#naturalist

[inaturalist-unofficial]

[hawkpartys]

this image came to me in a dream

[gotiskk]

𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔫𝔬𝔴

[cathartidae]

a lot of things seem hopeless right now. i just want to say that its not. despite everything, there are still good things. let me remind you, that-

there are over 243 kākāpo, and it is the first breeding season in four years. at least 74 of their eggs so far are fertile and have potential to hatch. in 1995 there were 51. [1]

there are 607 california condors as of last year. in 1987 there were 27. [2, 3]

there are 110 'alalā (hawaiian crow), while they were pronounced extinct in the wild in the 1970s-80s. 5 have been released into the wild in the past 2 years. [4, 5]

there are over 319 wild mexican grey wolves, after numbering only 7 in 1977. [6, 7]

there are at least 1300 wild przewalski's horses, after they were pronounced extinct in the wild with only 31 captive individuals in 1945. [8, 9]

hell, they still have sperm from the last male northern white rhino and are attempting to have a southern white rhino be a surrogate mom with his & the last two female's eggs. [10]

i know things can feel hopeless but i work in this field. there is still hope out there because people do genuinely care. even if it just reassures you about the environment around us, there is still some hope out there.

humans are not inherently bad. i know it's easy to say it but i promise that we are not. the assumption that all of humanity is evil and morally reprehensible for the extinction of species- yes, including species that we drove extinct ourselves- is discounting the work of millions of people trying to stop it from happening again. humanity is not evil. there is still hope, and there is still time. never forget that.

1- https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2026-media-releases/first-kakapo-chick-in-four-years-hatches-on-valentines-day/

2- https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2026-02/2025-california-condor-population-status_508-compliant.pdf

3- https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2021/04/20/last-california-condor-in-the-wild-was-captured-in-1987/

4- https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/alalaproject/

5- https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/090417.pdf

6- https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/mexican-gray-wolf-numbers-reach-319-in-southwest-2026-02-25/

7- https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-03/mexican-wolf-population-grows-eighth-consecutive-year

8- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/przewalskis-horses-are-finally-returning-to-their-natural-habitat/

9- https://web.archive.org/web/20120212234213/http://www.zsl.org/info/media/press-releases/null,1790,PR.html

10- https://savingprivaterhino.org/how-the-northern-white-rhino-went-extinct/

[otwayboi-blog]

[jadafitch]

JULY The forest is in full bloom "July bursts with color, and not just in the expected places. Flip a log and you might find a blue-spotted salamander, mottled like fine porcelain. On the forest floor, the violet coral fungus is shocking not only because of its color but because it looks like coral. Birds are thick into the business of raising their young. Other creatures are trying hard to blend in, to not turn into food for hungry baby birds. Can you find the Virginia creeper sphinx moth, banded in gray green, against the leaves of Virginia creeper? The black willow leans out over the edges of streams and ponds, springs up in swamps. Its wood is soft but bendable, a favorite of beavers and basket weavers. At the tips of its brittle branches, catkins send seeds into summer winds. The twigs are made to snap and float downstream, where they may drop roots in a muddy bank and become trees." -Kateri Kosek from The Forest Revealed This painting/page from "The Forest Revealed" celebrates some of my favorite things the month of July has to offer. Here's some close-ups, and the sketches that got me to the final art. The book will be out in September, but is available to preorder now.

[cryptonature]

I think one challenge in living among so much uncertainty and tragedy is the way capitalism has taught us that our quiet, domestic moments don’t count for anything. The times we take to step away and have a moment to ourselves don’t count for anything. Our daily acts of care for friends and family don’t count for anything. The free things we do to bolster our connections and communities don’t count for anything. But these messages are coming from an ideology that wants us to be endless sources of profit. It’s an upside-down mindset that attempts to cast foundational human strengths and endeavors as frivolous. So, we may end up feeling that the necessities of life, the things our instincts are screaming for, are wasteful indulgences, especially in the face of so many big, worthy challenges. Just remember, as creatures of this Earth, we were not shaped by eons to be engines of profit. The small stuff is the big stuff. Doubly so in challenging times. Don’t make light of the gentle, vital, foundations of your life. Yes, huge heroic actions exist, but their impact pales in comparison to the thoughtful, caring acts of our everyday lives. Respect the small actions that make the good within your reach possible.