Gordon Grice's Blog, page 108

Butterflies and Moths of Wisconsin

It's summer in Wisconsin, which means the butterflies and moths are looking good. D'Arcy tells me that she spotted one at the bank the other day and just had to capture it, no matter how difficult the shot. An employee came out to ask her whether she needed an ambulance.

D'Arcy knew the names of all the ones in the slide show, but the one below is still a mystery. Anybody recognize it?

Lepidoptera of Wisconsin, photographed by D'Arcy Allison-Teasley. Courtesy of...

Grizzly Bear Up Close

Minnesota photographer and animal lover Wayne Allison took hundreds of animal photos in the late 20th century. Courtesy of D'Arcy Allison-Teasley at www.taltoshorsetribe.blogspot.com/.

Grizzly kills man at Yellowstone

A grizzly bear that had been tranquilized, collared for research, and released killed a 70-year-old man near the entrance to Yellowstone Park. Officials killed the bear. DNA tests have confirmed it was the one that killed botanist Erwin Frank Evert.
This article from the Billings Gazette mentions the interesting role wind may have played in the attack. It doesn't mention that being tranquilized can in itself make a bear more aggressive than usual. We may never know whether that was an...

Man-eaters in my email

I often get email forwards making preposterous claims about animals. Recently my mom sent me one that purports to sort the true from the fake. Unfortunately that email didn't cite its sources, so I'm not sure how many of its "real" ones to believe.
Anyway, here are a few impressive photos culled from forwards. I'll limit myself to the crocodilians today.


According to Snopes.com, this is a 13-foot American alligator that had been living in a drainage ditch behind someone's house in Texas.



Here'...

A Cry in the Night

A sudden sobbing in the night. After a shocked pause, the dogs of the neighborhood began to bay. I recognized the voice of the yellow Labrador across the street; other dog voices spread out into the distance, like ripples from a dropped stone. The sobbing did not stop. It was a liquid clatter, its tempo rising and falling, but always loud.
It roused my wife and me from our midnight drowse. The windows were open to the cool. The moon was already high enough to shine in the west window; I had...

Video: Pelican Eats Pigeon

It turns out animals sometimes eat other animals. To judge from the comments I've heard people make about this video, that information is brand new.
Pelicans are a minor danger to people: Like other large birds, they sometimes collide with aircraft and land vehicles, causing collisions.

Of Wolves and Bison

I recently came across this passage by the 19th Century painter George Catlin. It's a vivid depiction of the brutal relations among bison, wolves, and people. Catlin feared the extinction of both the bison and the Plains Indian cultures. It didn't occur to him to worry about the wolves.

The white wolves follow the herds of buffalo from one season to another, glutting themselves on the carcasses of those that fall by the deadly shafts of their enemies, or linger with disease or old age to be...

Starfish and Nemertean Worms Go Scavenging

Gorgeous but gruesome footage of life beneath the Antarctic ice. If you'd prefer to sea it without Oprah's hammy voice-over, here's a version narrated by David Attenborough.

10 Places to See Some Cool Wildlife Near (or in) Your Home

My kids and I tested all these ideas in the field:
1. Down by the water. Here, for example, is a dobsonfly, over three inches long and armed with fangs bigger than a tarantula's. Just one of many eerie sights available only in the neighborhood of running water.
2. Beside the road. Roads, especially highways, are a great place to see wildlife because so many things get squished there. Nocturnal animals like badgers, armadillos, and opossums aren't likely to show themselves anywhere else...

Animal Attacks: The Crocodiles of Kenya

In Kenya, attacks by Nile crocodile are on the rise in at least one village. This article from the Daily Nation tells the stories of two families devastated by loss of loved ones.

The Nile crocodile may be the predator most likely to eat a human being these days. This earlier post shows the aftermath of a dust-up between keeper and zoo specimen. Beware: it's gruesome.