New 7 Wonders of Nature: The 28 Semi-Finalists
November 8, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series & Geography & Travel & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
The New7Wonders of Nature campaign, organized by the New7Wonders Foundation in 2007, is a global poll whose purpose is to designate the world’s seven most outstanding natural wonders. The field has been narrowed from 440 down to 77 and now just 28 “Official Finalist Candidates” with voting scheduled to end on November 11th, 2011.
Amazon Rainforest
(images via: WcP Blog, Travel+Leisure and Wikipedia)
The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest contiguous tropical rainforest comprising approximately 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres) and spreading over parts of 9 nations including (in order) Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It’s estimated the Amazon Rainforest has existed for roughly 55 million years though its size has waxed and waned appreciably over that vast period of time.
(image via: UCLAST203-2010)
Approximately 10 percent of all the world’s animal species live in the Amazon basin with the number of insect species alone reckoned to be around 2.5 million. Both animal and plant life in the Amazon Rainforest are under threat, both by human activity and climate change. Though conservation measures have helped reduce the rate of deforestation by up to 60 percent, cumulatively the rainforest has lost about 10 percent of its former area.
Angel Falls (Venezuela)
(images via: New 7 Wonders, HelloTravel.com and Farzad-Jebreili)
Angel Falls is located in eastern Venezuela’s Canaima National Park where water pours off the Auyan-tepui mountain, dropping 3,212 ft (979 m) into the Kerep River. The falls were officially discovered in 1933 by Jimmie Angel, an American aviator hired to scout out metal ore deposits. Angel returned to the area in 1937 and attempted to land atop Auyan-tepui but his plane was damaged; the aircraft was not recovered until 1970 and is currently on display at nearby Ciudad Bolívar airport.
(image via: Bernard Sayers & Tom Sanders)
Venezuela’s outspoken president, Hugo Chavez, is known for his anti-American views and has long taken issue with the naming of Angel Falls. In 2009 Chavez stated, “This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there… this is indigenous property.” Though he has not formally decreed that Angel Falls be renamed, Chavez continues to defend the use of its indigenous name, “Kerepakupai Vená”, which means “waterfall of the deepest place.”
Bay of Fundy (Canada)
(images via: New 7 Wonders, Webster’s Online Dictionary and All Things Cruise)
The Bay of Fundy partially divides the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia with a small portion of its outer shore edging into the American state of Maine. The bay’s roughly funnel-shaped bay concentrates tidal surges resulting in water level differentials as much as 53.5 feet (16.3 meters).
(image via: Famous Wonders)
Though many power-generation schemes have been proposed to try and exploit the massive movements of water in the bay, studies indicate interruptions to the tidal flow could have deleterious repercussions to the environment. In addition, the governments involved are cognizant of the Bay of Fundy’s worldwide fame and reap great economic benefits from travel and tourism.
Black Forest (Germany)
(images via: New 7 Wonders, Soundwalk and City Baden-Baden)
The Black Forest (Schwarzwald, in German) is situated in Germany’s far southwestern corner and encompasses an area of approximately 4,600 square mi1es or 2,000 square kilometers. Its name harkens back over 2,000 years to when the area was part of Imperial Rome’s province of Germania Superior. The forest’s extensive conifer stands blocked sunlight from reaching the forest floor, prompting the Romans to dub the forest “Silva Nigra” (Black Forest).
The Black Forest region has resisted industrialization and today is a center of outdoor recreation and tourism. Famed for the elaborate Cuckoo Clocks carved by its inhabitants for centuries, the Black Forest also lends its name to flavorful smoked ham and delicious chocolate cherry cakes.
Bu Tinah (UAE)
(images via: Goumbook, Thinkup News and CDM-DNA UAE)
Bu Tinah island and its associated shoals and reefs are located in the Persian Gulf just off the western coast of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. As part of the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve, Bu Tinah’s extensive network of shoals, reefs, lagoons and sandbars enjoy some degree of protection but remained threatened by rapid development in and around the UAE.
(image via: StanleyHartmann/Panoramio)
Bu Tinah’s coral reefs are distinctive in that the waters surrounding them are unusually warm and salty. As such, the reefs are extremely sensitive to climate change and act as a sort of a living laboratory where the effects of Global Warming can be monitored. In addition, the shallow lagoons offer hospital habitats to hundreds of endangered Dugongs, a type of sea mammal related to manatees.
Cliffs of Moher (Ireland)
(images via: Environmental Graffiti, Dan Heller Photography and Bubble Digital)
The spectacular Cliffs of Moher hug the western Irish coast and mark the western border of County Clare. Towering up to 702 feet (214 meters) above breaking Atlantic Ocean waves, the Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions and have been featured in films such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Princess Bride, and many others.
(image via: Port Wallpaper)
The Cliff of Moher are crowned at their highest point by the small, cylindrical O’Brien’s Tower. Built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien, the tower was meant to accommodate Victorian-era visitors to whom word of the area’s great scenic beauty had already spread. O’Brien was a pioneer in this respect, foreseeing that tourism could do much to help lift the area’s residents from poverty.
Dead Sea (Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Authority)
(images via: Atlas Tours)
The Dead Sea is the lowest lake on Earth and, unfortunately, it’s getting even lower. The lake, which was once much larger, is fed by rivers which have had some portion of their flow diverted for local agricultural irrigation. The reduced flow is now not enough to counteract water loss due to evaporation in the region’s hot, arid climate. Some studies have indicated the Dead Sea could dry up completely within just a few decades.
