Marty’s photos of the day #3089: Pronghorns are the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere, reaching 60 miles-per-hour. I photographed these two in Yellowstone National Park.
Speedy Pronghorns
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Category: Little-Known Facts
Learning to fly
Marty’s photo of the day #3066: Since I’m in New York all week, presenting Around the World in 90 Minutes at colleges, all my pictures this week will be from that show. This is Annie, a 16 year-old black flying fox that I got to hold while visiting a bat rehabilitation facility in Queensland, Australia. […]
Inside Deb’s Lavender Patch, Pt 2
Marty’s photo of the day #2969: Today is part two of my three-part series, “Inside Deb’s Lavender Patch.” Did you know that there are 28 species of bee in Montana? Of course, since President KKKlueless sees bees as a “liberal insect,” he is doing his best to reduce their numbers in Montana and everywhere else. […]
The time-telling insect
Marty’s photo of the day #2961: Okay, this is not the prettiest photo I’ve ever posted, but I think you’ll appreciate it more when you read this short excerpt from the Borneo chapter of my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. (So you know: Stephen grew up in the rainforest and […]
It’s not what you think it is
Marty’s photo of the day #2952: I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, Marty photographed a chipmunk. It’s cute, but not unusual.” Actually this is not a chipmunk; it’s a golden-mantled ground squirrel. The two species look similar, but a golden-mantled ground squirrel doesn’t have face stripes and is quite a bit bigger. Now, aren’t you […]
Orangutan basics
Marty’s photo of the day #2938: I photographed this Orangutan on the island of Borneo. Here are a few orangutan facts from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Orangutans are the world’s largest tree-dwelling animals. In the Malay language, orangutan means “man of the forest.” Considering they share 96.4 percent […]
Evil in Alabama: GOP Christians to force raped women to carry fetuses to term
Alabama’s new total abortion ban will require women who get pregnant as a result of rape to carry that fetus to term. Any doctor helping that woman end her pregnancy can be sentenced to 99 years in jail. Now before you blame this solely on men, keep in mind that the Republican sponsor of the […]
Kingston Ferry
Marty’s photo of the day #2866: Greetings from Lynnwood, WA (just north of Seattle). Today I perform a 12:30 p.m. show at Edmonds Community College. Yesterday, I was on the opposite side of the Puget Sound for a show at Olympic College. To get where I am now, I had a choice of driving south […]
Kayaking the Amazon Rainforest
Marty’s photo of the day #2833: For most people, visiting the Amazon Rainforest during the rainy season is unthinkable. When I needed a very specific photo for my first book, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents,” Deb and I returned to the Amazon for a rainy season visit. In comparing our dry season […]
The deadliest snake in the western hemisphere
Marty’s photo of the day #2694: Fer-de-lances are the deadliest snakes in the western hemisphere, but they aren’t the most venomous. Others, such as bushmasters, have venom that is more potent. Fer-de-lances kill more people, because they blend in so well with the leaf litter on the forest floor and readily bite if stepped on […]
The intelligent alligator
Marty’s photo of the day #2679: I love alligators! Here’s a short blurb from my second book, “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico”: Scientists consider crocodilians, including alligators, to be the most intelligent of the reptiles. Not only can they learn travel patterns of potential prey, […]
Animals A to Z. The Letter Z
Marty’s photo of the day #2637: It’s “Animals A thru Z Month.” Each day in August, I will post an animal I’ve photographed—somewhere in the world—in alphabetical order. Z is for Zebra. When I present my show “Around the World in 90 Minutes” at colleges, the last animal photo I show is this one. I […]
Animals A to Z. The Letter W
Marty’s photo of the day #2634: It’s “Animals A thru Z Month.” Each day in August, I will post an animal I’ve photographed—somewhere in the world—in alphabetical order. W is for Wallaby. Wallabies are small-to-medium sized kangaroos—members of the Macropodidae family. The wallaby in this photo is Herbie, an adolescent agile wallaby who had lost […]
Animals A to Z. The Letter V
Marty’s photo of the day #2633: It’s “Animals A thru Z Month.” Each day in August, I will post an animal I’ve photographed—somewhere in the world—in alphabetical order. V is for Vampire Bat. Vampire bats are often exterminated when humans move into their territory. The bats are holding their own, for now, but they’re a […]
Animals A to Z. The Letter R
Marty’s photo of the day #2629: It’s “Animals A thru Z Month.” Each day in August, I will post an animal I’ve photographed—somewhere in the world—in alphabetical order. R is for Rhinoceros Beetle. At only three inches long, the rhinoceros beetle is considered by some to be the world’s strongest animal. Tests have shown it […]
Animals A to Z. The Letter P
Marty’s photo of the day #2627: It’s “Animals A thru Z Month.” Each day in August, I will post an animal I’ve photographed—somewhere in the world—in alphabetical order. P is for Painted Dogs. I photographed this pack of painted dogs in Zimbabwe. Big eared, long legged, and gangly, each dog has a unique coat pattern. […]
Animals A to Z. The Letter E
Marty’s photo of the day #2616: It’s “Animals A thru Z Month.” Each day in August, I will post an animal I’ve photographed—somewhere in the world—in alphabetical order. E is for Elephant. Did you know that elephants can’t climb? I was in Zimbabwe, standing atop a high riverbank, when a herd of elephants passed below […]
Castillo de Albuquerque
Marty’s photo of the day #2586: I’m pulling a paragraph from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, to give you information on this Spanish castle: Twenty minutes into our drive, we rounded a corner and came upon a classic crusader-era castle. Perched alone on a hill, it had a circular […]
Bush snakes, boomslangs, and cobras
Marty’s photo of the day #2539: This excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explains today’s picture: I was looking forward to a nap until Ashley, the camp manager, mentioned over lunch that she had recently seen both a Mozambique spitting cobra and a spotted bush snake on […]
The last thing an insect sees before dying
Marty’s photo of the day #2538: Because I often see spruce grouse hunting for insects on our dirt road, I assumed insects were their primary diet. While the birds do eat insects in the summer, overall they mostly eat pine needles! Since I took this photo in the summer, I can still think of it […]