.
It grows to about eight inches, and is equally at home in trees or on the ground. A vertical tunnel two to three feet into the ground with a sideways and upward turn leads to the nest chamber.
In a striking dance the male and female face each on nearby twigs and twitch, bob and sing like mechanical toys.