(image via: Fantom-XP)
The extreme salinity of the Dead Sea’s waters has the effect of increasing the buoyancy of swimmers to an astonishing degree. As well, the waters and mud in and around the Dead Sea carry a plethora of salts and minerals said to be beneficial to health. Even those who neither swim nor apply the mineral-rich mud to their skin can enjoy health benefits just by being at the Dead Sea – the low level of the lake results in the air having a higher concentration of life-giving oxygen.
El Yunque (USA, Puerto Rico)
(images via: MontriPhotography, GreenAnswers and PeterGreenberg.com)
El Yunque, located in central Puerto Rico, is the only tropical rainforest in the United States. Easily accessible and boasting an abundance of wildlife, El Yunque offers tourists the complete “rainforest experience” while maintaining convenience to first-world facilities. As such, El Yunque has emerged as a valuable educational resource where the rainforest ecosystem can be studied and enjoyed by everyone.
(image via: Atabey Tours)
El Yunque’s rough and mountainous geology helps ensure this essential environmental treasure poses no temptation to small farmers or large corporate plantations. In fact, the extensive botanical diversity exhibited by El Yunque has aroused interest from niche groups hoping to practice sustainable harvesting of exotic foodstuffs and medicinal plants.
Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
(images via: WallpaperWeb, Destination360 and Galapagos & Ecuador Guide)
It can confidently be stated that Charles Darwin’s exploration of the Galapagos Islands in the 1830s paved the way for the publication of his monumental book on evolution, The Origin of Species, in 1859. The fertile yet separate islands in the Galapagos archipelago have acted, over time, to spur many evolutionary events which resulted in the creation of new species. Even today, new evolutionary discoveries such as the Pink Iguana (above right) are being made in the Galapagos Islands.
(image via: ASA100)
Volcanic in origin, the Galapagos Islands have existed in relative isolation of the Pacific Ocean coast of Ecuador for many thousands of years. Once plundered by whalers and sealers in the 19th century, the islands’ odd menagerie of unique animals have made strong recoveries and now enjoy protection from human predation and exploitation.
Grand Canyon (USA)
(images via: Smithsonian, Bloggers Base and 7USA8)
The expression “you’ve gotta see it to believe it” was seemingly coined for the incredible vastness of the Grand Canyon. Carved out of the American Southwest’s thick layers of multicolored (but mainly red) sandstone by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is an “open book” displaying tens of millions of years of geologic history.
(image via: Fun On The Net)
The recent building of a horseshoe-shaped, glass-bottomed Skywalk allows visitors to test their tolerance for acrophobia while showcasing the rich beauty of the canyon from a previously unavailable point of view. Weather conditions are typically bright and sunny though the view has suffered in recent years from winds bring smog and pollution eastward from cities and industries on the California coast.
Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
(images via: Australia Travel Guide, Fun On The Net and Fallen Scoop)
Easily visible from orbit, the Great Barrier Reef hugs the eastern coast of Australia and is by far the Earth’s largest coral reef community. The ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef supports countless plant and animal species from microscopic plankton up to the largest sharks and whales.
(image via: Beautiful Scenery)
Built up over thousands of years by colonies of coral, the Great Barrier Reef may be huge in size but at the same time, it’s profoundly sensitive to pollution, predation and climate change. Recent incidents involving cargo ships striking the reef and leaking fuel oil have dramatized the reef’s fragile beauty yet its exceptional length and breadth mean it’s virtually impossible to avoid similar accidents in the future.
Ha Long Bay (Vietnam)
(images via: TripAdvisor, Wikipedia and Fine Arts by Claudio Saes)
Situated in the northern part of Vietnam near the Gulf of Tonkin, Ha Long Bay has long astonished and delighted visitors with awesome scenic beauty photos can only barely capture. The otherworldly spikes and spires that surround the bay are formed of Karst limestone that has eroded in a distinct fashion over countless centuries.
(image via: TourismPICS)
Limestone slowly dissolves in the presence of mildly acidic rainwater and it erodes further thought the action of tree roots and plant growth cycles. In many respects, Ha Long Bay is a geologic “work in progress” where the dynamic forces of weathering and erosion my be observed and enjoyed… but for how long?
Iguazu Falls (Argentina, Paraguay)
(images via: BloggersBase and Tourism Central)
Iguazu Falls has got it all: height (200–269 ft or 60–82 meters), width (1.7 miles or 2.7 kilometers), rate of flow and the added attraction of being situated in lush, tropical surroundings. Nothing against North America’s famed Niagara Falls or Africa’s mighty Victoria Falls, but the hydrological spectacle that is Iguazu Falls takes the concept of waterfalls to a higher level entirely.
(image via: BloggersBase)
Situated on the border of Paraguay and Argentina in South America, Iguazu Falls marks the place where the Iguazu River pours over an erosion-resistant rock escarpment on the edge of the Paraná Plateau. Like Niagara Falls, the flow of water over the escarpment gradually wears away the underlying rock, thus pushing back the face of the falls incrementally over thousands of years.
Jeita Grotto (Lebanon)
(images via: New7Wonders and Notes from Noelle)
Jeita Grotto is one of the world’s largest and best explored cave systems. Situated in Lebanon, Jeita Grotto is also one of the world’s oldest tourist attractions and its existence adds a note of peace and beauty to a historically war-torn region.
(image via: RitaKML)
Cave systems are, by nature, exceedingly sensitive to contamination from polluted groundwater, acid rain and even the humid breath of tourists. The Jeita Grotto has managed to survive thousands of years of human activity in the region without suffering significant harm to either its appearance or the many highly adapted creatures that have made it their home. Recognition as one of the world’s New 7 Wonders will surely bring more attention to the Jeita Grotto, something that can bring both positive and negative effects.
