Check out these pet animals images:
na-ni-??
Image by y_katsuuu
Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts
Nice Pet Animals photos
Check out these pet animals images:
The Alpaca is Adorable
Image by serenithyme
We visited an alpaca farm last week,this is a 6 day old baby(cria).Think we should have an informal contest to name it...I go for ''Pavlova'',that is a creamy baked NZ dessert,is there a name you would choose?
Calico Cat
Image by SpeckledOwl
My kitty, Leela :)
Nice Animals Games photos
A few nice animals games images I found:
wrong with this picture game
Image by Foxtongue
❅ ❅ ❅ Winter games ❅ ❅ ❅
Image by Viola & Cats / Sorry absent (broken pc)
ALL RIGHT RESERVED ©
Do not use my images without my permission, please contact us before using.
© TUTTI I DIRITTI RISERVATI ©
Non utilizzare le mie immagini senza il mio consenso , prima di utilizzare prego di contattarmi
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
MY CATS WILL ENJOY PLAYING
MIEI GATTI SI DIVERTONO A GIOCARE
flickriver.com/photos/tags/gattini/interesting/
Waiting game
Image by Mr Orange
I need another bird...the angrier the better
Nice Names For Animals photos
A few nice names for animals images I found:
Day One Hundred Fifty
Image by Dustin Diaz
150/365. Meow meow meow
Everyone, if you haven't met her already, this is Meow meow meow. (That's really her name). I had adopted her after as one of my (only) own after I met Erin. She is 84 years old according to this human to cat years calculator. It was only appropriate that she gets a special day like 150 (seemed like a good round number).
But of course, even if you're not into the strobist stuff... it's worth watching the setup for this one.
Also, a couple other things I want to mention. I noticed some folks have been requesting the 'ol black and white diagrams for the setup info since they are easier to study. I agree. But this is FREE information. Free as in beer. Other folks have requested that I remove the qutoed text on each picture. No. I'll keep doing whatever I think feels right.
Ok..
setup, camera, strobist info: see the video
Cool Plush Stuffed Animals images
Some cool plush stuffed animals images:
Kangaroo 2886
Image by PKMousie
Aminals
Image by jbhalper
Mmm... Sake & Chocolates!
Image by krizalis
*Stares* at the pink sake~
Cool Animals Facts images
Some cool animals facts images:
Observing
Image by Melissa Maples
At first I was a little bit weird about the fact that the families brought their kids down to watch, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I probably wouldn't be so disproportionately freaked out about death if I had had this sort of exposure to it as a child. I probably also would have grown up with a greater appreciation of where meat comes from.
View the set here.
Cool About Endangered Animals images
A few nice about endangered animals images I found:
Fishing Cats Born at the National ZooFishing Cats Born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Image by Smithsonian's National Zoo
Photo Credit: Courtney Janney, Smithsonian's National Zoo
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is closer to cracking the code for breeding one of Asia’s most elusive species with the birth of two fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus). Seven-year-old Electra delivered the kittens between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. May 18 in an off-exhibit den. Their birth marks an important milestone: this is the first time fishing cats have successfully bred and produced young at the National Zoo.
Keepers are monitoring the mother and her offspring through a closed-circuit camera, allowing the family time to bond. Although the kittens will not make their public debut until later this summer, Zoo visitors can see their father, two-year-old Lek, on Asia Trail.
“Many months of behavior watch, introductions and research allowed us to get to this point,” said Zoo Director Dennis Kelly. “It’s very rewarding that our efforts have paid off. The future of their wild cousins hangs in the balance, so it’s imperative that we do all we can to ensure their survival.”
Before Lek arrived at the Zoo in January 2011, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for fishing cats intended to pair Electra with another male. The SSP scientists determine which animals breed by considering their genetic makeup and social needs, temperament and overall health. Despite meeting these criteria, the other male and Electra never took an interest in one another. By contrast, when keepers introduced Lek and Electra, the cats soon began showing signs of affection, such as grooming and nuzzling.
The Zoo’s three adult fishing cats are taking part in a multi-institutional study that examines the many facets of introducing a potential breeding pair. Researcher Jilian Fazio is looking at stress and reproductive hormones to determine if different introduction techniques or individual personalities spell success or failure when it comes to fishing cat reproduction. The National Zoo’s recent success is particularly important for fishing cat populations in human care. Of the 32 fishing cats in the North America SSP, only 27 of them are considered reproductively viable. Lek and Electra’s kittens will become valuable breeders because their genes are not well represented in the captive population.
