Fijian-crested Iguana - a zookeeper holds one at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. Only a few wild populations remain of the endangered iguana which is found on several Fijian islands.

Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo - the only one at the Singapore Zoo, is seen in the Fragile Forest section which houses animals in danger of extinction. Papua New Guinea, long derided for allowing widespread illegal logging, has created a conservation areas the size of Singapore to protect the bear-like, tree kangaroos and other endangered species.

Slow Loris - an endangered species in Gauhati, India. The Slow Loris, the name given because of slow pace of its strides has no tail, is pygmy sized and sports two beautiful and large eyes but a toxic bite.

Mandrill with Baby - One of the Budapest Zoo’s three six-week-old Mandrill babies (Mandrillus Sphinx) rests in the lap of its mother during the first public appearance in Budapest, 2007. The Mandrill is one of the endangered species of West Africa, for which a breeding program is coordinated at the Budapest Zoo

Two Baby Tamarins - a male and female, cling to a stuffed toy Tamarin, held by a zoo keeper at the Utica zoo in New York. The two endangered golden Tamarins were rejected by their mother, so in order to keep the babies from imprinting 100 per cent on the humans caring for them, the keepers placed the toy in the incubator where the parents live.

Tasmanian Devil - a healthy joey displayed as part of an intensive conservation programme, because of the spread of an infectious facial tumour which gradually disfigures the animal’s face to the point it is unable to eat.

Numbat

Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo

Long-eared Jerboa - an extraordinary mammal found in the deserts of Mongolia and China. The tiny creature looks like a mouse-sized kangaroo with enormous ears. This endangered animal was filmed during a recent Zoological Society of London expedition to the Mongolian Gobi desert to track down and assess the species.

Moluccan or Salmon-crested Cockatoo - Illegal traders exploited the religious conflict in Indonesia’s Maluku province in May to traffic and sell hundreds of the endangered birds, a species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Burmese Star Tortoises - Three critically endangered Burmese Star Tortoises at the San Diego Zoo, the first time this species has successfully reproduced at the facility. The Burmese Star Tortoise is not often bred in zoos, but with more as-yet-unhatched eggs, animal care staff are hoping that more of the tortoises emerge.  The reptile is almost extinct in its native Myanmar as its numbers dwindle.

Brush-tailed Bettong with her joey - After living in its mother’s pouch for more than three months, this joey emerged at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. This tiny marsupial which only weighs 0.9 to 1.3kgs when fully grown is native to Southwestern Australia. This rare species was nearly extinct in the wild by the early 1900s due to predation by introduced animals like cats, rats and foxes. Fortunately, managed breeding programs and recovery efforts are underway to ensure the species survival.

Eastern-barred Bandicoot

The source for this article is at Endangered Animals - News.com.au

They might be hated by the majority of people, but one photographer loves nothing more than buying the common pigeon a bag of chips before getting up close and personal to capture some unusual glimpses. Using bait of chips, bread, kebabs and even curries, Simon De Glanville coaxes the shy denizens of London’s parks and backstreets up to his fisheye lens camera to showcase some of the urban park life we often ignore.

Starting out as an homage to the London pigeon this long-running photography study includes geese, squirrels and dogs. ‘Although much maligned and mostly hated by the majority of the populace I find that pigeons never fail to cheer me up,’ says 31-year-old Simon from Peckham, South London.

Bird’s eye view: Simon De Glanville uses fast food to lure his pigeons up close before he takes their picture with an old fisheye lens camera

‘Despite spending much of my time in far flung locations filming animals in the wild, I derive a large amount of pleasure watching pigeons going about their business, almost unnoticed, on the streets of London.’ Simon, who trained as a zoologist before taking up photography 12 years ago, now works as a wildlife cameraman travelling the world shooting documentaries. However when he is not travelling the globe, Simon often spend hours at a time snapping the local talent near his South London home. ‘Most of the images were taken in parks around Peckham, Brixton and in the backstreets of Chinatown,’ he says.

Sticking his beak in: A goose is coaxed over by some chips in St James’s Park

You must be nuts: An inquisitive giant grey squirrel approaches the camera looking for a snack

And even though Simon’s initial subject was the famous London pigeon, he soon found other animals to photograph.  ‘The work was always supposed to be about pigeons, but over the years other animals have tried to get in on the act,’ he says.’ Someone’s dog will come along and eat the bait or a goose will muscle in, so I ended up photographing them too.  That gave me the idea to broaden out the scope of the project to include all London wildlife.’