Jeju Island (South Korea)
(images via: Love These Pics, Hancinema and Chic Traveller)
Situated off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula, Jeju Island is South Korea’s largest island and boasts the country’s highest mountain, 6,400 ft (1,950 meter) Halla-san. The island’s volcanic origins are plainly visible, both through several spectacular craters and seaside formations of columnar basalt reminiscent of the famous Giant’s Causeway in reland.
(image via: Antique Alive)
Jeju Island has long been a popular vacation destination thanks not only to its unique scenic beauty, but also due to its warm temperatures and forgiving subtropical climate. The island’s relatively large size and rugged geography, especially toward the center where Halla-san is located, has helped preserve its exceptionally wide variety of ecologic habitats from extensive disturbance from human activity.
Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
(images via: National Geographic, Close Encounters and Smithsonian)
At 19,341 feet, (5,895 m), Kilimanjaro is Africa’s tallest mountain and is a product of East Africa’s volatile Rift Valley geologic zone. The mountain’s solitary existence surrounded by mainly flat savannah plains only adds to its imposing visual majesty. Early European explorers who reported extensive ice caps on the mountain (actually a long-dormant volcano) were disbelieved at first, as the idea of glaciers only a few degree’s from the Earth’s equator was deemed to be impossible.
(image via: PNAS)
Kilimanjaro’s glaciers and summit snowfields do indeed exist, but they have been steadily shrinking for decades along with most of the planet’s other tropical glaciers. Should they vanish completely, the effect on millions of people in Tanzania and Kenya who depend on Kilimanjaro’s glacial runoff for drinking and farming is incalculable.
Komodo National Park (Indonesia)
(images via: Bangpress’s Blog, Facebook/Vote Komomdo, Indonesia Travel and Twenty Ten)
Home to the world’s largest lizards, the Komodo Dragons, Komodo National Park in Indonesia also shelters a wide variety of island-adapted wildlife and unique plants that grow nowhere else. Tourism is permitted at the park and the sluggish, slow-moving “dragons” can easily be outrun if need be, but being bitten by one of the creatures is not a pleasant prospect: their saliva is loaded with pathogenic bacteria.
(images via: World Amazing Tourism)
Komodo Island is close to Flores Island, where fossil remains of the so-called “Hobbit” have been found. Thought to be an ancient offshoot of the human family tree, Homo Floriensis existed on Flores for hundreds of thousands of years and may have flourished on nearby islands as well. Imagine how formidable a Komodo Dragon would appear to a “hobbit”!
Maldive Islands
(images via: Facebook/Vote Maldives, Schiphaxa, Ark Royal and FaithfullyMe)
Set jewel-like into a shallow stretch of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are the closest thing to paradise on the planet! Rising mere meters above the surface of the sea, the Maldives suffered great damage from the 2004 Christmas Day Tsunami that swept across them virtually unopposed.
Although populated for thousands of years, the Maldive Islands are under new threat from Global Warming. As the seas rise, the low-lying islands will be increasingly vulnerable to the effects of storms – which themselves are reckoned to become more powerful as the world’s oceans heat up.
Masurian Lakes (Poland)
(images via: Popular Tourism Place, FirstWorldWar.com and Wix.com)
Numbering in the thousands, the Masurian Lakes are one of Poland’s most prized vacation destinations. It wasn’t always so: a series of fierce battles took place in the region between Germany and Russia in the early weeks of World War I. The roar of artillery is but a distant echo nowadays, however, replaced by the buzzing of an occasional passing motorboat.
(images via: Derek Emson/Panoramio)
Their location in the north of Poland means the Masurian Lakes offer seasonal variations to tourists and vacationers. Whether your skis are designed for snow or water, you’ll find the Masurian Lakes an ideal place to unwind and enjoy all the beauty nature has to offer.
Matterhorn (Switzerland, Italy)
(images via: City Pictures and KayRush)
Situated on the border between Austria and Italy, the strikingly beautiful Matterhorn is known as Monte Cervino to Italian-speakers. First climbed in 1865, the peak offers mountaineers an imposing challenge though at “just” 14,692 feet (4,478 meters) it’s far from the world’s highest mountain. Indeed, it’s estimated that as many as 500 hikers have lost their lives on the mountain over the years.
(images via: Beautiful Places to Visit)
Carved by glaciers into a steep, four-sided pyramid, the Matterhorn’s sheer slopes rarely accumulate much snow and its glaciers arise at lower altitudes than others in the Alps. The mountain’s relative isolation also gives rise to unusual cloud formations called “banner clouds” that are caused by condensation on the peak’s lee side.
Milford Sound (New Zealand)
(images via: World’s Greatest Sites and NZ.com)
Milford Sound is one of the highlights of Fiordland National Park on New Zealand’s South Island. This idyllic “tropical fjord” is surrounded by jagged rock faces as much as 3,900 feet (1,200 meters) high and is home to a wide variety of marine life including seals, penguins, whales and dolphins.
(images via: Travel Destination Info)
The area around Milford Sound was used as a location setting by New Zealand-born director for the epic Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Visitors will note Milford Sound’s two permanent waterfalls but will be surprised and delighted by the appearance of dozens more following an average-to-heavy rainstorm.
Mud Volcanoes (Azerbaijan)
(images via: Azerbaijan24, Azerbaijan International and BBC)
Nearly 400 mud volcanoes comprising about half the world’s known total can be found in Azerbaijan, many within the boundaries of the Gobustan State Reserve. Mud volcanoes form when geothermal processes deep underground conspire to expel mixtures of fine silt and water onto the surface. An accumulation of mud volcanoes, such as can be found in Azerbaijan, can transform the landscape into something akin to the Voyager spacecraft’s observations of Jupiter’s tide-tortured moon Io.
