It’s Mother’s Day today in the US, so to celebrate we thought we would highlight just a few of the interesting and varied ways mothers in the wild nurture their young.

A fleet-footed caregiver

Our first mother is the fastest land animal in the world, achieving speeds of up to 87 kilometers per hour! The female cheetah usually has a litter of up to three or four cubs, and tends to move the young to a new den every few days to avoid predation. The death rate of young cheetahs is high, mainly due to the risk of predation by lions, hyenas and even baboons, so the female must do all she can to protect them.

A set of stripes only a mother would know

At the other end of the food chain we have the Grevy’s zebra, the largest of the equids. Mares give birth to a single foal after a gestation period of 13 months. Foals are able to stand within minutes of birth, and can run when only 45 minutes old! They remain dependent on their mother’s milk until six to eight months of age.

The preening queen

Oh, how mothers love to groom us! The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the most endangered of all the penguin species. Between mid-September and mid-October a clutch of two eggs are laid, and both parents help incubate them up to two months. For the next six weeks the adults will take it in turns to stay with the chick whilst the other forages for food.

A lizard that lays and leaves

For the Galapogos marine iguana, motherhood usually ends once the eggs hatch. Females lay between one and six eggs in sand or volcanic ash burrows. Females often guard the burrows for several days then leave the eggs to finish incubation, which takes approximately 95 days. After the young hatch they look like and act like miniature adults, needing no parental care. If only we had it so easy!

Having a whale of time!

There are also nurturing mothers in the sea, like this false killer whale with her calf. Despite its name, it is not a close relative of the killer whale, but it has been known to attack much larger humpback and sperm whales. After a gestation period of almost 16 months, calves are born measuring up to two metres in length and nurse for up to two years!

Do you have a favorite mother in nature? Share it with ARKive on Facebook or Twitter!

Maggie Graham, Program Assistant, Wildscreen USA

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Break out the tacos and sombreros because Cinco de Mayo, a popular holiday in Mexico celebrating the nation’s culture and heritage, is right around the corner! There will be plenty of colorful festivities occurring on the day, so in honour of this celebration, we’d like to highlight some of Mexico’s most brilliant wildlife.

Amphibian with a headdress

The axolotl is a remarkable salamander that lives its whole life in the larval stage. It is easily distinguished by the characteristic pink feather-like gills that branch out from its neck. This incredible amphibian is also able to regrow missing tissue, and even whole limbs, when it is wounded.

Portrait showing feather-like gills of axolotl

The “New World” king  of the jungle

The jungles of Mexico are prime jaguar habitat. This striking cat was once widespread throughout the Americas, but with human activities threatening its survival, its range has become highly fragmented. Jaguars are opportunistic hunters, and relative to their size, they have the most powerful bite of all the big cats.

Jaguar resting in tree

Fiesta fish

The coney is a fish in the grouper family with an interesting quirk. Although all individuals begin life as females, they later change gender and become males. This interesting species also exhibits aggressive mimicry, where juveniles join groups of the similar looking brown chromis, allowing them to stealthily approach unsuspecting prey.

Coney

Desert dweller

Endemic to the southwestern United States and Mexico, the desert tortoise grazes on desert grasses, obtaining nearly all the water it requires from its food. The ambient temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings, with females produced at higher temperatures than males.

Desert tortoise feeding on flowers

Bird of brilliance

The scarlet macaw is an iconic and charismatic bird with bright plumage and loud vocalisations. It flys in flocks of up to 30 and frequently visits ‘clay licks’ on river banks to eat soil. Although it might seem like a strange habit, scientists believe the soil may protect the macaw against toxic compounds that it might have ingested.

Scarlet macaw in flight

A flowering find

Although it looks strikingly similar to its namesake, the artichoke cactus is actually a small cactus found only within the Valley of Jaumave in eastern Mexico. Just the very tip of the cactus emerges from the soil, but with all the spirals and whorls, this is likely the most spectacular part.

Artichoke cactus

These species are just a sample of the myriad of beautiful wildlife that Mexico has to offer. If you’ve got some time, why not explore some of the other species found in Mexico on ARKive and share your favorites in the comments!

Maggie Graham, Program Assistant, Wildscreen USA

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This week in the United States it’s time to celebrate all things green and leafy with it being both National Park Week and Arbor Day this coming Friday. With entrance fees to national parks across the country being waived, what better opportunity is there to go on an adventure and discover some of the country’s most spectacular wildlife.

