Staying Warm

The core body temperature of cold-blooded animals (such as reptiles, amphibians and fish) is directly dependent on how hot or cold their environment. When the sun is out, their bodies soak up the heat, they warm up, and they become more active. When it’s cold, they tend to be a bit sluggish as their bodies slow down to conserve energy.  I’m jealous that these animals have a reason to sit out in the sun all day.

Collared Lizard by Sarah Waterworth

Keeping a Full Belly

Warm-blooded animals are able to regulate their own body temperature, which requires a great deal of energy. When warm-blooded species get cold, they must generate their own heat by converting food to energy. Maybe that’s why shoveling the snow-covered driveway makes me so hungry! Many animals rely on leaves, fruits and flowers as a primary food source, providing necessary energy. The sun is essential to the lives of those plants, and thus to the survival of plant eating wildlife.

Pika by Danny Nestor

Take Shelter

There are many species that live in trees or use plant material to build homes (such as nests or lodges). Trees and plants derive energy from the sun. Photosynthesis, boom. Therefore, the sun indirectly helps house a number of wildlife species!

Prothonotary Warbler by William Mangun

Follow the Big Yellow Thing

Modern GPS systems haven’t quite caught on with birds. Instead, researchers have found that some birds use their internal clocks in conjunction with the sun in order to navigate migration.

Starlings in Flight by Brad Smith

You Can Be Solar Powered, Too

The sun could be useful to humans as well. In addition to vitamin D that the sun provides, the sun can also be used to provide energy for everything we need in our homes and businesses. The sun provides a clean, renewable energy source that is much healthier for the planet than other fossil fuels.  Learn about NWF’s solar energy partner for the home at www.sungevity.com/nwf.

Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus)

Photo by Flickr member Kenny Salazar

See more of Kenny Salazar’s photos on Flickr >>

Your Photo Could Be Here

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Here you can see him talking to the group about an amphibian house that they have created. It is a simple design where they have buried a door in the soil and covered it with leaf litter to create great habitat for our reptile and amphibian neighbors.

You can create wildlife habitat like this as well! In a few simple steps you too can enjoy wildlife like frogs and lizards right in your backyard!

Want to know more? The National Wildlife Federation has tons of ideas to help you bring wildlife to your backyard!

Komodo dragons: as adorable as they are awesome (Wikimedia Commons)

That’s as intolerable as eating less than 80% of one’s body weight might be to an extremely hungry Komodo dragon.

And so, I provide. Item one: noted something-or-other Kim Kardashian recently ‘freaked out’ at a Komodo Dragon proffered by a guy who sort of resembles Robert Goulet, per People magazine sources.

Item two, more noteworthy for a wildlife conservation group: the City of Sydney has joined the Taronga Zoo in launching a Year of the Dragon 2012 Chinese New Year campaign to save Indonesia’s beleaguered mammoth lizards:

The Komodo dragon […] is found only on five islands in eastern Indonesia. As few as 3,000 are believed to remain in the wild. Commercial trade in these lizards is prohibited by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

“We are delighted to join with the Taronga Foundation to support their important wildlife conservation work,” said Mayor [Clover] Moore [...] “[t]he Year of the Dragon is the perfect opportunity to get to know Taronga’s dragons, from the giant Komodo named Tuka, to the small eastern water dragons that roam wild in the zoo grounds – all of which are under pressure in the wild“

That’s right: Tuka. He’s one of the big attractions at Sydney’s popular Taronga Zoo, a 171-pound specimen who likes basking in the sun and probably eating you, if there were nothing else around. Eastern water dragons are great too, but they’re the opening act to the Komodos’ arena rock headliners (Komodos are thought to reach 300 pounds and 10 feet in length in the wild).

The Taronga Foundation, which helps fund conservation and education programs at the zoo, assists the Komodo Survival Program in Indonesia in helping local communities preserve the dragons in their natural habitat. They need the support: Komodo dragons are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s ‘Red List’ of threatened species.

I have a long story to tell about how Komodo dragons were the focal point of my childhood interest in wildlife (Varanus komodoensis was the first scientific name I ever memorized and one of the few I still remember), but it will have to wait for another time (maybe I can blog more about them after somebody pays for me to go on a $27,000 Komodo dragon getaway. Email my boss!) Right now, 20 years after Komodo dragons were hatched for the first time outside of Indonesia at the National Zoo, I’m just glad some groups are working to pull this amazing animal back from the brink of extinction.

