#indian naturals

[wachinyeya]

https://ktla.com/news/california/goats-unleashed-by-san-manuel-tribe-as-part-of-fire-prevention-strategy/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaaJJAE-Kl55wk4vm1cYc0zjGRUEv8w6ps0HX0z-rxwwa7YXnTDCsgIU2vs_aem_0djT-2NoD-E87Ic6UeeqGw

Firefighting goats have been deployed by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to protect tribal land and neighboring property from potentially devastating brush fires.

The goats are unleashed by the San Manuel Fire Department to eat up dry brush and grass that would normally be ideal fuel for fires — a recent fire was actually partially stopped once it reached an area cleared by the caprine crew earlier this year.

The herd, officials said, is about 400-strong and is made up of generations of goat families.

On Tuesday, the goats were treated to a feast of fruit before being sent on their brush-eating mission.

The goats will spend the next several months trimming and thinning out vegetation on the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Reservation and nearby properties in San Bernardino.

Tribal officials said the brush that covers the hillsides in and around San Manuel property is thriving and diverse, boosted by the recent history-making rainy season. The plant life is an ideal food source because goats prefer food that’s at their eye level.

The Tribe has used goats as a natural, environmentally friendly fire preventative tool since 2019; the plants get trimmed in a sustainable fashion, which allows them to survive and recover naturally overtime unlike most chemical sprays.

Tribal officials called the practice an extension of the Tribe’s “culture of lands stewardship.”

“Caring for the land is a sacred duty of the Tribe,” said Lynn Valbuena, chairwoman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. “Stewardship is a responsibility given to our people by the Creator. No matter who owns the land.”

San Bernardino County residents shouldn’t be surprised to see the goats in the mountains fulfilling this divine task from now through the end of fire season.

[ilovetreesreal]

ghost flowers 💀🎀

[visitheworld]

Kalisan Canyon, Socotra Islands / Yemen (by Kristina Makeeva).

[branchflowerphoto]

perth | western australia

[herpsandbirds]

Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus assasi), family Balistidae, order Tetraodontiformes, found in the Western Indian Ocean

photographs by Renat Vagnotti

[boschintegral-photo]

Indian Fritillary (Argynnis Hyperbius) (F) Kyoto, Japan

[moths-daily]

Moth Of The Day #212

Lily Moth / Indian Lily Moth

Polytela gloriosae

From the noctuidae family. They have a wingspan of about 29 mm. They are found in Sri Lanka and possibly Indonesia.

Image sources: [1] [2]

[riverwindphotography]

Salmon-red Indian paintbrush sway gently in a soft breeze

(c) gif by riverwindphotography, July 2024

[arthistoryanimalia]

#WatercolorWednesday:

Portrait of a Ladakhi Mountain Goat [Changthangi*]

India, Mughal dynasty, c.1601-25

Opaque watercolor, ink, gold on paper

37.9 × 25.6 cm (14 7/8 × 10 1/8 in.)

The Art Institute of Chicago 1919.944: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/76868/portrait-of-a-ladakhi-mountain-goat

🆔 “The Changthangi [aka Changpa, Ladakh Pashmina, Kashmiri] is a breed of cashmere goat native to the high plateaus of Ladakh in northern India. It is closely associated with the nomadic Changpa people of the Changthang plateau….The intense cold of the region causes the goats to grow a thick undercoat, which is harvested to produce the fine pashmina grade of cashmere.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changtha

#IndianArt #SouthAsianArt

[mysticblazeconnoisseur]

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Investigating the Indian Bullfrog

Indian bullfrogs, also known as Hoplobatrachus tigerinus is a large species of frog native to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They are found in many types of freshwater habitat including wetlands, lakes, and urban ponds and rice paddies.

H. tigerinus is one of the larger frog species, weighing anywhere from 0.27 to 0.77 kg (0.6 to 1.7 lb) and measuring about 167 mm (6.60 in) in length; females tend to be larger than males. Outside the breeding season, males and females are virtually identical, with brown or olive green skin and a yellow stripe running down their back. During the breeding season males turn bright yellow, and their vocal sacs turn blue or purple. This bright coloration indicates to females that they're healthy and strong, and the brighter the color the more mates a male will attract.

Breeding for Indian bullfrogs occurs throughout the monsoon season, from July to November. Once they change color, males find a suitable watering hole and begin calling to attract females. After a female chooses a male, other males often attempt to climb on top of the mating pair and insert themselves into the pairing. Once she has finished with her selected mate, the female moves to a quiet area and attaches a clutch of up to 5,000 eggs to underwater vegetation. Several days later the eggs hatch, and tadpoles take several weeks to metamorphose into their adult form. Males reach full maturity in only 10 months, while females take up to two years. Individuals can live up to seven years in the wild.

Outside the mating season, H. tigerinus is nocturnal. They spend most of their time foraging in the leaf litter and brush surrounding their freshwater habitats. Their main diet consists of invertebrates like beetles, worms, and centipedes, and adults will also opportunistically feed on small mammals and birds. Tadpoles are primary predators of mosquito larvae. The main predators of adult Indian bullfrogs are snakes, especially the Asiatic water snake.

Conservation status: The IUCN has rated the Indian bullfrog as Least Concern. They are highly adaptable to urban environments. The species has been introduced in many countries outside its native range, including the Maldives and Madagascar, where it is considered an invasive species.

Photos

Kishan Meena

H. H. Harikrishnan et al.

Danile Nasika

[orofeaiel]

Wildflowers, Olympic National Park

[arc-hus]

House of Concrete Experiments, Alibag, India - Samira Rathod Design Atelier

https://www.srda.co/

[herpsandbirds]

Coconut Crab (Birgus latro), family Coenobitidae, found on islands and some coastal areas in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans

This "crab" is in the terrestrial hermit crab family.

This is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, growing to a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb) and a leg spread of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in).

photograph by luca63 | iNaturalist