Only one other facility accredited by the AZA has successfully bred fishing cats since 2009. The Zoo hopes that by sharing its successful management strategies, other zoos across the country will have similar results.
National Zoo veterinarians will perform a complete physical exam on the fishing cat kittens and administer the first set of vaccines in the next few weeks. However, keepers have observed the kittens growing and becoming more independent every day.
“Electra will let the kittens explore only so far before she brings them back under her close watch,” said Animal Keeper Courtney Janney. “Her maternal instincts kicked in right away, and she’s proving to be a very adept and confident mother. We are very proud of the whole process and look forward to learning all we can about their development.”
Fishing cats are vanishing from riverbanks in their native India and Southeast Asia due to water pollution, poaching and increased shrimp farming throughout their habitat. Wild populations have decreased by 50 percent in the past 18 years, prompting the International Union for Conservation of Nature to change the species’ status from vulnerable to endangered.
Fishing cats are named after their hunting technique. The majority of their diet consists of prey such as fish, frogs and aquatic birds, and they have a unique way of capturing their meals. By tapping their paws on the surface of the water, they trick prey into thinking the water ripples are from an insect. When the prey is close enough, the cat will either dive into the water after it or scoop it out using its partially webbed paw.
Fishing Cats Born at the National ZooFishing Cats Born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Image by Smithsonian's National Zoo
Photo Credit: Courtney Janney, Smithsonian's National Zoo
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is closer to cracking the code for breeding one of Asia’s most elusive species with the birth of two fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus). Seven-year-old Electra delivered the kittens between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. May 18 in an off-exhibit den. Their birth marks an important milestone: this is the first time fishing cats have successfully bred and produced young at the National Zoo.
Keepers are monitoring the mother and her offspring through a closed-circuit camera, allowing the family time to bond. Although the kittens will not make their public debut until later this summer, Zoo visitors can see their father, two-year-old Lek, on Asia Trail.
“Many months of behavior watch, introductions and research allowed us to get to this point,” said Zoo Director Dennis Kelly. “It’s very rewarding that our efforts have paid off. The future of their wild cousins hangs in the balance, so it’s imperative that we do all we can to ensure their survival.”
Before Lek arrived at the Zoo in January 2011, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for fishing cats intended to pair Electra with another male. The SSP scientists determine which animals breed by considering their genetic makeup and social needs, temperament and overall health. Despite meeting these criteria, the other male and Electra never took an interest in one another. By contrast, when keepers introduced Lek and Electra, the cats soon began showing signs of affection, such as grooming and nuzzling.
The Zoo’s three adult fishing cats are taking part in a multi-institutional study that examines the many facets of introducing a potential breeding pair. Researcher Jilian Fazio is looking at stress and reproductive hormones to determine if different introduction techniques or individual personalities spell success or failure when it comes to fishing cat reproduction. The National Zoo’s recent success is particularly important for fishing cat populations in human care. Of the 32 fishing cats in the North America SSP, only 27 of them are considered reproductively viable. Lek and Electra’s kittens will become valuable breeders because their genes are not well represented in the captive population.
Only one other facility accredited by the AZA has successfully bred fishing cats since 2009. The Zoo hopes that by sharing its successful management strategies, other zoos across the country will have similar results.
National Zoo veterinarians will perform a complete physical exam on the fishing cat kittens and administer the first set of vaccines in the next few weeks. However, keepers have observed the kittens growing and becoming more independent every day.
“Electra will let the kittens explore only so far before she brings them back under her close watch,” said Animal Keeper Courtney Janney. “Her maternal instincts kicked in right away, and she’s proving to be a very adept and confident mother. We are very proud of the whole process and look forward to learning all we can about their development.”
Fishing cats are vanishing from riverbanks in their native India and Southeast Asia due to water pollution, poaching and increased shrimp farming throughout their habitat. Wild populations have decreased by 50 percent in the past 18 years, prompting the International Union for Conservation of Nature to change the species’ status from vulnerable to endangered.
Fishing cats are named after their hunting technique. The majority of their diet consists of prey such as fish, frogs and aquatic birds, and they have a unique way of capturing their meals. By tapping their paws on the surface of the water, they trick prey into thinking the water ripples are from an insect. When the prey is close enough, the cat will either dive into the water after it or scoop it out using its partially webbed paw.
