Zebras at the Waterhole

“Three's a crowd," writes Karen Blackwood of Eagle Eye Safaris in sharing her photo with us from Kruger National Park in South Africa. "As prey animals, zebra are always wary at waterholes. They can't see much with their heads down, nor can they smell predators while drinking. Slaking their thirst is a leap of faith, but there's always one keeping watch, helping to keep the herd-mates safe. Please take a look in full screen for details you might miss at a glance, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we did!" Anyone else seen a zebra in the wild? Thanks, Karen.

Photo by Karen Blackwood at Kruger National Park in South Africa

Photo by Karen Blackwood at Kruger National Park in South Africa

False Eyes of the Spicebush Swallowtail

"Yesterday I found a sapling sassafras with at least a dozen spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) caterpillars on it in all different instars [stages of development]," writes insect expert David Moskowitz in sharing these photos with us from Cape May, New Jersey. "The false eyes of these caterpillars change dramatically between instars and are fantastic. Here they are from what is probably the 2nd instar through the 5th instar. Enjoy!"

Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar photos shared with The Naturalist's Notebook by David Moskowitz

Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar photos shared with The Naturalist's Notebook by David Moskowitz

Have you ever seen this type of caterpillar? Many thanks to David. You can find more of his insect photos, expertise and enthusiasm at https://www.facebook.com/BugAddictionConfessionsOfABugAddi…/.

 

Mountain Goats in Wyoming

“Mountain goats. Beartooth Plateau, Wyoming," writes Jay Anderson in sharing these three photos with us. "Part of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.” These amazingly sure-footed climbers and leapers (able to soar up to 12 feet in a single bound) are not actually goats; they're part of a family that includes gazelles and antelopes. They're able to maneuver on steep slopes in part because their cloven hooves have inner gripping pads and sharp, curved, anti-slipping dewclaws and can be spread apart for traction. The age of a mountain goat can be determined by counting the growth rings on their horns, which they don't shed. Many thanks to Jay for his photos. Have you ever seen or photographed a mountain goat?

The Unseen Gray Tree Frog

“I accidentally put my hand on this gray tree frog while hiking over lichen-covered granite boulders at Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary in Guilford, Maine," writes Jill Osgood in sharing her photo with us. "The cold slimy frog under my hand made me scream, but the frog seemed unfazed. Truly amazing camouflage!”

Photo of gray tree frog by Jill Osgood

In addition to having those lichen-like blotches to hide them, Eastern gray tree frogs can change color to match their surroundings; their scientific name is, appropriately enough, Hyla versicolor. Thanks, Jill. Anyone else encountered a tree frog or other animal so well camouflaged that you've nearly missed it?

Happy Presidential Species Week

In this month of major presidents' birthdays, Connie Tomlinson shared with us her photo of a majestic Roosevelt elk in North Bend, Washington, the home state of Olympic National Park. The park was established as Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909 by the elk's namesake, President Theodore Roosevelt, to protect the elk, which were in steep decline because of widespread logging. Scientifically known as Cervus canadensis roosevelti, the Roosevelt elk is the largest of four sub-species of elk in North America, weighing up to 1,100 pounds. It's one of a number of animal species that bear the names of U.S. presidents, ranging from a wasp named for George Washington (Heterospilus washingtoni) to a crustacean named for FDR (Neomegamphopus roosevelti) to a beetle named for George W. Bush (Agathidium bushi). 

Photo shared with The Naturalist's Notebook by Connie Tomlinson

Teddy Roosevelt (seven species) and Barack Obama (nine, including a spangled darter fish and a Western striolated puffbird) head the list of presidents with the most animal species named for them. With thousands of new living species of all types (not just animals) discovered each year, it's not uncommon for scientists to borrow names for them from famous people. You could have fun traveling the world to try to find the meat-eating jungle plant named for Helen Mirren, the Australian horse fly named for Beyonce, the lemur named for John Cleese, the rabbit named for Hugh Hefner or a fossil of the swamp-dwelling prehistoric animal named for Mick Jagger because of its large lips.

Just for the record, in January of this year, scientists named a newly discovered species of micro-moth found in Southern California "Neopalpa donaldtrumpi," because the yellowish-white scales on its head resembled the new president's hair—and, more important, to call attention to its fragile habitat and what one of the scientists called the "the neglected micro-fauna component of the North American biodiversity."

A Primate Cousin

We've been receiving more and more nature photos and sightings from people around the world lately. Mike Boydstun shared with us this arresting portrait of a long-tailed (or crab-eating) macaque that he took at the Prang Sam Yot temple in Thailand, where these highly intelligent and adaptable Old World monkeys live in large numbers and have become a tourist attraction. 

Photo taken and shared with us by Mike Boydstun, who says, "This smart creature startled the heck out of me when it jumped on my back while I was shooting its cousin. Apparently they are more like us than we sometimes remember. The three local families are known to have skirmishes and battles from time to time."

With 23 species spread from Japan to Gibraltar (even small populations in Florida and South Carolina), macaques are the most widespread primates other than humans. They live in complex and fascinating social hierarchies. Unfortunately for them, they are so closely related to us (93% the same DNA) and so easy to breed and keep in captivity that several of their species—including this long-tailed variety and rhesus macaques, better known as rhesus monkeys—have long been used for human medical and psychological research. The term "rhesus factor" or "Rh factor" (positive or negative) used in describing human blood types comes from research on rhesus macaques. Rhesus macaques were central to Jonas Salk's development of the polio vaccine. They also have served as astronauts; rhesus macaques were sent into space by both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. 

All animal species deserve our deep respect, but macaques are among those that merit special gratitude for their involuntary sacrifices on behalf of us humans. Many thanks to Mike for capturing in his portrait a sense of how similar to us these fellow primates are. (If you're interested in learning more about macaques, one book to consider is "Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World," by Dario Maestripieri.) —Craig Neff and Pamelia Markwood