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.
View of the Big Room
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
[tall photo]
A few days ago I presented a photo of the footpath leading down into the natural entrance of the caverns. Here is a view looking into the large chamber. This was before the conversion to all LED lighting which is supposed to be quite nice.
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.
Ranger Sarah spots the first set of Petroglyphs. These where made between 400-700 years ago. Stone chisels and hammerstones were used to chip away the desert varnish on the rock to expose the lighter color underneath.
— at Petroglyph National Monument.
Ranger Sarah learns the area is home to the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus Atrox). It is cold and wet out so Ranger Sarah hopes she won't be running into any.
— at Petroglyph National Monument.
A walk in the woods. The forest along the C&O Canal National Park at Great Falls is a mix of new and old growth trees. I was amazed at how large many of the trees are along the Gold Mine Loop Trail. We saw three white tailed deer, a few birds and somewhere in the distance the hollow sound of a Pileated Woodpecker hammering against a tree echoed across the forest.