Tom Park Fountain, Napier, New Zealand, originally uploaded by blather. Download the high resolution version »

Tom Park Fountain, Napier, New Zealand. Napier is New Zealand's Art Deco town - completely rebuilt in 1931 after an earthquake. Tom Parker owned a men's outfitters shop in Hastings Street and was a colourful town character who made many gifts to worthy causes and to the city.

On one of his regular visits to Britain he was impressed by a modern, illuminated fountain at Bournemouth. On returning to Napier he donated £1,000 for a similar fountain which was built on an area previously occupied by a children's playground.

Posted by Dave at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANZAC War Memorial, Sydney, Australia,, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

ANZAC War Memorial, Sydney, Australia. Finished in 1934 after designs and art by C. Bruce Dellit and sculptor Rayner Hoff, it commemorates the Australian War dead of World War One.

Many of the original sculptures didn't make it in the memorial, thanks to censure by the Catholic church, and its bishop, Michael Sheehan.

'The sculpture that caused the sensation, The Crucifixion of Civilisation, is pictured below. It is shocking. A naked figure on a cross, a young woman, sits atop a pyramid of broken soldiers, corpses, weapons, helmets, the debris of battle. The detail is hyper-real and brilliantly executed. Hoff described the symbolism of his central figure: "Adolescent Peace is depicted crucified on the armaments of the ravisher, the war god, Mars. The Greek helmet animalistically gapes over the head of expiring Peace, the cuirass of the body armour hard and brutal in contrast to her lithe woman's body."'



'Lithe women's bodies have always caused problems for the Catholic Church, and Hoff's depictions of the human body were intrinsically sensual. (His famous 1924 sculpture, Faun and Nymph, part of the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW, is basically pornographic.) This particular lithe naked woman was especially problematic.'



'The Catholic archbishop of Sydney, Michael Sheehan, announced that he would not be attending the laying of the foundation stone on July 19, 1932. The memorial, he said, was "obviously intended only for Protestants". As for the young woman on the cross, this image was "gravely offensive to ordinary Christian decency".'

Sydney Morning Herald

Posted by Dave at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Taipei 101, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

From a brief stopover in Taipei last year. This is the top of the famous Taipei 101 - it took forever to walk to it!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This 101 floor skyscraper, over 500m high, is in Taipei, Taiwan. As of November 2007, it was the world's tallest completed skyscraper. Designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed by KTRT Joint Venture, it can be seen from all over Taipei and it is built to withstand typoons and earthquakes. The Burj Dubai in Dubai will soon overtake the Taipei 101 for height.

The main tower features a series of eight segments of eight floors each. In Chinese-speaking cultures the number eight is associated with abundance, prosperity and good fortune. In cultures that observe a seven-day week the number eight symbolizes a renewal of time (7+1). In digital technology the number eight is associated with the byte, the basic unit of information.

The repeated segments simultaneously recall the rhythms of an Asian pagoda (a tower linking earth and sky, also evoked in the Petronas Towers), a stalk of bamboo (an icon of learning and growth), and a stack of ancient Chinese ingots or money boxes (a symbol of abundance). The four discs mounted on each face of the building where the pedestal meets the tower represent coins. The emblem placed over entrances shows three gold coins of ancient design with central holes shaped to imply the Arabic numerals 1-0-1.[9]

Posted by Dave at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mirror Lake on the road from Te Anu to Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand, originally uploaded by blather.. Get the high resolution version »

Mirror Lake on the road from Te Anu to Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand.

This is an old photo from four years ago, shot on my old Sigma SD-9 - terrible camera, this one of the half decent shots though.

Posted by Dave at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doubtful Sound, Fjordland, New Zealand, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Doubtful Sound, Fjordland, New Zealand - named by Captain Cook, has he was unsure that he could navigate it by sail - and he worried that if he entered, he might not get back out.

Without doubt (pun?), one of the coldest places I've ever been in my life. It was July, so Southern Hemisphere winter, in a region that gets 8 metres of rain a year, and I was wearing seven layers on my upper body. Yet, I couldn't get warm.

