Back yard critters

lunch?

cellfish and you call mojoe disgusting :p :LOL:;),,,,,,,,but i must say real nice :),,,,,,what are you fishing for on the beach?,,,,,,,,,,,,[COLOR=rgb(26, 188, 156)]><)))):>

cellfish and you call mojoe disgusting :p :LOL:;),,,,,,,,but i must say real nice :),,,,,,what are you fishing for on the beach?,,,,,,,,,,,,[COLOR=rgb(26, 188, 156)]><)))):>

Red Snapper….

Red Snapper….

yeah right mr cell ?,,,,,snapper!!!!!!!! ?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,[COLOR=rgb(26, 188, 156)] ><)))):>

Saw the errant Steller's Sea Eagle today. He flew over me as I was pulling out of my driveway. That is one bigazz bird...

Saw the errant Steller's Sea Eagle today. He flew over me as I was pulling out of my driveway. That is one bigazz bird...

Awesome

Finally saw a coyote today walking out of my neighbor's driveway. I've heard them, but never seen them.

Early this morning … no G strings for Cellie…lol… looking for beaver though

On Wednesday's snowshoe trek had some interesting animal tracks, porcupine and fellow colleague, the snowshoe hare.

I've seen and "removed" many of the pine pigs, but have only seen those secretive hares a couple of times. Regrettably, that's only occurred in the summer so I've yet to see them in their white, winter camo. Some day I guess!!

Also noticed that some of my woodland friends had started to use my snowshoe trails as a highway including the local fox and the hare.

Didn't pull out the phone to photograph as the lighting was poor for taking pictures in snow, but here's what they look like:

Snowshoe hare:

The distinctive "bulldozering" of the porcupine in deep snow:

Snow shoes look for the black eyeball under trees in or around brush piles

Snow shoes look for the black eyeball under trees in or around brush piles

Yes, I saw the tracks leading up to a brush pile and stood quietly looking for a while, but no joy...

Gee, I thought [USER=90]@Old Mud[/USER] was the longest living land animal...

[HEADING=2]The world’s oldest living land animal? At age 190, it’s Jonathan the tortoise.[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/02/05/the-worlds-oldest-living-land-animal-at-age-190-its-jonathan-the-tortoise/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/02/05/the-worlds-oldest-living-land-animal-at-age-190-its-jonathan-the-tortoise/')

By Cathy Free February 5, 2022

Jonathan the tortoise has lived on one of the most remote islands in the world for 140 years. He has become somewhat of a media star recently, as he just got a lofty distinction: the oldest living land animal in the world.

Jonathan is turning 190 this year. Well, that’s the best guess about the age of the 440-pound chelonian.
“To be honest, I suspect he’s older, but we can never know,” said Joe Hollins, the veterinarian who cares for Jonathan on St. Helena island, a tiny volcanic British territory more than a thousand miles off the coast of Africa.

Jonathan has spent most of his life wandering (albeit slowly) with three other land tortoises around the grounds of the St. Helena governor’s residence, Plantation House.

Jonathan is estimated to have hatched in 1832, according to a letter that mentions he arrived “fully grown” on St. Helena in 1882 from the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, he said. “Fully grown” in turtle context meant at least 50 years, Hollins said.

A photo taken between 1882 and 1886 shows Jonathan grazing at Plantation House, where he’d been presented to the governor of St. Helena as a gift, according to Hollins.

“It was quite traditional for (tortoises) to be used as diplomatic gifts around the world, if they weren’t eaten first,” he said, noting that they were harvested by ship crews because they were stackable and didn’t need food or water for days.

“Apparently, they were utterly delicious,” he said.

In addition to Jonathan, Hollins cares for the other tortoises that live on the 10-mile-long island. He also leads a team in looking after the island’s cats, dogs, cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and pigs.

This photo taken in the late 1800s shows Jonathan, left, with another tortoise, now deceased. Courtesy of Joe Hollins

But Jonathan, as the senior gentleman in the group, is special, he said.

“I take great delight in looking after him,” said Hollins, noting that at age 64 he is 126 years younger than the rare Seychelles giant tortoise he has tended to for the past 13 years.

“It’s a huge responsibility, but an honor and a privilege for a vet to see to the needs of the oldest known living land animal in the world,” he said.

There are likely sharks in the ocean older than Jonathan, said Hollins, but he hasn’t heard of another well-documented land creature that has been alive for more historical events.