(images via: Atlas Obscura)
Though mud volcanoes can be large (as much as 2,300 feet or 700 meters in height), they’re typically “cold” compared to more familiar volcanoes caused by upsurges of molten rock. With that said, many of Azerbaijan’s mud volcanoes are associated with the region’s copious oil and gas deposits, and have been known to burst into flame.
Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines)
(images via: New7Wonders.com, Pinoy Life and AsiaWonder)
Located near the northern coast of the Philippines’ far western province of Palawan, the Puerto Princesa Underground River stretches over 8 kilometers beneath the Saint Paul Mountain Range before flowing directly into the South China Sea. The river is fully navigable along nearly its entire length, allowing scientists and tourists to explore and enjoy this very rare natural phenomenon.
(images via: Barangay RP)
Like Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, the Puerto Princesa Underground River owes its creation and character to being situated in a Karst limestone formation. The action of flowing water over the eons has not only hollowed out the river’s channel but also has created a number of associated caves and caverns complete with stalagmites, stalactites and a diverse range of highly adapted cave life.
The Sundarbans (India, Bangladesh)
(images via: Search Bangladesh, Birds of India and The Independent)
The Sundarbans is the world’s largest area of coastal mangrove forest. Constantly shaped and reshaped by seasonal monsoons, tides and frequent cyclonic storms, the Sundarbans is a rich yet precarious place for human habitation though animal life has adapted to its vicissitudes.
(images via: Mystic Musings)
The thick mangrove forests of the Sundarbans are an ideal habitat for the endangered Bengal Tiger. Approximately 500 tigers roam the Sundarbans, swimming from one island to another as needed and preying upon wild boars, monkeys, Chital deer and occasionally humans. It’s estimated that from 30 to 100 people are killed by tigers in the Sundarbans each year.
Table Mountain (South Africa)
(images via: TravelPod, Vote for Table Mountain and Capetown Travel)
South Africa’s preeminent landmark, Table Mountain, was first climbed (ironically) by a Portuguese sailor in the year 1503. The flat-topped mountain stands 3,558 feet (1,084.6 meters) tall and forms a dramatic backdrop to South Africa’s second-most populous city.
(images via: Hello Yebo)
Table Mountain is occasionally covered by clouds formed when moisture-laden winds are blown up and over the mountain’s sloping sides, condensing into the famous “table cloth”. The moisture helps support a surprisingly rich and diverse ecosystem, though the last leopards to live on the mountain were eradicated in the 1920s.
Uluru (Australia)
(images via: National Geographic and GOO)
Formerly known as Ayers Rock (though the feature was officially dual-named in 1993), this massive, isolated and extensively eroded sandstone rock formation has emerged as one of Australia’s most well-known symbols. The name “Uluru” has no particular meaning, it’s merely the name by which the local Pitjantjatjara people have always referred to it.
(images via: Australian Geographic)
Uluru presents a variety of different “looks” from various angles on the ground and air, and depending on the time of day and the weather of the moment (or both) displays a surprising range of colors from vermillion red to glowing lavender. The rock stands 1,142 feet (348 meters) above the arid central Australian plains and, much like an iceberg, much of its bulk is hidden deep within the ground.
Mount Vesuvius (Italy)
(images via: Europe & Beyond, Top Yaps and Left Coast Guy in DC)
Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano situated on the mainland of continental Europe, though it hasn’t had a significant eruption since 1944. That doesn’t mean one isn’t coming: Vesuvius has erupted rather frequently over the past two thousand years; roughly 40 notable eruptions have been recorded since its most famous (or infamous) blast in the year 79 AD buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
(images via: Stuck In Customs)
Though the immediate area around Vesuvius’ 4,202 ft (1,281 meter) high peak sports some scrub vegetation and not much more, the surrounding area including metropolitan Naples, Italy, today supports a population of around 3 million making it the world’s most densely populated volcanic region.
Yushan (ROC/Taiwan)
(images via: New Open World, Dreamstime and Taipei Times)
Yushan, also known as Jade Mountain, is the tallest peak in the Yushan Range and can be found in Taiwan’s Yushan National Park in Taiwan. At 12,966 feet (3,952 meters), Yushan is the tallest mountain east of the Himalayas and is the fourth-highest mountain on an island (after Indonesia’s Puncak Jaya, Hawaii’s Mauna Kea and Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu).
(images via: Taiwan.gov)
Yushan has been called Taiwan’s “ark” due to the astounding level of biological diversity on and around the mountain. Protected by central Taiwan’s challenging topography and stratified into a large number of ascending biological zones, Yushan’s flora and fauna include some of the island’s rarest species and the peak’s environs are a bellweather for climate change. More prosaically perhaps, Yushan has been embraced by Taiwan’s people and government as a national symbol, appearing on the back of Taiwan’s NT$1,000 banknotes since the summer of 2005.
(images via: Pinas News Feed and Examiner)
Though only 7 of the 28 semi-finalists will officially be designated “Wonders of Nature”, I think we can all agree that 7 is an arbitrary number and that all 28 semi-finalists – in fact, ANY natural place, phenomenon or feature – is deserving of the term “wonder” and well worth enjoying, appreciating and above all, protecting.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Impossible Pillars: Another Natural Wonder of the World
China’s Zhangjiajie National Park features breathtaking geological formations - seemingly gravity-defying pillars that inspired the floating mountains in Avatar.
3 Comments - Click Here to Read More
Hot Licks: The World’s 10 Most Amazing Anteaters
October 11, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series & Animals & Habitats & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Anteaters, while outwardly bizarre looking, are prime examples of Nature’s creatures evolving over millions of years to best utilize a distinct source of nutrition. In fact, these 10 “termite terminators” have perfected the art of ant-eating to such a fine degree they can eat little else, which isn’t a bad thing at all considering ants form up to 25% of Earth’s total animal biomass.
