A large leatherback sea turtle came up onto Vigie Beach, St Lucia on the 1/4/14. It lay eggs in the sand and returned to the sea.

The International Olympic Committee has selected the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro as the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games. Source: roadtraffic-technology

Randomlist, April 27, 2013

Nature reclaiming the mess we have left behind, there are very few things in the world that are as reassuring as the knowledge that no matter what we do as a race nature will always be there to reclaim what was once lost. Please enjoy some photo’s of the most beautiful abandoned places in the world.  On this random list you can see abandoned planes, abandoned ships, as well as the abandoned houses, and so many other things, that are really amazing and magnificent.

Abandoned Railway France

Chatillon Car Graveyard in Belgium

Cincinnati’s abandoned subway depot

Jiancing Historic Trail in Taipingshan National Forest in Taiwan

Max cannot wait to show off a shoe he took from my little sister.

You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free. 

This nonviolent approach to transformation is rooted in love. We do not look at our destructive tendencies as things that must be destroyed (for that would be employing violence in the pursuit of nonviolence) but as confused and hurt parts of ourselves that must be befriended and understood. Love is the nonviolent conqueror, transforming through a mature and loving care, “the care given by the big brother to the little brother.”

The task of the meditator is not to chase away or to suppress the energy of anger that is there but to invite another energy that will be able to care for the anger. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

AP, Aug. 18, 2014

Injuries continue in Hindu festival of Janmashtami celebrations after India’s Supreme Court ruling
Youngsters in Mumbai form a human pyramid to break the “Dahi handi,” an earthen pot filled with curd, an integral part of celebrations to mark Janmashtami, the festival that celebrates the birth of child-god Krishna. The pyramids are formed to honor Krishna’s effort to steal butter. The celebrations on Monday were the first after the Supreme Court set an age limit for participants. It said last week that only youths 12 or older could form the human pyramids, after children were injured in past years.

Caption: Indian youth make a human pyramid to reach and break the “Dahi Handi,”
an earthen pot filled with yoghurt, as they celebrate Janamashtami in
Mumbai, India, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014. Janmashtami is the festival that
marks the birth of Hindu god Krishna. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

This post has been reshared 21 times on Google+
View this post on Google+

‘Florida Untamed’ shows wild side of paradise on Nat Geo WILD

Examiner.com, April 23, 2014

“Florida Untamed” is a two-part special debuting on Nat Geo WILD on Sunday, April 27, 2014 according to a press announcement emailed by NGC on April 21. “Destination Wild,” by 2C Media, takes viewers to the depths of Florida’s treacherous swamplands, coastal shores and marine reefs to showcase wild animals and landscapes.

Just beyond the famed theme parks, poolside resorts and sunny beaches of Florida lie ruthless predators hungry for a kill. The swamps are no playground for most animals living there, including American crocodiles, alligators, Burmese pythons, sea turtles and rattlesnakes. The fierce paradise is a dangerous landcape where any moment could be the animals’ last. Witness the dramas unfold on a journey through a labyrinth of ancient cypress swamps and crowded shores, capturing miraculous sights that never cease to amaze. It’s treacherous; it’s venomous; it’s Florida Untamed.

Two one-hour back-to-back specials reveal a spectacular array of terrifying predators, perilous invaders and sly survivors as they struggle to live and thrive in this stunning yet violent habitat. No matter how big or small, all creatures here share one common goal: survival. There’s no shortage of animals on the hunt in Florida, from vulnerable crayfish to sneaky bullfrogs, poisonous pit vipers and camouflaged crocodiles. It’s a merciless fight to survive. Viewers gets a front row seat to all the action.

The battle rages on among a cast of unforgiving characters. Follow three young gator hatchlings as they struggle to survive their first year in the swamp. While their elders rule the waterways, these little guys must elude a wide array of killers, including venomous snakes, voracious predatory fish and even their own kind. On the bustling shores and among the strong currents of the Gulf Stream there is another ruthless paradise. Here, young turtle hatchlings begin an epic and risky odyssey from deadly shores to the open Atlantic, as crocodiles patrol the coral shores of south Florida looking for an effortless meal. Life on Florida’s dangerous coast is no day at the beach..

