Wildlife – Page 48 – Syndication Server

Masters of camouflage: Can you spot the snow leopards?

Snow leopards possess a remarkable ability to blend into their surroundings, which helps them stalk sheep and other prey.

The image atop this post, captured by Mike Watson during a recent Wild Images Phototours expedition to Ladakh, India, shows one of the big cats maneuvering down a cliff face.

While it’s not incredibly difficult to spot, earlier images captured by expedition leaders Inger Vandyke and Mark Beaman show why snow leopards are often referred to as the “grey ghosts of the mountains.”

Their images accompany this post and, for readers who want to test their locating skills, we’ve presented the more challenging images a second time below with the animals circled in red (enlarging photos might help).

Watson captured the top image on March 8 near Saspotsay Village, Ladakh, before COVID-19 travel restrictions were put in place.

Vandyke and Beaman captured some of their images during a 2015 Wild Images expedition to Hemis National Park, also in Ladakh. The park is considered one of the world’s premier destinations for observing wild snow leopards.

The photographers were astonished to spot five snow leopards, and were in awe at how quickly the animals seemed to vanish before their eyes.

“Snow leopards camouflage themselves so well that they can turn their back on you and literally disappear into their landscape,” Vandyke said. “When I look back at my photographs I often wonder how many we might have walked past in the field and simply didn’t see them.”

She credited local guides for helping to spot the leopards, explaining, “The Ladakhis are incredible in this way. Some of them spotted snow leopards, then tried to point them out to us, and it took us several minutes to train our vision to see them.”

Some of Vandyke’s images show a snow leopard before and during an unsuccessful ambush of a Himilayan blue sheep.

“Seven out of eight snow leopard hunts fail and we tried desperately to sit and hide so we wouldn’t interrupt his hunt,” she said. “We wanted him to be successful so he could enjoy some food.”

Vandyke added that witnessing the attack was a high point of her career as a photographer.

“That encounter was, and will probably always be, one of the the most incredible experiences I’ve had with a wild animal in my life,” she said. “I was shaking at the end of it.

“Of course, this was partly because I was cold from sitting for hours in the ice while all this transpired, but I was also shaking because I couldn’t believe what we had just witnessed.”

–Images were used with permission from the U.K.-based Wild Images Photography Tours

Elk joins ‘howl at moon’ pandemic ritual—or did it?

People with cabin fever in the Colorado town of Evergreen started a tradition of howling at the moon at 8 pm each night. Did an elk join in?

People with cabin fever in the Colorado town of Evergreen started a ritual of howling at the moon at 8 o’clock each night as a means of bringing people together during the coronavirus pandemic, but one night an elk chimed in.

CBS Denver reported the “howl at the moon” activity, and a discernible bugling call of an elk can be heard in the background. But skeptics wonder if the news station got punked, because elk typically bugle during the rut from September to October.

But others say elk can bugle year-round so it could very well have been an elk joining the party.

For humans wanting to join the howl and join others online who howl, a “Go outside and Howl at 8 p.m.” Facebook group page has been created.

Or you can simply go outside at 8 o’clock every night and howl to your heart’s content.

Photo courtesy of Bill Schaefer/Getty Images.

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Also on FTW Outdoors: Watch ice fisherman pull a 50-pound fish through tiny hole

Fighting mice in subway is a winning shot

A photo capturing two mice fighting over a food crumb won the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year LUMIX People’s Choice award.

Entitled “Station Squabble,” a photo capturing two mice fighting over a food crumb in London’s Underground was chosen from more than 48,000 images as the winner of the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year LUMIX People’s Choice award.

Sam Rowley of Bristol, England, visited multiple subway platforms every night for a week, laying in wait for the perfect shot. His patience paid off when two mice battled over a leftover crumb, the encounter lasting only a split-second before one ran off a winner.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. Rowley’s entry garnered 28,000 votes from nature photography fans in the worldwide contest now in its 55th year. Entries came from more than 100 countries.

“I’m so pleased to win this award,” Rowley said in the museum’s news release. “It’s been a lifetime dream to succeed in this competition in this way, with such a relatable photo taken in such an everyday environment in my hometown. I hope it shows people the unexpected drama found in the most familiar of urban environments.”

Said Sir Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum: “Sam’s image provides a fascinating glimpse into how wildlife functions in a human-dominated environment.”

