Two deer stand on a bridge in floodwaters of the Elbe river in Schoenhausen, Germany. Disastrous floods in Germany began to subside Wednesday after leaving at least 19 people dead in central Europe, as Chancellor Angela Merkel prepared to make her fourth visit to the stricken region. (Christian Charisius/Getty Images)
poor little ones ;_;
(via dame-mjrn)
African Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides typus)
Also known as the Harrier Hawk or Gymnogene, the African harrier-hawk is a bird-of-prey native to Africa south of the Sahara. Unlike other hawk species the diet of African harrier-hawk’s diet is quite varied ranging from small mammals, birds, fledglings, insects, eggs, carrion and oil-palm fruit. They are also noted for hunting their prey in trees and rock faces, and can often be seen hanging from tree limbs in their search for foods. They also have very flexible legs and can bend them forward and backwards at large angles, allowing them to reach food that would otherwise be inaccessible. During the breeding season, like other hawks, the African harrier-hawk will preform an aerial courtship ritual which usual consists of the male and female locking claws and performing a circling display flight.
Phylogeny
Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Falconiformes (Accipitriformes)-Accipitridae-Polyboroides-radiatus
Missouri -Listening White Tailed Deer on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
photo by Robert Charity
Wobbly Gerenuk Gets a Push From Mom at the Phoenix Zoo
This spring, the Phoenix Zoo welcomed two new members to its Gerenuk herd. The first calf, a female, was born in April while the second, a male, was born in late May. The calves and their moms are doing well. During the first weeks of their lives, baby Gerenuk spend most of their time hiding amongst the bush while their mothers feed close by.
See more photos, plus a video of the calf being born and taking its first steps, at ZooBorns!
![matthen:
Is this a new way of bringing the Mandelbrot set to life? Each number on the complex plane, c, is repeatedly squared to give a new value, and then added to the original value c. This gives a path for each c that takes it around the plane. Those that don’t run off to infinity are in the Mandelbrot set. This animation allows the c to move along its path, and colours the plane at the starting position c with the colour of the plane at the end of the path. The plane is coloured so it is black everywhere with a rainbow disk in the centre [so at time 0, when the points haven’t started moving, we just see the rainbow disk]. As time progresses, after a series of bifurcations and pulsing beats, we see the familiar Mandelbrot set take form. [code] [more]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/6a3895303d832d2155178625513b6383/tumblr_molgcgdWRn1qfg7o3o1_250.gif)
Is this a new way of bringing the Mandelbrot set to life? Each number on the complex plane, c, is repeatedly squared to give a new value, and then added to the original value c. This gives a path for each c that takes it around the plane. Those that don’t run off to infinity are in the Mandelbrot set. This animation allows the c to move along its path, and colours the plane at the starting position c with the colour of the plane at the end of the path. The plane is coloured so it is black everywhere with a rainbow disk in the centre [so at time 0, when the points haven’t started moving, we just see the rainbow disk]. As time progresses, after a series of bifurcations and pulsing beats, we see the familiar Mandelbrot set take form. [code] [more]
(via imagineatoms)
Jumping dhole! by RickardSjödén on Flickr.
Deer field by Stroutshots. (via All sizes | Red Deer | Flickr - Photo Sharing!)
Before this catches on with miserable adult babies reblogging to only add “KILL IT WITH FIRE” or some other idiotic, unfunny meme:
This is a mature female spider of the Nephila genus. I’m not sure the exact species, but members of this genus are also known as “golden silk orb weavers.” Their yellow-orange silk can be used to make golden cloth, like in this tapestry.
The bite of a Nephila isn’t serious. Wikipedia describes the worst case scenario - localized pain or a more severe allergic reaction - but most bitten will only experience a little itching. Like any spider, they only bite in self defense or when forcibly pressed against skin, and these big females are especially docile. I’ve held a related species on two occasions, they don’t scare very easily.
They’re so laid back, in fact, and so insistent on remaining in the same web, that these are the spiders some cultures have used as mosquito guards, deliberately setting them up to spin webs in open windows or over the top of a baby’s crib.
WOW @ the tapestry
