Photograph by Chris Johns – A young elephant nuzzles its mother during a visit to the drought-depleted Zambezi riverbed

Photograph by Michael Nichols – Tiger carrying cub, India

“Jaws that can crush a backbone become a tender conveyance as Sita totes a cub to a new den, a constant chore to safeguard her young from leopards, wild dogs, and other tigers. Hiding cubs well is critical, since she may be away hunting for 24 hours or more. Sita is living proof that this endangered species can flourish if only given enough room and enough prey.”

(From “Making Room for Wild Tigers,” December 1997, National Geographic magazine)

“Motherly Love” brush-tailed possums by Lesley Smitheringale

Photograph by Jack Burtt, My Shot – Mother Seal and Pup, Galápagos

‘While hiking in the Galápagos among a colony of seals, we came upon this mother and pup sharing what appears to be a “tender moment.”

Photograph by Michael Gehrisch, My Shot – Red-Necked Grebe and Chick

A newly hatched red-necked grebe relaxes, safe under mom’s wing. It’s been a long day and there’s still so much to see.

Photograph by Joel Sartore – Mother Wolf, Wichita, Kansas

A Mexican gray wolf snuggles with two pups at the Sedgwick County Zoo. At one time, gray wolves were among the most widely distributed mammals on Earth. However, by the early 1900s, unchecked trapping, poisoning, and hunting of these highly intelligent predators drove the species to the brink of extinction.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Return of the Gray Wolf,” May 1998, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Sam Abell – Horses, Enbland

“‘Uncheckt shadows of green brown and gray,’ poet John Clare wrote of the moors, land that ‘never felt the rage of blundering plough.’ On Exmoor, hedge banks faintly trace the far hill. Supporters hope they won’t vanish over the horizon of time.”

(From “Britain’s Hedgerows,” September 1993, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Michael Nichols Loango Hippos, Gabon

A mother and her calf hippopotamus cool off in the “Land of the Surfing Hippos.” Loango National Park got that nickname from the resident hippopotamuses’ habit of swimming in the ocean and body-surfing to and from feeding grounds.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Gabon’s Loango National Park: In the Land of the Surfing Hippos,” August 2004, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Marc Abrahms, My Shot – Lioness and Cub, Kenya

Taken on a recent trip to the Masai Mara in September of 2009.

Photograph by Vijai Kalathur, Your Shot – Mother and Baby Koala, Australia

The mother and baby koalas decided to climb down from the tall eucalyptus trees to get a close-up look of the visitors to their home at the Koala Conservation Center in Phillip Island, Australia.

Photograph by Robert Heil, My Shot – King Penguin and Chick, South Georgia Island

South Georgia Island has king penguins, and, in this location, there is a colony of a quarter million of the wonderful, colorful animals. Here a mother king penguin guided her chick, which still sports its somewhat comical-looking baby feathers.

Photograph by Robert Parviainen, My Shot – Kangaroo and Joey, Australia

A kangaroo mum with her baby in the pouch. Taken at Hanging Rock, outside Melbourne, Australia.

Photograph by Tim Laman – Orangutan Family, Indonesia

“A fistful of mother’s skin and hair keeps one-year-old Bekti aloft as she rides on Beth, who is hurtling herself through the forest. It will likely be almost seven years before Bekti will have a younger sibling, one of the intriguing aspects of orangutans that has lured me [anthropologist Cheryl Knot] to Borneo to study their reproductive cycles and social patterns.”

(From “Orangutans in the Wild,” August 1998, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Mary McClain, My Shot – Giraffe Mother and Calf

Solstice is the name of the new baby giraffe at the St. Louis Zoo. It was born in December, on winter solstice. I was hoping for a shot of baby and mom nuzzling. While I waited (for almost two hours), the zookeeper told me I might never get a shot of that. I did, finally, get this shot, which I really like. Solstice is three months old in this shot.

Photograph by Chris Johns – Cheetah Mom and Cub, Bostwana

“For a [female] cheetah the real danger is not losing a kill but losing her cubs. Ninety-five percent of cheetah cubs die before reaching independence. Hyenas kill them out of hunger, lions apparently out of bad habit. … Female cheetahs deal with the threat by constantly moving, preferably before their rivals even know they’re around. They coexist as phantom species, slipping into temporary vacancies between prides of lions and packs of hyenas.”

