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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Photograph by STEVEN J. O’BRIEN
Hybridization among the big cats, including the tiger, was first conceptualised in the 19th century, when zoos were
particularly interested in the pursuit of finding oddities to display for financial gain. Lions have been known to breed
with tigers to create hybrids called ligers and tigons.
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Photograph by mamapajama97
Like other big cats, tigers have a white spot on the backs of their ears. These spots, called ocelli, serve a social
function, by communicating the animal’s mental state to other tigers in the gloom of dense forest or in tall grass
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Photograph by RICHARD
There is a well-known mutation that produces the white tiger, technically known as chinchilla albinistic, an animal which
is rare in the wild, but widely bred in zoos due to its popularity. Breeding of white tigers will often lead to inbreeding
(as the trait is recessive).
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Photograph by EDGAR THISSEN
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Photograph by Photo505 – Online Photo Effects
Mating can occur all year round, but is generally more common between November and April. The gestation period
is 16 weeks and the litter size usually consists of around 3–4 cubs of about 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) each, which are born
blind and helpless.
Photograph by KENDRA COWDEN
The females rear the cubs alone, sheltering them in dens such as thickets and rocky crevices. The father of the cubs
generally takes no part in rearing them.
Photograph by Reonis
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Tigers appear on many flags and coats of arms, as mascots for sporting teams, and as the national animal of several
Asian nations, including India.
Photograph by PAUL BUXTON
The size of a tiger’s home range mainly depends on prey abundance, and, in the case of male tigers, on access to
females. A tigress may have a territory of 20 square kilometres, while the territories of males are much larger,
covering 60–100 sq km. The range of a male tends to overlap those of several females.
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Photograph by NEIL SALONGA
India is home to the world’s largest population of tigers in the wild. According to the World Wildlife Fund, of the 3,500
tigers around the world, 1,400 are found in India.
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Photograph by Natalie Manuel
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Photograph by Ken from MD
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Puyehue Volcano, Chile – Photograph by CLAUDIO SANTANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
]
Last year's photographs from the volcanic eruption in Chile stirred up memories from the disruptive volcano in Iceland as well as the incredible
undersea volcano in Tonga the year prior. When volcanoes erupt, it’s a startling reminder to the awesome and terrifying power of Nature.
From enormous plumes of ash to spewing lava and the menacing look of volcanic lightning, eruptions are a nature photographer’s dream.
Here is a collection of the most incredible photographs of volcanic eruptions both past and present. Enjoy!
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Cleveland Volcano, Alaska – May 23, 2006
Photograph by NASA
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THE THREE-TIERED WATERFALL OF BAATARA GORGE
The Baatara gorge waterfall (Balaa gorge waterfall) is a waterfall in the Tannourine, Lebanon. The waterfall drops 255 metres (837 ft) into the Baatara Pothole, a cave of Jurassic limestone located on the Lebanon Mountain Trail. Discovered in 1952 by French bio-speleologist Henri Coiffait, the waterfall and accompanying sinkhole were fully mapped in the 1980s by the Speleo club du liban. The cave is also known as the “Cave of the Three Bridges.”Traveling from Laklouk to Tannourine one passes the village of Balaa, and the “Three Bridges Chasm” is a five-minute journey into the valley below where one sees three natural bridges, rising one above the other and overhanging a chasm descending into Mount Lebanon. During the spring snow melt, a 90–100-metre (300–330 ft) cascade falls behind the three bridges and then down into the 250-metre (820 ft) chasm. A 1988 fluorescent dye test demonstrated that the water emerged at the spring of Dalleh in Mgharet al-Ghaouaghir. [Source: Wikipedia]
via missakassim on Panoramio.com
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THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS
Wise, inquisitive, skeptical; whatever comes to mind when you see this striking elder frog it certainly grabs your attention. What we do know is that it is a Phyllomedusa sauvagii, commonly known as the Waxy Monkey Leaf Frog, belonging to the subfamily of South and Central American leaf frogs that inhabits the Chaco (dry prairie) of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.Males and females range from about 2 to 3 inches in length, with the females usually about 25% larger than males. They move by walking rather than hopping, which is the reason for the “monkey” in their name. [Source: Wikipedia]Unfortunately the comments on Reddit nor a reverse image search on Google and Tineye revealed the source of this photograph. If you know who captured this fantastic shot, please advise in the comments.
via opoipo on Reddit
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THE INCREDIBLE HAMILTON POOL NATURE PRESERVE
Although we’ve already featured this incredible place as the Picture of the Day on October 3, 2011, this second shot also by the talented Dave Wilson was too good to pass up. Offering a completely different yet equally dramatic view of the Hamilton Pool, find out more about this amazing place below.Located approximately 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Austin, Texas, the Hamilton Pool Preserve is a historic swimming hole which was designated a preserve by the Travis County Commissioner’s Court in 1990. Located 3/4 mile upstream from its confluence with the Pedernales River, Hamilton Creek spills out over limestone outcroppings to create a 50 foot waterfall as it plunges into the head of a steep box canyon. The waterfall never completely dries up, but in dry times it does slow to a trickle.The pool’s water level however, stays pretty constant even during periods of drought. The preserve is home to the Golden-Cheeked Warbler, and a great variety of other birds. The diverse vegetation of Hamilton Pool ranges from semi-arid species in the uplands to riparian species in the canyon. The uplands of the preserve are a juniper and oak savannah with a variety of native grasses and wildflowers. Several rare plant species including canyon mock-orange, red bay (western-most colony of this eastern species), and chatter box orchid are known to occur in the canyon areas along Hamilton Creek.A unique natural area surrounds this pool, collapsed grotto and canyon, formed by thousands of years of water erosion. Lush plant communities, a variety of wildlife species and natural shelter attracted the area’s first inhabitants. Cultural remains date back over 8,000 years.
