GEO - Ocelot Chillin'

An ocelot in the Ecuador's jungle has chosen a giant tree root to rest. These night hunters are native to tropical and sub-torpical American continent; once being hunted for its fur, now its protected and the numbers are recovering.

 

One of the favourites...precious moment captured in this photo. Must be so cool to be a wildlife photographer! If I could choose any career that would probably be it. Well a biologist and a conservationist combined with documentarist :)

 

GEO - Raccoon Kits

Cute young raccoons grow up to be omnivorous predators; these Procyonidae originating in North America are colour-blind, therefore they feel up their food thoroughly, sometimes even under water to make the hard fruits softer.

 

GEO - Croc Hatching

The crocodiles in Botswana's Okavango Delta lay their eggs in the sand. Before it hatches the young one makes noises to signal his mum, who will carry the defenseless offspring to the safety of the water

 

This impressive photograph was in my favourites, well until last week :)

GEO - Colourful Bird Chain

They are considered to be the most colourful migratory bird species in Europe and love to gather in warm colonies - the bee-eaters. They spend their winters in warm Africa which is rich with flying insects.

 

 



Today is reserved for the newly acquired GEO postcards that, as usual, brought a smile to my face :))

At first glance I thought this was a caterpillar heh

 

GEO - Wildcat Snoozing

 

Awww I've almost melted upon this sight...Who could guess that this kittie cannot be tamed..?!

GEO - Polar Fox

 

Time for recent additions to my GEO collection :) Polar fox is a master of survival in the cold (minus 50, brr) Arctic, and is changing the colour of its fur according to the season - brown in the summer, white or bluish in the winter. Kuchi kuchi kuuu, sweet stuff :)

GEO - Hungry Pika

This adorable creature lives on the mountain slopes of northern hemisphere, here its is getting a feast of wild berries shrub. So cute, thank you for the nice surprise sis!

GEO - Flamingos In Flamingo

 'Hundreds of Flamingos gathered at a lake on Mexico's peninsula Yucatan, and accidentally built a gigantic shape of their own species; lucky once-in-the-lifetime shot for the photographer.'

Amazing isn't it? This is the first of today's postcards that I will post related to Sunday Stamps and this week's topic: trees. The second stamp being issued by Deutsche Post in 2012 showing landscape at dusk.

GEO - Fennec Fox

 

Big eyes and giant ears identify the desert fox as nocturnal predator and dweller of the Sahara. The earlobes serve as blood-coolers. Hairy feet make sure that this small creature doesn't burn its paws on the hot sand.

If I had to choose the cutest creature on earth a fennec would be one of the most serious contestants! I remember seeing these uebersweets in a zoo for the 1st time, I stood there staring at them thinking I could do that forever...heh. Thanks sis!

GEO - Tarsier

Tarsiers are haplorrhine ('dry-nosed') primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all the species living today are found in the islands of Southeast Asia.

The huge eyes give away that they are nocturnal :) Imagine, each eyeball is approximately 16 mm in diameter and is as large as its entire brain! More fun facts: are the only extant entirely carnivorous primates: they are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds, snakes, lizards, and bats. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can even catch birds in motion.

What a fascinating animal! I love finding out about new, unusual, unique animal species, and this one is definately unique :))) I wonder what I'd do if I was to see it in the wild (though its extremely shy), try to pet it or run away..! (as it produces very loud noises too).

GEO - The Great Grey Owl

A Great Grey Owl listens for the lemmings hiding under a thick layer of snow. This bird of prey is native to the tundra of the north, where it detects its prey with excellent hearing.

I looooooooooooooooove this card! So powerful! And the stamp is cute :))

GEO - Cute Aquatic Mammals

A grey seal pup playfully explores the sands of the East Frisian Wadden Sea, using his most important feelers, the mighty whiskers.  

The North Pacific Sea Otter grabbing the air-filled seaweed - these smallest marine mammals have the thickest fur: 150 000 hairs in one square centimetre!