Gator Country premieres Sunday, April 27, 2014 (8 p.m ET/PT). Florida’s swamps are not only a stunning landscape of drama, mystery and beauty, but they are the home of the lizard king. Journey into the secret wetlands of Florida as we follow three juvenile gators on a fight for survival as they work to outmaneuver their abundant foes in a distressing game of life or death. Before they regain the waters, alligator hatchlings face harsh odds. Only one in 10 will survive, as venomous snakes, cannibal alligators and rotund bullfrogs lurk at every turn in the hopes of gobbling up a baby alligator. It’s survival of the fittest to the extreme.

Florida Untamed: Croc Coast premieres Sunday, April 27, 2014 (9 p.m. ET/PT). The coral islands, lush mangroves and sandy beaches of the Florida coastline may seem pleasant. But for its wild inhabitants coping with continued development, human encroachment and a host of natural predators, the edge of the sea is a paradise filled with peril. Crocs may have outlasted the dinosaurs, but now they face a different kind of pressure. Coastal development has moved in on them, dramatically altering habitats. But crocs aren’t the only ones residing on this land. Witness an eastern diamondback rattlesnake on its hunt to kill, loggerhead turtle hatchlings beginning their frightening journey to the sea and the deadly monsters of the world’s third-largest living coral reef.

Florida Untamed is produced by 2C Media Inc. for Nat Geo WILD. Executive producers for 2C Media Inc. are Carla Kaufman-Sloan, Chris Sloan, Jeff Morales and Calvin Simmons. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Jenny Apostol, senior vice president of development and production is Janet Han Vissering, and executive vice president and general manager is Geoff Daniels.

Amazing footage of a Killer Whale (Orca) attacking and partially eating a Great White shark, filmed by a whale watching tourist. During a whale watching trip for tourists near the marine sanctuary of the Farallon Islands, a Killer Whale was spotted and filmed as it broke the surface with a Great White shark gripped in its jaws. This was not only the first filming of such an incident, but also the first time marine biologists had even heard of such an attack. This incident lead to further research on the subject, finally convincing marine biologists that the Killer Whale was the top predator in all the oceans.

Killer whales are very sophisticated and effective predators. Thirty-two cetacean species have been recorded as killer whale prey, from examining either stomach contents, scarring on the prey’s body, or feeding activity. Groups even attack larger cetaceans such as minke whales, gray whales, and rarely sperm whales or blue whales.

Hunting large whales usually takes several hours. Killer whales generally choose to attack young or weak animals, instead. However, a group of five or more may attack a healthy adult. When hunting a young whale, a group chases it and its mother until they wear out. Eventually, they separate the pair and surround the calf, preventing it from surfacing to breathe, drowning it. Pods of female sperm whales sometimes protect themselves by forming a protective circle around their calves with their flukes facing outwards, using them to repel the attackers. Rarely, large killer whale pods can overwhelm even adult female sperm whales. Adult bull sperm whales, which are large, powerful and aggressive when threatened, and fully grown adult blue whales, which are possibly too large to overwhelm, are not believed to be prey for killer whales.

Other marine mammal prey species include nearly 20 species of seal, sea lion and fur seal. Walruses and sea otters are less frequently taken. Often, to avoid injury, killer whales disable their prey before killing and eating it. This may involve throwing it in the air, slapping it with their tails, ramming it, or breaching and landing on it. Sea lions are killed by head-butting or after a stunning blow from a tail fluke. In the Aleutian Islands, a decline in sea otter populations in the 1990s was controversially attributed by some scientists to killer whale predation, although with no direct evidence. The decline of sea otters followed a decline in harbour seal and Steller sea lion populations, the killer whale’s preferred prey,[Note 1] which in turn may be substitutes for their original prey, now decimated by industrial whaling.

In steeply banked beaches off Península Valdés, Argentina, and the Crozet Islands, killer whales feed on South American sea lions and southern elephant seals in shallow water, even beaching temporarily to grab prey before wriggling back to the sea. Beaching, usually fatal to cetaceans, is not an instinctive behavior, and can require years of practice for the young. “Wave-hunting” killer whales spy-hop to locate Weddell seals, crabeater seals and leopard seals resting on ice floes, and then swim in groups to create waves that wash over the floe. This washes the seal into the water, where other killer whales lie in wait.

Killer whales have also been observed preying on terrestrial mammals, such as deer and moose swimming between islands off the northwest coast of North America. Killer whale cannibalism has also been reported based on analysis of stomach contents, but this is likely to be the result of scavenging remains dumped by whalers. One killer whale was also attacked by its companions after being shot. Although resident killer whales have never been observed to eat other marine mammals, they occasionally harass and kill porpoises and seals for no apparent reason.