Feature image is a pride of Cheetah (Acinonyxjubatus) including female and her three cubs in Kenyan scrub.
Typical daytime lion setting with an ATV trying to navigate around them. We passed them several times during the day and they never moved.
Lions spend a remarkable portion of the daylight hours sleeping. I saw this typical behavior in the Florida Naples Zoo but I didn’t expect to see it so frequently in the wilderness of Africa. I expected them to be walking about and hunting and / or engaged in group activities. Seeing them sleeping up to 20 hours per day was a rude awakening. During the best daylight hours where photography would be easy, these critters were usually completely out of it. They would be sleeping in the roads and pathways without any care for traffic trying to pass. They were communally grouped, sleeping together among family members. Occasionally, they might be seen finishing off a meal from last night’s hunting but in general they were boring subjects
In the twilight hours, however, with the sun just at the horizon, the scene was dramatically different. Despite the near darkness, fog, and distance I was able to see the spine-chilling hunt of the packs in action. The pursuit could have been taken from a professional soccer coach’s play book. Each pack member had their position to play – scouting, blocking, hunting, and a final charge for the throat. Without team play all 16 lions would go hungry.
When visiting the local Naples Zoo, I imagined an animalistic sense. It was as if the captive animals knew the truth of their sheltered, human dependent relationship. At the zoo the animals pace around in their enclosures. There is nothing to hunt. There is no territory to defend. There are no mates to pursue. No families to care for. See out previous blog on the Naples Zoo. This is in contradiction to the animals seen in the African wilderness. There they were busy surviving as hunter, prey or both. On safari the animals are indifferent to the viewer. It is a sense that the people are not there because they are in a vehicle. The vehicle was of no importance. It was simply a noisy passing distraction.
From our nearly three-week visit, several species stood out as apex predators. These included lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, crocodiles, and eagles. Each of these meat-eating animals is magnificent in color, shape, skill, and speed. These animals need a large area under their dominion. The area could easily range from 20 to 400 square kilometers. Lion prides and dog packs hunted using carefully laid out strategies and roles. Of the cat and dog, it is difficult to suggest that one is superior to another as their hunting behaviors were very similar. What do they do the rest of the time? They sleep and just hang out.
Male Lion (Panthera Leo) Naples Zoo, Florida, mid afternoon
Male Lion, Okavango Delta mid afternoon with a full belly lying in the shade.
Cheetah pair Naples zoo lying in the mid afternoon shade
Cheetah mom and two cubs, Kenya savanna mid afternoon lying in the shade of an acacia tree during the heat of the day
Leopard, Naples Zoo, late afternoon
Leopard, ( Panthera pardus), Okavango Delta, Botswana, late afternoon. Lying on a branch after hanging its Impala catch in a branch.
Rescue panther in Naples Zoo. So few remain; we need to take better care of our Everglades.
African black panthers have not been photographed in 100 years until recently. The term black panther is most frequently applied to black-coated leopards (Panthera pardus) of Africa. I did not see this African animal.
A melanistic color variant of the African leopard – was filmed in Lorok, Laikipia County, Kenya, on remote cameras set up as part of a large-scale study aimed at understanding the population dynamics of leopards. Dramatic night photos of this are available at the link mentioned here. (*)
Murphy is a Floridian rescue greyhound (Canis Lupus Familiaris) He sleeps most of the day. He might be able to survive for a day or two on the African savanna before finding a friendly human. He is an excellent hunter and can outpace a cheetah on the long run, clocked at 45 to 50 mph for at least 275 yards and 35 mph for 7 miles. The best African animal survivors are pack animals, and the domesticated dog has lost this complex behavior instinct important for family group survival.
Wild dogs ( Lycaon not Canine), Maasai Mara, Kenya. Just rising from their nest to begin their hunt.