Giant Anteater
(images via: CrocRoger, RWP Zoo and ART.com)
Giant Anteaters aren’t really “giant” though they’re by far the largest of the four main species of the suborder Vermilingua (Latin for “worm tongue”). Native to South and Central America, the Giant Anteater’s body is about the size of an average German Shepherd dog – add in its long, bushy tail and you’re looking at a total length of up to 7 feet or 2.1 meters.
Toothless but possessed of wickedly sharp claws on its front feet, Giant Anteaters can consume roughly 30,000 ants and/or termites daily by slurping them up with its sticky 2ft (61cm) long tongue. They have few natural predators but are vulnerable to cougars, jaguars… and transport trucks.
(image via: Ocean Beach Bulletin)
Giant Anteaters bear one offspring at a time and the babies look much like the adults but in miniature. A baby Giant Anteater will spend most of its first year clinging to its mother’s back, presumably flicking up any stray ants she happens to miss.
Silky Anteater
(images via: Olympic Animal Sanctuary, Minden Pictures and NatGeo and ART.com)
The Silky or Pygmy Anteater is also found in South and Central America but in more heavily forested areas compared to its Giant cousin. It’s also much smaller, weighing less than a pound and only growing up to 17.7 inches (about 450mm) in length.
(images via: Kvitters and Cheezburger Network)
The nocturnally active Silky Anteater is rarely seen, though zoologists do not consider it to be a threatened species. THat may change as the more isolated and impenetrable reaches of the upper Amazon become, er, less isolated and more penetrable.
(image via: The Field Museum Library)
If the image above appears somewhat odd, consider that it’s taken from a hand-colored lantern slide dating back to 1928 when the Crane Pacific Expedition was exploring the forests and offshore islands of Panama. Not the “Two-Toed” Anteater’s partially prehensile tail coiled around the tree branch, allowing it to rear up to an upright defensive position.
Northern Tamandua
(images via: Arenas Delmar, Arkive and Focus on Nature Tours)
The Northern Tamandua can be found from southern Mexico down to the Pacific coastal forests of Ecuador and Peru.
(image via: Reptile Forums UK)
With its long and sticky tongue, complete lack of teeth and a mainly hairless prehensile tail, the Northern Tamandua is perfectly adapted for living in jungle forests teeming with ants and other insects.
(images via: Fiona Reid and Qwiki)
A smallish creature that can grow up to 50 inches (130cm) long including its tail, the Northern Tamandua has off-white to pale yellow fur with a contrasting “sweater vest” patch of deep black – it’s the Mister Rogers of anteaters!
Southern Tamandua
(images via: Alapi973, Arkive, The Nature Animals and Holy Cuteness)
The Southern Tamandua, also known as the Collared Anteater or Lesser Anteater, is found over a wide range of South America including the whole of Brazil. Like most other anteaters it has no teeth, but is equipped with sharp claws that make short work of ant and termite nests it sniffs out in rainforest trees. The Southern Tamandua will supplement its diet with bees on occasion. Bees, my God.
(image via: Living With Anteaters)
Lately it seems anteaters like the Southern Tamandua have appeared on the radar of hipsters looking for exotic pets. Perhaps they haven’t heard that anteaters like these are able to spray an exceptionally foul-smelling mist from their anal glands. Besides that, does Whole Foods even stock Purina Anteater Chow?
Giant Armadillo
(images via: The Existence of Our Natural Environment)
The Giant Armadillo may not be a pure, classic, capital-A “Anteater” as such, though the major portion of its diet consists of ants, grubs, and especially termites whose nests it digs deep into with tough, dedicated claws. Weighing up to 70 pounds (over 30kg), the Giant Armadillo is the largest member of the Armadillo family and though its range covers much of South America, it’s considered to be a vulnerable species.
(image via: Bush Warriors)
So you think Giant Armadillos are obscure? Don’t tell this guy, he just might “obscure” you into next week. Seriously though, you’ve really gotta dig (pun intended) Giant Armadillos to devote this much time, money, skin & pain.
(images via: Animal Wildlife and All About Wildlife)
The Los Ocarros zoo park in Villavicencio, Colombia, features Giant Armadillos and acts as an educational resource for those interested in preserving this unusual creature. Humans are its only predators and although the Giant Armadillo is an insectivore for the most part, ranchers consider it a pest.
Pink Fairy Armadillo
(images via: FactZoo, Convivial Crafter and DeviantArt/LobaFeroz)
The Pink Fairy Armadillo doesn’t look like your average armadillo… or most anything else for that matter. This smallest of the armadillos is just 3.5 to 4.5 inches (90–115 mm) long, and spends most of its time underground “swimming” through loose, sandy soil.
(images via: JasonCross, The Odd Critter and Cafe Press)
The Pink Fairy Armadillo is unusual for armadillos in that its armored back plates aren’t attached to its bones along its length; only at the back end. Speaking of which, this curious creature’s posterior is also armor-plated and acts as sort of a “plug” when danger threatens and the creature dives head-first into its burrow.
(image via: Nick Baker)
So little is known about the Pink Fairy Armadillo’s lifestyle, reproduction rate and population count, the IUCN has given up trying to pinpoint its vulnerability status preferring to go with “Data Deficient”. The fact that the creatures only live in a small area of central Argentina, however, raises concerns for its future in the face of incremental habitat loss to human development.
