American bison (Bison bison)

I have always known the beetles I work with can fly, like in theory, but they never have in the two years I’ve been on the project.

So imagine my surprise when I got swarmed by them at 11 in the fucking morning today.

I was being attacked by a giant stag beetle and my cousin (who is a biologist irl) kept telling me cool facts about it instead of helping.

Some non-fanart for you all! Thought all the wildlife enjoyers might like this! It’s going to be hung in my lab space to make my windowless room a little more pretty 🐟🦋

[ID:] Six photos of sockeye salmon. First being a large group of tightly packed salmon in a below and above river side shot, second a group of five salmon with their faces closer and swimming towards the camera. Third being a view of several salmon in shallow water, close to the river bed, fourth a very close shot of a salmons face side on, at the bottom of the river bed with light shining through the water. Fifth is a side view of half of a salmon swimming in water, the reflection against the top of the waves. The sixth being two salmon beached upon very shallow water with rough currents. [End ID.]

I know this blog is lichen focused, but I also consider it a science blog and a space where I can talk about my experiences in science and academia. My most recent field work involved catching, handling, and ringing birds at a bird observatory, and I wanted to talk a little about the harsh realities of working with wild animals that I feel like don't get represented enough. I think it's important to paint a fair and realistic picture of what the world of animal research looks like, as it often gets misrepresented in media.

Wild animals do not like being handled. You have probably heard some story or seen some movie that makes it seem like you are somehow gonna connect to the animals you are working with and reassure them that you mean them no harm. No no, you are a big scary predator and they have no idea what is happening, and they scream, bite, and fight like hell to get away from you. This runs the gambit from kinda funny to mildly annoying to actually making it hard for you to work to making you feel bad for putting these animals through this stress. There will be no special magical wild animal friendships, trust me.

Animals are DIRTY. Like I know you know that on some level, but you don't really know it until you are up close and personal with them. In the case of the birds I work with, this usually means shit. Lots and lots of shit. On them, or you, on every surface and article of clothing you have. And you may think "in the grand scheme of poops, bird poops aren't so bad." But let me tell you: in sheer quantity and viscosity, bird shit beats them all.

PARASITES. Now we are not anti-parasite on this blog in general, they have their place in the ecosystem just like everything else. But personally, I don't really enjoy having to see them or experience them up close and personal. I'm talking ticks, fleas, mites, intestinal worms, louse flies, etc. Just . . . no thanks.

Animals get injured, and having to see these injuries up close and knowing there isn't anything I can do about it is hard. Be they old wounds, new, or the very rare wound that can occur during the catching and handling process, it can really get you down looking at an animal that you can't help.

Animals are unpredictable. Like, most of this field is about *trying* to predict their behavior, but animals are true disciples of Murphy's Law, and I swear they get off on frustrating scientists and their well laid plans and hypotheses. For me, this meant that the birds I was working with just didn't show up in the predicted numbers. This was frustrating to me on a how-the-fuck-is-my-project-gonna-work-out-now? level, but also on a worried-for-the-health-of-the-birds-and-the-planet level. If you enjoy work that is predictable and dependable, wildlife biology isn't for you.

I wat to be clear that I LOVE what I do, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. The work I and other wildlife biologists do is incredibly important and I am not saying this to cast a disparaging light on the field. But so many wildlife biologists I have interacted with are not like, bleeding heart, sensitive babies like me, and didn't adequately prepare for the mental and emotional toll of working with wildlife. I think the field selects for folks who are able to compartmentalize their love and empathy for animals, and I don't like that. I think we need people like me in the field, but I think they should be prepared for the reality of it, that's all. Or maybe I just need to vent lol.

LSM900 - Empyreal Visitors

Posted using PostyBirb

Lithographs from M. E. Descourtilz’s Atlas des Champignons

1827

American bison (Bison bison). Sage Creek Campground, Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Video of coho salmon holding in a pool. Saw this on my survey the other day, it's always so exciting to get to watch the salmon so close! If you live in the PNW try to get out and see them spawning! The Chinook are winding down but coho are in (and hopefully we get some more big rains so they keep moving upstream as the smaller streams get bigger flows) and chum are next. It's a pink salmon year as well!

I’d like to draw attention to this tag, because I’m a nerd

They are right! There IS no such thing as a fish! Sharks and trout, for example, are both considered fish, but trout are MUCH more closely related to humans than they are to sharks, making “fish” an invalid classificatory group (and don’t even get me started on lampreys)

Once I find a way to break through the "physical ability barrier" that all environmental jobs seem to have, I'm bringing y'all with me

I love science.

I also fucking hate science.