Now focusing on foxes and crows, Simon is utilising new technologies to capture London’s wildlife.  ‘I’m currently working on getting shots of Foxes in Peckham,’ he says.‘I set up the camera disguised in a rubbish bag and leave out some bait. I then spend the rest of the night standing by with a 20m cable release waiting for my moment and trying not to get mugged. ‘I’ve been a bit unlucky with it but I think I’m getting close to success. I’m also working on crows, although I’m almost convinced it is impossible to get them that close to the camera.’

Parklife: Tempted by a meal of chips or kebab, the pigeons gather around the hidden camera

Living it up: Two pigeons enjoy a mooch around bins in Chinatown

”I’ve been a bit unlucky with it but I think I’m getting close to success. I’m also working on crows, although I’m almost convinced it is impossible to get them that close to the camera. ‘They always seem to understand exactly what I’m up to and treat me with the utmost suspicion. I think it’s unlikely to work, but I still go out to Burgess park once or twice a week with a kebab or a some fried chicken to try. ‘Problem is, now the pigeons know me so well they always muscle in on the act and scare the crows away, which is frustrating in its irony.’

Original article Daily Mail Reporter

I take my hat off to this talented photographer who gives us this information only about himself:

Born in Krakow, Poland.
1995-2000 – MSc degree course, major field of study: Biotechnology.
2001-2005 – Postgraduate studies in the Institute of Biochemistry at the Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried.
2005-2007 – Scientific assistant position.
2007 – till I starve to death – freelance nature/travel photographer.

Here are a few of his photographs for you marvel over as I have done.

selene

eudicella

Praying Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)

Crested Gecko (Rhachdactylus cilatus)

Two Chamelions

Lobster Moth

pnigomantis-medioconstricta (male-left, female-right)

Caterpillar

Spiny Praying Mantis

View Igor’s Redbubble site where he calls himself blepharopsis

Click on the picture to visit the site where you can view the video and also download it in regular or HD format.

The Beautiful Complexity of Hands

These are the pictures from an article I enjoyed reading on Environmental Graffiti Website and the complexity is indeed amazing in the creation of these feet and hands to allow for climbing, grooming, foraging, eating, fighting and holding.  Click on the title above to read the entire article.

Photo: Ulla de Pellegrini
Gorilla

Photo: Francis Ritualo

Tarsier

Photo: Jasper Greek Golangco

Photo: Joachim S Mueller

Pygmy Marmoset

Photo: Joachim S Mueller

Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

Gecko

Photo: Tim Vickers

Photo: Patrick Coin

Tree Frog

Photo: Jean-Marc Hero

Overall Winner of ‘Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009′

“Chimpanzees - Reflections on Aging”, mixed media by Pamela Conder (Australian) - Endangered Wildlife Category

Overall Runner-Up

“Fading Out” , collage & acrylic  by Paul Bartlett (British) in Wild Places Category

CATEGORY WINNER WILDLIFE IN ACTION

“In God we Trust”, mixed media by Darren Rees (British)

CATEGORY WINNER WILDLIFE IN 3D

“Dung Beetle and Ball” copper wire and nitrate by Fiona Cambell (British)

CATEGORY WINNER OPEN

“Scales”, batik on silk by Limei Shimmen (Singaporean)

Here also is a selection of some of my personal favourites

This prestigious annual competition, founded by David Shepherd (CBE) to help raise money for critically endangered mammals,  is open to individual entrants aged 17 years or over and the closing date is 31st Jan 2010 so you still have six months to prepare your work.

Pamela Conder’s ‘Chimpanzees Reflections on Ageing’ - The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s, Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009 winner - with Sir Michael Parkinson, David Shepherd CBE and David Gower OBE

Click on the picture above to go to the site and enter the competition

About Jamie

Originally from New Zealand, Jamie is a self taught artist whose work is produced in graphite pencil.  The finest detail is achieved by etching fur or skin texture into the paper and then working over the top of it with darker tones of pencil.  A large number of photographs are taken with up to ten pictures being used to create the composition of the drawing whilst also trying to capture the individual personality of the animal to be drawn.

Jamie first exhibited his work in 2004 and has won a number of awards for his artwork. In a very short period of time a hobby became a profession and with a limited number of originals being available each year his drawings have become highly collectible.  Many of Jamie’s pictures are available as Limited Edition prints in galleries throughout the UK.

Jamie Boots Website

Click on the picture to visit the site for more information. Entry deadline is 31 October 2009