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From Patrick McCarthy
Because everyone deserves glamour shots.
Mephitis mephitis, Central MA 11/1/2026
posts
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From Henrik Nilsson
Another bird of prey from Africa. This time it is a long- crested eagle. I took this image in Kenya.
Also, I've been getting an increasing amount of comments regarding Al. I do NOT post any Al generated images or videos. I dislike Al probably as much as you do when it comes to wildlife.
Canon 5D IV with Canon 500mm f4 II and 1.4x extender. This is a very large crop of the original image.
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From Simon d'Entremont
One of my top tips for wildlife photography (which equally applies to pets, BTW!) is to capture or highlight a feature or behaviour for which the species is known. In this case, this species is famous for having a long neck and standing on it's hind legs to reach up for vegetation in trees that regular antelopes can't reach, going them an advantage in finding food. The shots I have with its face buried in the tree branches weren't very pretty, but this one as it was starting to go pull back to go back down was just right.
Gerenuk (aka Giraffe-necked antelope), Samburu, Kenya.
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On my walk home after work crossing a couple of farm fields and a small wooded area I encounter a lot of wild life but not all of them pose for me like this one.
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They pulled up to the rescue with the porcupine. They had been worried about it for days as it appeared to be limping and was quite lethargic. As I peered into the box to take a looked at it, one of the finders children mentioned "the little one looks much healthier".
"What little one?" I asked. I immediately had concerns that the one in front of me was a mother. Porcupines aren't very social creatures so a large one hanging around a smaller one is usually a mother and a baby.
They informed me that the second porcupine was much smaller. This complicated the situation. Now I knew another little one was likely dependent on this injured one.
I brought her into the rehab room and the family that found her followed. Upon examination it was clear - mama had really bad mange. It isn't always evident in porcupines as mange loves to hide on their bellies - which aren't often exposed for viewing.
The skin on mama's belly and limbs were in really rough shape. That's why she was limping. She had open sores that were making her very uncomfortable.
Now it was clear - we had to capture the baby. Mange is contagious among porcupines and there was no way this baby didn't have it too.
The finders were able to contain the porcupette that same day and his exam revealed that he too was dealing with a bad case of mange.
These two would not have made it through the winter in this condition. Their faces, limbs and abdomens were badly affected. It was only going to get worse.
They have been treated and now remain in a large quarantine space together while they recover.
There is a whole neighborhood of people in Tyngsboro who have been watching and admiring these porcupines for months. Thanks to those caring souls, these two will very likely survive this ordeal.
We are so grateful 🙏❤️🙏
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From Florida Native Snake Rescue and Rehab
Yesterday afternoon we took in an adult non-venomous Yellow Ratsnake that had swallowed a false wooden egg in a chicken lay box. The homeowner felt terrible it happened and had been trying to catch him for a couple months to get him help. We're glad she finally did! Without intervention, this snake would have died a slow and painful death as these false eggs create a complete gastrointestinal obstruction.
Here at our facility we tried our best to massage the egg back out of his mouth manually, as we typically do in these cases. Unfortunately, because the egg had been in there for so long, we were unsuccessful. The decision was then made to rush him in for emergency treatment with our friend and local reptile veterinarian Dr. Tony
Colbert at the Exotic Bird Hospital, Jacksonville. He was thankfully able to perform the surgery last night and he successfully removed the wooden egg. The snake spent the night at the vet hospital, and we will update you later on this poor fellow's progress.
Emergency surgery is expensive, and we are grateful for any donations the public feels moved to give. If you would like to help, we are so thankful for you!! The preliminary estimate for this beautiful snake's surgery & after care is between $480-$680.
From people in the comment section, wooden eggs are placed in coops to supposedly encourage laying.
I guess that is a chicken thing? I know we've given some of our ambassador birds fake eggs to prevent them from laying and wasting nutrients and energy unnecessarily, from what I understood...
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From Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke
Meet RSHA 26-2599, the Red-shouldered Hawk! This patient lies at the center of a recently-solved MYSTERY at our wildlife hospital.
Miss RSHA 26-2599 is a mature adult hawk who was found grounded in a driveway about a mile from our facility. On arrival, we checked for the usual suspects: Broken bones, lead toxicity, eye issues, head trauma, emaciation, bruising from any kind of collision or altercation. ALL were within normal limits (except for one, but we'll get there).
The diagnosis: At over 910g in weight, she was too darn fat to fly! We couldn't even palpate her keel due to the heavy layer of fat covering it.