There were some Florida animals in the wild that were directly comparable to those seen in our African safari. These are birds and reptiles. The two apex predators that I saw most often were the Sea Eagles (Osprey) / African Sea Eagles as well as the Florida alligator/African crocodiles. The lizards spend most of their time cruising the water and lying on the shore waiting and watching for an opportunity to eat. The birds, on the other hand, were busy and exceptionally photogenic.
Osprey (Pandion haliaetu) (aka fish eagle), Florida, Everglades. Half eaten fish in talons after plucking it from the Gulf
Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) Okavango Delta, Botswan. Going out to fish in the near by river.
Florida alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) waiting for a raccoon or turtle.
Kenyan crocodiles (Crocodylus suchus) waiting for wildebeest
No doubt about it. The birds worked throughout the day. The African Sea Eagles and their cousins, Florida Osprey, were constantly searching and bringing fish back to eat or to feed their brood in the nest. The surprise was to see that these unfettered bird species which are different species but so similar in their size, behavior, and call.
We will spend additional time describing these bird and cat predators. The Zoo is wonderful to visit and see these animals. It is a good place to sharpen your camera skills for animal portraiture. It is a great place to show the real-life animals to children. Zoos are excellent for research and help preserve endangered animal stock. In the wild these same creatures are daily interacting with one another and their environment. There are no barriers separating them. They all struggle for survival. They pay no attention to people. If you want real understanding of the life in a giant working and evolving ecosystem you need to go out and experience it. We live in the Everglades reserve area. This is one of our National and State treasures. If you simply drive a few miles and walk into the Florida reserve area with a guide you may have an experience similar to ours in the Okavango Delta of Botswana
When visiting the Zoo I have a better appreciation why the animals are sleeping and just hanging out most of the time. It is just their nature to do so.
More than a pretty face. The Giraffes are some of my favorite animals of Africa
Check out the earlier blog posted describing the giraffes at the local Naples Zoo. How differently their wild behavior is when compared to the captive animals. In the Naples Zoo there is a group of male Reticulated giraffes.
Giraffes appear very elegant with long necks and legs, brightly patterned coats, large eyes, and a crown of horns. They seem elegant. You can see them eating vegetation and walking or gently lopping across the grass land or through the woods. They are very quiet with almost no voice. It is surprising that a 1400-pound 15-foot animal can vanish as it wanders through the brush and tree scape. We saw them nearly everywhere we went. They do seem to group together in small clutches or shorter animals may partner with them for added alert of predators. Even when they are solitary, they don’t seem to be the choice of lions. We did see the remains of one which apparently perished from dehydration or disease. Drought is a problem in eastern Kenya.
The zebra are often found with other animals for mutual protection. Here is a parade of zebra book-ended by the tall giraffe. Their height offers an advantage for sighting predators.
The giraffes seem more whimsical in their behavior than on casual appearance. Drinking seems almost acrobatic as they assume an oddly geometric balancing act and when done almost jump to a full standing position. The birds which pick insects from their skin may at times get a bit too aggressive. Look at the photo of a jumping giraffe. It looks like it is dancing on its hind legs as it tries to shake off the pesky bird. It was so amusing to watch this performance. The group behavior of the giraffe clan was startling. They can be tough combatants. During some sort of competitive behavior, probably mating, these animals showed some of their true skills. In a pugilistic competition two giraffes went about using their heads, necks, teeth, and bodies in a full-body contact fight. At first, they seemed to be necking which I thought to be friendly. During the next hour, they rapidly progressed into an aggressive slugfest whacking one another with their heads and horns into the torso, head, and hind quarters. They beat each other ceaselessly with full strength occasionally biting, butting, and pursuing. From our vantage point we could hear nothing except the concussive thud when they bashed each another. We moved on after what seemed to be the end where the two protagonists walked away from each other. There seemed to be a winner. The larger of them walked a little and the smaller left the field into the bush. Simply imagine the bruises incurred after the hourlong fight; a 60-pound head with horns swing on a five-foot-long muscular neck and a thousand pounds of animal force behind each blow. It was impressive and gave a completely new dimension into my imagined elegance of these creatures.
