Today is #WhoopingCraneDay! The Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is an endemic North American species that is the continent’s tallest native bird. It is also one of our flagship conservation success stories, having very nearly gone extinct in the early 20th century. Once thought to have numbered at least 10,000 birds,…
Today (9 May 2024) is the inaugural celebration of International Chameleon Day! Wildlife Madagascar is launching this animal appreciation day to highlight the remarkable diversity of chameleon species and shed light on the challenges they face in the wild. We are excited to honor these unique, extraordinary, and beautiful animals….
This gallery contains 17 photos.
Happy #WorldDonkeyDay! Here are the perfect party cups to celebrate with… The Donkey-Head Drinking Vessels of Ancient Greece Ceramic animal-head rhyta and similar drinking cups created by Attica potters were popular novelty items in Classical Greece (c. 480-323 BCE). These amusing mugs gave users the appearance of wearing an animal…
Since both Audubon Day and International Flamingo Day are celebrated annually on the 26th of April, what better work to spotlight today than John J. Audubon’s famous flamingo print from his magnum opus, The Birds of America… On the 7th of May, 1832, while sailing from Indian Key, one of…
This gallery contains 9 photos.
Today is not only a #MarsupialMonday, but it’s also the first annual International Tasmanian Devil Day! The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is an endangered marsupial species endemic to Australia. Although it once ranged across the mainland continent, since its extirpation some 3500 years ago, it is now only found on the…
Happy Manatee Appreciation Day! As seen above, there are three officially recognized manatee species, all currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. Today’s Animal Art of the Day is a 19th century illustration which was first identified as one, then identified as another, and finally correctly identified as…
Happy #NationalAardvarkWeek! Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are widely distributed across Sub-Sahara Africa, and as such can be found in African visual culture from ancient rock art to contemporary works. The Bambara (also called Bamana) peoples of West Africa, especially in Mali, have a rich tradition of aardvark representation, which manifests in…
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Happy #NationalAardvarkWeek! Besides being one of my favorite mammals, the Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is also the most evolutionarily distinct one, which makes it very special indeed: The aardvark…has the highest score for being the most evolutionarily distinctive (ED) using the EDGE scientific method. Species such as the aardvark are much…
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Happy International Polar Bear Day! This conservation holiday was founded by Polar Bears International and celebrated annually on the 27th of February, “to coincide with the time period when polar bear moms and cubs are snug in their dens. As part of our celebration, we focus on the need to…
This gallery contains 12 photos.
For #LoveHornbillsDay, here are examples of kenyalang figures from the Iban people of Borneo. These carved and painted wooden figures are stylized representations of the kenyalang bird, aka the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros). It is the official state bird of Sarawak and national bird of Malaysia. GALLERY The largest sculptures…
