oliver_g_jones's Favorites

in the absence of a trunk or stone to lean on, a capybara may be an option;
I have observed these two individuals do this twice;

see also
https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/nelson_wisnik/21258-the-friendly-capybara

Found in a wetland habitat being considered as the site for a possible highway.
More info here: https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/desantis-florida-cabinet-clear-way-for-836-extension/2473466/
It has not yet been approved and is very much worth fighting against!

I came out here to document some of the native species that call this area home. Please spread the word about this area's importance as a wetland with many native species present and worth protecting.

I created a project on iNaturalist that includes observations from the wetlands and farmlands that would be affected: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/no-to-the-kendall-parkway

*this appears to be a released pet leucistic axolotl, which we were able to capture, and are holding until pick up by someone locally who can care for it properly

Update :( unfortunately the person who took over caring for this little guy let us know that he passed away overnight on 18June - they had eaten, but were unable to keep food down (also, it was in rough shape when we found them - gills looked terrible, emaciated, and one eye was damaged/partly missing)

Some context/further details:
We found them in the creek behind where we live, which is a highly populated residential area. It seemed like they were “stuck/scared” (if we hadn’t found them I think they would have just stayed there until they died or were predated), and when we went down with a bucket they crawled right in. While waiting for the person we had found who has experience with them, they seemed to be accustomed to people/were approaching us in the temporary tub we’d set up for them. Also, my spouse had seen someone the previous day (it may have been 2 days prior) down in the creek (like maybe 10 metres away from where we found this wee one), which is not normal (we’re usually the only nature nerds around here!) and thinks they had an emptied bag when they left.

All that to say that although we have no proof that this was a very recent release of an already ill pet, it seems unlikely that they’d been living in the creek for much more than 24 hrs before we found them. I’m still glad we tried to help <3

Two males fought for control of my pool deck. The greener one ended up winning when it successfully shoved the other off the edge. Here's a short video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDKqu1oqkjY

White Rock lake, lower spillway steps
As I was photographing the map turtle, a snake suddenly swam into my frame. A reptilian photobomber. The turtles did not interest the snake & it quickly left the scene. Check out the toenails in the cooter on top in the second photo, clearly a male.

This is not a captive occurrence. Posted to iNaturalist with permission of collector, Danny Ramirez, who gave me all information reported here. His location as reported is "Guadalupe River 30 yards downstream of dam in Gonzales". Collected on hook and line with crappie as bait. Intent is for specimen to eventually be deposited at the University of Texas', Biodiversity Collections.