The giraffe is so vulnerable in this drinking position. With legs spread and head down is could be an easy prey for a pack of lions
This giraffe quickly stands up and brings its legs together
There are four giraffe species. I could easily identify two, the two others not seen are the Southern and the Northern.
Maasi Giraffe, more brown irregular patch shapes, wider lines
Reticulated Giraffe, more orange, smooth patch shapes, narrow lines
The Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchii) is the tallest of all land animals and it is an extraordinary sight to see. The giraffe is known for its graceful movements and for being very picturesque. At top speed, the giraffe can run up to 50-60 miles per hour. Kenya is home to giraffe (sub)species. In northern Kenya you’ll see the reticulated or Somali giraffe. Particularly rare is Rothschild’s giraffe (about which there is ongoing discussion whether it concerns an actual subspecies). In southern Kenya, you’ll come across Massai giraffes. Massai giraffes are different from reticulated giraffes in that they have jagged spots on their bodies, instead of polygonal liver-coloured spots. Approximately 33,000 Masai giraffes live in this region and most of them live in small groups. Approximately 16 – 20 hours of their day is spent feeding. Their favorite snack are Acacia tree leaves. Their long tongues and lips skillfuly avoid the Acacia tree thorns to snack on the tree’s leaves. As long as they have fresh vegetation, they can go without water for weeks. Typically the male giraffes eat from the top branches of the Acacia trees and the females eat from the bottom branches. Their greatest enemies are hyena, lions and poachers. Their greatest defence is their ability to escape at high speed and if necessary they defend themselves with their powerful kick.
Holy jumping Giraffe! She is shaking her booty to loose the birds. 15 feet tall and 1500 pounds dancing on two legs!
Two males battling for dominance in the group of reticulated giraffe pictured above
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The previous posting on Africa showed the photographic preparation for the trip. This posting is an introduction to the upcoming blogs which will feature the animal and plant wildlife in more detail. This photo safari was planned for thirty years. It has been postponed three times. At last, this was the opportunity to go. Botswana and Kenya are the two countries we visited in sub-Saharan Africa. The reasons to go there were their diversity of wildlife, ecosystems, and safety. The month of August was selected to be timely to see the greatest density of animals in the most clement season. It was also an opportunity to look for the similarities and differences of the comparable African and US locations. Here are thoughts, impressions and recounting of the two weeks of experience there.
The title sunset image is typical of the African sky. The beautiful sunset red comes from sand and minerals of the desert suspended in the air and refracted by the light. These same sands which are blown across the Atlantic Ocean color our Floridian sunsets too.
This lengthy monologue is only a rudimentary description of a very large subject. It is intended to help understand and appreciate the reasons for these features seen on this expedition and to summarize the complexities of the climate, geology, the flow of water on the land, the interdependency of species and some similarities to areas in the USA. The two major eco systems were marshlands and savanna. In Botswana the wetlands of the Okavango delta were the focal point. In Kenya the savanna of the Maasai Mara section of the Serengeti was of greatest interest. The Okavango delta ecosystem has some similarities to the wetlands found in the Southwest Florida Everglades National and State Park systems. The Maasai Mara is more like the grasslands of Montana where, 250 years ago, buffalo, antelope, elk, and wolf roamed in their own great migration.
Climate and Geology:
The Okavango delta is 19 degrees south of the Equator. The Florida Everglades are 19 degrees north of the equator. They receive approximately the same amount of energy from the sun. The marshlands of the Okavango delta and the Florida Everglades are both essentially inland dispersions of fresh water. The Okavango is a unique feature of the Kalahari Desert. This delta is deep in the interior of the land mass and the climate is continental. Unlike the Everglades, it does not have the moderating exposure to a neighboring ocean. It has a soil basis of sand that averages 200 feet deep. On top of that is a soil of a few inches depth with mixtures of soil brought by wind, flood, and a thin organic compost. The average elevation is 3100 ft. The delta has three biome types that include savanna, woodlands, and swamp. The Okavango River supply is derived from the confluence of the Cubango and Cuito rivers in Angola. The annual flow reaches the delta between March and June with maximum flow in July. Additionally, there is seasonal 18-inch rainfall in the Okavango from November to February which adds to water shed.