Fishing Cats Born at the National ZooFishing Cats Born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Image by Smithsonian's National Zoo
Photo Credit: Courtney Janney, Smithsonian's National Zoo
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is closer to cracking the code for breeding one of Asia’s most elusive species with the birth of two fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus). Seven-year-old Electra delivered the kittens between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. May 18 in an off-exhibit den. Their birth marks an important milestone: this is the first time fishing cats have successfully bred and produced young at the National Zoo.
Keepers are monitoring the mother and her offspring through a closed-circuit camera, allowing the family time to bond. Although the kittens will not make their public debut until later this summer, Zoo visitors can see their father, two-year-old Lek, on Asia Trail.
“Many months of behavior watch, introductions and research allowed us to get to this point,” said Zoo Director Dennis Kelly. “It’s very rewarding that our efforts have paid off. The future of their wild cousins hangs in the balance, so it’s imperative that we do all we can to ensure their survival.”
Before Lek arrived at the Zoo in January 2011, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for fishing cats intended to pair Electra with another male. The SSP scientists determine which animals breed by considering their genetic makeup and social needs, temperament and overall health. Despite meeting these criteria, the other male and Electra never took an interest in one another. By contrast, when keepers introduced Lek and Electra, the cats soon began showing signs of affection, such as grooming and nuzzling.
The Zoo’s three adult fishing cats are taking part in a multi-institutional study that examines the many facets of introducing a potential breeding pair. Researcher Jilian Fazio is looking at stress and reproductive hormones to determine if different introduction techniques or individual personalities spell success or failure when it comes to fishing cat reproduction. The National Zoo’s recent success is particularly important for fishing cat populations in human care. Of the 32 fishing cats in the North America SSP, only 27 of them are considered reproductively viable. Lek and Electra’s kittens will become valuable breeders because their genes are not well represented in the captive population.
Only one other facility accredited by the AZA has successfully bred fishing cats since 2009. The Zoo hopes that by sharing its successful management strategies, other zoos across the country will have similar results.
National Zoo veterinarians will perform a complete physical exam on the fishing cat kittens and administer the first set of vaccines in the next few weeks. However, keepers have observed the kittens growing and becoming more independent every day.
“Electra will let the kittens explore only so far before she brings them back under her close watch,” said Animal Keeper Courtney Janney. “Her maternal instincts kicked in right away, and she’s proving to be a very adept and confident mother. We are very proud of the whole process and look forward to learning all we can about their development.”
Fishing cats are vanishing from riverbanks in their native India and Southeast Asia due to water pollution, poaching and increased shrimp farming throughout their habitat. Wild populations have decreased by 50 percent in the past 18 years, prompting the International Union for Conservation of Nature to change the species’ status from vulnerable to endangered.
Fishing cats are named after their hunting technique. The majority of their diet consists of prey such as fish, frogs and aquatic birds, and they have a unique way of capturing their meals. By tapping their paws on the surface of the water, they trick prey into thinking the water ripples are from an insect. When the prey is close enough, the cat will either dive into the water after it or scoop it out using its partially webbed paw.
Cool Animals Facts images
A few nice animals facts images I found:
Moreton Island 0589
Image by Michael Dawes
The Bottlenose Dolphin is the most common and well-known dolphin. Recent molecular studies show it is in fact two species, the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (T. aduncus). It inhabits warm and temperate seas worldwide and may be found in all but the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans.
Moreton Island 0621
Image by Michael Dawes
The Bottlenose Dolphin is the most common and well-known dolphin. Recent molecular studies show it is in fact two species, the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (T. aduncus). It inhabits warm and temperate seas worldwide and may be found in all but the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans.
Nice All About Animals photos
Check out these all about animals images:
Elegance Defined - South African Giraffe - UPDATE
Image by Sheree (Here intermittently)
My ultimate animal -- and I love many -- especially gorillas -- is a giraffe. And I was not disappointed by our recent safari into Kruger National Park ... and another South African park near Hluhluwe.
Our guide got us so close to the animals, we could have touched them. The giraffes were spectacular with their elegant bodies and beautiful eyes.
Here is one of my favorite shots. Look at her gorgeous eyes. How do I know this is a girl? She has hair on her horns; the boys rub all the hair off their horns when they fight.
Slept in a "hobbit hole" for the past couple of nights...and all I could think about were the snakes and spiders crawling around outside. Yes, there are black mambas here.
Now we are spending a night on the Indian Ocean, the Dolphin Coast. Beautiful area.
No spiders or snakes in or around my bed.
Tomorrow, we are off to the mountains.