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Cheetahs: Ghosts of the Grasslands,” December 1999, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Flip Nicklin – Bay Polar Bears

A low, orange sun shines light on a polar bear and her cub.

Photograph by Michael Nichols – Baby Gelada, Ethiopia

“Once they’re three months old, geladas ride their mothers jockey-style. Females have just four or five babies in a lifetime but invest a lot of time and energy taking care of them—it’s a ‘quality, not quantity’ strategy, says biologist Chadden Hunter, who has spent parts of the past six years with the animals in Ethiopia.”

(From “Final Edit,” November 2002, National Geographic magazine)

Maternal Care by John Hayes, not sure what kind of rodent this is

Mother’s Day Gifts

The post Animal Mothers and their Babies – Happy Mother’s Day appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

The peewees (magpie larks) “sunning” themselves in our backyard PHOTO: Lesley Smitheringale

I came across an article on the “Bird Life Australia” Website about this bird behaviour and much to my surprise there is no definite answer but several suggestions. It appears that these birds are deliberately exposing themselves to sunlight or “sunning” themselves but the reasons are not completely clear. Jill Brown from Bird Life Australia’s findings indicate that the birds could actually be trying to cool down by exposing their feathers.

Other theories suggest that birds do this because “sunning” in high temperatures could kill off parasites. Maybe they are simply drying themselves off or warming up like this darter and little pied cormorant (below) which I spotted in Currumbin Valley.

Darter and Little Pied Cormorant PHOTOS: Lesley Smitheringale

Other possibilities mentioned in Jill Brown’s article are “that it helps to generate vitamin D from a bird’s preen oil or that it may ease the discomfort associated with moulting.”

Have you seen birds do this in your backyard or when you have been out and about?  Do you know whey they do this?

The post What are these birds doing? appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

This is a fantastic idea and 101 giant eggs which have been designed and decorated by leading artists will be hidden in the cities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester. Everyone has the  chance to own their favourite egg by bidding in an online auction.

A Hunt Book is available and a map showing the cities hosting the egg hunt

Below are some of the beautifully decorated eggs by leading artists from the UK

Elliptical Nest by Jan Dunning

Breakfast with the Beatles by Gordon Beswick

Dragon’s Eye by Myung Nam An

Equinox by Barbie Harrison

Barbie shares how she decorated the beautiful egg below

Apart from finding and bidding on the artist designed eggs you can  enter the grand competition where hunters have to find the special Humpty Dumpty Egg and follow instructions on his plinth. One lucky winner will be chosen each day from a random draw to win a year’s supply of delicious Lindt chocolate, to share with friends and family.

This would be such a fun activity to do with children during the Easter holidays and I just wish that it could happen in other countries apart from the UK.

Visit the Big Egg Hunt Website

The post The Big Egg Hunt 2013 appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

These are printable PDF files which will enable you to make Easter cards which double up as bookmarks plus a set of tags for your Easter gifts and baskets.  All you need is to print them out (preferably onto card stock or I highly recommend Epson Matte Heavyweight photographic paper which results in crystal clear, saturated prints.  It is the thickness of thin card and what I used to make my chick and bunny.

For step-by-step instructions in how to  make the bookmark cards click the button below

How to Make the Bookmark Cards

Here’s what to do to be in with a chance of winning these little Easter friends

• Leave a comment at the end of this post about what you love about Easter

• “Like” Oz Wildlife Studio on Facebook HERE

• Tweet about this giveaway

The three lucky recipients will be selected at random on Tuesday 26th March and announced on this site and the Facebook site.  If you are a winner you will need to contact Lesley so that the files can be sent to you.

Good luck!

The post Easter Giveaway – Incredibly Cute Chick and Bunny Bookmark Cards appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

Here is how to make the Easter bunny bookmark card

After downloading the PDF get  your steel ruler, scissors or scalpel and self-healing cutting mat ready.

Cut out the card where indicated on the template and fold in half along guideline using a bone folder.