Added Mike Owen, Professional Imaging marketing manager from Panasonic LUMIX UK, “Incredible photography is a combination of patience, luck and skill – Sam has managed the rare feat of pulling all three together in this single shot. The simultaneously recognizable and unknown world Sam has captured draws the viewer into the image. It makes me stop and do a double take, seeing something new every time I look at it.”

Four other photos earned “Highly Commended” LUMIX People’s Choice Awards:

“Losing the fight” by Aaron Gekoski, U.K./Wildlife Photographer of the Year

“Orangutans have been used in degrading performances at Safari World, Bangkok – and many other locations – for decades. The shows were temporarily stopped in 2004 due to international pressure, but today the shows continue – twice a day, every day – with hundreds of people paying to watch the orangutans box, dance, play the drums and more.”

“Spot the reindeer” by Francis De Andres, Spain/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

“The conditions for photographing at the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard are extreme, but wildlife has adapted to the environment and its freezing temperatures. Francis found this composition of white arctic reindeer, which were observing him, both curious and charming.”

“Matching outfits” by Michel Zoghzoghi, Lebanon/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

“Michel was in the Pantanal, Brazil photographing jaguars. One afternoon, as he was on the Três Irmãos River, a mother and her cub crossed right in front of his boat. He watched mesmerized as they left the water holding an anaconda with a very similar pattern to their own.”

“The surrogate mother” by Martin Buzora, Canada/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

“Elias Mugambi is a ranger at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya. He often spends weeks away from his family caring for orphaned black rhinos like Kitui here. The young rhinos are in the sanctuary as a result of poaching or because their mothers are blind and cannot care for them safely in the wild.”

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.

Also on FTW Outdoors:

Spearfisherman dragged out to sea by great white shark

Shark affects world-famous yacht race

Hunter acts fast when charged by mountain lion

How many African lions can you spot in this photo?

David Bough was observing buffalo standing in a shallow river during a recent trip to South Africa, when the animals became agitated.

David Bough was observing buffalo standing in a shallow river during a recent trip to South Africa when the animals suddenly became agitated. The photographer trained his camera on the riverbank and discovered that lions were hiding in tall grass, sizing up the buffalo.

The U.K. resident, who was visiting Kruger National Park, shared one of his images to the South African National Parks group Facebook page and asked, “How many lions in this photograph?” in what became a popular post.

(The image appears twice atop this post and the answer is detailed below and revealed in the bottom image. Viewers can save and enlarge the top images for a closer look.)

Bough, who was vacationing at Crocodile Bridge Safari Lodge, captured several images of this dramatic confrontation between predators and prey.

The photographer told FTW Outdoors that he was standing on an observation deck and half-expected a visit from the Vurhami lion pride, which often hunts near the lodge.

The buffalo had been cooling themselves in the river for at least an hour before sensing trouble.

“I grabbed my camera, which I always kept handy on the observation deck, and scanned the bank,” Bough said. “Sure as eggs is eggs, there were the Vurhami gang watching from the reeds.”

The buffalo grouped together in a defensive posture before rushing across the river. Bough lost sight of the lions, temporarily, as they retreated into the reeds.

Eventually, though, the buffalo circled back downstream “and two of them charged into the reeds, scattering the lions, who decided that discretion was the better part of valor and hightailed it out of harm’s way,” Bough said. “It was a great sighting.”

As for the image featured in the quiz, viewers might spot one lion at first glance, then another, and possibly another. But the fourth lion – there are only four, according to Bough – is more difficult to locate.

Bough hinted that the fourth lion is mostly hidden: “You can only see an ear and a spot of the eye.”

All four lions are circled in black in the bottom image.

Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest and most popular game reserves, is located in northeastern South Africa. Visitors can observe lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffaloes, as well as a vast array of other mammals and birds.

How to Help the Animals Affected by Australia’s Wildfires

How to Help the Animals Affected
by Australia’s Wildfires.
Australia has been dealing with some of the
continent’s worst wildfires since September.
The fires have already wiped out 30% of the koala population and are expected to worsen as temperatures rise.
Here are a few ways to help
the animals fleeing the fires.
Donate to WIRES, New South Wales Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc. is actively seeking donations.
Leave water out, If you’re in the area, leaving shallow bowls of water out for fleeing
animals and birds helps.
Contribute to the
World Wildlife Fund, The WWF is preparing to restore homes and care for affected wildlife.
Get involved with a
GoFundMe for koalas, A campaign was started to aid the efforts of the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
in rehydrating the koalas and treating their burns