Tuesday 29 March 2011

What on Earth?



So, what on Earth is that? A couple of (poor) clues: it's not an extant crocodilian; it was photographed two weeks ago at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam (so it's not likely to be a Deinosuchus or something). Answers as comments or to the usual email address.

Saturday 26 March 2011

Finally, some answers





Answers:
a) African hunting dog (Lycaon pictus) - skull #14
b) grey wolf (Canis lupus) - skull #3
c) cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - skull #8
d) Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) - skull #16
e) aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) - skull #7
f) South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) - skull #5
g) white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) - skull #24
h) binturong (Arctictis binturong) - skull #22
i) Soay sheep (Ovis aries) - skull #17
j) guanaco (Lama guanicoe) - skull #20
k) Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) - skull #10
l) Reeves' muntjac (Muntiacus reevesii) - skull #2
m) white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) - skull #11
n) western hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) - skull #13
o) European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) - skull #18
p) donkey (Equus asinus) - skull #4
q) Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) - skull #9
r) okapi (Okapia johnstoni) - skull #6
s) aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) - skull #1
t) white-crested gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) - skull #23
u) Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum) - skull #12
v) aardvark (Orycteropus afer) - skull #21
w) yellow armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) - skull #19
x) giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - skull #15

The winning entry was by Andrea J., so congratulations! No-one got them all right though, if you did but didn't enter, well done but shame on you. New puzzle coming shortly... um, eventually!

Sunday 20 March 2011

Panthera leo & Panthera tigris & Tremarctos ornatus...

...oh my! Just got back from Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, the last of three zoos I have been to this week, beginning with Artis in Amsterdam, and followed by Diergarden Blijsdorp in Rotterdam. They've all been amazing, and I have seen many species of animal for the first time. A brief list of critters I've seen at these zoos would include: giant anteater, two-toed sloth, common tree shrew, red ruffed lemur, hamadryas baboon, mandrill, Javan lutung, siamang, eastern lowland gorilla, gundi, rock cavy, capybara, Cuban hutia, North American porcupine, coypu, swift fox, African hunting dog, yellow-throated marten, binturong, margay, serval, Asiatic golden cat, Amur leopard, spectacled bear, polar bear, harbour seal, rock hyrax, Asiatic elephant, Indian rhinoceros, Malayan tapir, Grevy's zebra, lesser Malay chevrotain, sika deer, okapi, wisent, American bison, Egyptian rousette, southern cassowary, Darwin's rhea, macaroni penguin, Atlantic puffin, lapwing, ruff, monk vulture, milky eagle owl, emerald hummingbird, great blue turaco, Asian fairy bluebird, false gharial, slender-snouted crocodile, Japanese giant salamander, greater siren, bamboo cat shark... there are loads more. Unfortunately, I missed out on the sea otters at Rotterdam, and the kiwi and genets at Antwerp. Photos to come at some point, if not here, then on my Facebook group.

Monday 14 March 2011

Greetings from Amsterdam

I'm currently in the capital of the Netherlands relaxing after a long day of travelling here from London via Brussels. It's taken nearly ten hours, but I'm now in the hotel where I'll be staying for the next three nights. Tomorrow's plan is to visit the zoo in Amsterdam, commonly known as Artis, as well as the natural history museum and botanic gardens in the same area. Although today was mostly spent in transit, I did get a bit of birdwatching done from my seat in the train from Brussels. Below is a list of birds I saw, including a couple of dubious ones that went just that little bit too quickly...

Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
Greylag goose (Anser anser)
Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Wigeon (A. penelope)
Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)
Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Coot (Fulica atra)
Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Herring gull (Larus argentatus)
Feral pigeon (Columba livia)
Wood pigeon (C. palumbus)
Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Magpie (Pica pica)
Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
Carrion crow (C. corone)

I'm not sure about the hen harrier, as I say, we were moving at a helluva speed, but I'd like to think it was one. Saw many birds on large water bodies, but without bins and at high speed I had no chance of identifying them as anything other than "bird".

That's all for now, dinner beckons...

Friday 11 March 2011

Some more time perhaps...

Oops, I forgot I was supposed to reveal the answers to the quiz a few days ago... I'll attempt to hide that by giving you another week or so to send your answers in. The new closing date will be 21st March.