Blessings to all my Flickr friends,
~~Sheree~~
Blixa
Image by Niklas
Poser. Pretty tired after all of her running about.
Cool Pet Animals images
Check out these pet animals images:
American Bulldog mix,
Image by gr8dnes
American Bulldog mix, dog, dogs, doggie, doggy, canine, Clear Brook, Virginia, VA; animals; pets {companion animals, domesticated animals, pet};
Cool Stuff Animals images
Some cool stuff animals images:
Pikesville Branch - Stuffed Animal Story Time Sleepover
Image by BCPL Photo
BCPL: Pikesville Branch - Stuffed Animal Story Time Sleepover - April 22, 2013
Nice About Pet Animals photos
Check out these about pet animals images:
Furs Chapter ~ Buddy's new adventures ~ Pt1
Image by Chrissy Downunder
This photo is in relation to a story for children.
Furs Chapter ~ Buddy's new adventures ~ Pt1
You can read all about it here:
www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977409284&...
Cool Animals Games images
Check out these animals games images:
Tango
Image by C. Strife
from the LA County fair. good times.
17-50mm f/2.8 Tammy
Waterbuck & impala at Xakanxa area of Moremi game reserve in Botswana-03 9-12-10
Image by lamsongf
Waterbuck & impala at Xakanxa area of Moremi game reserve in Botswana-01 9-12-10
Image by lamsongf
Cool Stuffed Animals images
A few nice stuffed animals images I found:
144/365 - portrait with Jeffy
Image by CR Artist
Jeffy says hello!
I took this photo with Jeffy, a stuffed animal giraffe that my wife recently brought home. My brother, sister and I grew up owning lots of stuffed animals and so I thought it would be fun to post a photo with Jeffy! :)
So get this, pretty much all of our six inches of snow is totally gone! Yesterday and Saturday night there were cars in ditches, the roads were terrible and I was shoveling a lot of snow and today you would never have known we just had a snowstorm. Its a pretty typical scenario in Iowa during the early part of Spring, but its still fascinating to me! :)
Cool Photo Of Animals images
Some cool photo of animals images:
Banho de Sol...
Image by _Guilherme Grespan
Foto por Guilherme Grespan
Observações:
Todas as fotos aqui postadas estão livres para divulgação, desde que com minha assinatura na foto e com os devidos créditos, como segue abaixo:
Foto por Guilherme Grespan - www.flickr.com/photos/guilhermegrespan/
As fotos estão com tamanho reduzido para web, tenho todas em alta resolução, e sem a assinatura, caso alguem precise é só me enviar um email.
Qualquer utilização das fotos em meios comerciais, favor me contactar.
Contato:
email: gui_grespan@yahoo.com.br
Ao Publicar:
Caso você publique esta foto em algum local, favor me informar por email, para que eu possa manter o histórico.
Muito Obrigado.
______________________________________________________________________
Photo by Guilherme Grespan
Notes:
All photos posted here are free to disclosure, provided that with my signature on the photo and with the appropriate credits, as follows below:
Photo by Guilherme Grespan - www.flickr.com/photos/guilhermegrespan/
The photos are reduced in size for web, have all at high resolution, and without the signature, if someone needs just send me an email.
Any use of photos for media business, please contact me.
Contact:
email: gui_grespan@yahoo.com.br
By Post:
If you publish this picture in any place, please let me know by email, so I can keep the history.
Thank you very much.
Nice Animals For Free photos
A few nice animals for free images I found:
American River Otter (lantra canadensis), Amazona Zoo
Image by spencer77
This picture is available to use for free, under the creative commons licence. All I ask is that I'm given a photo credit & a courtesy email to let me know how it's being used.
Nice Wildlife Animals photos
Some cool wildlife animals images:
Starting Off
Image by Saparevo
Vulture
Image by Saparevo
Although it is not the most beautiful bird. I think this close up is amazing. The details are wonderul especially the eye
View On Black
skunk
Image by Leo Reynolds
Norfolk Wildlife Centre & Country Park, Great Witchingham, Norfolk, England, UK
Nice Extinct Animals photos
Check out these extinct animals images:
seminolecanyon031
Image by mlhradio
Seminole Canyon State Park, Val Verde County, Texas. One of the more remote state parks, tucked into the southwest corner of Texas about an hour's drive west of Del Rio.
This area has been inhabited since the very earliest days that humans set foot in North America, going back nearly 12,000 years - back during the last Ice Age when the land was more verdant with now-extinct animals still roaming the surrounding prairies and forest. But over the millenia, the climate changed to its current, arid desert landscape - and the Indians adapted.
