HIGHS & LOWS IN THE ANIMAL WORLD

 


The Rppell’s Griffon Vulture, with an 8 foot wingspan, can reach a flying height of 37,000 feet!

The little blue Fairy Penguin is a flightless bird who lives at sea level on the shores of Australia and New Zealand.  It is only 12 to 13 inches tall and is cute as the dickens. J  

The sweet little Inaccessible Island Rail bird of Inaccessible Island, an extinct volcanic island off the coast of Tristan de Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean is a flightless bird with small useless wings.  Its ancestors must have been able to fly once upon a time, however, which is how the birds came to be on the island, but as no predators exist on the island, the birds have no need to fly and have gradually lost the ability to do so.  Humans have lived there from time to time, but no one lives there now.  The terrain is not all that inviting.  See the next photo . . .

The little flightless Inaccessible Island Rail lives on the beaches and central plateau of the island.

The Large-eared Pika, a close cousin to rabbits, lives at an elevation of 21,000 feet in the Central Asian Himalays.  It is approximately 6”-9” in length. 

Meanwhile a cousin to the Pika, the Desert Cottontail Rabbit, lives in Death Valley, Calif. 200 feet below sea level.  It is slightly larger than its Himalayan cousin at 14”-17” in length.

A giraffe’s head is at a slightly higher elevation than that . . .

. . . of a baby porcupine.

Reindeer live in the mountains of Norway just above the tree line at around 6000 ft. elevation.

Their American brothers & sisters, the Caribou, live in the mountains of Alaska just above the tree line there at around 2500 ft. elevation.

Meanwhile, their cousins, the “Roosevelt” and “Tule” Elk live in the low coastal hills of central and northern California.


These guys & gals, of course, live at the North Pole and fly all over the world at various heights & elevations.  But it isn’t always easy.  One moment they might be high up on a rooftop, and the next moment – oops!

Here’s hoping all their “Oopses” end this well.

:-> 

La Nightingail


Comments

  1. Mike BrubakerSeptember 8, 2024 at 6:55 PM

    Very funny! I enjoyed your take on the highs and lows of the animal kingdom. I could readily believe that you once adopted a wild giraffe or lonesome caribou. I believe the picture of a baby porcupine is actually a hedgehog, the "lovable" British woodland critter with similar prickly covering but less injurious needles.

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    Replies
    1. La NightingailSeptember 9, 2024 at 11:18 AM

      You could be right about the porcupine being a hedgehog. I found the identical picture identified both ways. Either way, it's adorable. :) My pets have always been birds, however - parakeets, a budgie, and, of course, for a while, a beloved pigeon. :))

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