wildlifetracker

[wildlifetracker]

DOGE just froze funding to vital Federal and Indigenous conservation programs devoted to supporting the very delicate and tenuous existence of the black-footed ferret.

I fell in love with these animals as a kid traveling to our National Parks. Their rarity and ferocity made me sharply aware, even as a child, of just how much of a responsibility we have toward our environment. I can't bear the thought of them being a fucking casualty of Trump and Musk.

Look at them! They do war dances.

[wildlifetracker]

I saw an otter briefly hop on top of a babirusa at the zoo and when the stranger standing next to me heard my camera shutter click he turned to me with this look of immense relief, put his hand to his chest, and said in a dead serious tone “oh thank christ someone caught that on film”

[wildlifetracker]

A plant I had been hoping to see for years! This is a striped orchid, Corallorhiza striata. There are a few Corallorhiza species where we go hiking in Washington State, but this one is one of the less common to see. You're more likely to spot C. maculata or C. mertensiana, called spotted and Pacific coralroots, respectively. I found this one on the Olympic Peninsula while backpacking up the Elwha.

Corallorhiza orchids, the coralroots, are mycoheterotrophic, meaning they parasitize mycorrhizal fungi instead of using photosynthesis like most plants. This means they'll just die if someone tries to cultivate them, which is honestly probably a good thing, given how threatened orchids are by poaching.

[wildlifetracker]

[facebook] [zootaxa] [novataxa]

[wildlifetracker]

Bonus Photo of the Day: the face of a reindeer who was assured there would be apples.

Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use this and all photos in the repository as references, including works that will/may be sold.

The Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository is an independent, permanently open-access project and funded entirely by donations, please consider contributing if you can!

** Patreon** -- **Ko-Fi**

[wildlifetracker]

Melanocetus johnsonii specimen found 2 km off the coast of Tenerife while a group of researchers were observing pelagic sharks. It is currently unknown why the specimen was so close to the surface, being that anglerfish normally live in the bathypelagic and mesopelagic zones (200-2000 meters deep)

[wildlifetracker]

Aloe marlothii

Winter is a great time of year for South African aloes, and Aloe marlothii is one of the standouts. Unlike the somewhat similar Aloe ferox, it has racemes of flowers that angle to the side instead of being erect. The flower color for A. marlothii is usually yellow to orange, and this one is more on the orange side. It is a relatively abundant species in the northeastern part of South Africa.

-Brian

[wildlifetracker]

[wildlifetracker]

Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes burrovianus) © Anthony Batista

[wildlifetracker]

It's time for Trilobite Tuesday! While fossilized trilobites are commonly seen as single individuals, these critters were highly social animals—gathering together to mate, molt, or feed. On occasion, fossils will be unearthed featuring dozens of trilobites inhabiting a single slab. This Devonian specimen from New York, featuring many overlapping Eldredgeops trilobites, is a prime example. These small marine arthropods measure 0.8 to 1.2 in (2 to 3 cm) in length.

[wildlifetracker]

Wood sorrel/harsyra. Ålsjön nature reserve. Hälsingland, Sweden (May 18, 2024).

[wildlifetracker]

Another parasitic plant - Sugarstick (Allotropa virgata)

[wildlifetracker]

Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus igniventris), male showing off to other gay tanagers, family Thraupidae, order Passeriformes, Colombia

photograph by Doug Greenberg

[wildlifetracker]

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), winter plumage, family Calcariidae, order Passeriformes, Hamworthy Poole, UK

photograph by Tina Dawkins

[wildlifetracker]

the wildlife photographer of the year peoples choice award is always fun

there's a stoat hiding in that last one

source - go check out the rest of the awards too, they're really incredible