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Disney's Animal Kingdom 256

Check out these animal picture images:


Disney's Animal Kingdom 256
animal picture
Image by Michael Kappel


Disney's Animal Kingdom Park
disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/animal-kingdom/

Picture taken in Orlando Florida at the Walt Disney World Park
View the high resolution image on my photo website
Pictures.MichaelKappel.com


Animals: Lazy cat in Granada
animal picture
Image by Monika Kostera (urbanlegend)
Hello all Flickr Friends! I'm back, I had a lovely holiday and I will be visiting your streams, albeit rather slowly, and posting my pictures - thematically.
First theme: animals

Becoming More Like Alfie

Check out these animal jobs images:


Becoming More Like Alfie
animal jobs
Image by Mark Witton
My housemates don’t quite understand my fondness for darkness. While it probably does my eyes no good at all and has led to more than one stubbed toe, I don’t put many lights on around the house. At best, I’ll put on a few lamps while drawing or reading, but I can’t stand ‘big’ lights. No, they’re too artificial, too orangey and somehow nowhere near as pleasing as genuine sunlight. I’m not one, y’see, for pretending that it’s not dark outside: in fact, there’s something quite comforting about being at home with the dark only held at bay by the localised glow of a little lamp. It’s the same feeling you get when sat indoors as rain lashes against your windows. You know the one: that warm, comfy feeling that’s amplified by the sound of rain peppering the glass and brings a smile to your face every time some poor bugger runs past, soaking wet and miserable, while you’ve got your feet up on the sofa and a cup of coffee in your hands. This means that as the nights draw in and temperatures drop in this October time of year, I’m quite happy to embrace the change. Still, it does mean that we’ve got to wave goodbye to all the summer hobbies and open the box on all the wintery, indoor counterparts. Goodbye snoozing on a lazy common under a clear blue sky, hello lazing on the sofa in front of the telly. Out goes watching bands on the seafront, and in comes piping your favourite tunes through the internet. So long to cycling around town looking as stereotypically French as possible and welcome to... well, actually, that will continue unabated: some things should persist all year, after all.

Of course, our transfer to winter conditions occurs quite slowly, caused by little more than successive subtle changes to rainfall and temperature over many weeks. In this respect, it operates in a similar manner to the classic model of evolution: successive generations of organisms build up incremental changes to their anatomy over time and, eventually, produce something radically different from their ancestors. We don’t see much evidence, certainly in the fossil record, of organisms dramatically changing isolated elements of their anatomy without effects elsewhere: they don’t, generally speaking, suddenly develop an entirely new skull structure or something without showing modification of other body parts. What’s weird, though, is that geneticists have found that genes – and the expression of them - often show signs of clumping together into genetic complexes or ‘modules’ that, in theory, could be modified independently of other modules to produce large changes to an organism’s bodyplan without affecting others. Typically, we don’t see such changes in the fossil record: organisms typically show a whole bunch of ‘advanced’ and ‘primitive’ features scattered across their anatomy, so called ‘mosaic’ evolution.

All this changes today, though. Stepping into the international spotlight is Frank, a new pterosaur from the middle Jurassic of China that combines features of pterodactyloid pterosaurs (classically defined as critters with reduced numbers of openings in their skull; long, simplified neck vertebrae; long bones in the ‘palms’ of their hands; short tails and reduced fifth toes) and their more basal ancestors (defined by the inverse of the criteria listed above). Of course, ‘Frank’ isn’t the animal’s real name: honouring 200 years since Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th year since the publication of The Origin of Species, it’s been christened Darwinopterus; but the moniker ‘Frank’, used by the scientists studying Darwinopterus to refer to the animal while they were thinking up something more grandiose, does reveal something about it’s strange anatomical bauplan. Frank’s anatomy, see, is somewhat akin to the construction of Frankenstein’s Monster, looking like it was bolted together from different pterosaurs. More specifically, the head and neck are classically pterodactyloid, while everything below the neckline is a textbook basal pterosaur. Frank is therefore important for at least two major reasons: it’s the first time in over 200 years of pterosaur research that we’ve gleaned an insight into the transition of pterodactyloids from basal forms, and, perhaps more importantly, it shows that this modular evolution stuff did occur and can be demonstrated in the fossil record. Frank’s discovery has other implications too but, I’m afraid, we don’t have time or space to cover them here. Happily for you though, you lucky dogs, I’ve penned a full summary of how Frank will shatter the world over at the online science magazine Flesh and Stone: why not nip over there and read it now? Just be sure to come back.