[Source: Travis County Gov]
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I don’t know too much about these trailers that look like miniature cars except that they are: a little bizarre, don’t actually have much storage
capacity, but definitely grab your attention. And maybe that’s enough, I’m not sure; but the Internet has documented this phenomenon and it
has culminated in this list of 16 miniature car trailers. One can only assume that the owners of these trailers are a fun group of people!Oh and
there’s a nice bonus at the end that is quite awesome, enjoy!
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.
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The 65-Foot (20m) Snow Corridor in JapanThe Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is an international mountain sightseeing route some 90 kilometers (56 miles) long. The route goes across
the 3,000-meter-high North Alpine mountains, the so-called “roof of Japan,” and connects Toyama and Shinano Omachi. You can enjoy the
panorama by taking a train, highland bus, trolley bus, cable car, and ropeway. Since the lines opened in June 1971, the Tateyama mountain
area has been transformed from an isolated spot into one of the nation’s best sightseeing areas, where a million guests visit every year
.Murodo-daira of Tateyama has one of the heaviest snows in the world, and the snow reaches about seven meters (23 ft) on average.
In particular, the snow mantle at Otani, a five-minute walk from Murodo Station, sometimes gets more than 20 meters (65.6 ft) because of
snowdrifts. The famous “Snow Walls” are formed by expelling this heavy snow, and the 500-meter-long area with such snow walls is open to
sightseers from mid-April to late May. [Source: Japan National Tourism Organization]
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
THE LARGEST RAFT OF CANOES AND KAYAKS IN THE WORLD
On September 24, 2011, over 2,200 paddlers showed up on the shores of the central Adirondack town of Inlet, New York (population, 400) to
set a new Guinness World Record previously held by 1,619 boats in Pittsburgh. The official tally was 1,902 boats, forming the largest raft of
canoes/kayaks in the world.The event, called ‘the One Square Mile of Hope‘, was organized by Connie Perry, and the initiative helped raise
over $80,000 towards Breast Cancer research. Not all of 1,902 boats can be seen in this incredible aerial photograph by Nancie Battaglia.
Last edited by Spin_Drift; 04-21-2012 at 03:42 PM.
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
THE THROAT OF FIRE ERUPTS IN ECUADOR
This incredible capture by photographer Patrick Taschler was featured on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on April 2, 2012. In it we see
the Volcano Tungurahua in Ecuador erupting in spectacular fashion. Molten rock pours down the sides of the 5,000-meter high Tungurahua,
while a cloud of dark ash is seen being ejected toward the left. Wispy white clouds flow around the lava-lit peak, while a star-lit sky shines in
the distance. The above image was captured in 2006 as ash fell around the adventurous photographer. Located in Ecuador, Tungurahua has
become active roughly every 90 years for the last 1,300 years.For a dramatic recount of how Patrick got this shot, head over to Summitpost.org
to see the original description.Tungurahua, (from native language Quichua meaning tunguri (throat), rahua (fire): “Throat of Fire”) is an active
stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity
restarted in 1999, and is ongoing as of 2011, with major eruptions on 16 August 2006, 6 February 2008, 28 May 2010, 4 December 2010 and
26 April 2011.Tungurahua (5,023 m) is located 140 kilometres (87 mi) south of the capital Quito. With its elevation of 5,023m, Tungurahua just
over tops the snow line (about 4,900 m). Tungurahua’s top is snow covered and did feature a small summit glacier which melted away after the
increase of volcanic activity in 1999. [Source: Wikipedia]
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
SNOW CHAPEL IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Radek Campa took this stunning photograph of the snow-covered chapel of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, located in the village of Trojanovice in
the Czech Republic (population of 2,237 as of 2009). Trojanovice lies beneath the Beskydy mountains of Norici 1047 m., Radhost 1129 m. and
Velky Javornik 918 m.It was established as a grazing settlement in 1748 by the Olomouc Bishop and Cardinal Ferdinand Julius Troyer (1698-1758).
It is now a popular winter and summer tourism resort. The chapel itself was erected in 1898 after two years of construction. [Source: trojanovice.cz]
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ELEPHANT HERD IN CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
This beautiful photograph was apparently captured at the Patara Elephant Farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Patara is currently ranked as
the #1 attraction in Chiang Mai on Trip Advisor with an average 5 star rating from 699 reviews.
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S/V ORCA 38' Herreshoff Ketch
Wow, these are great, thanks!
Gerard>
Everett, WA
Il colore del cielo, la forza del mare.