Photos: Loita-Purko Masaai in Kenya
Photos from Loita-Purko Masaai communities in the Loita hills of Kenya. On the western edge of the Great Rift Valley, the Loita hills rise to approximately 2600 meters. Including rainforest and rich wildlife, the hills provide the Masaai people with medicinal plants, honey, fresh water, and grazing. All photos by Rhett A. Butler. To see more photos of the Loita...
Photos: baby gorilla takes first steps
Nicknamed ‘Tiny’, a three-month old baby male gorilla took his first steps a the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Zoo. Tiny had not left his mother since birth, but the 12-year-old mom, named Mjukuu, encouraged him to begin exploring his home. While Tiny is beginning to get his first teeth, keepers say he has awhile to go before reaching a full-sized silverback male. Photos courtesy of...
Photo: If you really love them, name a giant hissing cockroach after them
Nothing says happy Valentine’s Day like Madagascar’s giant hissing cockroach. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. Running late on your valentine’s gift? Have no idea what to get your special someone? Well, according to Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo, nothing says ‘I love you’ like naming a giant hissing cockroach after your sweetheart! WCS is offering brave romancers the chance to name...
Photo: close-up baby caiman
Close-up of a baby caiman in Costa Rica. Photos by Rhett A. Butler.
Photo: not tic-tacs, but millipedes
While it may look like someone spilled a a container of dark green tic-tacs, these are actually a swarm of young Malagasy emerald pill millipedes. Photographed in Madagascar these millipedes are classified in the order of Sphaerotheriida. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of millipedes (and...
Find the poison frog!
Look closely to spot the Green and black poison dark frog (Dendrobates auratus in the rainforest canopy in Colombia. See more photos below of the frog in Colombia. Unlike many Neotropical frogs, this species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of poison dart...
Photos: green vine snake
Green Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Photos by Rhett A....
Last chance to see: Visit Tanzania before “The Migration” is destroyed
With the government bent on building a road that scientists say will reduce the wildebeest herd by 500,000 animals, 2011 is the year to visit Tanzania to witness one of the world’s most incredible wildlife spectacles: the migration of more than a million wildebeest, zebra, and other animals across the Serengeti.
Photo: world’s most threatened forest
Forest along the Nam Ou river in Laos. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Deforestation for a rubber plantation in Laos. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Yesterday, Conservation International (CI) released a top 10 list of the world’s most threatened biodiverse forest. Number one were the forests of Indo-Burma, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), and parts of China and India. This landscape includes the forests in Laos...
Photos: hiking the Na Pali coast trail
View of Na Pali coast from trail. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Hanakapiai Beach. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Hanakapiai waterfall. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Mountains above Hanakapiai Beach . Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Surf as seen from the Na Pali coast trail. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Pandanus fruit along the trail. Photo by Rhett A....
Photo: young hippos
Young hippos in Kenya. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of hippos.
Pictures: Falling water on six continents
NORTH AMERICA Waterfall in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Forest waterfall in Arenal, Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler SOUTH AMERICA Waterfall on the summit of Auyantepui, Venezuela. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Jungle waterfall in Suriname. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. EUROPE Waterfall near Skogar in Iceland. Photo by Tina A. Butler. ASIA Tad Lo waterfall in Laos. Photo by Rhett A. Butler....
What happens when you cross a giraffe with a beetle?
You get the giraffe-necked weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) of course! This strange insect is native to Madagascar. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of the giraffe-necked weevil (Trachelophorus...
The view from the air
Angel Falls in Venezuela. Photo by Rhett A. Butler River in the lowlands of Gabon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Rice fields in Madagascar. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Mountains in Western China. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Flowering trees in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. African buffalo in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Photo by Jeremy...
The unmissable Shoebill
A shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) in Uganda. This swamp-loving large bird is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss, hunting, and nest disturbance. Researchers estimate that there are around 5,000-8,000 left in the wild. Populations in the Sudan still need to be determind, however. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of Uganda’s...
Hairy elephant-relative with baby
This bizarre animal, resembling a rodent, in Kenya is a southern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus). Although the size of rabbit, the hyrax is actually closely related to the elephant and belongs to the Afrotheria clade that includes not only elephants, but manatees, sengis, tenrecs, and aardvarks. Four species of hyrax survive today. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of...
Elephant pair at the Chobe River
As the day ends numerous herds of Africa elephants (Loxodonta africana) come down to the Chobe River to drink and socialize. African elephants are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. They are threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and human-elephant conflict. On the positive side, African elephant populations are viewed as increasing on the continent. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs. Click to see more photos of...
Orphaned baby sloth
Orphaned baby three-toed sloth in the village of the Trio indigenous tribe in Suriname. The sloth was clinging to a stuffed panda bear. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of the baby...
Wild ginger
Wild ginger flower on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of wild ginger.
Songbirds to eat
While attention in the bushmeat trade is often given to mammals, birds–such as these songbirds for sale as food in Laos–are also eaten in many parts of the world. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of the wildlife trade in Laos. Related Article: Laos Emerges as Key Source in Asia’s Illicit Wildlife...