But mindblowingly beautiful.

Photo made July 2004

Posted by Dave at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Young acrobats practicing in Peace Park, Taipei, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

This was a surprise - instead of just "hanging out" on the weekends, young taiwanese acrobats throw each other up in the air in the Peace Park, Taipei- and no safety net!

Posted by Dave at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Terry, protestor at Rath Lugh camp, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Terry, activist from Cork, standing beside a stream that now runs under the partly built M3 motorway that is controversially cutting through the national monument of Rath Lugh, an ancient promontory fort that was a defensive position for the Hill of Tara, the sea of the High Kings of Ireland. Behind Terry is a large mound of construction rubble. The trees in the photograph will be cleared by the motorway construction.

Posted by Dave at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The woods at Rath Lugh, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

The Woods at Rath Lugh, near Skryne or Skreen Co. Meath. These woods on the the esker and beside the promontory fort of Rath Lugh that are currently being threatened by the construction of the M3 motorway between Dublin and Navan.

Posted by Dave at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Woods at Rath Lugh, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

The Woods at Rath Lugh, near Skryne or Skreen Co. Meath. These woods on the the esker and beside the promontory fort of Rath Lugh that are currently being threatened by the construction of the M3 motorway between Dublin and Navan.

Posted by Dave at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tara activist JP Fay in his hut at Tara, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Tara activist JP Fay in his hut at Tara. Fay, from Trim has been one of the long-term activists in fighting the M3 motorway's path through the Tara area. He and other proposed an alternative route that was turned down, and was one of the "Tara Four" jailed for refysing to bail conditions to stay away from the construction site.

Posted by Dave at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Poet and Tara protestor and poet Kieron Murray, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Poet and Tara protestor Kieron Murray, also known as Kyrie Murray, reading poetry in a hut at the Hill of Tara.

Posted by Dave at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Lia Fail or Stone of Destiny at The Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, originally uploaded by blather.Get the high resolution version »

The Lia Fail or Stone of Destiny at The Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland until the 6th century AD. This standing stone is on the Inauguration Mound, and in legend it was the Coronation Stone for Irish High Kings into the 6th Century AD.

The Hill of Tara is located near Dunshaughlin and Navan, and the River Boyne.

Also in legend, the stone was supposed to have been brought to Ireland by the Tuatha Dé Danann - a magical race who once ruled Ireland. The Lia Fail itself was supposed to have magical properties - when a rightful king put his feet on it, it would roar for joy, and would rejuvenate a king to give him a long reign.

Cúchulainn split it with his sword when it failed to cry out under his protegé, Lugaid Riab nDerg, and from then on it never roared again, except under Conn of the Hundred Battles and Brian Boru.

You've got to admit though, it's a bit of a phallic symbol - author Michael Slavin suggests that the king had to wed the Goddess of Sovereignty. However, it appears she was wearing a strap on!

Posted by Dave at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

The Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland until the 6th century AD. It's located near Dunshaughling and Navan, and the River Boyne.

Posted by Dave at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mound of the Hostages at the Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

The Mound of the Hostages at the Hill of Tara, Co. Meath Co. Meath, ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland until the 6th century AD. The Mound is an ancient passage tomb, from between 2500 and 3000 BC, and has impressive spiral artwork inside. Facing directly east, the door is matched with sunrise on both equinoxes. Despite being quite small, some 250-500 bodies were buried inside, this continued right up to 1600-1700 BC.
Bizarrely, the mound was dug up in the early 20th century by the British Israelites, we thought that the Ark of the Covenant was buried inside!

Posted by Dave at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mound of the Hostages at the Hill of Tara, Co. Meath, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »Get the high resolution version »

of Tara, Co. Meath

The Mound of the Hostages at the Hill of Tara, Co. Meath Co. Meath, ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland until the 6th century AD. The Mound is an ancient passage tomb, from between 2500 and 3000 BC, and has impressive spiral artwork inside. Facing directly east, the door is matched with sunrise on both equinoxes. Despite being quite small, some 250-500 bodies were buried inside, this continued right up to 1600-1700 BC.
Bizarrely, the mound was dug up in the early 20th century by the British Israelites, we thought that the Ark of the Covenant was buried inside!