Hollins said visitors to St. Helena, which has a population of around 4,400, are awestruck to learn about Jonathan’s staggering life span.

The tortoise has seen 31 St. Helena governors come and go and was likely alive for President Andrew Jackson’s second inauguration in 1833, as well as the inaugurations of the next 39 U.S. presidents.

“While wars, famines, plagues, kings and queens and even nations have come and gone, he has pottered on, totally oblivious to the passage of time,” said Hollins.

“Jonathan is symbolic of persistence, endurance and survival and has achieved iconic status on the island,” he added.

It isn’t unusual for giant land tortoises to live up to 150 years, said Hollins, but Jonathan has endured longer than most people expected.

The previous known longevity record was held by a radiated tortoise named Tu’i Malila, reportedly given to Tonga’s royal family in 1777. When Tu’i Malila died in 1965, she was about 188 years old, according to Guinness World Records.

Guinness recently updated its records to reflect that Jonathan is now the oldest land animal in the world, but news of the occasion was met the same way as most anything to the tortoise, according to his caretaker.

“He knows my voice and comes to me like a dog, but I have to accept it is mainly Pavlovian because he associates me with food,” said Hollins, noting that Jonathan is now blind and has lost his sense of smell, but still has a healthy appetite.

For more than a decade, he has hand-fed the tortoise carrots, cucumbers, apples and bananas, making sure to put on thick welder’s gloves to protect his fingers from Jonathan’s sharp beak.

“Even through (the gloves), I’ve lost two nails,” said Hollins. “But I really love this great, crusty reptile. He’s a gentleman of a tortoise.”

When Hollins was hired as a veterinarian by the St. Helena government, he said Jonathan was in ill health with a blunt, crumbly beak, and was unable to graze.

“He was grabbing at dirt and dry leaves and tugging on rank grass,” he said. “After feeding him for some time, we witnessed a miracle: his beak regrew its sharp edge.”

Hollins said he learned that the tortoise had a vitamin, mineral and trace element deficiency, which was soon corrected with a weekly intake of fresh produce.

“He’s been resurrected, so now we can’t stop,” he said, adding that Jonathan turns his beak up at kale, but devours lettuce hearts and sun-ripened pears.

The tortoise also enjoys sunbathing and has frightened visitors by sprawling on the grass with all four legs and his neck outstretched, he added.

More than once, “Jonathan has fooled us into doing a rush visit because somebody has reported him dead,” said Hollins.

He said he knows the day may be approaching when a call like that turns out to be real.

“I’ve been here for four governors, and each one has said to me with a note of pleading, ‘Please Joe – not on my watch,'” said Hollins.

For now, St. Helena is planning to commission a stamp featuring Jonathan and possibly have a national holiday to honor the tortoise sometime in 2022, he said.

“When he does go, it will be difficult, though we are realistic and prepared,” added Hollins, noting that studies show giant tortoises don’t age like humans, but may simply wear out or die after an injury.

“With good care and attention,” he said, “Jonathan may yet see many of us in our graves.”

It was "Mutual of Maine's Wild Kingdom" out there today. A light dusting of snow over packed sleet made for nice photo ops...

"Guard Fox" rooting for mice in my backyard:

That Wascily Wabbit (Snowshoe Hare) was out and about again, but no sighting:

Tom Turkey out for a stroll:

Mickey & Minnie walking around the woods:

And looks like a White-Haired Snowshoe Curmudgeon was walking around:

my storage place here… C22…
.

let’s see how long it takes to replace this after the heads up today… C22…
.

let’s see how long it takes to replace this after the heads up today… C22…
.

What does this have to do with this thread?

What does this have to do with this thread?

Not a damm thing lol

It was the same place where I snapped the monkey pics…

I must be out in the sun too much , sorry… C22…

Love seeing eagles, so I guess my decision to go with lead-free shot shells for varmint control is appropriate...

[HEADING=2]Nearly half of U.S. bald eagles suffer lead poisoning[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/02/17/nearly-half-of-u-s-bald-eagles-suffer-lead-poisoning/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/02/17/nearly-half-of-u-s-bald-eagles-suffer-lead-poisoning/')

By CHRISTINA LARSON February 18, 2022
[IMG alt="Eagles Lead Poisoning"]https://multifiles.pressherald.com/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/Eagles_Lead_Poisoning_58978.jpg[/IMG]
Bald eagles compete for a deer carcass in Montana. Estelle Shuttleworth via AP

WASHINGTON — America’s national bird is more beleaguered than previously believed, with nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showing signs of chronic lead exposure, according to a study published Thursday.

