ANIMAL ART OF THE DAY for Manatee Appreciation Day: Joseph Wolf’s Misidentified Manatee Illustration

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…

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ANIMAL ART OF THE DAY for International Red Panda Day: Europe’s first image(s)

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Happy International Red Panda Day, celebrated annually on the 3rd Saturday of September! The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens, which roughly translates to “shining cat”), is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is the only extant species of the Ailuridae family, nestled within the “weasel…

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ANIMAL ART OF THE DAY for International Vulture Awareness Day #1: Antoine-Louis Barye’s vulture watercolors

International Vulture Awareness Day is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of September. There are 23 extant species of “vultures” split between two distinct taxonomies: the “New World” Vultures, a monophyletic group comprised of 7 species from the Americas in the Cathartidae family, and the “Old World” Vultures, a polyphyletic…

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