Posted by Dave at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Security men on the slope of Rath Lugh, where the M3 Motorway cuts through it, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Security men on the slope of Rath Lugh, where the M3 Motorway cuts through it. Rath Lugh is an ancient bronze age promontory fort currently tagged for considerable damage destruction by the construction of the M3 motorway between Dublin and Navan. Protestors are camped in the woods, in oposition to the construction work.

Posted by Dave at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tasmanian Pademelon, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Tasmanian Pademelon also known as the Rufous-bellied Pademelon or Red-bellied Pademelon, it's the only endemic pademelon to Tasmania. It's like a small kangaroo or wallaby - and they're very cute, kinda chunky and chubby.

This one is wild, but feeding in a garden at dusk, on the Tasman Peninsula. I've had them "pad" up to me in the dark and giving me a curious look before bouncing off again

Posted by Dave at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Little, Blue or Fairy Penguins, Bruny Neck, Tasmania, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Little, Blue or Fairy Penguins, Bruny Neck, Tasmania. Every night, after dark, the adult penguins come ashore and head for their burrows, where their young are waiting - and making a lot of noise! A ranger is there every evening to supervise the humans.

In this photograph, the blurred young penguin at the bottom of the image is the one making the fuss, while its parents are trying to not pat attention - they've already regurgitated a full meal since they got home!

At Bruny Island Neck Game Reserve, a wooden walkway has been built so that the visitors don't disturb the sand or any of the penguin or shearwater (muttonbird) burrows.

This photograph was taken with a 70-200mm 2.8 IS L-series lens, with a red covering over a torch so as not to confused the penguins.

Posted by Dave at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Little, Blue or Fairy Penguins, Bruny Neck, Tasmania, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Little, Blue or Fairy Penguins, Bruny Neck, Tasmania. Every night, after dark, the adult penguins come ashore and head for their burrows, where their young are waiting - and making a lot of noise! A ranger is there every evening to supervise the humans.

In this photograph, the blurred young penguin at the bottom of the image is the one making the fuss, while its parents are trying to not pat attention - they've already regurgitated a full meal since they got home!

At Bruny Island Neck Game Reserve, a wooden walkway has been built so that the visitors don't disturb the sand or any of the penguin or shearwater (muttonbird) burrows.

This photograph was taken with a 70-200mm 2.8 IS L-series lens, with a red covering over a torch so as not to confused the penguins.

Posted by Dave at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ya gotta have faith, oh yeah, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Irish Faith Centre, Phibsboro, highlighted on a sunny morning.

Posted by Dave at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Virgin Mary and offerings of recyclable waste, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

In March 2008, the Vatican announced that "environmental pollution" was a new deadly sin. I took this photograph last week, before this announcement - I realise now that the recycling bags have been left as offerings for the virgin mary

Posted by Dave at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remarkable Cave (yes, that's what it's really called!), originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Remarkable Cave, Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania. It gets its name because when the tide is out, the cave is the shape of Tasmania!

Posted by Dave at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bruny Neck, between North and South Bruny, looking south, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Bruny Neck, between North and South Bruny, looking south. To the left of the steps are burrows of little (fairy) penguins and short tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds)

Posted by Dave at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Croke Park: Finishing Touches, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

A worker at Dublin's croke park paints a gate to the Canal End stands before a match.

The home of gaelic sports in Ireland, the 80,000 seater Croke Park, controversially threw open its gates to soccer and rubgy while Dublin's Lansdown Road field was undergoing rebuilding.

Posted by Dave at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Richie and Max, by Croke Park and the Royal Canal, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

It's a Friday afternoon. I'm down beside the Royal Canal, taking photos of Croke Park, the Irish gaelic sports stadium.

A bloke with a dog walks past.

"Hey mister, can you take pictures of dogs with that camera?"

"Uh, yeah, I could, I suppose"

"Can you take a picture of Max? He's only seven months old, and me last dog was killed by a car."