Cut out the two Easter bunny bookmarks as neatly as possible

One done, one more to go!

Cut along the guide line in the bookmarks to make the paper clip using a sharp scalpel

Back to the card  you folded earlier. Using a scalpel cut along the guideline just under the bunny’s paws

This might be really “obvious” but make sure you unfold and flatten out the card before cutting this slit as you only want the slit cut out on the front of the card. This is where you are going to insert one of the bookmarks.

Insert one of the bookmarks into the slit you have just cut out on the bunny on the front  of the Easter card. Gently slide the bookmark into the slit so that the bookmark bunny covers and matches up with the bunny on the card.

The paper clip part will be on the back of the card on the inside

Now you will have an Easter bunny card and bookmark in one! (Please excuse the poor quality of this particular photo in which the lighting was poor)

So, all you have to do is write your Easter greeting inside the card, pop it in a C6 envelope, choose someone to send or give it to and the lucky recipient will receive a really gorgeous card and bookmark as well!

Below is what the Easter bunny bookmark looks like.

and below are the bunny and chick bookmarks marking my place in a Decorating Eggs for Easter book

These are really gorgeous and such a novel idea for a bookmark.

But wait….there’s more…..

After coming up with the bookmarks and card, I then thought it would be good to just have the Easter bunnies and chicks as tags or scrapbook elements for your Easter craft projects so you can also get them without the paper clip bookmark element.

Above I have punched a hole and inserted cord through for a tag to attach to a gift

You will receive 4 Easter chicks and 4 Easter bunnies in this PDF which you can use for anything your heart desires. Ideas are gift tags [punch a hole and thread through cord] , mini Easter cards [write a small message on the back and give to someone], lunchbox cards [write a message to your child at Easter time and pop it in their lunch box], scrapbook elements, mini thank you notes etc

The post Adorable Easter Bookmark Card Printables appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

These latest zoo borns prove that Echidnas breed at a younger age than previously thought. The puggles were born to four-year-old first-time mothers Mila and Chindi, both bred and born at Perth Zoo.  The new additions were named Nyingarn (Nyoongar for Echidna) and Babbin (Nyoongar for friend).  The puggles weighed less than one gram each when they hatched in August and spent their first two months in their mothers’ pouches before being deposited in nursery burrows. DNA testing will reveal the puggles’ genders.

Short-beaked Echidnas are part of a group of mammals called monotremes.  Females lay a single egg, which is incubated for about 11 days before it hatches.  The baby, called a puggle, completes its development in the mother’s pouch.  As adults, Short-beaked Echidnas are covered with spines.  They feed on insects, which are collected with their long, sticky tongues.

Photo Credits: Perth Zoo

Original Source: Zooborns.com

The post Have you ever seen a baby echidna? appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

This DVD contains 465 high resolution photographs which you can freely use in both your personal and commercial artwork, designs, scrapbooks, blogs etc

The photographs are all 300 dpi and are large, high resolution images I took myself in and around my garden in Queensland, Australia and in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.

Here’s what you will receive in this DVD Rom

63 photographs of animals (Australian and some African and Asian Zoo Animals)
121 photographs of birds (mostly Australian)
110 photographs of insects (macro and all Australian)
19 photographs of reptiles (all Australian)
146 photographs of flowers (macro, all Australian plus some tulips)
5 photographs of fish (goldfish, comets)
2 photographs of feathers (macro)

This jam packed DVD reference disk will be a great resource to have in your library and one which you will go back to again and again.

These photographs are not snapshots but close-ups of the flora and fauna showing incredible detail.  Some are macros where I have zoomed in really closely revealing the natural textures and details that you would not see with the naked eye. A real treat for artists!

I have spent many hours out and about taking these photographs and wanted to put a whole collection together for creatives to enjoy.

The DVD Rom is a steal at AUD $26.00

If you have visited any stock photography sites recently you will realise the huge value being offered here as these royalty free photographs can all be used for both personal and commercial use.  No acknowledgment back to me, the photographer is required.

Feather details and vibrant colours to inspire your next painting.

For non – Australian residents,  you will be able to see the native Australian flora and fauna without having to leave your studio or visit Australia!  You will have access to hundreds of photographs of flowers, animals and birds you have maybe never seen before! Totally new stimulus for you as a creative.