Aardvark
(images via: ZooBorns)
The Aardvark’s name, which means “Earth Pig”, is one of the few derived from the Afrikaans language of South Africa. With their pig snouts, mule ears and pink wrinkly skin, aardvarks can seem shockingly ugly to some. Maybe some cute baby aardvark pics will change that impression… nope, not one bit, and in fact it might have made it even worse.
(images via: Zookeeper’s Journal, Crepture and YellowMagpie)
Found only in Sub-Saharan Africa, aardvarks eat termites almost exclusively leading to their being considered “formicivores”. On occasion they will eat vegetation for its water content but only the so-called “Aardvark Cucumber” will do – which is a good thing for the Aardvark Cucumber as this odd, underground-fruiting plant depends on aardvarks to spread its seeds.
(image via: Africa-Alive)
Aardvark skin is naturally a pale, yellowish-gray hue but their wrinkled hide quickly takes on the tint of the soil in their stomping grounds. You might not want to look like Pigpen from Charlie Brown but such an acquired camouflage may help aardvarks blend into their surroundings and avoid some of Africa’s more fearsome large predators.
Numbat
(images via: Ferrebeekeeper and Art for Conservation)
The Numbat or Banded Anteater is a day-active marsupial termite-eater that was once relatively common throughout Australia. Some zoologists have speculated Numbats may have an ancestral relationship with the extinct Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger, as both species feature an unusual pattern of contrasting stripes across their lower back and rump.
(images via: Bing Day Photo and Convict Creations)
The introduction of cats, foxes and dogs led to a sharp reduction in the number of Numbats: by the 1970s less than 1,000 remained. Since then, efforts to reduce the number of foxes in particular have helped the Numbat population bounce back to around 3,000 but it is still listed as an endangered species. One reason zoologists think Numbats were able to hold out in two very small, isolated areas is that both locations feature a large number of downed hollow trees – the better to hide oneself in, methinks.
(images via: Stewart MacDonald, Ferrebeekeeper and Perth Zoo)
Numbats have evolved a long, sticky tongue that helps them eat ants and termites but their digging claws are no match for rock-hard termite mounds. They get around this deficiency by digging into the softer soil around the mounds, intercepting termite tunnels (and the termites within).
Echidna
(images via: Eucalypt Habitat, Random Nonsense and Behind the Voice Actors)
The Echidna, or Spiny Anteater, is a monotreme – along with its fellow monotreme the Platypus, the Echidna is the only mammal that lays eggs instead of bearing live young. Native to Australia and New Guinea, the name “Echidna” is derived from Greek mythology in which Echidna is described as the “Mother of all Monsters”. Take one look at an Echidna and you’ll be hard-pressed to disagree.
(images via: Donna Flannery and Digishrine)
The Echidna has made the leap into pop culture, surprising for a creature that looks like it wouldn’t leap if you shot 10,000 volts through it. “Knuckles the Echidna” first appeared in 1994, in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, as a rival for Sonic. Knuckles doesn’t look much like an actual Echidna, however, which was likely intentional and probably for the best.
(image via: London Lakes 2002)
There are four recognized species of Echidna, with the Short-Beaked Echidna subsisting entirely on ants and termites. Their strategy in case of attack by predators is to curl up into a ball, thus exposing their pointy spines. One trivia note about Echidnas: the male has a four-headed penis. After that, there’s really not much one can say, amiright?
Pangolin
(images via: Linoob, Pixdaus/Popolov and Henceblog)
The Pangolin or Scaly Anteater is an odd-looking creature… come to think of it, are any of the aforementioned anteaters NOT odd-looking? But back to the Pangolin. This scaled mammal can be found from Southeast Asia west to the Atlantic Ocean coast of Africa, split among seven different species.
(images via: Biodiversity Explorer and Defenders of Wildlife)
While not “threatened” in the statistical sense of the term, IUCN has noted a “great decline” in many formerly abundant pangolin populations as a result of strong demand (mainly from China) for pangolin meat used for food and parts used in traditional medicines.
Pangolins can grow up to 40 inches (100cm) long and their front claws are so long they have to walk on their knuckles. They use these claws to tear open ant nests and termite mounds, after which the toothless creatures employ a tongue up to 16 inches (40cm) long and just 1/4 inch (0.5cm) wide to lap up their prime nutritional resource. Pangolin scales are made of keratin – the same substance hair and fingernails are made of – and are razor-sharp at their trailing edges to discourage persistent predators.
(image via: Maison)
Previously of interest only to zoologists, anteaters have hit it off with a new, internet-savvy generation thanks to a notorious 2008 meme. Several variations of an image of an anteater reared up in a natural “come at me bro” defensive posture, most overlaid with text reading “F U, I’m An Anteater”, symbolized the backlash against the perceived flood of cute dog and (especially) cat pics captioned with LOLspeak. The more you know!
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Amazing Microsocieties: Ants vs. Termites
A look at the microsocieties of ants and termites, and how they react to one another.
1 Comment - Click Here to Read More
Eco Resorts: 13 Rustic Retreats for True Nature Lovers
February 11, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
When you travel to exotic destinations, do you like to stay in fancy, well-appointed hotel rooms or immerse yourself in the local landscape? These 13 rustic resorts are for the latter type of eco-tourist (though some offer luxurious amenities and services as well), putting guests right on the water, in the jungle or up in the trees in curious pod-hotels, huts on stilts or floating lodges.
Semi-Aquatic Submersible SeaShelter
(images via: dornob)
The SeaShelter is a cabin on dry land or a partially submersed houseboat-like getaway, depending on the tide. A concept designed specifically for the coast of Denmark, SeaShelter is entered through a hatch in the roof and has port holes in the walls to provide views of semi-aquatic sea life like seals.
