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Project Noah Nature School
The animal alone would be a great shot but the addition of the magnificent, expansive view in the distance makes it a superb shot!
Congratulations! It is indeed a beautiful creature!
I have no real experience in observing tigers, Daniele, but, in the case of domestic cats, females will indeed also spray upon occasion -- just as the occasional hen will crow.
The above was meant in answer to Ashish's previous post -- not the one immediately preceding mine.
I meant also to add to my above comment that one of the greatest thrills of my life was being allowed to actually PET a Bengal tiger on the set of a movie that was being made in Mexico at the time. I cannot express the magnitude of my surprise when I felt how HARD the body of the tiger is under that most gorgeous fur -- almost as if the hide was stretched over a plank of wood or a flat rock! Solid muscle.
Not necessarily, Ashish... The tiger is obviously backed-up to the tree stump in the photo. This is a very typical behavior of male cats in every species. They back-up to some object and then "spray" it to mark their territory... In fact, if you look at the tiger's eyes in that same photo, you'll see they are slightly closed -- actually indicating a more pleasurable mood than not. It is in the 4th photo that one can barely make out even the slightest feline sign or "body language" of any danger to the observer. You will note the slightly laid-back ears. This, if accompanied by a "thrashing tail" or slow crouch could indicate a possible aggressive stance about to happen.
It is indeed a horrible testament to homo sapiens that the tiger population has been decimated to the degree that it has. Such magnificent and beautiful creatures! Thank goodness for the vigilance of the rangers... BLESS YOU ALL!
I've never seen yellow ones, Misako, but we have TONS of green ones here in Sonoma County. The name, as far as I'm concerned, though, is a misnomer because these guys eat not only cucumbers but tomatoes, squash, corn, spinach, chard, bell peppers, etc. etc. etc.!
We have a native pipevine here in Northern California called "Dutchman's pipe" (the flowers are greenish). It has to be one of my most favorite wildflowers that we have! So odd-looking and unusual! (I must admit that I'm partial to green flowers, anyway, though...) But this is so very much more striking!
Yah... But take a look at the flowers on your Cucurbita M. and, not only what they look like but how they are growing from the stem of the plant... Squash flowers are solitary -- one flower to one stem. These flowers are actually in what a botanist would call a "whorl" -- but, nevertheless, several flowers to the one stem. If you think of each of those flowers bearing a squash-like "fruit"... It would never work! That one stem couldn't hold up the dozen or so fruit that would be borne by each of those flowers on that "whorl". I can't exactly tell from the photo but it looks to me as though the flowers are of the family "Scrophulariaceae" (the snapdragon family). They seem very much reminiscent of "mimulus" (or "monkey-tongue") which is a member of that family...
These little buggers simply decimate my veggie garden! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!
Wow! They're like a combination of one of our blue jays and a wren! Amazing!