Right: got the full lowdown on Frank? Pretty neat, huh? Such an interesting little critter clearly deserves an equally interesting press release image and, presumably because all the other palaeoartists were on holiday or something, Frank’s minders asked me to produce that image for them. I was asked to focus on two things: Frank’s hybrid pterosaur bodyplan and it’s proposed ecology of an aerial predator. I have to admit that this proposed ecology doesn’t sit entirely comfortable with me: it’s not that I’m saying the authors are wrong, but there’s been virtually no research at all into the functional morphology of non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs and, as such, their assumption of things like their poor terrestrial ability lacks backing. What’s more, for all it’s modular innovation, Frank’s anatomy is quite generalised and there’s no features to really suggest it was a specialist aerial predator. That said, a number of birds manage to hawk animals in mid air without specific adaptations for the job, so Frank’s proposed ecology may get through on this technicality. Plus, at least it’s not another suggested fish eater or, God forbid, another proposed skim-feeder, and that should be celebrated. And, undeniably, aerial predation makes for a more exciting PR image than, I don’t know, grubbing for worms.

Frank’s portrait went through quite a few drafts before the version you can see here. The first decision involved deciding on a prey item: if you’re a mid-Jurassic aerial vertebrate predator, your menu will consist of gliding dinosaurs, mammals or other pterosaurs. The obvious choice had to be a dinosaur because, in these cynical times, dinosaur-eating animals tend to get more press interest. Once this was decided, composition had to be considered. Initially, Frank was powering in from the right of the image, mouth agape and wings at the end of their downstroke. The prey item was different, too: rather than the gliding troodontid Anchiornis seen here, Frank was chasing a tiny scansoriopterygid, a group of very birdlike dinosaurs that appear to have been adept climbers. In fact, the first draft of Frank’s image saw Frank about to engulf one of these chaps as it ran up a tree, but my commissioners were dead keen to retain Frank a predator of other aerial animals, so the scansoriopterygid took to the air in a parachuting fashion for the next draft. This version almost became the final draft, but two big changes were then asked for that resulted in the whole thing being started again. Firstly, Frank was found to look much better at the top of the image, looming over his prey with raised wings and using it’s long neck to reach beneath it. Then, re-dating of fossil beds containing Anchiornis gave us the opportunity to jump on the ‘isn’t it cool to have genuine dinobird in the mid-Jurassic’ bandwagon, and gave us a more topical and likely prey item. To begin with, this version had Frank flying directly at the viewer, meaning his chest obscured much of the detail of his anatomy. This didn’t really cut the mustard for showing off Frank’s chimeric characteristics, so he was repositioned again to appear as in a dive. Anchironis, too, once looked more birdlike, but this was toned down to ensure that people recognised it as a dinosaur. Once all this was settled, colouring finally commenced and, in tribute to the cut-n-shut processes taking place around Frank’s neckline, I thought it made sense to have a clear division between the dark basal pterosaur anatomy at the rear and the considerably brighter, funkier pterodactyloid anatomy ahead. Anchiornis was made deliberately bland to contrast with all those dinobird images that have them painted in the same schemes as the most brilliant birds of paradise: I’m sure there were fantastically coloured Mesozoic dinosaurs, but there were probably plenty of dull, brown ones too. I figure that I’m already working on a reputation for making pterosaurs less interesting (they weren’t hyperlightweight, had relatively uninteresting feeding strategies etc...), so I may as well try to make dinobirds boring, too.

Beyond this, a background had to be painted. The Tiaojishan Formation rocks that yielded Frank are much better known for their palaeoflora than fauna, suggesting that it would’ve been very, very green around there 160 million years ago. A lush, vegetated background was clearly needed then, and my initial plan was for the backdrop to be painted with a directional blur. You know, as if the image were a tracking photograph of Frank and his prey that grabbed the animals in focus but blurred the background. However, I opted away from that in favour of experimenting with some depth of field stuff that, with it’s grading into mist and fog, also serves as a subtle nod to old Chinese ink and wash paintings. I think it works. Sort of. That being done at the end of several weeks – maybe even a couple of months – of sketching and redrafting, the image was ready for presentation at the big SVP conference in Bristol last month. I think it’s generally all right, but there are some bits that could be better: Frank looks a little flat and undershaded, and some parts just look unfinished (apologies to the authors – deadlines and all).