Whitepod Eco Resort, Swiss Alps
(images via: inhabitat)
Simple, sustainable and stylish, the 15 geodesic dome pods at the Whitepod Eco Resort in Les Cerniers, Switzerland are rustic on the outside but surprisingly beautiful and cozy on the inside. The only motorized systems at the entire resort are the ski lifts – otherwise, guests get around on snowboards, skis, snowshoes, dog sleds or on foot. Mountain chalets are also available as more traditional lodging.
Soneva Kiri Eco Resort, Thailand
(images via: sixsenses.com)
You’ll feel like a bird in a treetop nest at the Soneva Kiri Eco Resort in Thailand, where guests have the option of dining in a woven Tree Pod located 16 feet off the ground, with incredible views of the water. Guests get to and from the structure via an elevator, but how cool is this: waiters arrive with your food and drinks on a zip-line! The Tree Pod is attached using a cabling system. Located on 150 acres of tropical rainforest, Soneva Kiri has 42 resort villas packed with green features.
Lova Lava Land, Hawaii
(images via: lova lava land facebook)
Experience the beauty of Hawaii’s beaches in a laid-back, budget-friendly and super-green resort called Lova Lava Land, which offers accommodation in a yurt or in one of several renovated Volkswagen camper buses. This eco-resort is 100% off-grid, powered with solar energy. In addition to the unique rustic sleeping quarters there are communal outdoor areas with a full kitchen, lava rock grill, outdoor shower and flushing composting toilet.
Reflective Tree Hotel, Sweden
(images via: dezeen)
Barely visible between the trees, the mirrored Tree Hotel literally reflects its environment and sits as lightly on the land as possible. The inside is quite spacious for a 12-by-12-foot box, managing to contain not only a full-sized bed for two but a table with two chairs and a basic bathroom. This treehouse eco-retreat was designed to bring ecotourism to the beautiful and largely untouched Harads area in the northern part of the country, and certainly makes visitors feel as if they’re a part of the ecosystem.
Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa, Australia
(images via: daintree-ecolodge.com.au)
Rustic yet luxurious at the same time, the Daintree Eco Lodge is by far the coolest way to experience the world’s oldest living rainforest on the northwestern coast of Australia. 15 treehouse villas and a number of open-air common areas put guests right into the thick of the forest while also offering modern amenities like wi-fi, jacuzzis, an award-winning green spa and a restaurant.
Shergarh Tented Camp at Kanha Tiger Reserve, India
(images via: shergarh.com)
Can you imagine camping in a 100-acre tiger reserve? Okay, so it’s not like you’re going to pitch a tent and hope it doesn’t get shredded to bits overnight. The Shergarh Tented Camp in India’s Kanha Tiger Reserve features ‘tents’ that are really more like cabins with canvas roofs – it’s not exactly roughing it, but when you stay here, you’re unquestionably immersed in the natural environment, enjoying the 25% of the reserve that’s accessible to tourists.
Mandina River Lodge, The Gambia, Africa
(images via: makasutu.com)
Sleep in a solar-powered floating lodge in a hidden corner of the Makasutu Culture Forest in The Gambia, Africa. The Mandina River Lodge is an award-winning eco resort with four floating lodges accessed by elevated walkways or canoes, offering 180-degree views of the Mandina Bolong river. The lodges are handcrafted and feature large, comfy-looking four-poster beds.
Loola Adventure Resort, Bintan, Indonesia
(images via: loola.net)
One of Indoneisa’s most rustic eco-retreats is the Loola Adventure Resort, a series of bungalows built on stilts over the sea. Located on the island of Bintan, Loola definitely isn’t one of those high-dollar, fancy-pants eco resorts with massage rooms and a full-service front desk. There’s no electricity during the day, but both the simple wooden structures themselves and the activities available at the resort more than make up for it.
Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve, Ecuador
(images via: kapawi.com)
Talk about isolated – the Kapawi Ecolodge and Reserve can only be reached by air; it takes ten days to walk to the nearest road. Located on the border between Peru and Ecuador, Kapawi is fully owned by the local Achuar people, who have lived in the Amazon Basin for thousands of years. The resort itself is twenty thatched-roof huts on stilts at the edge of a lagoon, open to the air. A raised boardwalk connects the guest cabins, which were built by Achuar craftsmen and feature private balconies equipped with hammocks.
Ultima Thule Lodge, Alaska
(images via: ultimathulelodge.com)
Want to experience the deepest reaches of Alaska? Hopping on an airplane is the only way you can reach the Ultima Thule Lodge, a series of rustic cabins located “100 miles from nowhere” in the 13-million-acre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Perched on the edge of the Chitina River with views of the 16,000-foot-tall Wrangell Mountains, the Ultima Thule Lodge is definitely for adventurous outdoorsmen eager to spend Alaska’s 20-hour-long summer days hiking, climbing, kayaking or fishing.
Primitive Grassy Huts at Kolarbyn, Sweden
(images via: kolarbyn.se)
Unless you’re just unrolling a sleeping bag in the woods, eco-tourism doesn’t get much more rustic than this. Sweden’s most primitive hotel, Kolarbyn, offers grass-covered huts with the most basic of amenities – a wood stove and cots. There’s no electricity, but there are outhouses and a nearby sauna for bathing. If you’re lucky (or not), you’ll get up close and personal with Swedish wildlife, including brown bears and wolves.
Footprint-Free Treehouse Resort Idea
(images via: dornob)
They’re super green, with biomass heating, harvested rainwater for the showers, solar power and dry toilets – and they’re also about as immersed in nature as you can be within an enclosed structure. EcoCocoons, a concept by Mathier Collos, clamp onto trees without damaging them and contain multiple stories with many angled roof surfaces to disperse load requirements.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Suspended Swedish Tree Hotel Reflects Natural Environment
Ascend through the straight, tall trees in a northern Swedish woodland on a suspended rope bridge to a trompe l’oeil getaway that is barely discernible from its environment. The Tree Hotel by T…
1 Comment - Click Here to Read More
Got Vertigo? Terrifying Towers where minutes feel like hours.