While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46 percent of bald eagles sampled in 38 states from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science.

Similar rates of lead exposure were found in golden eagles, which scientists say means the raptors likely consumed carrion or prey contaminated by lead from ammunition or fishing tackle.

The blood, bones, feathers and liver tissue of 1,210 eagles sampled from 2010 to 2018 were examined to assess chronic and acute lead exposure.

“This is the first time for any wildlife species that we’ve been able to evaluate lead exposure and population level consequences at a continental scale,” said study co-author Todd Katzner, a wildlife biologist at U.S. Geological Survey in Boise, Idaho. “It’s sort of stunning that nearly 50 percent of them are getting repeatedly exposed to lead.”

Lead is a neurotoxin that even in low doses impairs an eagle’s balance and stamina, reducing its ability to fly, hunt and reproduce. In high doses, lead causes seizures, breathing difficulty and death.

The study estimated that lead exposure reduced the annual population growth of bald eagles by 4 percent and golden eagles by 1 percent.

Bald eagles are one of America’s most celebrated conservation success stories, and the birds were removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 2007.

But scientists say that high lead levels are still a concern. Besides suppressing eagle population growth, lead exposure reduces their resilience in facing future challenges, such as climate change or infectious diseases.

“When we talk about recovery, it’s not really the end of the story — there are still threats to bald eagles,” said Krysten Schuler, a wildlife disease ecologist at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

Previous studies have shown high lead exposure in specific regions, but not across the country. The blood samples from live eagles in the new study were taken from birds trapped and studied for other reasons; the bone, feather and liver samples came from eagles killed by collisions with vehicles or powerlines, or other misfortunes.

“Lead is present on the landscape and available to these birds more than we previously thought,” said co-author Vince Slabe, a research wildlife biologist at the nonprofit Conservation Science Global. “A lead fragment the size of the end of a pin is large enough to cause mortality in an eagle. ”

The researchers also found elevated levels of lead exposure in fall and winter, coinciding with hunting season in many states.

During these months, eagles scavenge on carcasses and gut piles left by hunters, which are often riddled with shards of lead shot or bullet fragments.

Slabe said the upshot of the research was not to disparage hunters. “Hunters are one of the best conservation groups in this country,” he said, noting that fees and taxes paid by hunters help fund state wildlife agencies, and that he also hunted deer and elk in Montana.

However, Slabe said he hopes the findings provide an opportunity to “talk to hunters about this issue in a clear manner” and that more hunters will voluntarily switch to non-lead ammunition such as copper bullets.

Lead ammunition for waterfowl hunting was banned in 1991, due to concerns about contamination of waterways, and wildlife authorities encouraged the use of nontoxic steel shot. However, lead ammunition is still common for upland bird hunting and big game hunting.

The amount of lead exposure varies regionally, with highest levels found in the Central Flyway, the new study found.

At the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center, veterinarian and executive director Victoria Hall said that “85 to 90 percent of the eagles that come into our hospital have some level of lead in their blood,” and X-rays often show fragments of lead bullets in their stomachs.

Eagles with relatively low levels can be treated, she said, but those with high exposure can’t be saved.

Laura Hale, board president at nonprofit Badger Run Wildlife Rehab in Klamath County, Oregon, said she’ll never forget the first eagle she encountered with acute lead poisoning, in 2018. She had answered a resident’s call about an eagle that seemed immobile in underbrush and brought it to the clinic.

The young bald eagle was wrapped in a blanket, unable to breathe properly, let alone stand or fly.

“There is something hideous when you watch an eagle struggling to breathe because of lead poisoning – it’s really, really harsh,” she said, her voice shaking. That eagle went into convulsions, and died within 48 hours.

Lead on the landscape affects not only eagles, but also many other birds — including hawks, vultures, ravens, swans and geese, said Jennifer Cedarleaf, avian director at Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit wildlife rescue in Sitka, Alaska.

Because eagles are very sensitive to lead, are so well-studied and attract so much public interest, “bald eagles are like the canary in the coal mine,” she said. “They are the species that tells us: We have a bit of problem.”