And on that note, I’ll finish. Don’t forget to check out Flesh and Stone for more Frank-related goodies if you haven’t already, as well as their other articles on all things science. As for me, this year’s transition from summer to winter has churned up a very nice looking day, so I’m going to have a shower and enjoy the warmth of the sun for a while. Probably while drawing one of the dullest pterosaur fossils in the world. Oh well: can’t have everything.


First snow
animal jobs
Image by Anton Novoselov
(yesterday)

Nice Animal Humane Society photos

Some cool animal humane society images:


NYC Party Animals '08 - Humane Society Legislative Fund
animal humane society
Image by heypatrick
New Yorkers party for animals to benefit Humane Society Legislative Fund - www.hslf.org


NYC Party Animals '08 - Humane Society Legislative Fund
animal humane society
Image by heypatrick
New Yorkers party for animals to benefit Humane Society Legislative Fund - www.hslf.org


NYC Party Animals '08 - Humane Society Legislative Fund
animal humane society
Image by heypatrick
New Yorkers party for animals to benefit Humane Society Legislative Fund - www.hslf.org

Nice Animal Welfare photos

A few nice animal welfare images I found:




101_0435
animal welfare
Image by Pierce Farm Watch
pygmy goat trapped in fencing

Nice Animal Behavior photos

Check out these animal behavior images:


n167_w1150
animal behavior
Image by BioDivLibrary
Cassell's natural history..
London [etc]Cassell & Company, Limited,1896..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24893139


n205_w1150
animal behavior
Image by BioDivLibrary
Cassell's natural history..
London [etc]Cassell & Company, Limited,1896..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24893177


n89_w1150
animal behavior
Image by BioDivLibrary
Cassell's natural history..
London [etc]Cassell & Company, Limited,1896..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24893061

Nice Toy Animals photos

Some cool toy animals images:


taro and his rope toy 6
toy animals
Image by _tar0_
taro shiba playing with a rope toy

taro the shiba with his rope toy on the blog

more of taro the shiba: tar0shiba.tumblr.com/

or follow taro on twitter: twitter.com/_tar0_


taro and his rope toy 9
toy animals
Image by _tar0_
taro shiba playing with a rope toy

taro the shiba with his rope toy on the blog

more of taro the shiba: tar0shiba.tumblr.com/

or follow taro on twitter: twitter.com/_tar0_

Cool Service Animal images

Check out these service animal images:


fleur with bo
service animal
Image by BruceTurner
bo is a service animal of the hearing sort. he alerts his owner when alarms go off or if there's a knock at the door.

Nice Types Of Animals photos

Some cool types of animals images:




a type of crab called guaiamum
types of animals
Image by eltpics
@cecilialcoelho

Cool Toy Animals images

A few nice toy animals images I found:



Autumn Scene - handmade punched oak leaves ~ 3 of 4 photos
toy animals
Image by Urban Woodswalker
...I have pressed and saved / collected so many real leaves, that most of my books have a forest hidden within. I found this lovely paper and I decided it was a whole lot easier and relaxing to punch out these leaves then collect and press real ones. The solid rusty red leaves are actually from Ralph Lauren paint chip samples.

See next photo for story....

Cool Extinct Animals images

A few nice extinct animals images I found:


3D T. Rex, extinct
extinct animals
Image by Lone Primate

Fawn Dilute Chinese Shar Pei Puppy Dog, Aspen, Happy Smiling Tongue Hanging Out

Some cool animals for free images:


Fawn Dilute Chinese Shar Pei Puppy Dog, Aspen, Happy Smiling Tongue Hanging Out
animals for free
Image by Beverly & Pack
This picture is free to use either personal or commerically. Although not required, I'd love a link to how it was utilized, please. Thank you.

Dog pose

Some cool animal humane society images:


Dog pose
animal humane society
Image by adamhgs

Cool African Animals images

Check out these african animals images:



Turtle moving fast for dinner
african animals
Image by jon_a_ross
Our first stop at the zoo on this trip was to the Africian Savannah building. The birds and Giraffes were both very active as the zoo keepers were busy feeding both of them.