Floridian Everglades are at sea level and are founded on petrified sea bottom called sedimentary rock with a high calcium carbonate basis called limestone. The Florida Everglades topsoil is an average 17-foot-thick layer of marl (calcitic mud), peat and muck. The Everglades are subtropical wetlands whose freshwater system begins near Orlando in the Kissimmee River. The average annual rainfall is 60 inches. The Everglades have a maritime weather with tropical storms and moderation of climate. Climatically, there are no hurricanes in the Okavango and in the Everglades there is no drought.
In support of the science of plate tectonics. The Americas and Africa were one land mass 200 million years ago.
The concept of moving plates of the crust of the earth suggests that at a distant time in the past the assembly of the plates separated into the various land bodies. The shapes of the land mass fragments seen today can be manipulated as puzzle pieces into a larger land mass that fits together quite well. This particular assembly is called Pangea. If this is how the continents formed then there is a strong relationship between the eastern geology of the Americas and the western African geology. This fit is not entirely perfect, however, when considering the length of time for the division to transpire it is remarkably good. This has been supported by substantial evidence of rock formations that span the continents.The science is based on continental fit, matching rocks, fossils, corals, mountains, glacial striations, magnetic lineages and direct measurement of the movement.
About 98% of the water that goes into the Okavango delta is eventually lost through evaporation and transpiration. Transpiration results when water moves through the plant and evaporates from leaves and flowers. Despite the subtropical sun generating intense evaporation, the delta’s water is fresh, not salty. I was surprised by this because non circulating ponds of water in the middle parts of the islands have very high chemical and salt concentrations. This chemical concentration occurs in thousands of islands. The reason the water is fresh is that trees on the edges of the islands create a barrier of natural filters between the inner part of the islands and the floodplain. The second reason is a process of transpiration caused by trees. Water flows into the delta and carries with it silica and soluble minerals like sodium carbonate. As the water is lost from the trees, the silica and salts remain to build islands. The center of the islands concentrates the accumulated salt and as a result the vegetation dies from dehydration leaving a central bare white mineral spot. Termites facilitate island formation when they build nests of organic material, fungus, soil and water. These mounds of soil and nutrients promote tree and other plant growth. When the seasonal water rises the termites build skyward forming islands. Eventually the nest is abandoned to form a new colony. The mound then collapses from animal invasion and erosion. Termites are the keystone species of the Okavango. Without them the delta would be like the desert. Water would be lost, and life would be less dense and less diverse.The Okavango has no palm trees and pines are also nearly absent.
Pond in center of a large island in the Okavango delta. Salt has accumulated in the water causing the trees to dehydrate and die.Okavango Savana, for centuries built from sedimentation and termite mound building. Trees in the center of the island died from dehydration caused by salt accumulation. Grass is a monocot and is salt tolerant. The termites moved out and the mound is vacant.Intermittently flooded lowland in the high water season of the Okavango deltaFreely flowing fresh water in a branch of the Okavango river. The plant is Pampas grass (Miscanthus juncos).
The vegetation in Florida also plays an important role. The ocean barrier to salt invasion are mangroves which are salt tolerant. These mangroves are key to prevention of back flow of the salty ocean and hold the soil preventing erosion. Some fresh water flow does reach the ocean creating a relative partial positive pressure. The soils of the Everglades are rich in nitrates and farmers increase the nitrogen of a large portion of the Everglades. This has resulted in an overgrowth of a complex of bacteria species which feeds on the nitrates and deplete the nutrient value of the topsoil. The Everglades have no Acacia trees and lots of mosquitos.
