By Lisa Barrett I recently took a short trip to Sri Lanka to scope out a potential field site: Uda Walawe National Park. I got to see some pretty amazing animals while I was there. Below are the highlights, in no particular order. Photos by: Lisa Barrett
Read more
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Family: Cheloniidae Genus: Lepidochelys Species: L. olivacea Overview An adult Olive Ridley Sea Turtle weighs around 100 pounds and is 22-31 inches long, while hatchlings weigh less than 1 ounce and are on average 1.5 inches long (NOAA, 2014). They spend most of their time at
Read more
The Masai Mara of Kenya is full of incredible wildlife. While I was working on the hyena project in the Mara, I took these photographs. Here is a glimpse of some of the species that hang out in this region. Lions Mating behavior Relaxing lions Elephants Cheetahs Giraffes This giraffe died from naturally occurring anthrax. The
Read more
I have received some interesting reactions when I tell new acquaintances that I study baboons. Recently, someone very enthusiastically asked, “Those are the animals with the HUGE pink butts, right?” They are indeed. And I’m actually quite intrigued by those “pink butts.” A more technical term for this is “exaggerated sexual swellings.” Around the time of ovulation, females of
Read more
A marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) basking in the equatorial sun of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Found only on this special chain of volcanic islands, this lizard is unique for its ability to forage in a marine habitat, diving as deep as 30 feet to feed on algae.
Read more
Although Lisa is the elephant expert on this blog, I share her admiration for their intelligence, grace, and beauty. This picture was taken on my first African safari, in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, and I was absolutely awestruck to be in the presence of these animals. We were on a tour boat, and before I took this picture all
Read moreFor the first 22 years of my life, I spent the holiday season with family in Michigan. Last year, the holidays were a bit out of the ordinary for me. I spent it with the CABS (Comparative Analysis of Baboon Sociality) research crew in Ethiopia. We took a break from work and travelled around the country. The first two legs
Read more
During my summer in Rwanda, I spent most of my time quite literally at the interface between humans, wildlife (i.e. baboons) and domestic species (i.e. cattle). Because Rwanda suffers from severe overpopulation, virtually all of their “wild” places are in close proximity to human settlements. I saw this as a sort of glimpse into the future of the rest of the world, if the human
Read more
The days are getting shorter here in Tampa, FL and with less sunlight means less opportunities to take great pet photographs. By utilizing sunlight we can achieve more natural expressions and composition. Lighting is essential to great photography, and with fast moving animals, lighting is even more critical. Another benefit of natural sunlight is we can almost completely limit the
Read more
This photo was taken at Sunken Meadow State Park (Long Island, NY). Sometimes I get so caught up in zig-zagging across the globe that I forget how beautiful nature can be, even in the midst of suburbia. Sunken Meadow in particular has always had a special meaning to me, as the beach that I frequented most often as a
Read more
DANTAisms 