Tag: Asia
-
Meet the bearded vulture
Last week was International Vulture Awareness Day! And what better way to celebrate than taking a closer look at the prettiest vulture around: the bearded vulture. Bearded vultures (Gypateus barbatus), also known as lammergeiers, are scavenger birds found across southern Europe and Asia. Their typical habitat is at high elevations in mountainous regions; most often,…
-
Meet the sea otter
BREAKING NEWS: At the time of writing, Otter 841 is still at large! Otter 841 is a sea otter stealing surfboards off the coast of Santa Cruz, California. The government has been trying to catch Otter 841 for weeks, but they just can’t get her! Like other members of her species, she seems to be a…
-
Meet the badger
According to the calendar, it’s officially spring! Which means that it’s time to learn more about a spring animal. When I Googled “classic spring animals,” I saw one that surprised me: the badger. I’ve never personally thought of a badger as a springtime animal! But, as I soon learned, this could be because I’m American.…
-
Meet the Irish elk
It’s St. Patrick’s Day! To celebrate, let’s take a look at an absolutely massive animal: the Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus). The Irish elk is one of the largest deer ever, clocking in at around 7 feet tall at the shoulder (the height of an average door frame). Unfortunately, you’ll never be able to see this…
-
Meet Pallas’ cat
It is officially March, and what better way to celebrate than an adorable animal: Pallas’ cat. Pallas’ cats (Otocolobus manul) are small cats that live in rocky, dry regions throughout Central Asia. They get their name from the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas, who first described them in 1776. Pallas’ cats look just like domestic…
-
Meet the flying snakes
I’ve mentioned before how I tend to gravitate toward mammals and birds. But lately, I’ve been wanting to talk about a reptile. More specifically, I’ve been feeling like it’s snake time. But you know how I love birds, so I decided to talk about another creature that can fly: flying snakes. And no, I’m not…
-
Meet the willow ptarmigan
Happy New Year! It’s winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means snow and cold weather. In fact, I went through a blizzard just a few weeks ago in Michigan! That got me thinking about all the animals that are adapted to and thrive in cold weather. So today, let me introduce you to one…
-
Meet the bumblebee
I found a fantastic scientific paper this week that made me so happy. It was about how bumblebees PLAY. Isn’t that just so cute??? I’ll tell you more about this paper and its finding in a second – first, I want to introduce you to the humble bumblebee. Bumblebees (also spelled bumble bee, bumble-bee, and…
-
Meet the European starling
When my partner got home from a Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) concert last week, he asked me if I knew what a murmuration was. I said of course! It’s when a bunch of European starlings fly together. But how did starling murmurations come up in an orchestra concert? Well apparently, the BSO co-commissioned a piece…
-
Meet the Eurasian red squirrel
It’s officially fall! Which means, of course, that winter is right around the corner. This has gotten me thinking about what animals need to do in order to survive the winter. Some, like many birds, migrate to warmer climates; but those animals who don’t migrate must figure out how to deal with the snow and…