The Kenyan savanna is climatically and geologically very different from the Okavango savanna. Kenya is at the Equator. It is a mile high in altitude and the soil is volcanic in origin. It is more like the area around Denver CO. It is surrounded by hills and mountains and has two rivers flowing through it. The major river flow is the Mara. The other is the Talek. It is part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem spanning Tanzania and Kenya and has been geologically very active with ancient and recent rock formations. It is in the Great Rift Valley. It is in this valley that the million-year-old petrified remains of very early hominoids have been found.
High planes savanna of the Maasai Mara portion of the Serengeti plane. Mt Kenya is on the right horizon.River cut into the Mara plane providing water to the vegetation and wildlife. This is a spot where the Wildebeests would cross during their migration. They would climb the banks of the river during a stampede. The animals are subject to the risks of death from the crocodiles that ply the river during the crossing. Igneous rock formation on exposed hill side in the western Mt Kenya highlands.
The plants and animals are widely different in speciation in these three areas but they have similar behavior. This may be the result of adaptation to similar geologic and weather conditions. The apex predators of all locations are big cats. All have eagles, egrets, large carnivorous reptiles and cats and lots of grass.
Human impact:
The effect of the behavior of large numbers of modern people on the Florida ecosystem is dramatically different from the African locations. The Everglades water flow is highly engineered and not necessarily for the best. Southward flow of the Florida delta is interfered by highways and farms to the point that it does not meet the sea as it original did. The Okavango delta also does not meet the sea. In Africa the observed locations have relatively low populations and have been benignly neglected or protected from hunting, industrialization, mining or drilling and farming so that the plants and animals have survived basically unchanged for centuries or even millennia.
Romancing Wild Africa:
We went to see the animal life of Africa and did not go to see the cities, towns, or villages. We did not have much contact with the people of the areas we visited. Africa is a huge, populous, resource rich continent with a history that dates to the origin of most species. There is great wealth and great poverty. Too many people have nothing. They live an impoverished stone age existence in the space age. I acknowledge that many of these are desperately poor and politically persecuted to enslavement and/or death. The NGOs, like CARE, work to help many but must be careful to manage their limited resources. They also try not to support the migrant people in camps to a better level than the local people. The native residents also live by subsistence on gardening, raising a few cattle, contract farm working, tourism, and crafts. Some also engage in a variety of illegal endeavors such as poaching and grazing their animals on park land. You can read the newspapers for details of other antisocial behaviors such as intertribal warfare, abduction, extortion, theft, civil insurrection etc. Desperate people do desperate things.
The wilderness of the savanna of Africa is nothing like anything in eastern US. There is no sense of luxury to the plants or the soil. Much of the topsoil is sand deposited by wind and water. The stark beige color varies little by the source of volcanic mineralization. The organic content is not a rich loam of plant breakdown. It is thin and the organic content is from the sparse droppings from animals or the occasional bush or more rarely from a tree. Animal droppings are recycled by the life on the planes and provide an episodic line of trees from incompletely digested seeds. The brilliant emerald green plants, startling blue sky and the breathtaking color of twilight is such a relief from the monotony.
Next:
We will look in greater detail at the findings of this two-week photo expedition in the following blogs. They will focus more on species than locations.
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#Africa #Okavango #Botswana #Kenya #Everglades #transpiration #Maasai Mara #salt #tectonics #transpiration #evaporation #Tanzania #marsh land #savanna
Specifically the four of us are going on a guided safari trip to Kenya and to Botswana. The goal of this trip is multifold. This will be our first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa. We hope to have fun enjoying the experience of the sights and sounds of two very special places at a particular time in Africa. I will collect samples of images and sounds of the animals and plants which we will see on our trip. These will be our special mementos of a very personal experience in two unique eco-systems. I will share with you these images and collected thoughts and relate them to our SWFL environment.