"Ah. My sister's dog was killed by a car two weeks ago. Staffy-whippet cross"

"Right. Very intelligent then", taps his head, meaninfully.

I get him to write down his address. Hey gets a bit confused doing it.

"Sorry man, I had a big operation on my head, and I get mixed up", takes off his baseball cap, shows me criss-cross collection of scars all over his crown and down to his chin.

When I got Richie and max to stay still long enough, I managed to get some photos. I'm posting them to Richie. Hope he puts them on his wall

Posted by Dave at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Emu, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Largest bird in Australia, growing up to 2m tall! Photographed in captivity at Something Wild Animal Sanctuary, near Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia

Posted by Dave at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Albino Bennet's Wallaby, Adventure Bay, Bruni Island, Tasmania, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

These albino wallabies were quite a find, living in the woods near the the campsite at Adventure Bay, on Bruny Island. Tame enough to come into the trailer park, and calm enough to let me get close in the woods.

Albino Bennet's Wallaby, Adventure Bay, Bruni Island, Tasmania. Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, or Bennet's Wallaby, is the Tasmanian subspecies of the red-necked wallaby.

Posted by Dave at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Albino Bennet's Wallaby, Adventure Bay, Bruni Island, Tasmania, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

These albino wallabies were quite a find, living in the woods near the the campsite at Adventure Bay, on Bruny Island. Tame enough to come into the trailer park, and calm enough to let me get close in the woods.

Albino Bennet's Wallaby, Adventure Bay, Bruni Island, Tasmania. Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, or Bennet's Wallaby, is the Tasmanian subspecies of the red-necked wallaby.

Posted by Dave at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fortescue Bay, Tasmania, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Fortescue Bay, Tasmania

Posted by Dave at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tesselated Pavement, near Eaglehawk Neck, Tasman Peninsula, originally uploaded by blather. Get the high resolution version »

Tesselated Pavement, near Eaglehawk Neck, Tasman Peninsula.
Tessellated pavement is a rare sedimentary rock formation that occurs on some ocean shores, so named because it fractures into square blocks that appear like tiles, or tessellations. It is formed when rock that has cracked through plate tectonic movement of the Earth's crust is modified by sand and wave action

Posted by Dave at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tesselated Pavement, near Eaglehawk Neck, Tasman Peninsula, originally uploaded by blather.
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Tesselated Pavement, near Eaglehawk Neck, Tasman Peninsula.
Tessellated pavement is a rare sedimentary rock formation that occurs on some ocean shores, so named because it fractures into square blocks that appear like tiles, or tessellations. It is formed when rock that has cracked through plate tectonic movement of the Earth's crust is modified by sand and wave action

Posted by Dave at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Albino Bennet's Wallaby, Adventure Bay, Bruni Island, Tasmania, originally uploaded by blather.
Get the high resolution version »

These albino wallabies were quite a find, living in the woods near the the campsite at Adventure Bay, on Bruny Island. Tame enough to come into the trailer park, and calm enough to let me get close in the woods.

Albino Bennet's Wallaby, Adventure Bay, Bruni Island, Tasmania. Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, or Bennet's Wallaby, is the Tasmanian subspecies of the red-necked wallaby.

Posted by Dave at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pirate's Bay, seen from The Blowhole, Tasman Peninsula, originally uploaded by blather.
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The dramatic view from the Blowhole near Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania. This is the view of Pirate's Bay. The wonders of wide angle lenses and circular polarisers!

What you can't tell from the photograph is how strong the wind was - I took this at F18, 1/15s on ISO100 - but I could barely keep the camera steady. I clamped myself to a safety railing, and took about a dozen exposures, hoping that one would be sharp. I also had to try and stop rain hitting the lens!

Posted by Dave at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

White Faced Heron in abstract, originally uploaded by blather.
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Taken near Murdunna, Tasmania.