121 photographs of birds

By purchasing this DVD, you will also be helping a dearly loved Australian marsupial

5% of the sale of this product will be donated to the Save the Koala Fund

So, you get hundreds of reference pictures without having to leave your studio by purchasing this Australian gift online and you are helping restore the koalas’ habitat so that they are not wiped out forever.

The post Get Hundreds of Reference Photos for your Art Copyright Free appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

You may remember the touching story about Sam, the koala and the volunteer firefighter who gave her some water out of his drink bottle during the devastating 2009 bush fires in Victoria.

Local CFA firefighter David Tree shares his water with an injured Australian Koala at Mirboo North after wildfires swept through the region on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. Suspicions that the worst wildfires ever to strike Australia were deliberately set led police to declare crime scenes Monday in towns incinerated by blazes, while investigators moving into the charred landscape discovered more bodies. The death toll stood at 181.(AP Photo/Mark Parden)

This more recent story caught my attention and demonstrates just how vulnerable and susceptible these gorgeous marsupials are to climate change.

Woo-Hyang Sun and her husband Joo-Sung were out enjoying a morning walk through the Adelaide foothills when they spotted a koala in a tree near the Black Hill Conservation Park.

After sustaining long eye contact with Mrs Sun’s husband for several minutes, the koala succumbed to the prospect of a cool drink of water and climbed down from the tree, not at all phased by her suburban surroundings. Woo-Hyang said, “She kept looking at me and looked like she wanted something, so I poured some water in my palm, and the koala drank it at once.” But that was not enough.  As the temperature began to rise, the thirsty koala became even more ambitious.”

Woo-Hyang Sun gives a drink to a koala at Athelstone

Joo-Sung Sun helps out a thirsty koala at Athelstone

“At times she grabbed the bottle to tip it higher,  just like humans, and as if she’s done it many times before,” Mrs Sun said. “After she finished the whole bottle, she was waving her hand, I guess, for more water.  She followed me for an hour and ended up drinking three bottles altogether – definitely the friendliest koala I’ve ever seen.”

Not only did the koala hit the streets of Athelstone for a leisurely stroll, it almost threatened to get behind the wheel of Mrs Sun’s car.

“When I opened the car door, she was poking her head to look inside my car, I guess for more water?” she said. “I could not leave as I was worried about her safety, so lead her back to a tree in the park, using the water as a bait. I had to give her yet another bottle of water before she let me go.”

This is an incredible story but an alarming one indicating that koalas are just not getting enough water from their natural environment.  University of NSW ecologist , Matthew Crowther states that “Koalas get moisture from leaves but in hot, dry weather they need to drink water to survive and will come down from trees to look for it. Research indicates that a 5kg koala needs to drink 1 litre of water a day to survive a summer heatwave.”

So what can we do about it?

On very warm days we can put fresh water out for the native birds and animals whilst being responsible that our pet cats and dogs do not harm them but even better according to Matthew Crowther is to “plant lots of trees with different moisture contents”.

University of NSW ecologist Clive McAlpine has called for “protection of big water holes and rivers”.  Water is critical for koalas during heatwaves. We’ve had reports of  koalas drinking from swimming pools in suburban backyards.  People have taken photographs of koalas begging for water, so we know that it’s an essential part of their habitat requirements.  The bottom line is that we need to restore habitat and we need the Federal Government to take a leadership role on that”.

Original Sources

The Courier Mail Online

http://www.stmichaels.qld.edu.au/newspaperarticlesaustralia/Koala/May%202011a.pdf

I  hope that this article might prompt you into taking action and helping the koalas.  I know that all wildlife is in the same predicament but koala population is becoming dangerously low and we cannot allow this dearly loved,  iconic Australian marsupial to be wiped out completely.