From Taronga Zoo:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Best helmet ever. (Courtesy Greg Fiume, Maryland Athletics)

The University of Maryland’s football team—the Terrapins—is popularly known for three things: hosting the Queen of England at her first American game (they beat North Carolina), winning a couple of national championships in the 1950s and integrating the predominantly southern Atlantic Coast Conference in 1963.

This week, the Terps introduced new uniforms that may well end up being item number four. They are, setting aside any pretense of objectivity, awesome. Take a look at the Flash photo gallery of the unveiling shindig.

One of Maryland’s new helmets pays direct visual homage to an iconic brackish water reptile—its pattern is meant to mimic the ringed shelltop arrangement that gives the diamondback terrapin its name.

While terrapins have been abundant (by one name or another) at Byrd Stadium for nearly 120 years, the non-helmeted variety has sometimes struggled to maintain a foothold in the Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere in its traditional East- and Gulf-Coast home range, rebounding from over-harvesting by turtle-soup-hungry Americans in the 1700s and 1800s only to contend with destruction of coastal marsh habitat, boat and automobile traffic, nuisance crab traps and other obstacles (not to mention climate change) in recent years. In 2002, the University of Maryland began to donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of its popular “Fear the Turtle” merchandise to fund terrapin research and conservation efforts at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

A diamondback terrapin, 'protecting this house' in the traditional fashion (flickr | ben.wurst)

I love the idea of an animal-focused football jersey (and not the usual pugnacious and/or cheerful animal wearing a sweater). The only other college team I can think of (believe me, I spent some time) whose uniform features this kind of semi-authentic wildlife body ornamentation is the Oregon Ducks, whose myriad wacky uniforms sometimes feature stylized shoulder wings.

Can anyone come up with other examples? Comment below. (Or: tell me why the new Terps getup is not the greatest wildlife-themed sports uniform of all time. I dare ya).

This is a sister post to “Fantastic Wildlife and Nature iPhone Apps,” and, while you’ll notice a few repeats, I decided to extend the mentions to a few new ones! I’ve linked mostly to the iPhone applications, but most of them have an Android counterpart.

Mobile Apps to Help You Find Parks and Trails

Sometimes, in order to see wildlife and feel close to nature, you have to find it, so that’s what these applications help you do.

NatureFind
Price: Free
Find the closest parks, forests and nature centers with this application. It also will tell you local events that the places are hosting. This application is incredibly useful regardless if you’re in a city or surrounded by suburban houses. (Available only on iPhone)

Trailhead by The North Face
Price: Free
This application uses your current location to tell you the nearest hiking trails. You can find out information about each trail, including their length, story, pictures and tips. Use it when traveling to discover local trails you haven’t explored. (Available only on iPhone)

Trails – GPS Tracker
Price: $3.99
This application is helpful for anyone looking to explore new trails and track the pace, ascent and descent. It’s a useful application for tracking your tracks.

Other Hiking and Trail Apps to Check Out:

• Backpacker GPS for iPhone and Android
  Price: Lite is free, Upgrade is $9.99
• Trail Maps by Nat Geo:
  Price: $2.99

Wildlife Sightings and Citizen Science

WildObs Observer
iPhone and Android
Price: Free

When it comes to wildlife observations, there are several useful apps and WildObs is one of my favorites. It makes it very easy for you to report your sightings and identify species, and your observations show up on National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Watch website. It’s one of the only apps that allows you to report sightings without having a photo and it also tags your location if you so desire.

Sci.Spy
Price: Free
A fantastic wildlife photography and observation application. If you witness anything from people in the garden or on a trail you can snap a picture of it and share it on this helpful application. You can either partake in a mission or share your experiences for fun.

Project Noah
iPhone and Android
Price: Free
Check-in to nature with this nature observation application. With your photos you can help accomplish missions and explore other sightings. Project Noah allows you to upload flora and fauna, and once you’ve created an account you can meet other nature enthusiasts as well.

iNaturalist
Price: Free
Here’s another easy to use application that lets you log your wildlife sightings. This application does not require a photo and it gives you ample room for notes. It also automatically fills in the date and your location to help make your observation recording easier.

