From Joel Sartore’s fantastic Biodiversity Project:
Hibernating Arctic ground squirrels (Spermopilus parryii) at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. This animal is the grand champion of all hibernators. It’s the only mammal that can drop its body temperature to below freezing. They hibernate for seven months. Females go in first, in August. Males follow a month later. They come out again to feed on tundra plants in May. Biologists at UAF have been studying the animal for 20 years, but still can’t figure out how this animal maintains a flat body temperature for all those months just above freezing. “You could put people into hibernation for space trips if you could understand it better,” said Franziska ‘Fran’ Kohl, one of the biologists here. “They also show symptoms of Alzheimers during hibernation.” She added that traumatic head injuries heal when in hibernation, another thing scientists are trying to figure out.
Don’t be afraid of the dark. ‘Night, Tumblr!
This wildlife overpass near Banff National Park, combined with fencing that leads animals to it, is designed to give wildlife a way to cross over the interstate. It is now thought that underpasses work better for skittish animals too shy to cross out in the open.
— Joel Sartore, Fragile Nature
askjerves:
RARE: Behind the Scenes by Joel Sartore
How does Joel Sartore make those incredibly cute portraits of endangered species that you’ve seen all over the place? Ain’t easy. (Sartore yesterday, Steinmetz today. For all the haut monde nonsense, NG keeps this forum honest.)
You stay away from Tumblr way too long, Ben, but your gems are worth waiting for. previously