Action I have taken as a wildlife artist

A few months ago I decided that I was not being proactive enough about my love of animals, wildlife in particular.  I blog about them, draw them, paint them, photograph them but do I do anything to help their welfare or save them and keep them on our planet? No, I am embarrassed to say.

so…

as an artist I  am going to donate a percentage from the sales of a range of my products to the Save the Koala Foundation

as an art educator I am going to launch an art competition to coincide with Save the Koala Month (September) where I will be raising awareness of the plight of the koalas to the students I teach and inviting children in Australia to enter the competition where we will raise money. We will have lots of fun along the way…

Action you can take

There are heaps of ideas for how to raise money on the Save the Koala Fund’s Website and you can get the kids involved as well.  Here are some of the things you can do:-

• apply for a donation box 
• adopt a koala
• plant a tree
• organise a fundraising event
• make a donation
• join the Koala Army

Visit the Australian Koala Foundation Website

The post Are Koalas dying from Thirst? appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

You can immediately notice that this cockatoo is underweight and thinning of feathers, particularly bad near his eye region.

This is the photo which shocked me the most but again, I naively thought that he was an old parrot.

When I kept taking more photos of the same group, an alarm bell sounded within me when another two or three sulphur-crested cockatoos in this group all had the same thinning of feathers.  I rushed straight into my study to find out why and it is not good news. It upset me for the whole day and still does…

These birds have “PBFD” otherwise known as “Beak and Feather Disease” which spreads rapidly. Below is some information about this horrendous disease which I found on http://www.parrotsociety.org.au.

PSITTACINE BEAK AND FEATHER DISEASE
(Psittacine Circovirus Disease)

by Dr Garry Cross
Senior Lecturer in Animal Health,
University of Sydney.

Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease that can affect all psittacine birds (Parrots, Cockatoos and Lorikeets) and possibly, Doves. The virus attacks the cells of the immune system and those which produce feather and beak. Affected birds gradually lose their feathers and develop beak abnormalities. Because the virus attacks the immune system, affected birds succumb to infection by other diseases. The disease occurs in captive and wild birds and probably originated from Australia, for it is now found in psittacine birds in Europe and America.

Researchers at the University of Sydney’s Department of Animal Health at Camden started their PBFD project in 1991. The aims were to develop tests to detect the virus and anti-bodies to the virus; determine the presence of the disease in wild psittacine birds; and develop a vaccine. Doctors Shane Raidal and Garry Cross have developed testing procedures which can determine whether or not a bird is immune to, or susceptible to infection by PBFD virus. All that is needed is a small sample of blood, a feather and some droppings. They have shown that birds with PBFD excrete the virus in large amounts in their feathers and droppings. Such birds are a source of infection to other birds.

They have demonstrated that the disease is present in wild psittacine birds in New South Wales and is widespread in wild populations. A vaccine has been developed which protects psittacine birds from infection by the virus. Two injections, four to six weeks apart, must be given. Birds vaccinated in 1991 are still resistant to challenge by the virus.

This poor bird above has a broken and deformed beak as a result of this disease.  This is so sad to witness in wild parrots and I just wish that I could give them all the injections.

Birds affected with PBFD virus display severe feather problems, deformed beaks and suffer from malaise, depression and weight loss. The disease can cause very sudden illness and acute death but often birds progress slowly to the chronic form of the disease. There is further feather loss and secondary infectious problems resulting from a depressed immunity.

Make a Donation towards PBFD Research

If you would like to make a donation towards Psittacine Circovirus Disease (Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease Research) please forward payment via the Parrot Society of Australia Inc, P.O. Box 75 Salisbury Qld 4107, Australia. International donations should be forwarded as international money orders drafted in Australian or U.S. dollars.

Recent Donations towards Psittacine Circovirus Disease Research (P.C.D.) as at 1/10/98 from members and the Parrot Society now total $2445.05  – many thanks to all those who have contributed towards this worthy cause – fund raising will continue.

Visit the Parrot Society of Australia

The post Very Sad Disease in the Parrot Community appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.

Here is what Desktopography is all about – a quote from their website.

 Tempus Fugit By Karim Fakhoury

Lost Kingdom by Andy Burdin

Raging Water by Marek Purzycki

Savanna Days by Jose Paulo

Blind Horse by Thomas Gayet

Lifestream by James Zwadlo

Canyon by Gaétan Weltzer

Visit Desktopography

The post Nature on your Desktop appeared first on Oz Wildlife Studio.