The bisons massive head is its most characteristic feature. Its forehead bulges because of its convex-shaped frontal bone. Its shoulder hump, dwindling bowlike to the haunches, is supported by unusually long spinal vertebrae. Over powerful neck and shoulder muscles grows a great shaggy coat of curly brown fur, and over the head, like an immense hood, grows a shock of black hair. Its forequarters are higher and much heavier than its haunches. A mature bull stands about 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) at the shoulder and weighs more than 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). The bisons horns are short and black. In the male they are thick at the base and taper abruptly to sharp points as they curve outward and upward; the females horns are more slender.
Species: American bison, Bison bison
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13120
Imperial Shag, Phalacrocorax atriceps or Blue-eyed Cormorant, Puerto Piramides, UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, Golfo Nuevo.
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38366
The Chateau at Oregon Caves National Monument. Considered one of the National Park System's classic Great Lodges, and a National Historic Landmark, the Chateau was completed in 1934. The Chateau is a six-story structure with a reinforced concrete foundation and a superstructure of wood frame construction with enormous post and beam interior supports. The building spans a small gorge and a great deal of the building's mass is banked into that depression. Exterior walls are shiplap siding sheathed with cedar bark, giving the building a shaggy, rustic appearance.
Location: Oregon Caves National Monument
Image ID: 25860
Imperial shag or blue-eyed shag, in tussock grass. The Imperial Shag is about 30" long and 4-8 lbs, with males averaging larger than females. It can dive as deep as 80' while foraging for small benthic fish, crustaceans, polychaetes, gastropods and octopuses.
Species: Imperial shag, Leucocarbo atriceps, Phalacrocorax atriceps
Location: New Island, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom
Image ID: 23761
Imperial shag or blue-eyed shag, in tussock grass. The Imperial Shag is about 30" long and 4-8 lbs, with males averaging larger than females. It can dive as deep as 80' while foraging for small benthic fish, crustaceans, polychaetes, gastropods and octopuses.
Species: Imperial shag, Leucocarbo atriceps, Phalacrocorax atriceps
Location: New Island, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom
Image ID: 23762
The bisons massive head is its most characteristic feature. Its forehead bulges because of its convex-shaped frontal bone. Its shoulder hump, dwindling bowlike to the haunches, is supported by unusually long spinal vertebrae. Over powerful neck and shoulder muscles grows a great shaggy coat of curly brown fur, and over the head, like an immense hood, grows a shock of black hair. Its forequarters are higher and much heavier than its haunches. A mature bull stands about 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) at the shoulder and weighs more than 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). The bisons horns are short and black. In the male they are thick at the base and taper abruptly to sharp points as they curve outward and upward; the females horns are more slender.
Species: American bison, Bison bison
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13134