In preparation for our African photo safari some special measures are made. The multiple camp sites are in the wilderness and have no internet connection. We will be on safari for about 18 days. There are no retail outlets for spare parts or camera repair. Therefore, some redundant equipment will be carried. The cost of this excess lies in its weight. We are allowed a total of 33 pounds/person to be carried in soft-sided bags.
Here is most of the camera gear to be taken on safari.
Canon camera bodies (Only one showed here). 2 Canon lenses, filter and lens hood, flash attachment, power adapters, CF memory cards, one terabyte hard drive, camera and flash batteries, binoculars, iPad, IPhone, lens cleaners and camera dust bag, cables and flashlight, one Sealife point and shoot camera (not shown here) battery chargers, belts and straps and card adapters.
The total weight of this ensemble with back pack and miscellaneous is about 25 pounds. The remaining eight pounds will be for two weeks of clothing, meds, bug repellant, water flask, masks etc. Plastic bags are not allowed. Not inventoried here are protective cases for the camera gear, bubble wrap and styro-pellet camera support bag.
Some desirable equipment will not be available. This includes mono or tripod, additional lenses, audio gear, spotting scope.
All of this will go into an Osprey Stratus 24 back pack. It will go as carry-on for the transoceanic and local flights. In the field the cameras and lenses will be hand carried and a camera vest with pockets will support the in-field small stuff like note pad and pen, batteries, filter, CF cards etc.
I expect that there will be little need for fixed long lenses. The Canon lenses are 28-300 and 100-400. I expect the guides will take us into the bush and trails with close proximity to the wildlife.
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With this season we are nearing the completion of the annual cycle of the flowering trees before departing to Africa and Europe. We started this series in the first week of December of 2021 with Trees of Christmas. It has been a remarkable adventure to learn about and collect images and data for the flowering trees in South West Florida (SWFL). Nearly every hue and chroma of the rainbow has been represented in the flowers ranging from deep indigo to brilliant intense reds. See more details about them on our Epicollect5 website. The trees all have exotic origins from Europe, Africa, India and Central/South America. Perhaps we will find some similar trees in Botswana’s Okavango delta and the plaines of Kenya. If all goes as planned we will be there in August of this year.
The featured image is a Purple Glory.
Many of the Blooming Trees of Late Spring are still in flower and in part include the Royal Poinciana, Jacaranda, Plumeria, and the Mexican Tulip. Missing is the Bauhania which had been blooming since Christmas. It has, at last, given up the last flowers.
Royal Flamboyant Poinciana. Still one of my favorite flowering trees, it is repeatedly throwing out new blossoms and filling the neighborhood with a spectacular display of color.
Here are the last of the newly blooming trees which I found on my last walk about.
Pride of India (Langerstroemia Speciiosa). Native to South Eastern Asia including India.Australian umbrella (Scheffera actinophylla). An evergreen tree native to Queensland Australia. Toxic to dogs and cats when eaten or touched by the sap.Not as big as a standard tree the Princess flower tree is also known as Purple glory. It has some of the most intense purple flowers.Purple glory (Pleroma semidacandrum) is native to Brazil.
All of these blossoms are found less frequently as the summer progresses. The neighborhoods and wilderness are definitely less colorful. The remaining flowers will probably last for two months. We will look again after returning from the safari. The interesting plants now include palms and pines. Next year adventures will focus on the palm trees more closely showing the varieties of colors, leaf patterns and fruiting bodies. We will finish the series by making the autumnal blossoms posting during the end of October.
After returning from Africa I hope to post a number of articles comparing the landscape, water features, plants and animals to those in SWFL. I expect these to be very interesting and hope that you are also interested.
