Sunday, August 31, 2008

day of rest


Lake on the east side of route 9. We like still water. We like water when it stays in place.

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Saturday, August 30, 2008

big brother

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Friday, August 29, 2008

observers observed



Thanks for contacting us about Woody, the Alaska SeaLife Center's male Steller sea lion. Woody is one of three resident Stellers here at the Center, Sugar and Kiska are our female Steller sea lions. All three came to us from the Vancouver Zoo shortly after the building opened in 1998. They were all born in May 1993 and collected from an island in British Columbia at the same time. Woody, Sugar and Kiska have spent all their lives in captivity and are extremely popular among visitors.

Steller sea lions have three classified populations; the Eastern stock, the Western stock, and the Russian stock. They can be found as far south as northern California, all up and down the northern Aleutian chain, and as far south as the Sea of Japan. The Russian stock is currently under watchful eye, but seems stable. The Eastern population, east of longitude 144 which passes near Cordova, is considered threatened. The Western population was classified as a federally recognized endangered species in 1997.

The Western population declined rapidly between the early 1970s and 2000, dropping nearly 80%. No one knows exactly what has caused the population decline; however, it is one of the main issues driving research at the Alaska SeaLife Center. Availability of prey, feeding habits and diet, predation, disease, and pollutants are all possible causes that we are studying.

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Homo sapiens


When a Homo sapiens walks past Woody's window he checks them out. If the human was cut into appropriate sized chunks would Woody be interested? Does Woody check to see if the human has a herring in his pocket?

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

little ear


This sea lion has been named Woody by his bipedal keepers.

The eared seals or otariids are marine mammals in the family Otariidae - one of three groupings of Pinnipeds. They comprise 16 species in seven genera commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the Walrus (odobenids). Otariids are adapted to a semi-aquatic lifestyle, feeding and migrating in the water but breeding and resting on land or ice. They reside in subpolar, temperate, and equatorial waters throughout the Pacific and Southern oceans and the southern Indian and Atlantic oceans. They are conspicuously absent in the north Atlantic.
The name otariid comes from the Greek otarion meaning "little ear",[1] referring to the small but visible external ear flaps (pinnae) which can be used to distinguish them from the phocids.--Wikipedia

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Monday, August 25, 2008

census


Steller sea lions are suffering declining number in Alaskan waters.

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Sunday, August 24, 2008

day of rest


Church of the Blue Dome, Resurrection River Valley, Seward, AK

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Saturday, August 23, 2008

Gadsden County, 1980


"If we are to keep democracy, there must be a commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice"--Learned Hand

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Sunday, August 17, 2008

day of rest


Resurrection River

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

Alces alces


moose

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Friday, August 15, 2008

glacier watchers

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Northwestern Fjord


tri-x, film returns

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Eumetopias jubatus


Alaska Sealife Center. This sea lion reportedly enjoys looking at people.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Hippoglossus hippoglossus


World record halibut, 9'5", 459 pounds, 31 years old, Caught by Jack Tragis, June 11, 1996, Unalaska, Alaska.

The Halibut is the largest of all flat fish, with an average weight of about 25 - 30 lb (11 - 13½ kg), but they can grow to be as much as 900 lbs (272kg) The Halibut is blackish-grey on the top side and off-white on the underbelly side. When the Halibut is born the eyes are on both sides of its head so it has to swim like a salmon. After about 6 months one eye will migrate to the other side of its head, making it look more like the flounder. This happens at the same time that the stationary eyed side begins to develop a blackish-grey pigment while the other side remains white. This disguises a halibut from above (blending with the ocean floor) and from below (blending into the light from the sky)--Wikipedia

Monday, August 11, 2008

Northwestern Fjord

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Fox Island

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Saturday, August 09, 2008

halibut

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Friday, August 08, 2008

Turnagain


again

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Thursday, August 07, 2008

devil's club


lots of thorns

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

45 minutes away from Alaska

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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

ANC


Anchorage, AK- tidal

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Monday, August 04, 2008

on the cabinet


Who is the big-headed man?

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Sunday, August 03, 2008

departures


Hartsfield-Jackson, ATL

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Friday, August 01, 2008

Interstate 81 rearview


three miles ahead, traffic was merging from two lanes to one.

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