Animal of Things’ Post

Do you ever wonder how scientists seem to know so much about panthers and where they are? Check out this new article talking about the effort to track these cats and support their recovery in the wild.

Colorado is home to some of the most diverse types of snakes in the United States. Colorado is home to various types of snakes, from the small, harmless garter snake to the deadly and elusive rattlesnake. In this post, we'll discuss the most fascinating types of snakes in Colorado, so if you're interested in learning more about these slithery creatures, read on! 1. Glossy Snake by TomSpinker is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 One of the many types of snakes in Colorado is the glossy ...

It’s easy to understand why people confuse bison and buffalo. ***************************************************************** Both are large, horned, oxlike animals of the Bovidae family. There are two kinds of bison, the American bison and the European bison, and two forms of buffalo, water buffalo and Cape buffalo. However, it’s not difficult to distinguish between them, especially if you focus on the three H’s: home, hump, and horns. [Watch a video to learn more about the difference between buffalo and bison] Contrary to the song “Home on the Range,” buffalo do not roam in the American West. Instead, they are indigenous to South Asia (water buffalo) and Africa (Cape buffalo), while bison are found in North America and parts of Europe. Despite being a misnomer—one often attributed to confused explorers—buffalo remains commonly used when referring to American bison, thus adding to the confusion. Another major difference is the presence of a hump. Bison have one at the shoulders while buffalo don’t. The hump allows the bison’s head to function as a plow, sweeping away drifts of snow in the winter. The next telltale sign concerns the horns. Buffalo tend to have large horns—some have reached more than 6 feet (1.8 meters)—with very pronounced arcs. The horns of bison, however, are much shorter and sharper. And, if you want to throw a B into the mix, you can check for a beard. Bison are the hipsters of the two animals, sporting thick beards. Buffalo are beardless

"An eastern screech owl perches in a treetop on a foggy morning at San Antonio Viejo (SAV)." - Horses to Ride, Cattle to Cut. Eastern screech owls are small, nocturnal predators with distinct features like piercing yellow eyes, prominent ear tufts, and underparts marked with bars and streaks. Interestingly, they come in two color morphs—a more common gray phase and a rich reddish-brown phase. The red phase predominates in the south, gray in the north, and gray in southernmost Texas (the photo depicts a gray phase). But a bird's color has nothing to do with its age or sex and can even vary within the same brood. Eastern screech owls are common in a wide variety of habitats - the best way to tell them apart is by their vocalizations, which are markedly different. Screech owls are among the most strictly nocturnal owls found in North America. As a result, they are more commonly detected by their vocalizations than by direct visual observation. Screech owls have two primary calls: - A series of wavering, descending whistles - A sustained, single-pitched trill The secretive nature of screech owls, paired with their nocturnal habits, means encounters with these small owls are more likely to involve identifying their distinctive calls rather than directly seeing the birds themselves. #EastFoundation #SanAntonioViejo #ScreechOwl #SouthTexas ©Wyman Meinzer

The Long-Horned Cowfish: A Bizarre Small Fish! The long-horned cowfish also called the horned boxfish, is a species of the family Ostaciidae, it’s known for its long horns resembling a bull’s horns. It’s typically a small yellowed fish with a few centimeters of length. https://lnkd.in/eyk2RnYp

Ever heard of the Paton Center for Hummingbirds? It is a great place to see birds, and it is also has a great story in how it came to be. I write about it in my latest Substack post. #davevanmanen #walkinginawe #thevanmanens

It's time for all of us in New England to say so long to hummers, who have a long journey ahead of them. You can learn more about these otherworldly birds in my free Substack: https://lnkd.in/gMxFEdki.

How to Make a Simple Bird Feeder