A Few Herp Photos To Amaze You

Maybe it is just, who is often amazed by photos I see of Mother nature's handiwork, but I think not. So, I will post herein some photographs that LIHS Member Deb H sent in for he blog, a hat tip and my thanks to her.

I'll start off with a photograph that depicts the never ending struggle for survival in nature, remembering that while this was taken on someone's doorstep, we are part of nature and that struggle too. Lucky for us that most siders are so small but not lucky for this snake that got caught up in Charlotte's web. (source)

Going from a snake that was fairly small in length, we now move toward the other end of the tape measure. The man in this picture is probably a lot braver than me, although I will admit to have caught a rattlesnake with a home made snake hook and then taking it and holding it in my hands (not too smart since I was alone at the time). This guy though has taken it beyond anything I have done - by far. Wow, just get a look at the size of that King Cobra, it has to be at least 10 to 11 feet long. An online discussion (foul language alert) regarding this photo can be found here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1jox4i/king_cobra/

 

 

From stunning size, we move onto what can only be described, to a person, as something from out of a nightmare or at least out of a good horror flick although it may look rather appealing to a female salamander. This photo of the toothy salamander is not trick photography from what I have gathered. Instead, it is an actual photo of an Arboreal Salamander - Aneides lugubris. Males of this species use their teeth in their breeding ritual and apparently to catch prey. I have got to say, it that little booger isn't scary - nothing is. Again, thank goodness for their small size, imagine the bite it could give if as big as a medium sized dog or worse the size of a bear.

 

See this link for more info (note the particular salamander pictured is discussed on that page, scroll down until you see this pic): http://www.californiaherps.com/salamanders/pages/a.lugubris.html

 

 

From terribly horrid looking, we will move onto the last photograph, one that shows the absolute splendor of Mother Nature at her finest. The pictured frog, an Indian Bullfrog, is a male. As is most often the case, in the animal world, the male of the species is much more colorful than the female although I must point out that I think this photo may have been enhanced and I base taht at other pics I have seen at the below link. Other photos of the Indian Bullfrog and information about them, can be found at this link:

http://www.wild-facts.com/2013/indian-bullfrog/

 

Are you amazed, I was amazed indeed.

 

All the best,

Glenn B