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Waigeou Spotted Cuscus (Spilocuscus papuensis), family Phalengeridae, order Diprotodontia, endemic to Waigeou Island, Raja Ampat, New Guinea

photograph by Drem Wat

herpsandbirds

Cloven-feathered Dove (Drepanoptila holosericea), family Columbidae, endemic to New Caledonia

photograph by Lev Frid

mammalianmammals

Hairless Bat or Naked Bulldog Bat (Cheiromeles torquatus), family Molossidae, found in SE Asia

photographs by Chien C. Lee

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American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), family Ardeidae, order Pelicaniformes, WA, USA

photograph by Kenneth Foxe

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Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides atrirufus), family Sciuridae, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

photographs by Hans Hillewaert

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By John Hyde

herpsandbirds

GOOD NEWS FOR KAKAPO

A bumper berry harvest has New Zealand’s weird flightless parrot in a rare mood for romance

The world’s only flightless parrot species was once thought to be doomed by design. The kakapo is too heavy, too slow and, frankly, too delicious to survive around predators, and takes a shamelessly relaxed approach to reproduction.

But the nocturnal and reclusive New Zealand native bird ’s fate is teetering toward survival after an unlikely conservation effort that has coaxed the population from 50 to more than 200 over three decades. This year, with a bumper crop of the strange parrot’s favorite berries prompting a rare enthusiasm for mating, those working to save the birds hope for a record number of chicks in February, which would move the kakapo closer to defying what was not long ago believed to be certain extinction. Kakapo live on three tiny, remote islands off New Zealand’s southern coast and chances to see them in the wild are scarce. This breeding season has launched one of the birds to internet fame through a livestreamed video of her underground nest, where her chick hatched on Tuesday...

Read more: The endangered kakapo parrot could have a record breeding season | AP News

amnhnyc

Meet the Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus)—which can’t fly and is not a lemur! Also known as the colugo, this tree-dwelling mammal can be found in parts of Southeast Asia. Its patagium, the membrane of skin between its neck and limbs, allows it to glide (not fly) more than 300 ft (91 m) through the air. Once considered a close relative of primates or bats, scientists now place this critter on its own branch of the evolutionary tree.

Photo: henrik_frietsch, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

Toad dug up some of my potted moss to make herself a little house!

#toad #toads #frogs and toads #toadblr #toadposting #moss #mosscore #cute animals #cottagecore #whimsical

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Long tongued Nectar Bat Sri Phang Nga

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ym.nara_mislin on ig

nature-travel-photography

Butterfly party, Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg Trail. - Author: WingedWheelGuy

okapiaconcolor

By hedera.baltica from Wrocław, Poland - Creeping up, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

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natureisthegreatestartist

Ever seen an Andean mountain cat before? No? That's not surprising considering it's an endangered species with only about 1,500 of these cats living in the wild.