November 3, 2009 by admin · View Comments
All of your instincts may be screaming for you to avoid looking down at all costs, but when you’re this high in the air, the view is just irresistible. Whether you’re clinging for dear life to a rickety wooden rainforest observation tower or staring straight down through a glass floor at city streets thousands of feet below, frighteningly tall spires and lookouts give us humans a look at our environment that our ancestors would never have imagined possible.
CN Tower, Toronto, Canada
(image via: shidairyproduct, ilkerender)
Do you trust a piece of glass about the thickness of two fingers to keep you from crashing thousands of feet to the ground below? Toronto’s CN Tower, which stands over 1,815 tall, offers stunning 360-degree views of the city – and a stomach-turning view straight down to the street through a glass floor.
Forest Tower, Schovenhorst Estate, Netherlands
(images via: Arplus.com)
The thoroughly modern Forest Tower is just as visually stunning as the views it provides of the conservation area at the Schovenhorst Estate in the Netherlands. The design includes spaces and features for various activities including peepholes, a climbing net and even a small performance space.
Willis Tower Skydeck, Chicago, Illinois
(images via: Charlotte Speaks)
If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to float 110 stories over Chicago, the Skydeck at the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower is the closest you’re likely to get. With a glass floor and glass walls on three sides, these “glass balconies” provide unparalleled views that will give the acrophobic nightmares.
Bird Watching Towers, Ecuadorian Amazon
(images via: JackMaryEtc)
There’s no way to enjoy the birds of the Amazon quite like observing them from one of Ecuador’s many extremely tall bird watching towers – if you’re brave enough to climb them. But finally getting to the top and finding it twisted from the wind and held together with a string, like one traveling couple did, might be enough to sway your confidence in the structure’s sturdiness.
Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne, Australia
(images via: EurekaSkydeck.com)
Like the Willis Tower Skydeck, Eureka Skydeck 88 in Melbourne, Australia offers views you just can’t get anywhere else in the city. But, it’s not for the faint of heart. 940 feet above the ground, “The Edge” is a glass cube that juts out nine feet from the building. It’s the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere.
Korkeasaari Lookout Tower, Helsinki, Finland
(images via: arcspace)
The shell-like wooden Korkeasaari Lookout Tower at Helsinki’s Korkeasaari Zoo mimics the large natural enclosures that the animals are held in, and is made of 72 long curved wood battens fastened with over 600 bolted joints. Ville Hara’s concept for the tower was the winning entry in a competition to design an innovative, artistic tower for the zoo.
Blackpool Tower ‘Walk of Faith’, Lancashire, England
(images via: Wikipedia)
With a design inspired by the Eiffel Tower, the 518ft Blackpool Tower in Lancashire, England was constructed in 1894 after Blackpool Mayor John Bickerstaffe visited the Great Paris Exhibition. Among its most popular features is the “Walk of Faith”, a glass floor panel added in 1998.
Burj Dubai Observation Deck, Dubai, UAE
(images via: Dubai Chronicle, WeeklyDrop)
Set to become the world’s tallest free-standig structure, Burj Dubai will feature a 124th-floor observation deck called ‘At the Top’. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls will provide unobstructed views of the city, but anyone who’s not paranoid about being swept away by a gust of wind can venture out onto the open-air deck. This mixed-use tower is set to open in late 2009.
Killesberg Tower, Stuttgart, Germany
(image via: structurae)
This double-helix shaped tower in Stuttgart, Germany features what are essentially two gigantic intertwined spiral staircases suspended by cables around a central support. Getting to the top is no easy feat, but the reward is great.
Shanghai Expo Tower, China
(image via: Expo 2010)
A 495-foot tall chimney at the oldest power plant in China is getting a dramatic makeover for the World Expo 2010. It is set to be transformed into an observation tower called the “Expo Harmony Tower”, its exterior wrapped with tracks and cars similar to a rollercoaster to transport passengers to the top. The entire former high-pollution plant is being revamped into an eco-friendly attraction that uses electricity generated by tide, wind and solar energy.
Glasgow Tower, Scotland
(images via: Wikipedia)
The tallest tower in Scotland is also the only tower in the world that can rotate 360 degrees from its base to its top. It’s shaped like an aerofoil, or an airplane wing seen in cross-section, and has computer-controlled monitors that turn it in the wind to reduce wind resistance.
Green Observation Towers Concept
(images via: HumanShelter.org)
Could we replace smokestacks with eco-friendly, green power-generating towers that also serve as public spaces with observation decks? Designer Michael Jantzen thinks so, and has created several designs that would do just that. The Wind Turbine Observation Tower has five wind-activated segments that rotate in different directions to produce energy, while the Eco-Tower is a public gathering space equipped with seven platforms and a custom wind turbine.
Cheongna City Tower, South Korea
(images via: Bustler.net)
South Korea is getting a new landmark tower that will serve as the cultural hub and centerpiece of a large new town development. The 1,476-foot observation tower appears to jut sharply into the sky like an inverted icicle, with the second-highest observation deck in the world. It’ll also be pretty high-tech, becoming the world’s first “invisible tower” with a skin system that uses optical cameras to capture the views from the opposite wall and project those images on each part of the skin. This effect will make the tower itself seems to disappear when you’re inside, leaving nothing but sweeping views.
Steph
Featured Video