Whether it’s hiking, swimming or kayaking that floats your boat, there is something for everyone, and we thought we would highlight a few of our favorite national parks to inspire you to get outside and experience nature.

Glacier Bay National Park

If you want to see glaciers crashing into the sea, orcas hunting their prey or brown bears effortlessly grabbing salmon from a rushing stream, head to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, where the majestic wilderness will keep your jaw dropped for hours on end. At this time of year you may also be lucky enough to see humpback whales breaching.

Grand Canyon National Park

Perhaps the desert is calling you, in which case Grand Canyon National Park would be a good call. It is no wonder why nearly 5 million people visit each year, with spectacular vistas of the mile deep, 277 mile long canyon. This terrain is home to the prickly pear cactus, puma and even the Critically Endangered California condor.

Voyageurs National Park

For those of you who aren’t afraid of a few mosquitoes and like to paddle a canoe, head north to Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. This land of over 10,000 lakes is home to a variety of species such as bald eagles, moose, grey wolves, and American black bears.

Everglades National Park

If you live closer to the tropical lowlands, check out Everglades National Park in Florida. This significant wetland has been designated a World Heritage Site and provides habitat for many Vulnerable species, including the American crocodile.

Shenandoah National Park

Finally, let’s look east to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. This eastern mountain range offers plenty of hiking trails, excellent stargazing and of course a plethora of wildlife to view. You might be lucky enough to see the eastern redbud a brilliantly colored tree that flowers this time of year.

Get outside and get involved!

Both National Park Week and Arbor Day are great ways to celebrate nature, enjoy wildlife, and they are entirely free to take part in! Have you been to any of these parks or captured photographs of these or other species? If so, why not share them on the ARKive Facebook page or Twitter feed!

In honor of Arbor Day on April 27th, you could even get your hands dirty and plant a native tree species in your own community. Find out how you can get involved by visiting the Arbor Day Foundation website.

Maggie Graham, Program Assistant, Wildscreen USA

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As you can probably tell, all of us here at ARKive are pretty much enamored with stunning, eye-catching and inspiring media art. From impactful photography to gripping wildlife film clips, imagery continues to play a powerful role in sparking and sustaining people’s interest in the natural world.

Earth Day sets the stage beautifully for appreciating art in nature and famed artist, Maya Lin, has captured the past and future of conservation in her final memorial titled, “What is Missing?”, a global, multimedia art project centered around our living planet. ARKive worked with Maya Lin, who is well known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the US, to secure a selection of emotive images and films for the memorial which is both a permanent exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences and a traveling exhibit featured in New York, Beijing, and Copenhagen. Maya hopes the newest addition to the memorial, called “Conservation in Action”, conveys a message that, “spurs people to realize their power to connect with work that is under way and take steps in their everyday lives, no matter how small.”

Inspired by Earth Day and “What is Missing?”, we had a look through the ARKive collection for our favorite artistically-inspired images and there are plenty to be found!

Reflections

The sunrise paints a colorful canvas for the Curlew sandpipers breakfast

A mother’s love

A peaceful moment captured between a mother and baby bonobo

Underwater gold

Fluorescent grass coral waves like shimmering gold in the ocean

A pop of color

A floral pop of fuchsia sets of the stunning blue matrona

 A different perspective

Focusing on a single detail, like a peacock grouper eye, can create a stunning portrait

After seeing this small set of images, it’s pretty hard not to find beauty and art all around nature! Which of these is your favorite? Is there another picture on ARKive that you think embodies art in nature? Share it with us in the comments below!

Happy Earth Day!

Liana Vitali, ARKive Science, Education and Outreach Officer

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Last week lion-loving Maggie showed her support for her favourite species, but will this weeks team member be wild for whiskers or think scales are superior?

Merove Heifetz – Chief Operating Officer, Wildscreen USA

Favourite species? Bonobo

Why? It’s my favorite species because they are a very peaceful and intelligent species that are so incredibly human-like in their appearance and in their expressions.

The bonobo is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. The bonobo is threatened due to land conversion for agriculture throughout Congo, where it is endemic. The rising demand for bushmeat is also compromising the future of this human-like primate.

See more photos and videos of the bonobo on ARKive.

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