A brief trip to the Calgary Zoo (www.calgaryzoo.com).

Nice Animals Photos photos

A few nice animals photos images I found:


Giraffe Mouth
animals photos
Image by Randi Deuro
a giraffes mouth and nose:) (taken with a Nikon D90, 55 mm lens)


Giraffe Eye
animals photos
Image by Randi Deuro
giraffes eye (taken with a Nikon D90, 55 mm lens)

Small Animal Farm - Felted PlayScape

Some cool animals games images:


Small Animal Farm - Felted PlayScape
animals games
Image by Rjabinnik and Rounien
Scene dedicated to those, who love to play...both little ones and biggies - anyone who believes that world is the everlasting game :-)

Magic, facsination, imagination, inspiration, tenderness and all above:love.
Yoke attributes of children and woolfell in my life.
Features that are worth much to saturate child's soul fully with...

Why not come on in and try the personal experience - even in a minor edition :-)


Play the Game
animals games
Image by playthegame.org
Play the Game 2009 in Coventry, UK 8 - 12 June 2009.
Use and abuse of animals in sport. Andrew Byers, Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University.

--
Photos taken at Play the Game 2009 by conference photographer Jens Astrup. This photo is free to download and use for press or other purposes, provided both Play the Game and Jens Astrup are credited. We would very much like to hear where photos are used so please send us your links. Visit our homepage at www.playthegame.org for more information


Play the Game
animals games
Image by playthegame.org
Play the Game 2009 in Coventry, UK 8 - 12 June 2009.
Use and abuse of animals in sport Terri Byers. Principal Lecturer, Sport Management, Coventry University.

--
Photos taken at Play the Game 2009 by conference photographer Jens Astrup. This photo is free to download and use for press or other purposes, provided both Play the Game and Jens Astrup are credited. We would very much like to hear where photos are used so please send us your links. Visit our homepage at www.playthegame.org for more information

Chicken

Check out these animal plant images:


Chicken
animal plant
Image by Ambersky235
Please visit my website www.think-differently-about-sheep.com

In the photograph gallery you will find more photographs not only of sheep but other animals. Also photographs of various subjects sized for desktop wallpaper including sheep and other animals, plants, and scenery.

Cool Exotic Animals images

Check out these exotic animals images:



Market day-27
exotic animals
Image by · · · — — — · · ·

Nice Animals That Are Extinct photos

Check out these animals that are extinct images:



seminolecanyon105
animals that are extinct
Image by mlhradio
Seminole Canyon State Park, Val Verde County, Texas. One of the more remote state parks, tucked into the southwest corner of Texas about an hour's drive west of Del Rio.

This area has been inhabited since the very earliest days that humans set foot in North America, going back nearly 12,000 years - back during the last Ice Age when the land was more verdant with now-extinct animals still roaming the surrounding prairies and forest. But over the millenia, the climate changed to its current, arid desert landscape - and the Indians adapted.

All through these years, the local Indians drew pictograms all over the surrounding canyon walls and caves. In the dry climate, protected by overhanging rock walls, many of these pictograms survived through the ages. Some of the more famous sites, such as the Fate Bell and Panther Cave, are the feature attractions of Seminole Canyon, and can be visited by guided tour through the park.

However, I have not yet visited these sites - instead focusing on other areas of the park. On the first visit (March 9th, 2008), I arrived after the park had closed for the day. I walked along the short 'Windmill Trail', a small loop near the visitor's center. This trail leads down to a small year-round spring and the ruins of a water catchment system that was used by local settlers over the past hundred years.

The return trip (September 27, 2008) was much more fruitful - I chose to hike the Rio Grande River Trail, a six-mile out-and-back loop that leads to the far corner of the park, almost a stone's throw from Old Mexico. With recent rains it was fairly lively and green, with countless butterflies passing through on their annual migration. The trail starts alongside the original 'Loop Trail', the 1882 railroad alignment that was abandoned a decade later when a less strenuous route was forged and the Pecos River High Bridge was built.

