This video shows a red squirrel in a forest in the Netherlands. Irma Kion made this video.
Three years ago, a rope bridge was made between the Amstelpark and the Amsterdamse Bos forest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Before that wildlife bridge came, many red squirrels had been killed crossing the busy road.
Now, the squirrels use the bridge. No roadkill animals have been found there any more.
Green Sea Turtle, Big Island, Hawaii
The green sea turtle is the most common turtle found in the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians call this ancient reptile honu.
Chelonia mydas can be found in many tropical places around the world. Although they are titled “green” they are not that color. The turtle’s color varies depending on where they are in the world, and/or what stage of life they are in. Their name originates from the green-colored fat beneath its carapace (shell).
Although their conservation status is listed as endangered, they are easy to spot in the Hawaiian Islands. Primarily vegetarian, their diet is kelp and algae, and can be seen foraging on land and sea.
Hunting, poaching, fishers’ nets, pollution, and habitat destruction contribute to the sea turtle’s demise, but there are also many protective laws and organizations dedicated to this creature’s survival. Green sea turtle overview here.
They are…
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Farmers harvest sesame in Syria. PHOTO: JIM RICHARDSON
The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. It aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions. According to scientists, soil is being eroded faster than that the Earth can replace it. So the next time the words ‘dirt cheap’ come up, think again and take not the soil below your feet for granted.
Dirt is not only rare, but it’s complicated. To the uninitiated, dirt may look like grubby generic mush, but actually it has character, individuality, and a taxonomy all its own. Soil scientists recognize twelve major orders of dirt, each divided into suborders, groups, subgroups, families, and series, according to its various allotments of minerals and organic matter. Each dirt has a pedigree. Furthermore, dirt is proactive. It’s not an inert blanket; it’s a dynamic entity.
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“Raising animals for food consumption uses 30% of the world’s water, 45% of the world’s land, and is responsible for 91% of the destruction of the rain forest. Among these shocking figures, animal agriculture is also the leading cause of the oceans dead zones, the leading cause of habitat destruction and the leading cause of species extinction.” More: www.collective-evolution.com
GR: Worth repeating.
Everyone knows the fastest land animal in the world is the cheetah, but not everyone knows the second fastest animal in the world is the North American Pronghorn Antelope. Pronghorns can run up to 55 mph for .5 miles. They can run 35 mph for up to 4 miles. In fact, they can run at high speeds for more sustained periods than African Cheetahs.
This is a puzzling ability because no predator in North America can run fast enough to catch a pronghorn, so why is it necessary for pronghorns to run this fast?
Biologists believe that pronghorns evolved to run these speeds in order to evade the now extinct American Cheetah.
During the Pleistocene era, there were twelve species of pronghorns in North America. By the time humans settled on the continent there were five.
We are now left with one remaining species. Pronghorns are in fact not antelopes…
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If you don’t look carefully you’ll miss them. They are quietly munching all around the Tetons. Once, a long time ago, I was skiing here, and came upon a moose! Unlike a boulder it MOVED, and I had to dodge it!
You have to watch or you’ll walk right by and not even see them,
which is what happened with this mama moose!
After she finished eating, she called her calf,
and off they ran, away from us.
You gotta keep your eyes open in Teton National Park.
Beauty is everywhere.
Cheers to you from the loose moose of Jackson Hole~
Art, animals, and the earth 