The way we see nature

We hit 20% on the Awesome ‘Possum Kickstarter already. Thank you for sharing and pledging. Let’s keep going!

One more day to get submissions in to Awesome ‘Possum 4. Synopses are due tomorrow, September 27, 2017. Check the Submit page before applying. Here is a wombat to encourage you.

Don’t forget to apply. Due tomorrow!

Tall, Dark and Handsome: The Southern Cassowary

As tall as a human with striking black plumage and a vivid blue and red neck, the southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is Australia’s heaviest flightless bird. It’s one of three species of cassowaries in the world, and is part of an ancient group of flightless birds including the emu, the ostrich, and the kiwi.

The southern cassowary is found throughout Western and Southern New Guinea, as well as the tropical rainforests, swamps and mangrove forests of North-Eastern Australia. They’re instrumental in maintaining the diversity of their rainforest homes, because they’re frugivores—fruit eaters—and they act like natural gardeners, consuming seeds and then re-distributing them over a widespread area through their dung.

In Australia there are only three distinct populations, totalling around 2200 individuals, so they’re listed as endangered. Since European settlement, the cassowary’s habitat has been reduced to around 20-25% of its original size, and other big threats include being struck by vehicles, dog attacks, interactions with humans, and disease.

Cassowaries mate throughout winter and spring (June to October), with females mating with more than one male and producing several nests of large, olive-green eggs. The males are responsible for incubating the eggs and raising the chicks until they’re about 9 months old, when he chases them off to survive on their own.

Atop their head, cassowaries have a sort of helmet: a hard brown “casque” that’s spongy on the inside. Its purpose isn’t fully known, but researchers think it could be used to display dominance and age, to help with hearing—as cassowaries make low, vibrating sounds—or to act as a shock-absorber as it races through thick rainforest and scrub.

According to the Guinness World Records book, the cassowary is the most dangerous bird in the world. At up to 2 metres tall and 75 kg in weight, cassowaries can reach speeds of 40 kilometres per house with their strong, muscled legs. On each of their six toes, they have dangerously sharp claws that reach up to 12 centimetres long. When threatened, the cassowary will kick out, and uses the claws to rip at and fight with other birds. Attacks on humans are rare, and there’s only one known instance where  a person was killed. In 1926, a group of boys were hunting a cassowary near Mossman, North Queensland, when the cassowary turned and chased them. One fell over and was killed when the cassowary’s claw slashed the jugular vein on the boy’s neck. Pretty clear message there: don’t hunt them, don’t get hurt.

Want to help this threatened species? Check out Cassowary Recovery Team or donate to Cassowary Conservation.

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Awesome ‘Possum, Volume 2 is live on Kickstarter! Bunch of awesome artists (22!) explaining awesome facts about the natural world. This is part of my contribution about what mushrooms are. They are more than you think.

I'm at SPX this weekend with the first volume and samples of the second, so if you are in or near Bethesda, Maryland, come on by!

Awesome ‘Possum, Volume 2 is live on Kickstarter! Bunch of awesome artists (22!) explaining awesome facts about the natural world. 

This is the start of alsuzumura‘s comic about Lewis’ Moon Snail. Beautiful art from a smart entomologist. She graduated from the Natural Science Illustration program with me at the University of Washington in 2013.

Chimera d'Arezzo (Florence, Italy) ekatos

For this month of July let’s do chimera. I recommend taking an animal book and opening it to at least two random pages and combining those animals.

Some sketches of striped hyenas. These guys are cool. They can look super cute or super scary.

Here’s my Tardigrade again but I added color! He is carbon dust on film with gouache on the back.

Did you know female spotted hyenas have penises through which they give birth?

~The more you know!~

The distribution of the striped hyena has greatly diminished over the last century. To learn more about how we’re trying to spread some educational power about these often misunderstood animals, check out our campaign!

[Infograph by our own Katie Kirby!]

New theme. Striped Hyenas!

Tardigrade!  Or waterbear, if you prefer.  Stickers and stuff are here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/terridrawsstuff/works/14625308-water-bear-and-water-baby

Tardigrade- Hypsibius dujardini 

 Tardigrades are amazing micro organisms. Also known as water bears or moss piglets. They are found all around the world in almost all habitats. They are not extremophiles but have known to survive extreme conditions such as temperatures as low as -200 deg c and high as 151 deg c. They have survived the vacuum of space. Have been dried out for 100 years and rehydrated to function normally.

My own take on “Tardigrades on Moss” by Ernst Marcus (below)

I had a hard time figuring out sizes so they may not totally be to scale.