The trail itself is pretty boring - a flat, featureless hike across a nondescript desert plain. But the main highlight of the hike quickly comes into view. There is a mile-long spur shooting off to the left called the Pressa Trail, which leads to an overlook looking down at a three-way intersection in the Seminole Canyon below. Here, the waters from Lake Amistad many miles away along the Rio Grande peter out; to the right, the waters are wide and deep, muddied from the recent rainstorms. To the left, the two forks of Seminole Canyon are mostly dry. From the top of the overlook, sheer cliffs lead staight down over a hundred feet to the waters below. The view is, well, *breathtaking* - and worth the trip.

Back on the main trail, a few miles later it comes to an abrupt end at the junction where Seminole Canyon merges with the Rio Grande. The location overlooks the Panther Cave pictograms, on the opposite shore far below, accessible only by boat. To the right, a few hundred yards away, are the hills of Mexico. Here, the water is deeper, the canyons steeper, the chasm wider. An impressive view, although not as amazing as the Pressa Trail overlook.

From here, it is a straight hike back along the south portion of the loop, my only companion a great horned toad trying to hide in the gravel of the trail. I would like to return to this park to take the guided tours, and there are other tours available nearby on private land to other pictogram sites as well. And I am told this park is also fabulous for bird watchers as well.

Cool Animal Pics images

A few nice animal pics images I found:


Random Pics 2010 015
animal pics
Image by pghjen7


Color pics of the new cub!
animal pics
Image by ellenm1
See my photo diary of the cub:

Panda Diary 2009
______________
And a photo diary of Zhen Zhen:
Growing up Panda

Nice use of this image here:
www.sdentertainer.com/lifestyle/son-cloud-san-diego-zoos-...

Nice Animal Species photos

A few nice animal species images I found:


Sloth
animal species
Image by Anomieus
The Vienna Zoo at Schönbrunn is the oldest existing zoo in the world and was voted Europe's best zoo in 2009. Each year more than two million visitors come to see the panda baby, newborn elephants and many other rare animals.

Today the Zoo at Schönbrunn is considered one of the best and most modern zoos in the world. The animal compounds have a particularly generous and natural design. More than 500 animal species - from Siberian tigers and hippos to one-horned rhinoceroses - live here.


Shaded
animal species
Image by Anomieus
The Vienna Zoo at Schönbrunn is the oldest existing zoo in the world and was voted Europe's best zoo in 2009. Each year more than two million visitors come to see the panda baby, newborn elephants and many other rare animals.

Today the Zoo at Schönbrunn is considered one of the best and most modern zoos in the world. The animal compounds have a particularly generous and natural design. More than 500 animal species - from Siberian tigers and hippos to one-horned rhinoceroses - live here.

Nice Wildlife Animals photos

Check out these wildlife animals images:


Various animals living in Button zoanthids (Zoanthus sp.)
wildlife animals
Image by wildsingapore
Sea cucumber and sea anemone?

More about this animal on the wildfacts sheets on wildsingapore.

For a high res version of this photo, please review the details on about using my photos. When making the request, please include this reference: 130623chgfpd7408


Various animals living in Button zoanthids (Zoanthus sp.)
wildlife animals
Image by wildsingapore
Sea cucumber, fan worm? and sea anemone?

More about this animal on the wildfacts sheets on wildsingapore.

For a high res version of this photo, please review the details on about using my photos. When making the request, please include this reference: 130623chgfpd7409

Nice Animal Images photos

Check out these animal images images:


Image 18578.
animal images
Image by Vlad & Marina Butsky
Place: USA/California/Central Coast/Monterey/Breakwater beach
Image 18578.

Cool Types Of Animals images

Check out these types of animals images:




Bizarre Animals
types of animals
Image by nsub1
The isolation of South America for about 75 million years led to the evolution of bizarre animals

Nice Animal Adoption photos

Some cool animal adoption images:



ADOPTED! Theo
animal adoption
Image by Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue
Theo is a calm adult cat who would love a new home with less stress than the shelter life. He is current on shots and is neutered.
Animal Rescue and Adoption Society Denver, Colorado
arascolorado.tripod.com

Nice Animal Sanctuary photos

A few nice animal sanctuary images I found:


Lioness, having a run
animal sanctuary
Image by jsutcℓiffe
At Colorado Wild Animal Sanctuary, www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/

Nice Plush Stuffed Animals photos

A few nice plush stuffed animals images I found:


What, you weren't planning on sitting down were you?
plush stuffed animals
Image by Cryptonaut


Learning About Business
plush stuffed animals
Image by kiewic

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