The White-faced Heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, (formerly Ardea novaehollandiae), often known incorrectly as the Grey Heron, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of the sub-Antarctic, and all but the driest areas of Australia. It is a relatively small heron, pale, slightly bluish-grey in colour, with yellow legs and white facial markings. It can be found almost anywhere near shallow water, fresh or salt, and although it is prompt to depart the scene on long, slow-beating wings if disturbed, it will boldly raid suburban fish ponds.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-faced_Heron

Posted by Dave at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Silver Gull, Australian Seagull, originally uploaded by blather.
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Larus novaehollandiae, silver gull, standing at the tesselated pavement near Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania. That's a wave breaking behinfd the gull.


I've been slagged off by folk in New Zealand and Australia for photographing such nondescript and common species as the red and silver gulls, and the ibis.

The truth is, I'm not someone who lusts after the uncommon - I think there's a greater challenge in illustrating the beauty in "everyday" animals.

Posted by Dave at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Australian Black Swan, originally uploaded by blather.
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Cygnus atratus, the Australian black swan, near Port Arthur, Tasmania

Posted by Dave at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

White Faced Heron, originally uploaded by blather.
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I had to work at getting thise close to this bird with a 400mm lens - Herons and egrets are very jumpy birds. I spent about half an hour edging over closer across the rocks until I was shooting portraits.Taken near Port Arthur, Tasmania.


The White-faced Heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, (formerly Ardea novaehollandiae), often known incorrectly as the Grey Heron, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of the sub-Antarctic, and all but the driest areas of Australia. It is a relatively small heron, pale, slightly bluish-grey in colour, with yellow legs and white facial markings. It can be found almost anywhere near shallow water, fresh or salt, and although it is prompt to depart the scene on long, slow-beating wings if disturbed, it will boldly raid suburban fish ponds.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-faced_Heron

Posted by Dave at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tasmanian Native Hen, originally uploaded by blather.
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Gallinula mortierii, a flightless water bird, one of twelve species of birds endemic to Tasmania (they don't exist anywhere else). While in New Zealand, flightless birds have done badly since humans colonised, the native hen has done quite well thanks to the extensive new grassy areas.

I photographed this bird at Adventure Bay, Bruny Island. I met an old lady there - British originally, but lived in Queensland most of her life. She was travelling around in her camper van, and was very taken with these birds. She referred to them as "turbo chooks" which I found very endearing.

Posted by Dave at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shadowplay - shadows on Dublin's O'Connell Street, originally uploaded by blather.
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Shadowplay - shadows on Dublin's O'Connell Street

This images are more than two years old, but I just found them again when rummaging around. I'd posted an earlier picture here, so here's two more!

Posted by Dave at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
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The Casino at Marino was designed by Scottish architect Sir William Chambers for James Caulfield, the 1st Earl of Charlemont. It was started in the late 1750s and finished around 1775. It is a small but perfect example of Neo-Classical architecture in the gardens of the now demolished Marino House. Chambers was prouod of his work, never completed building due to work commitments in England.

The rather odd (by Irish standards) name 'Casino Marino' is derived from Italian which literally translates to 'The small house by the small sea'. Sightly pretentious, yes, but that was the taste of the time. Regarded by many as the most important Neo-Classical building in Ireland, the Casino is only fifty feet square to the outer columns, taking the form of a Greek Cross with a pair of columns framing each projecting elevation. Seen from the outside, the building has the appearance of a single-roomed structure, with a large panelled door on the north elevation and a single large window on each of the other elevations. It's all an illusion, however - the Casino actually has 16 rooms on three floors. Only two of the panels in the front door open, and the panes of glass in the windows are subtly curved, disguising the partitioning which allows what looks like a single window to serve several separate rooms. The curves also serve to act as one-way-mirrors - you can see out of the front window looking towards Dublin and the mountains, but if you try to look in, you just see reflections of the sky and garden. Inside is full of mouldings based on Roman and Greek mythology, with lots of other architectural tricks.

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
Click for high resolution photograph of Marino Casino »

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
Click for high resolution photograph of Marino Casino »

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
Click for high resolution photograph of Marino Casino »

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
Click for high resolution photograph of Marino Casino »

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
Click for high resolution photograph of Marino Casino »

The Casino at Marino, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.
Click for high resolution photograph of Marino Casino »

Posted by Dave at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Get high resolution version »Tasmanian Echidna, originally uploaded by blather.

