This tiny creature is a northern marsupial mole, a card-carrying member of one of the strangest landscapes on Earth.
The Western Deserts of Australia bristle, slither, and burrow with life; much of it unseen by the few passersby. The extreme aridity and heat have caused these animals to adapt in strange ways; few stranger than this marsupial mole which is seen just a few times every decade.
Small, blind, hairy, and shy, the marsupial moles carry their young around in a pouch like kangaroos, but burrow underground using their noses to make up for their lack of eyesight like moles.
“Some people’s first thought was, ‘Are these photos an April Fools’ Day joke?’” desert wildlife expert Gareth Catt told ABC News Down Under. “To see a close-up photo like this is really exciting—I’ve never seen one myself so I’m pretty jealous of the rangers!”
The rangers Mr. Catt is referring to are the Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) Martu rangers, a group of Aboriginal conservationists who make their homes and their bread in the Western Deserts in the state of Western Australia.
Documenting wildlife, implementing conservation strategies, performing fire management, and other activities, the KJ are like custodians of the Outback.
The wildlife living in the deserts of Australia are as odd as the fish and invertebrates of the deep ocean are odd when compared with those in shallow seas. The most charismatic must be the thorny devil (Moloch horridus.)
This small lizard may look impenetrable with its bristling spikes, but its skin is actually hydrophilic, meaning that if any part of it touches moisture—dew for example—it can be absorbed into the body without the lizard requiring to drink it.
But this thirsty-skinned lizard is nothing compared to the powers of the “water holding frog” (Cyclorana platycephala) which can go 5 years without ever drinking water. Aborigines will actually dig up this frog, gently squeeze it, and drink the water excreted from its skin before putting it back, or carrying it with them to the next watering hole, as the unwelcome theft of their water will most likely prove fatal to this amphibian in the dry season.
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Aside from these oddities, there are beautiful birds like the Galah, or rose-breasted cockatoo, and the blindingly iridescent scarlet-chested parrot, and even a tiny species of freshwater, desert-dwelling fish, which itself sounds like a contradiciton, called a gobby.
As for the marsupial mole, part of Mr. Catt and the rangers’ work in the deserts includes monitoring populations to see how they are coping. There are reasons to suggest that rainfall and temperature patterns are making desert life more difficult for some animals, and though many are not even threatened with extinction, signs of population decline need to be carefully monitored.
For a tiny recluse like the northern marsupial mole, this sees the KJ rangers hiking up and down sand dunes until they spot the tell-tale traces of a mole’s rare above-ground excursions. Once located, they will dig a trench to look for holes and log any they find in a central database.
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In this way they can keep track of where the population is dispersed and how densely they inhabit the areas where they are found.
“The monitoring by Aboriginal ranger groups is really important, especially as desert species are being impacted by rainfall and temperature patterns changing due to climate change,” Mr. Catt said.
SHARE These Wild And Wonderful Critters With Your Friends…
Looking for a fun photography activity for the weekend? How about improving your photography skills and refilling your creative juices with another challenge from the folks of SlickPic? Now on the week 15 of their 52-week Photo Challenge, it’s all about Macro photography.
In this challenge, your task is to explore the world of the small and capture the scenes and subjects in their full, glorious details. Apart from getting up close to tiny critters, this technique also encourages you to keep an eye out for interesting textures, shapes and elements that typically go unnoticed. You’re only limited by your creativity and curiosity!
Interested in this challenge? It’s time to not only bust out those macro lenses, accessories and lighting, but also brush up on the right macro tricks and techniques. For starters, we suggest checking out our guide on exploring tiny worlds with macro photography.
In case you’re just joining, we also encourage you to check out the full info on the 52-week Challenge.
Once you submit your photos, you can review them here: https://52weekchallenge.slickpic.com
As always, you can ask your friends to join the challenge as well by clicking on the Share button for the album and inviting them to join in. Of course, you can also encourage them to Like and Comment on your submissions!
“Fifi and Faustino” by Jane Goodall. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
On April 3, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall turned 90 years old. Dr. Goodall has inspired generations of people who are passionate about wildlife conservation and our planet. From her groundbreaking studies of chimpanzees to her philanthropic work and activism related to animals, Dr. Goodall is a force of nature.
