20 April 2022 - THE GIANT ANTEATERS OF BRAZIL

 

THE GIANT ANTEATERS

 OF BRAZIL 

 

G'day folks,

 This breathtaking national park is one of the best places to see the weird and wonderful giant anteater in the wild. 

The wonderfully unique giant anteater is an endangered species that is disappearing from many regions of Brazil. But there are still wild areas where this strange species clings on to survival and can be seen easily. One of the best places in the country to observe these bizarre beasts is in the magnificent Serra da Canastra National Park in the state of Minas Gerais.

Serra Da Canastra has been a national park since 1972 and comprises an area of 72,000 acres of Cerrado savanna, hills, and forest, through which the São Francisco river flows. Highly biodiverse, over 350 species of animal live in the park and many rare and endangered plant species such as orchids are found here too. Still the real highlight of the park is undoubtedly its large mammal species, and especially the giant anteater.

This large creature may be seen very easily as it ambles on its knuckles through the long grass in search of its prey using its strange elongated snout to detect nearby anthills to raid. When visiting the park, you’re likely to see an anteater feed using its sharp claws to break open an anthill and its extraordinary long tongue to extract the insects. If you are really lucky, you may even see a mother anteater with her baby clinging to her back.

 

Other endangered species may also be observed here, such as the pampas deer, maned wolf, puma, pampas cat, rhea ostrich, giant armadillo, and the critically endangered Brazilian merganser duck. But these are much harder and more time-consuming to find than the anteater, and will typically make seasonal movements to less accessible areas of the reserve. (If you want to stand a good chance of seeing these creatures it’s best to plan the timing of your visit in advance with the animals’ seasonal behavior patterns in mind.)

Serra Da Canastra is also an area of astounding landscapes with many trails to explore. A particularly famous natural landmark is the Casca D’Anta waterfall, which is over 610 feet tall and a renowned site of tranquility and enchanting natural beauty. The park is also home to many curious prehistoric rock formations that form eerie shapes. They are best seen at the Curral de Pedras and Garagem de Pedras sites.

Clancy's comment: Obviously a great place for wildlife photographers. 

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22 January 2022 - VALLEY OF THE DINOSAURS - BRAZIL

 

VALLEY OF 

THE DINOSAURS

 - BRAZIL -

G'day folks,

This is one of the few places in the world where visitors can walk alongside fossilized tracks from 80 different dinosaur species. 

As you walk around this natural monument in Northeastern Brazil, alongside dinosaur footprints in different shapes and sizes and life-size replicas of these jurassic creatures, you’ll be taken back in time over 100 million years ago.

The Valley of the Dinosaurs (Vale dos Dinossauros) contains about 20 fossilized dino tracks from 80 different species of dinosaurs. The walkways let visitors near 50 fossilized footprints of the carnivorous Noasauridae and 53 tracks of the herbivore Iguanodon, among many others.

The impressive tracks are set within a 270-square-mile preserved ecological area. The damp earth from rivers and ponds hardened over periods of drought, gained new layers of clay and fossilized these footprints for posteriority, making this area one of the most important places for dinosaur lovers all over the world.  

If you want to find out more about who these Brazilian jurassic creatures were, what they ate, how fast they ran, if they hatched their eggs, or if they could fly, you can also visit the museum of the Valley of the Dinosaurs. There, investigators carry on unraveling mysteries and working so they can answer questions from curious visitors, filmmakers, and children. 

Clancy's comment: It's hard to imagine that these creatures existed.

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13 September 2021 - FAMILY PLANTS 2 MILLION TREES TO RESTORE ECOSYSTEM

 

FAMILY PLANTS 2 MILLION 

TREES TO RESTORE ECOSYSTEM

 

G'day folks,

Since 1990, the human race has destroyed over 129 million hectares of forest. This is a total area of land roughly the same size as South Africa. Every year an area roughly the size of Panama is lost due to deforestation. 