Wildlife Reference

Audubon Nature Applications
Apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android
Price: Each is $9.99

When it comes to reference guides, Audubon has a slew of useful applications to help you identify specific flora and fauna. They all average about the same cost and have a great number of resources. I’ve listed a few of the applications below so you can get a sense of the way they break them down (both regionally and by type).

If you’re looking for a digital field guide, these are definitely a worthy option.

• Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch
• Field Guides for the iPad
• Field Guides for the Android

MyNature Tracks
iPhone and Android
Price: $6.99

Need help identifying animal tracks or scat? This app has a number of animal tracks, scat and sound information that can come in handy when you’re exploring the great outdoors. Keep in mind, it helps to measure the length of the track when it comes time to identify! MyNature also offers several other great applications like MyNature Tree Guide and even park specific apps. Check them out if you are planning on visiting a specific area, like the Grand Canyon for regional identification help.

Bird-Specific Applications

BirdsEye
iPhone and Android
Price: Full is $19.99, Lite is $1.99
While I have not tried this one out personally, I’ve read a few reviews that make this a promising application. You can track your bird sightings as well as see local bird observations.

WildLab
This application is part of a citizen science project that I thought was too neat to pass up. It’s technically for the NYC area and has been used by schools and organizations in that area since 2009. It’s definitely worth checking out!

Various iBird Applications
iPhone and Android
Price ranging from Free to $19.99
As an owner of iBird Pro and Backyard, I’ve found them to be very comprehensive. They give you range, locations, both an illustration and actually submitted photos of the animal. The apps will also include the call of the particular bird.

It’s a very useful application and testing out one of them is a great way to start your own birding adventure.

• iBird Pro
• iBird Plus
• iBird Regional
• iBird Lite

Peterson Field Guide
Price: $14.99
This beautifully done birding application has a unique way to identify the birds you’ve seen and you can also log your sightings here as well. It’s incredibly easy to move through the application and offers some real images of the species.

Other Birding Applications to Check Out:

• National Geographic Handheld Birds: Price $9.99
• Sibley eGuide to Birds: Price $29.99

If you’re looking to compare birding application, iBird.com has a useful chart, and there’s a great review of birding applications here as well.

Apps to Help with Plant Identification

Leaf Snap
Price: Free
A joint project by Columbia University, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution is helping people identify plants with a photo. Leafsnap uses facial recognition software for trees–all you need is a leaf and a white background and this application should be able to help you. The app currently covers trees of the Northeast and Washington, DC.

Florafolio
Price: $3.99
This app offers an interactive field guide to native plants of North America. This edition focuses on the stunning variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns, vines, and grasses that are indigenous to Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. Florafolio is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to identify species in the wild or garden with native plants.

TreeBook
Price: Free
TreeBook has 100 of the most common trees in North America as a helpful resource guide. It’s a great way to start learning how to identify trees as a beginner and isn’t so large it takes up too much space on your phone. I’ve found it very useful!

As someone who is fascinated with the natural world, I’ll keep checking out applications. I’d love to hear what applications you use in the comment section below! Even if they are from different countries, or if I missed them, I’ll keep updating this post so that it can be a helpful resource!

Now go out, explore, take photos and mark your observations!

ANIMAL PHOBIAS (if you know of more, add them to my list!)

Animals – Zoophobia
Animal Skin or Fur – Doraphobia
Wild Animals – Agrizoophobia
Bees – Apiphobia
Birds – Ornithophobia

Bulls – Taurophobia
Chickens – Alekorophobia
Dogs or Rabies – Cynophobia
Fish – Ichthyophobia
Frogs – Ranidaphobia
Horses – Equinophobia or Hippophobia
Otters – Lutraphobia
The Great Mole Rat – Zemmiphobia
Insects – Entomophobia or Insectophobia
Insects that eat wood – Isopterophobia
Insects that cause itching – Acarophobia
Reptiles – Herpetophobia
Sharks – Selachophobia
Shellfish – Ostraconophobia
Snakes – Ophidiophobia or Snakephobia
Toads – Bufonophobia
Bats – Chiroptophobia
Cats – Felinophobia, Galeophobia or Gatophobia

It’s no surprise why people find some of these animals intimidating. Sure, snakes, sharks and bats are scary to many people and are often portrayed negatively. But here’s something to think about: Have you ever thought that maybe our phobias of them might be a crucial element to their survival? After all, it means that they are keeping predators like us at bay!