JardineroMan

Fairy trails

" The Bodygard " //© Alex Pham

This black and white whale accompanying the mother and baby is an “escort”. Escorts have a funny role in Humpback society. They are not the fathers of the calves. Instead, they are (usually) other males who are hanging around for the chance to potentially mate with the female. The “good” escorts can play a protective role, keeping the calf and mum safe from predators like Orcas or False Killer Whales. The “bad” ones may actually harass the female and disrupt the calf’s nursing in their zeal to try to mate. As far as I can tell, our man here is being an upstanding gentleman. The thing I am most fascinated by though are the reports that there are occasional female escorts as well. I would love to find out more about how frequent this is and why it occurs. Why would other female Humpbacks do this? Please let me know if anyone has insights!

You’ve heard of woolly mammoths, but what about woolly tapirs? 🤔Also known as the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), this species can be found in the cloud forests of South America’s Andes Mountains. Adults can weigh up to 400 lbs (182 kg), and their thick fur coats help insulate them from the cold temperatures of their habitat. Unfortunately, this endangered species is threatened by human activity including hunting and deforestation.