Zoë Bryant, CWB®, CE’s Post

The Malabar Pit Viper ( Craspedocephalus malabaricus ) is an ambush hunter thanks to its amazing ability to blend into its surroundings. It can be green, brown, yellow, or orange, making it hard to spot! It has a prehensile tail that helps them anchor themselves on branches or twigs while hanging. Unlike most snakes, this one gives birth to live babies instead of laying eggs. It has special heat-sensing pits on its face that help it find warm-blooded animals to eat, even in the dark. Although it moves slowly, it can strike quickly to catch its prey by surprise. This snake is only found in the Western Ghats of India and could indicate how healthy the rainforest is. If something changes with these snakes, it might mean there's a bigger problem with the environment. #malabarpitviper #craspedocephalusmalabaricus #ambushhunter #snakecamouflage #reptilelife #wildlifephotography #westernghats #indianrainforest #snakesofindia #wildlifeconservation #ecologicalindicator #reptileconservation #snakefacts #wildlifefacts #naturelovers #wildlifeenthusiasts

How much can one photo tell a story? This great blue heron pic says quite a bit. First, the bird is sitting above a #wetland where water levels had returned after a period of years when levels were low, and little #wildlife was around. Large cottonwood #trees died when their roots were submerged and #woodpeckers drilled holes in the trunks, which you can see in this photo. Dozens of dead trees rife with such holes now provide nesting cavities for #woodducks #swallows and other species, including #starlings. Flocks of #birds attract apex #predator species such as #coopershawk and #kestrel, #redtailedhawk and #greathornedowl. This #heron fishes for #frogs in the #swamp and #marsh, and even hunts #mice and #voles on nearby uplands. #Muskrat and #mink, #weasels and #snakes all live here too. Regal on its perch in the morning sunlight, the heron symbolizes a healthy #environment and vital #habitat for dozens of living things including #turtles, #salamander and #dragonflies, #bats and #gulls, #terns and #ducks, #geese of four kinds and #swans, #eagle, #osprey and #kingfisher too. All because the #wetland wasn't drained and #insects thrive and drive the #foodchain. Photo ©ChristopherCudworth 2024

1. **Dietary Differences**: 🌊 Seagulls are opportunistic scavengers near water bodies, while 🌳 crows are omnivorous and may hunt or scavenge in diverse environments. 2. **Feeding Behavior**: 👀 Seagulls rely on sight to find food, whereas 🧠 crows use sight and memory to locate hidden food sources. 3. **Foraging Techniques**: 🛩️ Seagulls dive or swoop down for prey, while 🦅 crows may use stalking or ambushing. 4. **Social Behavior**: 🤝 Crows exhibit cooperative hunting, while seagulls forage alone or in loose groups. 5. **Environmental Adaptations**: 🏖️ Seagulls are adapted to coastal areas, while crows are adaptable to various environments, including urban settings. In conclusion, their hunting accuracy varies due to their unique adaptations and behaviors. 👉Follow: muhammad imran #Seagulls #Crows #HuntingStrategies #FeedingHabits #WildlifeBehavior #EnvironmentalAdaptations #BirdWatching #NatureObservation #EcosystemRoles #Biodiversity

1. **Dietary Differences**: 🌊 Seagulls are opportunistic scavengers near water bodies, while 🌳 crows are omnivorous and may hunt or scavenge in diverse environments. 2. **Feeding Behavior**: 👀 Seagulls rely on sight to find food, whereas 🧠 crows use sight and memory to locate hidden food sources. 3. **Foraging Techniques**: 🛩️ Seagulls dive or swoop down for prey, while 🦅 crows may use stalking or ambushing. 4. **Social Behavior**: 🤝 Crows exhibit cooperative hunting, while seagulls forage alone or in loose groups. 5. **Environmental Adaptations**: 🏖️ Seagulls are adapted to coastal areas, while crows are adaptable to various environments, including urban settings. In conclusion, their hunting accuracy varies due to their unique adaptations and behaviors. 👉Follow:muhammad imran #Seagulls #Crows #HuntingStrategies #FeedingHabits #WildlifeBehavior #EnvironmentalAdaptations #BirdWatching #NatureObservation #EcosystemRoles #Biodiversity

The Atlantic Puffin, often referred to as the "clown of the sea," is a charismatic seabird that inhabits the North Atlantic Ocean. Known for its striking appearance and colourful beak, the puffin stands out with its black and white plumage contrasted by bright orange-red feet and a distinctive, triangular-shaped bill that fades from vibrant orange in the summer to a duller grey in winter. These birds are adept swimmers and flyers, using their wings to "fly" underwater in pursuit of small fish like herring and sand eels, which form the bulk of their diet. Puffins are skilled hunters, capable of diving up to 60 meters (200 feet) deep to catch their prey. Breeding colonies, known as "puffinries," are typically found on remote coastal cliffs or offshore islands where they nest in burrows dug into the soft soil or between rocks. Puffins are monogamous birds, often returning to the same mate and burrow year after year during the breeding season. During the summer months, these seabirds gather in large numbers on their breeding grounds, engaging in elaborate courtship displays and caring for their single egg. After a roughly 40-day incubation period, puffin chicks, called pufflings, hatch and are cared for by both parents until they fledge and are ready to fend for themselves. #puffin #atlanticpuffin #matildabishop #graphicdesign #environmentalillustration #illustrator #seabird #drawing #conservation