All through these years, the local Indians drew pictograms all over the surrounding canyon walls and caves. In the dry climate, protected by overhanging rock walls, many of these pictograms survived through the ages. Some of the more famous sites, such as the Fate Bell and Panther Cave, are the feature attractions of Seminole Canyon, and can be visited by guided tour through the park.
However, I have not yet visited these sites - instead focusing on other areas of the park. On the first visit (March 9th, 2008), I arrived after the park had closed for the day. I walked along the short 'Windmill Trail', a small loop near the visitor's center. This trail leads down to a small year-round spring and the ruins of a water catchment system that was used by local settlers over the past hundred years.
The return trip (September 27, 2008) was much more fruitful - I chose to hike the Rio Grande River Trail, a six-mile out-and-back loop that leads to the far corner of the park, almost a stone's throw from Old Mexico. With recent rains it was fairly lively and green, with countless butterflies passing through on their annual migration. The trail starts alongside the original 'Loop Trail', the 1882 railroad alignment that was abandoned a decade later when a less strenuous route was forged and the Pecos River High Bridge was built.
The trail itself is pretty boring - a flat, featureless hike across a nondescript desert plain. But the main highlight of the hike quickly comes into view. There is a mile-long spur shooting off to the left called the Pressa Trail, which leads to an overlook looking down at a three-way intersection in the Seminole Canyon below. Here, the waters from Lake Amistad many miles away along the Rio Grande peter out; to the right, the waters are wide and deep, muddied from the recent rainstorms. To the left, the two forks of Seminole Canyon are mostly dry. From the top of the overlook, sheer cliffs lead staight down over a hundred feet to the waters below. The view is, well, *breathtaking* - and worth the trip.
Back on the main trail, a few miles later it comes to an abrupt end at the junction where Seminole Canyon merges with the Rio Grande. The location overlooks the Panther Cave pictograms, on the opposite shore far below, accessible only by boat. To the right, a few hundred yards away, are the hills of Mexico. Here, the water is deeper, the canyons steeper, the chasm wider. An impressive view, although not as amazing as the Pressa Trail overlook.
From here, it is a straight hike back along the south portion of the loop, my only companion a great horned toad trying to hide in the gravel of the trail. I would like to return to this park to take the guided tours, and there are other tours available nearby on private land to other pictogram sites as well. And I am told this park is also fabulous for bird watchers as well.
seminolecanyon167
Image by mlhradio
Seminole Canyon State Park, Val Verde County, Texas. One of the more remote state parks, tucked into the southwest corner of Texas about an hour's drive west of Del Rio.
This area has been inhabited since the very earliest days that humans set foot in North America, going back nearly 12,000 years - back during the last Ice Age when the land was more verdant with now-extinct animals still roaming the surrounding prairies and forest. But over the millenia, the climate changed to its current, arid desert landscape - and the Indians adapted.
All through these years, the local Indians drew pictograms all over the surrounding canyon walls and caves. In the dry climate, protected by overhanging rock walls, many of these pictograms survived through the ages. Some of the more famous sites, such as the Fate Bell and Panther Cave, are the feature attractions of Seminole Canyon, and can be visited by guided tour through the park.
However, I have not yet visited these sites - instead focusing on other areas of the park. On the first visit (March 9th, 2008), I arrived after the park had closed for the day. I walked along the short 'Windmill Trail', a small loop near the visitor's center. This trail leads down to a small year-round spring and the ruins of a water catchment system that was used by local settlers over the past hundred years.
The return trip (September 27, 2008) was much more fruitful - I chose to hike the Rio Grande River Trail, a six-mile out-and-back loop that leads to the far corner of the park, almost a stone's throw from Old Mexico. With recent rains it was fairly lively and green, with countless butterflies passing through on their annual migration. The trail starts alongside the original 'Loop Trail', the 1882 railroad alignment that was abandoned a decade later when a less strenuous route was forged and the Pecos River High Bridge was built.
The trail itself is pretty boring - a flat, featureless hike across a nondescript desert plain. But the main highlight of the hike quickly comes into view. There is a mile-long spur shooting off to the left called the Pressa Trail, which leads to an overlook looking down at a three-way intersection in the Seminole Canyon below. Here, the waters from Lake Amistad many miles away along the Rio Grande peter out; to the right, the waters are wide and deep, muddied from the recent rainstorms. To the left, the two forks of Seminole Canyon are mostly dry. From the top of the overlook, sheer cliffs lead staight down over a hundred feet to the waters below. The view is, well, *breathtaking* - and worth the trip.