It is RARE for wild animals to become obese without human intervention, so how could this happen? Was she a lost falconry bird? Someone was feeding her? Was she an escaped (illegally-kept) captive hawk?
After ruling these out, we asked the finder if any of her neighbors had free-ranging chickens she could be eating.
The finder did some asking around, and called us back to confirm a couple of weeks later: YES! Her neighbors' free- roaming chickens were disappearing at an alarming rate over the last few weeks.
Our mystery was very likely solved! This queen was picking off the buffet of easy prey set out before her, eating her fill, and then snoozing in the trees nearby until she was ready to eat again. The chickens were let out in the morning, she ate another, and repeat.
After weeks of repeating this feasting and sleeping, it's no wonder she got too fat to fly!
This story is kinda funny (unless you're the chickens getting eaten), but there is a sobering reality: This is a man-made issue, and this could have had a sadder ending if she had been found by a larger predator instead of the finder. Without flight, she is extremely vulnerable.
Moral of the story: Don't feed wildlife... Directly OR indirectly. Also, covered runs are the way to go for chicken keeping!
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From Jeff Chow
This young baby baboon nursing ... as it hung on to its Mother... was one of my favorite moments in South Africa earlier this month.
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From Jon-jon Salvador
My 23rd LIFER of 2026! The Sooty Woodpecker!
While exploring the El Kabayo area, we were lucky enough to come across this amazing species. What made the encounter even more special was getting to see not just the male, but the female as well! A surprise and another addition to my lifer list this year.
EOS system with Canon 800mm IS STM
Tripod support
October 2026
El Kabayo, Subic, Philippines
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From Steve Gettle
"Lickity Split - Breakfast" - Panther Chameleon - Eastern Madagascar CC
A dramatic pause - both eyes swivel forward locking on the target and... SNAP! in an instant the tongue flashes and breakfast is served.
Good Luck and Good Light! Steve and Nicole
Image: Panther Chameleon - Eastern Madagascar CC Nikon Z9, Nikkor 100-400mm, 1/2000th @ f5.6, ISO 2000, Image cropped 20% for final composition.
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From Mark Hayes
I've never seen a Groundhog (also known as Woodchuck and Whistle Pig) in a tree. It seemed unconcerned that I was only about 20 feet away. This was in my local county park so they are accustomed to humans. I've seen this Groundhog before as it dove into a nearby hollow tree as I approached. Another first today.
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From Brian G Weber
Yesterday, I saw one of the weirdest and coolest sea slugs I've ever seen and it was in New Hampshire. This is Elysia chlorotica, a slug that eats algae and steals its chloroplasts to use for photosynthesis. Yes, this slug is solar powered! I saw this species back in 2022 at the same site, but this time there were literally hundreds of them! So cool. Many more pictures to come.
Captured with my Olympus OM-1 + 60mm macro lens.
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From Gid Ferrer
10/2026
Great-eared nightjar
Subic Bay, Philippines
The Great eared nightjar is a species of nightjar in the genus Lyncornis. It is found in southwest India and in parts of Southeast Asia. This very large nightjar has long barred wings, a barred tail and long ear-tufts which are often recumbent. It has a white throat band but has no white on its wings or on its tail.
Thank you for this wonderful pose and opportunity to photograph you. We all appreciate you 🦜
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Went to toss the squirrels and birds their evening handful of peanuts yesterday, when this guy in the far end of the yard caught my gaze.
Photos aren't great, he was pretty far away, and the photos are my phone through cheapo binoculars, free hand.
Still a beauty, and a nice surprise for me.
It's a melanistic Eastern gray squirrel. They're some interesting theories on them in the black squirrel wiki, though a lot just seen to be guesses to me! 😉
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From Jennifer Gordon
Someone attacked this snake with a shovel, severing his spine. Somehow, he managed to make his way to our rescue.
I write about snakes a lot. Particularly copperheads, which seem to bring out some pretty strong opinions in people.
But there's a reason I gravitate toward snakes.
They're probably some of the most misunderstood animals on the planet. And after more than two decades of rescuing animals, I've come to realize that people are often the cause of the very problems we're trying to solve.
Writing about these experiences has become somewhat cathartic for me.
For years, I kept so much of what I witnessed bottled up inside. Eventually, I realized how unhealthy that was, and I started writing about the things I encountered in my work.
As it turns out, we have some pretty interesting stories to tell.
Like this one.