Since their reintroduction into Yellowstone in 1995, wolves have not only changed the behavior of other animals, they've also restructured the land and the flow of water—all for the better. 🐺🌱 Left unchecked, 🦌 deer and elk overgrazed much of Yellowstone, stripping its vegetation. Through hunting, the wolves not only thinned out the weak but forced the grazers to stay on the move, allowing trees in certain valleys to grow five times their length in just six years. This caused the number of migratory and songbirds to increase in Yellowstone. Beaver populations also grew because beavers like to eat trees, and like wolves, they too change their surroundings. Reptiles, otters, ducks, fish, and amphibians all benefitted from the dams that beavers 🦫 built. In some areas, wolves reduced the coyote population by about 40%. This meant more rabbits and mice, which in turn benefitted other predators like badgers, foxes, hawks, and eagles. There are even more bears 🐻 now because they scavenge on wolf kills and pluck berries from regenerated shrubs. And the rivers changed because of the wolves too. By keeping grazers off the riverbanks, there is now less erosion, and therefore, stronger soil fertility, which means more flowing water. All this in just 25 years. We have a lot to learn from wolves. 🎥 Comfort Theory | Filipe DeAndrade, Project Coyote and #CaptureCoexistence Ambassador | Brian Moghari #Yellowstone #Wolves #GrayWolves #CompassionateCoexistence #WildCarnivores

Bones on the Beach.  Bones are a common sight on Sable Island – sun-bleached skulls, a cluster of ribs or vertebrae, sometimes most of a skeleton. They are the remains of seals, whales, horses, birds, and fish, and once in a while a few skeletal reminders of earlier times – a dog skull or long bones of a cow. A few days ago, an anglerfish washed ashore on north beach. There are many species of anglerfish. In this specimen most features (such as a luminescent lure to attract prey) have been lost to scavenging and decomposition, but the big head, large mouth, and fang-like, inward-pointing teeth, are evident. This skeleton was about 40 cm long, but the live fish was likely shorter.  Photos Zoe Lucas.  For more about what’s found on Sable’s beach: https://lnkd.in/d5xau7p    #SableIsland #NorthAtlantic #Bones #beachsurvey #Beachmonitoring #anglerfish #skeletons      #sableislandnpr #parkscanada  #sableislandnationalparkreserve

1. **Dietary Differences**: 🌊 Seagulls are opportunistic scavengers near water bodies, while 🌳 crows are omnivorous and may hunt or scavenge in diverse environments. 2. **Feeding Behavior**: 👀 Seagulls rely on sight to find food, whereas 🧠 crows use sight and memory to locate hidden food sources. 3. **Foraging Techniques**: 🛩️ Seagulls dive or swoop down for prey, while 🦅 crows may use stalking or ambushing. 4. **Social Behavior**: 🤝 Crows exhibit cooperative hunting, while seagulls forage alone or in loose groups. 5. **Environmental Adaptations**: 🏖️ Seagulls are adapted to coastal areas, while crows are adaptable to various environments, including urban settings. In conclusion, their hunting accuracy varies due to their unique adaptations and behaviors. 👉Follow: Muhammad Irfan #Seagulls #Crows #HuntingStrategies #FeedingHabits #WildlifeBehavior #EnvironmentalAdaptations #BirdWatching #NatureObservation #EcosystemRoles #Biodiversity

This black sea bass is suffering from a bad case of barotrauma. Brought up from 90 feet of water, gases expanded within the swim bladder and pushed its stomach out of the mouth. Other signs of barotrauma include bulging eyes, anal prolapse, bloated belly, and bubbling scales. If you see signs of barotrauma and need to release the fish, use a descending device to return them to depth. These weighted tools are required to be readily available for use in South Atlantic waters when fishing for any of the 55 snapper grouper species. Check out our webpage to learn how to rig a descending device: https://lnkd.in/eRhyTXQW. Not sure what fish fall under the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Unit? Learn more about the 55 species included here: https://lnkd.in/ehWzybEK. #BestFishingPractices #Snapper #Grouper #SAFMC

It's International Wolf day! Here's a character sheet I did as part of the previous book project I did 'Giraffe In a Scarf' by Anna McCarthy. Wolves are actually one of my favourite animals out there so here's a few fun facts 🐺 Wolves do howl at night, but contrary to popular belief, these soulful calls have nothing to do with the moon. They convey long-distance messages to other wolves, who may be able to hear them from up to 10 miles away. Howling can help wolves assemble their pack, locate missing members, or defend territory, among other purposes. 🐺 Wolf packs need large territories to supply them with enough prey, but the size can vary widely depending on factors such as climate, terrain, prey abundance, and the presence of other predators. 🐺 Grey wolf territories range from 50 to 1,000 square miles, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.12 Wolves can cover large areas while hunting, traveling up to 30 miles daily. They primarily trot at about 5 mph but can run as fast as 40 mph for short distances. 🐺 Dogs Are Genetically Similar to Wolves As dogs are descendents of wolves the two creatures share 99.8% of the same DNA. 🐺 In natural wolf packs, the alpha male or female are the parents of the pack, and dominance contests with other wolves are rare, if they exist at all. 🐺 Wolves are keystone species so they regulate their environments. As apex predators they hunt on grazing animals which otherwise eat too many trees (which is why I'm personally for them being reintroduced to the UK) #wolf #wolfday #internationalwolfday #wolfillustration #characterdesign #wolfillustration #kidlitart #kidlitillustration #illustration #illustrator #childrensbookillustration