This produces a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions furthering the issue and pushing out natural habitats and species. It is getting worse, not better and we need to make an immediate change if we wish to sustain this planet we all share.

A Brazilian photographer named Sebastião Salgado and his wife Lélia Deluiz decided to start to make a difference by showing what a passionate group of dedicated and hard-working people can do if they work together with the same goal in mind.

Sebastião returned from photographing the Rwandan genocide in the 1990’s exhausted both physically and emotionally after documenting the horrific ordeal. He returned to his native home in Brazil which was once beautiful, lush and green, to see it completely devoid of life from deforestation. There was no wildlife, no trees, nothing.

His wife believed that the land could be restored to its former glory. “The land was as sick as I was – everything was destroyed” stated Sebastião. They decided to replant the forest tree by tree and slowly the insects, birds and fish returned. “Thanks to the increase of trees, I, too, was reborn – this was the most important moment”.

Sebastião and Lélia founded Instituto Terra, which is a small organization that has planted 4 million saplings and brought the forest back from the dead. They study the land in order to plant the native trees. The native trees ensure that the animals will enjoy the area and return.

Making sure that only native plants are returned to the land, the area has absolutely flourished in only 20 years. The wildlife has returned and birds and bugs are filling the air with noises.

Over 172 species of bird have returned as well as 33 species of mammals, 293 species of plants, 15 species of reptiles and 15 species of amphibians. An entire ecosystem has been rebuilt from scratch by a handful of people.

 

Clancy's comment: What the Salgado’s have done is nothing short of amazing and proves that we still have hope for our home. We have done nothing but ultimately abuse and shorten our sustainability here on this rock we are so lucky to have. If we work together with a motivated and healthy attitude, we can bring our earth back to thriving. We need to raise awareness and work together making small impacts to eventually make a bigger impact.

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22 October 2020 - CLEVER PENCIL TIP ART by DALTON GHETTI

CLEVER PENCIL TIP ART

 by 

DALTON GHETTI

G'day folks,

I've featured this form of art before, but I just think it is so clever. 

Dalton Ghetti creates miniature works of art resting solely on the tips of lead pencils. What is even more impressive is the fact that he doesn't rely on the use of a microscope or magnifying lens to sculpt out his phenomenal creations. This is one exhibit you must literally see to believe!

Dalton's "tools of the trade" include; a razor blade, a sculpting knife, a sewing needle, and a few No. 2 pencils. He carves a wide variety of designs, which range from a horse figurine to a perfectly shaped hammer. 

The Brazilian-born artist currently resides in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is a carpenter by trade. He began his artistic hobby over 25 years ago as a form of meditation.   

 

 

Clancy's comment: Amazing work, eh? If you are missing a pencil, you now know where it is. Thank you, Dalton.

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5 February 2020 - THE WONDER OF THE AMAZON JUNGLE

THE WONDER OF THE 

AMAZON JUNGLE 

G'day folks,

What you are about to see is on my bucket list. 

Taking up a 2,700,000 square miles of the northern part of South America is none other than the stunning Amazon Basin, within which is 2,100,000 square miles of the Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia. This whopping expanse of jungle and the wildlife that is encompassed within it constitutes over 50% of the remaining forest land on the planet. The Amazon Jungle is also the most biodiverse rainforest on Earth, with 16,000 different species of trees and 390 billion individual trees. 

This forest is so large, it is made up of territories belonging to 9 different nation-states, with the majority being held by Peru, Brazil, and Colombia, and the rest by Ecuador, Venezuela, French Guiana, and many others. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most beautiful natural sights in this world and is home to over 2000 species of animals and birds. 

The chances of getting to experience this beautiful sight in person are steadily decreasing due to over-exploitation of the resources within the forest as well as natural and man-made disasters like storms and forest fires. Fear not, you can experience the Amazon Jungle and all of its stunning inhabitants right from the comfort of your own home. 

Clancy's comment: Now, as a photographer, you probably realise why this magnificent place is on my bucket list.

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