GEO - Whipsnake And Treefrog

'Both the Whipsnake and its potential prey the Treefrog are relying on their camouflage colour; green as the leaves of a helophyte. In this case the amphibian's only rescue lies in a quick leap-reaction.'

So rarely do I come across a snake postcard. Happy :)))

GEO - Chameleons

 'The young chameleon is not yet able to adjust his colour to the surroundings, like his mother does; but he can already move his eyes separately.'

'A Chameleon from the Cameroon's jungle - these tree dwellers originate from East Africa but have spread across the continent. The ability to change colour is used for communication more than just a camouflage.'

New lizards from my dear sis in Germany! GEO continues to print fantastic animal postcards, more of which can be seen in my next post :)

GEO - Bald Eagle

The bald eagle is storming down to catch its prey. With its dagger-like pointed talons this tremendous bird  manages to seize a 3-kilo salmon, rabbits and rats.
(a question pops to mind...why is it exactly bold?) thanks sis! :)

GEO - Lions

I LOVE this card - what an awesome shot! Geo cards - you are always welcome :)
The young lion is perplexed as he watches a bird fly away before he manages to catch it with its paw. Under the supervision of its mom it has to learn to be independant.
Thank you sis :)))

Animal Kingdom With GEO

My dear sister is still sending me the GEO postcards, and i still find them equally brilliant :) I have so many already, i sure do hope there are still many to be sent! let me introduce to you these wonderful, unique creatures:

The Celebes Crested Macaque.  Foto: Stefano Unterthiner

This species of primates lives only in the northeast of the Indonesian island Sulawesi, as well as the small islands nearby. This fellow with a recognisable long hair tuft is highly endangered, because his natural habitat is the disappearing rain forest.

Ethiopian Wolf.  Foto: Vincent Munier/www.vincentmunier.com

The puppies peek curiously out of the hole, in which they were born some three weeks before. They do look more like foxes, but indeed belong to the rarest wolf species - the ethiopian wolf of the eastern afro-alpine region. (also known as the Abyssinian wolf, Abyssinian fox, red jackal, Simien fox or Simien jackal)

If you ask me, these pups are one of the cutest creatures out there!

Kodiak Bear.  Foto: Getty Images

Salmon have to jump up the cataracts to get to their spawning place - they are a welcome source of fat for the Alaskan Kodiak Bear before the hibernation.What a great shot! :)

Polar Bears.  Foto: Kennan Ward/Corbis

Polar bears at sundown on the Canadian pack ice: it is a rare thing to see half a dozen of these solitary predators at one place - an unfortunate result of the receding ice due to global warming. As much as it's beautiful, it is also infinately sad...

Cheetah.  Foto: Kennan Ward/Corbis

GEO - Are We Cute Or What?!

WOLF PUP (Photo: Art Wolfe)

A young canadian pup playfully gnaws grass leaves while waiting for his mum to bring him caught prey. When the pup grows up, he hunts together with other wolves in a pack, which can fight down even the big animals such as moose or caribou.

RED FOX (Photo: Stefano Unterthiner)
A red fox is eavesdropping on marmot's whistling sounds - marmots are its favourite prey in the alpine italian National park Gran Paradiso.

PANDA (Photo: Keren Su/Getty Images/The Image Bank)
A young panda is resting on a branch - a rare kind of behaviour in free nature. These bears that solely feed on bamboo offshoots are strictly protected in their natural habitat, the chinese province of Sichuan.

GEO - What's For Dinner

YUMMY! (Photo: Lorne Bridgman)

Black goats don't shy away from climbing the very top of the endemic morroccan Argan tree in order to reach its nutritious fruits. From these fruits the local shepherds attain valuable oil, used in cooking and cosmetics.

GEO - Giraffe's Dance

SCENTMARKS (Photo:Luiz C. Maringo/Peter Arnold Inc.)

The male giraffe releases a strong smell from his glands by lifting his hind leg: it is beguiling for the female, but unbearable for the fleas hidden in fur.