Disheveled Young Orangutan
I had a request on Friday for “less reptiles and more cute fuzzy animals.” Baby orangutans are always a good bet in such a situation. Like any kid, this young guy was a bit of a mess. Photo taken at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo.
Parrot Snake With Injured Eye
Continuing with the eye theme to round out the week, this is a green parrot snake that appears to have lost an eye. All three photos are of the same snake. The top photo shows the snake’s injured right eye — a solid black color. In the second photo you see the right eye, the normal yellow color. The third photo shows both eyes. Messed up eye or not, the green parrot snake is most certainly one of the finest looking serpents around — not to mention harmlessly non-venomous.
Chameleon Eye
Seems to be the week of the eye. This one belongs to a Parson’s chameleon. Chameleons are pretty amazing creatures — they can look in different directions at the same time, they have a tongue that shoots out of their mouths at lighting speed to catch prey, they can change colors, etc.  What they’re not good at, however, is making a quick getaway, so once found, they’re easy to photograph. For this shot, taken in central Madagascar, I was only about a foot away.
Elephant Eye
Although these eyelashes may look long, they’re actually quite short for an African elephant. Sometimes you see elephants with four inch long lashes. They act as sunshades to block out the harsh light, and also dust, of the African savannah. This one was photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Sandhill Crane
In honor of my mother’s birthday today, I figured I’d post a crane of another sort. This sandhill crane is from Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Â Every fall, thousands of these cranes, as well as snow geese, flock to the open fields and shallow lakes in the area.
Sea Otter Sequence
This was another of the sea otters that I recently photographed at Elkhorn Slough in California. As I mentioned before, it’s rare to get them on land like this. I kind of liked the sequence here, as the otter appears to be pretty happy about something.
Orangutan Mother and Newborn
It seemed about time for another orangutan mother and baby photo of the day. This mother was being extremely gentle with her newborn, carefully cradling the baby’s head as she readjusted position. As with all my orangutan shots, this one was taken in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo.
Golden-Fronted Woodpecker
I thought this golden-fronted woodpecker was a particularly handsome bird. In the US these guys live only in Texas, and a small portion of southern Oklahoma. I photographed this one in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge near Rio Hondo, Texas. Other than that, there’s not much more to say about them so I’ll attempt to educate instead by tossing out the fact that a group of woodpeckers can be called a descent, a drumming or a gatling. Now go forth and use this knowledge as you see fit.
Rat Snake and Whiptail Lizard
This was a pretty good fight for a while. At one point the lizard even made a nice move and had the snake in its grip. Eventually, however, the snake was too much for the lizard to handle. After about a ten minute struggle, the snake swallowed the lizard whole in a couple of seconds. This was taken in Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula in southwest Costa Rica.