#Grassland Animals

[wild-wow-facts]

The Maned Wolf: Nature's Culinary Specialist

Discover the unique feeding habits of the maned wolf! This fascinating creature plays a crucial role in its ecosystem.

Check out my other videos here: Animal Kingdom Animal Facts Animal Education

[quotesandzensome]

strike a pose!

"A publisher who writes is like a cow in a milk bar." - Arthur Koestler

[mienar]

the wandering painter, part one

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[life-on-our-planet]

The Patagonian mara is a large rodent, resembling a large jackrabbit and most closely related to capybaras and guinea pigs. They're monogamous until one partner dies, but generally breeding happens in large communal dens where care of young is occasionally shared. ©

[grandisknight]

Sylus | Grassland Romance Kindled Showcase

Wander In Wonder Event | Twitter (X) Post

“Actions speak louder than words. I need to show them I already have a lover."

[dinodanicus]

Marcy the macrauchenia walking through her lush cerrado home.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Access Denied: The Inaccessible Island Rail

The Inaccessible Island rail (Laterallus rogersi) is a rarely seen member of the rail family, Rallidae. Part of the reason for its obscurity is the place in which it resides: Inaccessible Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean. These islands are extremely remote, and until 2019 it was unclear how L. rogersi even came to be there. We now know that the species colonized the island some 1.5 million years ago, originally coming in from South America and subsequently losing its ability to fly.

In addition to its unique evolutionary history, the Inaccessible Island rail's greatest claim is that it is the smallest flightless bird in the world. Individuals weigh between 35 to 49 g (1.2–1.7 oz) and can be 13 to 15.5 cm (5.1–6.1 in) long from beak to tail. Members of both sexes are dark brown with red eyes; some may have white striping along the underbelly or wings. Females tend to be slightly smaller and lighter in color than males.

The Inaccesible Island rail can be found on all habitats on the island in which it inhabits; these include low mountains and fern brush though the species is most abundant in the grasslands that grow close to the rocky shore. Within these habitats, L. rogersi is largely diurnal. They freely forage for invertebrates, including earthworms, beetles, and moths, as well as seeds and berries; as they have no natural predators they have few defenses against potential threats, although they can run extremely fast when alarmed.

Adults are highly territorial, and when two rivals of either sex encounter each other they will display by lowering their heads, circling each other, and calling loudly until one of them concedes. Males and females mate for life, and build nests in the tall grass. The breeding season is between October and January, in late summer, and females lay a clutch of 2 eggs. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs until they hatch. Chicks can be vulnerable to predation by the migratory brown skua, so parents guard the nest fiercely. The time it takes for chicks to fully mature is unknown, as is the average lifespan in the wild.

Conservation status: The Inaccessible Island rail is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN. The island's population is believed to stand at about 5,600 adult birds. While the island's ecology is currently stable, researchers believe the species would be seriously imperaled if invasive species such as house mice, feral cats and brown rats were introduced. Access to the island is currently restricted, and the island has been declared a nature reserve by the Tristan da Cunha Island Council.

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Photos

Peter G. Ryan

[lovehina019]

[serpentface]

Tigran: launching into a story about a time when he was 7 and watched a guy get eaten alive by dogs, completely unprompted and unnervingly blasé about the whole thing.

Etsushir: not listening, warming his hands over the nightly allotment of yams, smoking.

Palo: this is the tenth time he's heard this story, not listening, wondering whether Etsushir is smoking tobacco and where the hell he got it and can he have some?

[chasingrainbowsforever]

~ Orange and Brown ~

[comatosebunny09]

Self-aware Sylus, who’s been plotting to break free of the LADS universe for a while. He’s been plagued by dreams of someone, seeing their smiling face in his sleep every day. Each time he’s met them, the details of their countenance have become more evident.

Now that he knows he’s been manipulated, everything from his actions to his dialogue preset for him, Sylus wants nothing more than to be free and to meet the person plaguing his dreams. With the use of his hacking prowess, he’s able to escape the game.

He wakes to ocean waves crashing against the shoreline and seabirds cawing in the distance. He sits up in the surf, blinking the bleariness from his eyes. A figure rushes towards him, blurry at first, silhouetted by the sun.

“Are you alright?” the figure asks, kneeling at his side. It’s them—it’s you. The person he’d dreamt of for what felt like ages, quietly calling out to him from the furthest regions of his mind, even when he wasn’t in control.

You’re more beautiful than his dreams could conjure, voice gentle, hand cautious on his shoulders.

He takes you in, still in awe. Surveys his surroundings, noting that he’s washed up on a beautiful island with modest infrastructure and palm trees bordering the horizon. He’s clearly not in Kansas anymore.

As you help him sit up, his mind races with questions. Where is he? How did he get here? Why is he here? But more importantly, he wants to know who you are and what significance you play in his life, haunting his dreams like a pretty specter.

Before he can get a word out, more figures approach from behind you. And Sylus thinks he might’ve had a rough ride traveling from the LADS universe to whatever timeline he currently inhabits. Because why in the hell do all the figures behind you look like anthropomorphic animals?

[missedmilemarkers]

[typhlonectes]

Kansas Research Shows Reintroducing Bison on Tallgrass Prairie Doubles Plant Diversity

Findings from decades of data also point to resistance to extreme drought.

Decades of research led by scientists at Kansas State University offered evidence reintroducing bison to roam the tallgrass prairie gradually doubled plant diversity and improved resilience to extreme drought.

Gains documented in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science were among the largest recorded globally in terms of species richness on grazing grasslands. The research involved more than 30 years of data collected at the Konza Prairie Biological Station near Manhattan.

Zak Ratajczak, lead researcher and assistant professor of biology at Kansas State, said removal of nearly all bison from the prairie occurred before establishment of quantitative records. That meant effects of removing the dominant grazer were largely unknown, he said.

“Bison were an integral part of North American grasslands before they were abruptly removed from over 99% of the Great Plains,” Ratajczak said...

Read more: https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/kansas-research-shows-reintroducing-bison-on-tallgrass-prairie-doubles-plant-diversity

[axololtls]

IG

[mcromwell]

"Grassland Slinker" 11"x14" markers and acrylic

with special guest stars the turkeys

[sitting-on-me-bum]

European bison (Bison bonasus) standing in grassland at edge of forest at sunset, Bialowieza Forest, Bialowieza National Park, Poland.

Photographer: Mateusz Piesiak