Meet one of our eastern ratsnakes, formerly known as black ratsnakes.
I'm not exactly sure who gets to make all these decisions about renaming animals, but apparently someone decided that ratsnakes needed different names depending on where they live.
Because, you know, a ratsnake is a ratsnake. 😂
Anyway, I digress.
I've always had a particular fondness for these snakes.
I understand that people fear venomous snakes, even though I could never bring myself to kill an animal simply because I didn't understand it or was afraid of it.
But ratsnakes?
They're genuinely some of the gentlest creatures I've ever encountered.
Now, don't get me wrong. I've met a few feisty ones over the years, and any wild animal can become defensive when frightened, harassed, or threatened.
But I've encountered completely wild ratsnakes that were perfectly content to rest around my shoulders while I walked around.
They're fascinating animals.
And this particular snake has quite a story.
Somewhere near our rescue, we believe someone attacked him with a shovel.
The injury was devastating.
The back portion of his spine was completely severed.
And somehow, despite that injury, he managed to slither onto our rescue property.
One of our staff members spotted him, recognized that something was terribly wrong, and immediately brought him into our veterinary clinic.
I still find it remarkable that he was able to make his way to us.
And here's where his story gets even more interesting.
Despite the spinal injury, he can still move the back half of his body.
He can eat small meals, digest his food, and defecate.
Larger meals are more difficult for him because of the scar tissue surrounding the injury, but he's managing remarkably well considering what happened to him.
We recently brought him in for another evaluation while we were performing surgeries to see whether there might be an opportunity to do some corrective work.
Unfortunately, he's not quite ready for that yet.
Because of the severity of his injury, he'll never be released back into the wild.
But what strikes me most about this snake isn't just his ability to survive.
It's his temperament.
He is one of the gentlest ratsnakes I've ever encountered.
Even after everything he's been through, he's remarkably calm when we're caring for him.
I know people sometimes roll their eyes when I talk about snakes as though they have personalities. But spend enough time working with them, and you begin to appreciate just how different they can be from one another.
I can't tell you what this snake thinks about the people caring for him.
But I can tell you that he's safe here.
He's receiving medical care, he's eating, and we're continuing to evaluate what we can do to improve his quality of life.
And yes, he's loved.
I often wonder what goes through someone's mind when they pick up a shovel and attack an animal that was simply trying to exist.
I understand fear.
What I don't understand is cruelty.
This snake wasn't looking for a fight. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone. He was simply going about his life until someone decided that his life didn't matter.
And somehow, he survived.
He may never return to the wild, but his story isn't over.
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Yesterday, I found a rare Melanistic Black Chipmunk! My neighbors have seen him, but this is my first sighting!
Black chipmunks are extremely rare, with melanistic individuals appearing only occasionally in the wild.
A melanistic chipmunk is simply an Eastern chipmunk with a genetic anomaly that results in excessive melanin, giving it a solid black coat instead of the usual dark-and-white stripes - in Wellsboro, PA.
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From Erin Rojek
The American Oystercatcher, with its bright orange bill and striking black-and-white plumage, is hard to miss along the shore. A true coastal beauty, probing the sand for its next tasty meal.
New Hampshire
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From Steve Gettle
"How Crazy is This?" - Giraffe Weevil - Andasibe, Madagascar
Madagascar is filled with unique and interesting things found no where else on earth. This tiny insect is a giraffe weevil it is about 1.5 inches (4 CM) This one is a male, whose neck is roughly three times longer than a female's. During mating season the males will joust with their necks (much like a giraffe) trying to dislodge their rivals from the vegetation.
Good Luck and Good Light! Steve and Nicole
Image: Giraffe Weevil - Andasibe, Madagascar Nikon Z9, Nikkor 105mm Macro, 1/200th @ f16, ISO 200, Nikon R1 - C1 Macro flash, Image cropped 5% for final composition
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From William Ko
A split second before impact. No hesitation. No second chances. Just focus, talons, and instinct!
Grey-headed Fish Eagle in full hunting dive!
16 Oct 26
Ulu Pandan Park Connector, Singapore
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From David Lytwynec
Today I learned that Pileated Woodpeckers, while hunting for insects, will place an ear next to the surface of a tree, listening for insects moving under the bark.
It's not a great picture, but it does document what I observed.
Ellicott City, 10/17/2026.
I didn't know this either. I thought they just looked for likely spots and did some trial and error.
Here is a good article about the ways they listen and locate their prey if you'd like some more details.
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