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Roseate Spoonbills (Platalea ajaja) and Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) share the limited water in the marsh during this dry period before the monsoon season. They both feed in the shallow marshes but do not compete for the same prey. The Spoon Bills are bottom filter feeders while the Storks pick up insects and small fish. The Spoon Bills spend much more time preening than the Wood Storks. I find this particular group appealing because of the stark difference in the feather colors and behaviors of the two species. The spoonbills are so much more flamboyant than the severe storks. Both are iconic birds of SW FL. The feature image is an overview of the flock of birds including the spoonbills, wood storks as well as snowy egret and maybe a blue heron.
“I hope you don’t mind me drying my plumage here.” I emphasized the visual line of interest here.“There! Now I’m all clean and dry. Arn’t I beautiful?” I really like the reflections in the water in this image.“Eeeks! Goodness Chickie! Can’t you do that somewhere else? I just got done doing my feathers!”At last some peace and quiet in this stand of isolated mangroves that has water at this period of high tide.
With diminished water and a protracted drought, water dependent birds are crouded together. These conditions make photography interesting. The birds may be more remote and thereby technically more difficult to photograph. The more compact group with more variety improves opportunities to observe bird behavior. The best approach I had for the group image was still at a distance of 150 meters. The image was just at the limit of the hand held 300mm lens that I had in my bag. I casually followed one bird through the afternoon and in the late in the day it sought an isolated area away from the flock. The fill-in-flash picked up the brilliant colors.
Make a comment: Which bird images do you prefer, roseate spoonbills or flamingos?
In the blog about Photomicrography you could easily see the detail of the butterfly wing scales. This valuable insight is not only beautifully patterned and dramatically colorful it also shows the remarkable complexity of the wing. This was done with a very low cost microscope and a cell phone. We also spoke earlier about the simple Gear used in this voyage of discovery. To expand the range of observations and bring more sense into the discussions I acquired a more sophisticated microscope.
New microscope
The addition to the observation gear is an Olympus BH 2 BHS trinocular microscope with five Splan objective lenses including oil immersion, light source adaptable to ultra blue illumination, photo extension with NKF 2.5X L microscope eye piece, and a Olympus OM to Canon EOS 5D mark II camera adaptor. The system was created by referencing the Alan Wood web site.1
Freely available microscope description downloaded from internet.1
New microscopic methods
The new scope has bright field, dark field, polarized light, color filtered light and flash direct lighting. These provide the opportunity to make observations of samples that may be unstained, vital and devital stained and fluorescent illumination.
Computer Assisted Photomicrography
In 2021 Canon made available a free downloadable software interphase to couple the camera to the Apple macOS Monterey on the Mac Pro computer. This allows a seamless control of the attached camera and a recording of still and video microscopic observations. Using this software, the camera can be remotely controlled without shutter or mirror camera vibration. The resulting photo micrographs can be loaded directly to the local hard drive or to the cloud with this arrangement.
Fully operational observation system assembling the microscope, digital camera and MacPro computer at the work station. The image on the monitor is the first light, live view of a cross-section of mammalian bone using polarized light.
Accessories
There are also a number of accessories including hand microtome, ring light flash light and full slide mounting, staining accessories and supplies for mounting and cleaning.
Sharing the Opportunities
Additionally, I donated my American Optical trinocular bright field microscope to the Wonder Garden of Bonita Springs FL to assist in observation of micro anatomy and pathology of their animals and plants and for live demonstration for their education programs. This was done in the spirit of exploration and expansion of horizons for others. We are all together on this discovery voyage of the Everglades Ark.
For further discussion for the amateur microscopist check out the website Microscope Clarity.2 Included in that site are discussions, recommendations for gear and supplies and experiments for novice microscopists.
4 responses to “Wild African Predators and Their Cousins In Florida”
That was a fascinating article! I had no idea that those animals slept most of the day. Thanks for sharing.
When visiting the Zoo I have a better appreciation why the animals are sleeping and just hanging out most of the time. It is just their nature to do so.
Hi Sherry! I hope that you find these entertaining as well as informative. They take a lot of work/time.
[…] The featured image is a male lion, “King of the beasts”. See our previous post on African Predators. […]