Back on the main trail, a few miles later it comes to an abrupt end at the junction where Seminole Canyon merges with the Rio Grande. The location overlooks the Panther Cave pictograms, on the opposite shore far below, accessible only by boat. To the right, a few hundred yards away, are the hills of Mexico. Here, the water is deeper, the canyons steeper, the chasm wider. An impressive view, although not as amazing as the Pressa Trail overlook.
From here, it is a straight hike back along the south portion of the loop, my only companion a great horned toad trying to hide in the gravel of the trail. I would like to return to this park to take the guided tours, and there are other tours available nearby on private land to other pictogram sites as well. And I am told this park is also fabulous for bird watchers as well.
Nice African Animals photos
A few nice african animals images I found:
EXPO88_Night scenes_048
Image by Degilbo on flickr
An array of African animals created out of sheets of corrugated iron displayed at Expo 88 held in Brisbane from 30 April to 30 October 1988. Taken with Rolleicord Va using Rolleikin Adapter and Kodacolor 35 mm film.
Expo '88 was a World's Fair held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia between April 30 and October 30, 1988. The theme of the Expo was "Leisure in the Age of Technology" and at a cost of AUD5 million, Expo '88 was the largest event of the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations of the British settlement of Australia.
African Catfish
Image by Anita363
Congregating here in huge numbers in the algae-rich shallows of the lake -- don't really know why. They eat animal matter, live or dead,
Cool Animals That Are Extinct images
A few nice animals that are extinct images I found:
seminolecanyon076
Image by mlhradio
Seminole Canyon State Park, Val Verde County, Texas. One of the more remote state parks, tucked into the southwest corner of Texas about an hour's drive west of Del Rio.
This area has been inhabited since the very earliest days that humans set foot in North America, going back nearly 12,000 years - back during the last Ice Age when the land was more verdant with now-extinct animals still roaming the surrounding prairies and forest. But over the millenia, the climate changed to its current, arid desert landscape - and the Indians adapted.
All through these years, the local Indians drew pictograms all over the surrounding canyon walls and caves. In the dry climate, protected by overhanging rock walls, many of these pictograms survived through the ages. Some of the more famous sites, such as the Fate Bell and Panther Cave, are the feature attractions of Seminole Canyon, and can be visited by guided tour through the park.
However, I have not yet visited these sites - instead focusing on other areas of the park. On the first visit (March 9th, 2008), I arrived after the park had closed for the day. I walked along the short 'Windmill Trail', a small loop near the visitor's center. This trail leads down to a small year-round spring and the ruins of a water catchment system that was used by local settlers over the past hundred years.
The return trip (September 27, 2008) was much more fruitful - I chose to hike the Rio Grande River Trail, a six-mile out-and-back loop that leads to the far corner of the park, almost a stone's throw from Old Mexico. With recent rains it was fairly lively and green, with countless butterflies passing through on their annual migration. The trail starts alongside the original 'Loop Trail', the 1882 railroad alignment that was abandoned a decade later when a less strenuous route was forged and the Pecos River High Bridge was built.
The trail itself is pretty boring - a flat, featureless hike across a nondescript desert plain. But the main highlight of the hike quickly comes into view. There is a mile-long spur shooting off to the left called the Pressa Trail, which leads to an overlook looking down at a three-way intersection in the Seminole Canyon below. Here, the waters from Lake Amistad many miles away along the Rio Grande peter out; to the right, the waters are wide and deep, muddied from the recent rainstorms. To the left, the two forks of Seminole Canyon are mostly dry. From the top of the overlook, sheer cliffs lead staight down over a hundred feet to the waters below. The view is, well, *breathtaking* - and worth the trip.
Back on the main trail, a few miles later it comes to an abrupt end at the junction where Seminole Canyon merges with the Rio Grande. The location overlooks the Panther Cave pictograms, on the opposite shore far below, accessible only by boat. To the right, a few hundred yards away, are the hills of Mexico. Here, the water is deeper, the canyons steeper, the chasm wider. An impressive view, although not as amazing as the Pressa Trail overlook.
From here, it is a straight hike back along the south portion of the loop, my only companion a great horned toad trying to hide in the gravel of the trail. I would like to return to this park to take the guided tours, and there are other tours available nearby on private land to other pictogram sites as well. And I am told this park is also fabulous for bird watchers as well.