I kept spotting these little short beaked echidnas while driving in Tasmania, foraging around at the side of the road. I kept stopping to photograph them, but they either balled up like a hedgehog, or the light was bad, or the vanished into the bush. Finally, my efforts paid off...

The Tasmanian Echidna has more fur and less spines than its mainland relative. Echidnas eat ants, termintes and other small invertebrates, which is traps on its tongue using sticky saliva.

Australia's egg-laying marsupial mammal. Also known as "spiny anteater", is a mammal belonging to the Tachyglossidae family of the monotremes. It is the only surviving member of its genus in the latter order, together with the platypus. There are four species, living in New Guinea and Australia. The echidna is named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology.

The echidna, along with the Platypus, are the only egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes. The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg twenty-two days after mating and deposits it directly into her pouch. Hatching takes ten days; the young echidna, called a puggle, then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the pouch for forty-five to fifty-five days, at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother digs a nursery burrow and deposits the puggle, returning every five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months.
(Wikipedia)

But the real trivia - echidnas have a four-headed penis! "but only two of the heads are used during mating. The other two heads "shut down" and do not grow in size. The heads used are swapped each time the mammal has sex." (Wikipedia) Oh, and they have a poisonous spur on their hind leg too.

Posted by Dave at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Get high resolution version »
Tasmanian Echidna, originally uploaded by blather.

I kept spotting these little short beaked echidnas while driving in Tasmania, foraging around at the side of the road. I kept stopping to photograph them, but they either balled up like a hedgehog, or the light was bad, or the vanished into the bush. Finally, my efforts paid off...

The Tasmanian Echidna has more fur and less spines than its mainland relative. Echidnas eat ants, termintes and other small invertebrates, which is traps on its tongue using sticky saliva.



Australia's egg-laying marsupial mammal. Also known as "spiny anteater", is a mammal belonging to the Tachyglossidae family of the monotremes. It is the only surviving member of its genus in the latter order, together with the platypus. There are four species, living in New Guinea and Australia. The echidna is named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology.



The echidna, along with the Platypus, are the only egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes. The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg twenty-two days after mating and deposits it directly into her pouch. Hatching takes ten days; the young echidna, called a puggle, then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the pouch for forty-five to fifty-five days, at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother digs a nursery burrow and deposits the puggle, returning every five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months.

(Wikipedia)



But the real trivia - echidnas have a four-headed penis! "but only two of the heads are used during mating. The other two heads "shut down" and do not grow in size. The heads used are swapped each time the mammal has sex." (Wikipedia) Oh, and they have a poisonous spur on their hind leg too.

Posted by Dave at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

click for high resolution version »
Tasmanian Echidna, originally uploaded by blather.

I kept spotting these little short beaked echidnas while driving in Tasmania, foraging around at the side of the road. I kept stopping to photograph them, but they either balled up like a hedgehog, or the light was bad, or the vanished into the bush. Finally, my efforts paid off...

The Tasmanian Echidna has more fur and less spines than its mainland relative. Echidnas eat ants, termintes and other small invertebrates, which is traps on its tongue using sticky saliva.



Australia's egg-laying marsupial mammal. Also known as "spiny anteater", is a mammal belonging to the Tachyglossidae family of the monotremes. It is the only surviving member of its genus in the latter order, together with the platypus. There are four species, living in New Guinea and Australia. The echidna is named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology.



The echidna, along with the Platypus, are the only egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes. The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg twenty-two days after mating and deposits it directly into her pouch. Hatching takes ten days; the young echidna, called a puggle, then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the pouch for forty-five to fifty-five days, at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother digs a nursery burrow and deposits the puggle, returning every five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months.

(Wikipedia)



But the real trivia - echidnas have a four-headed penis! "but only two of the heads are used during mating. The other two heads "shut down" and do not grow in size. The heads used are swapped each time the mammal has sex." (Wikipedia) Oh, and they have a poisonous spur on their hind leg too.

Posted by Dave at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)