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Anyone heard of a Hoopoe?
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A Hoopoe (pronounced who-poh, scientific name: Upupa epops) is a colourful African bird which has a distinctive ‘crown’ of feathers. The species is highly distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory subspecies. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats. Listen to it sing: ...
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3085 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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3114 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
Tree climbing goats
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Found in Morocco, they climb these Argan tree in search of food. It's hard to imagine that animals with hooves could be so adept at climbing but these images are 100% real. Food is fairly sparse in this area, so they have to grab it when they can - even if it's high up in a tree! The secret to their ability to climb lies in the shape of their hooves. The keratin reinforced hoof wall adds strength, while the soft textured sole provides traction and grip. It's also capable of deforming inwards to counter irregularities in the terrain. Their toes are capable of operating independently giving them more of a "grip". These hooves evolved to allow the goats to climb rocky, mountainous areas - but they've shifted ecosystems to the trees! ...
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3890 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
The king of the jungle is disappearing
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Lions are now critically endangered in West Africa. Although they once ranged continuously from Senegal to Nigeria, new research has revealed only around 250 adult lions survive in the region, and only one of the four isolated populations contains more than 50 individuals.
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7083 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Long-necked antelope
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The gerenuk, also known as the Waller’s gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry thorn bush scrub and desert in Eastern Africa. The word gerenuk comes from the Somali language, meaning “giraffe-necked”. Gerenuks have a relatively small head for their body, but their eyes and ears are proportionately large.
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4229 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A Spider-Man look-alike
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Meet Agama mwanzae, the Mwanza flat-headed rock agama. This beautiful lizard hails from Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, and is very popular among collectors because he's dressed just like Spider-Man, only with a whole lot more pink.
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2247 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A bird with a remarkable tail
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The male long-tailed widowbird from Africa has one of the most impressive tails in the Animal Kingdom. Up to eight of their 12 tail feathers can stretch to half a metre long, and their incredible lengths make it impossible for the males to fly in wet weather.
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2559 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
This mammal isn't a hybrid between a giraffe and a zebra
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The Okapi is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Despite the zebra-like stripes, it is actually more closely related to giraffes. While okapis travel for the most part by themselves within their home ranges, they still have ways of communicating with others whose ranges overlap. A scent gland on each foot leaves behind a sticky, tar-like substance wherever they have walked, marking their territory. Okapis have a great sense of smell. By checking the ground, an okapi can tell if another okapi has been there. Males also mark their territory by urine spraying. Normally silent, female okapis vocalize only when they are ready to breed. ...
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4674 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Hottest and weirdest place on Earth
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Dallol in Ethiopia is not only the hottest inhabited place on Earth, it's also one of the weirdest. Between 1960 and 1966, the average annual temperature was a toasty 35°C (96°F), but the temperature can regularly creep to over 46°C (115°f). At 48 metres below sea level, Dallol is Earth's lowest land volcano, and its last recorded eruption was in 1926. Its craters contains hot springs that boast a whole range of otherworldly colours - including neon yellow - thanks to the hot magma bubbling below the surface. This magma heats the groundwater that flows into the area from the nearby highlands, and as the heated groundwater moves up towards the surface, it dissolves salt, sulphur, potash and other minerals and deposits them in the Dallol crat ...
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1289 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
How an elephant scratches its waist
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Here's a good reminder of how enormous elephants are - this one's using a Volkswagen as a scratching post. Photographed in South Africa, the elephant was in musth, which is a sexually aggressive period experienced by elephant bulls once a year.
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5236 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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5421 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Loudest sound in Earth's history
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It shattered the eardrums of sailors over 50 kilometres away, sent shock waves around the world several times over, and could be heard by 50 geological locations covering over 10% of the globe. This was the loudest sound in recorded history occurred in 1883. The sound was caused by a record-breaking volcanic eruption that sent smoke up almost 80 kilometres into the air as ash fell into the ocean some 20 kilometres away. Burning hot debris was shot from the mouth of Krakatoa's volcano at speeds of up to 2,575 kilometres per hour, which is more than double the speed of sound. The video below gives you an idea of what an erupting volcano sounds like, but of course, nothing close to what was described above! ...
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7942 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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13026 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Queen Khentakawess and Osiris
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I am not sure if such blogs are welcome here, but I will try sparking enthusiasm in this subject. Alongside my major field of interest, I have an unhealthy/obsessive curiosity distortion in the archaeology field, specifically Egyptology. And recently, two major discoveries have been made in the Ancient Egyptian land. The first discovery made was that belonging to an Ancient Queen named Khentakawess's the 3rd's tomb, which was located near her husband's tomb, Pharoah Neferefre. These two, date back to the 4th or 5th dynasties, that is approximately 4000 years back in history. Around that time, the first three pyramids, yes, the ones that we see all the time and are the most famous pyramids of Giza, were being built by Pharoahs Khufu, his son ...
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13187 |
ehd123 |
9 years ago |
The African Renaissance Monument
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I bet you've never seen this statue before. Neither had I until today. It's "The African Renaissance Monument" in Dakar, Senegal. The monument stands at a height of approximately 49 meters (160 feet), including its base, making it one of the tallest statues globally. It was designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby Atepa and was built by a North Korean company. The statue was inaugurated on April 4, 2010, during Senegal's 50 th independence anniversary celebration, and symbolizes Africa's emergence from a history of colonization and oppression and its progress toward a brighter future. ...
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104665 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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