It was on this day (21 February) in 1918 that the last known Carolina Parakeet, Incas, died at the Cincinnati Zoo – tragically, in the same cage the last known Passenger Pigeon, Martha, had died only four years earlier. (Even worse, unlike Martha, whose body was sent to the Smithsonian…
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…
Ustad Mansur (active 1590-1624) was a court artist for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605 – 1627). He specialized in natural history art and was responsible for recording the emperor’s rare and exotic specimens, including an important image of the now-extinct Dodo that was recorded from life and in color. The…
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…
Happy International Primate Day, celebrated on September 1st annually. Though now recognized as a Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), this work is also still known as Gorilla, based on an earlier misidentification. Apparently even Munch himself wasn’t sure what kind of primate it was, calling it an orangutan in notes found on another…