To celebrate her birthday and her place as a woman-inspired change, the female-led non-profit Vital Impacts is holding a special photography sale—The Nature of Hope: 90 Women Photographers for Jane Goodall. For the next three months, Vital Impacts is selling fine-art photography from female photographers inspired by Dr. Goodall’s legacy. According to the organization, “60% of proceeds will directly support the Jane Goodall Institute’s global efforts, continuing Dr. Goodall’s mission of science-based conservation and youth empowerment within communities worldwide.” The remaining proceeds will go directly toward the artists.
Among the 90 prints available are photographs by Dr. Goodall herself. Two of the images focus on the familial relationships of chimpanzees and speak to her ability to make these primates feel comfortable with her presence. The other is a stunning self-portrait taken around 1962, early in research at Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. Viewed now, it’s a beautiful documentation of a young woman diving into her professional passion and getting ready to take on the world.
But Dr. Goodall’s photographs aren’t the only spectacular images available. This incredible collection of conservation and landscape photography is a feast for the eyes, with work by well-known names such as Cristina Mittermeier, Ami Vitale, Beth Moon, and Karine Aigner.
So, if you are looking for a piece of art to add to your collection and want to know that doing so will also help the environment, the sale—which runs until July 2—is worth a look.
“Jou Jou and Dr. Jane Goodall, Brazzaville Zoo, Republic of Congo, 1990” by Michael “Nick” Nichols. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Self Portrait” by Jane Goodall. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Giraffes” by Marina Cano. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“The Hug” by Daisy Gilardini. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Back to the Wild” by Ami Vitale. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Submergence” by Michaela Skovranova. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“King of the Arctic” by Melissa Schäfer. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“The Big Buzz Bee Ball” by Karine Aigner. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“The Feast” by Cristina Mittermeier. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Barn Owl X” by Beth Moon. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Love at South Georgia” by Malin Hanning. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Balance” by Sapna Reddy. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Snow Geese” by Melissa Groo. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Caribou at Anaktuvuk Pass” by Katie Orlinsky. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Princess of Tundra” by Evgenia Arbugaeva. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Brenda and Her Mother” by Luisa Dörr. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Dusk Bloom” by Tamara Dean. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Aerial Battle” by Kathryn Cooper. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
“Heinabergsjökull Glacier” by Deanne Fitzmaurice. Courtesy of Vital Impacts.
Vital Impacts: Website | Instagram | Facebook
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Summit County resident Joseph Large’s love for photography began when he would make off with his father’s Polaroid camera as a kid, set up his G.I. Joe toy soldiers in the tall grass and click off picturesque jungle photos.
Since taking his first backyard photographs, Large has steadily built up his body of work, traveling internationally and completing projects for The Discovery Channel, National Geographic and BBC Earth.
Most recently, Large worked on the Netflix project “Our Living World,” which is set to be released on Wednesday, April 17, five days before Earth Day.
Large’s path to becoming an accomplished photographer was not without twists and turns, though. Instead of pursuing his deep passion for photography as a full-time profession out of college, Large said he gave in to the naysayers and entered the workforce with a corporate IT job.
While feeling stuck in the typical nine-to-five rat race, Large’s mother was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer after being in remission for 10 years. With his mother’s health declining, Large moved back home to Philadelphia to help his mom while she was in hospice care.
Close to 10 days after returning home, Large’s mother passed away. Like any death of a loved one, Large took it hard, but he quickly came to realize that life is too short to not fully pursue your passions.
“Life is short, and you better love what you do,” Large said. “I was just hanging out with my dad for almost a year, just to keep him company and help him with the house and everything. He wasn’t charging me rent, so I was able to save up some money, and I bought my first digital SLR.”
With a new camera in his hand, Large quickly began expanding his already-established skillset in photography when his father told him that he needed to move back to the mountains to dive into his passion wholeheartedly.
“He told me to go back to Colorado and that I wasn’t going to be a photographer and filmmaker here in Philly,” Large said. “I told him that I was going to hang out and buy a house, live in the same neighborhood, hang out all the time, and he said, ‘Get out of here.’”
Large took the firm push from his father and returned to Summit County, where he balanced several jobs alongside his photography and filmmaking business in order to make ends meet.
Large’s hard work and persistence started to pay off with him being noticed by a couple of magazines, before he faced another bump in the road with the unexpected death of his dad.
“With her, I was able to say goodbye, but my dad just died in his sleep of a heart attack we think,” Large said. “We didn’t actually know the cause of death. That was the second kick in the ass where I was like, ‘I really have to do this. Life is super short.’”
From that moment on, Large went all in on his photography and filmmaking, forming connections with winter sport athletes and getting the opportunity to travel to X Games.
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Slowly but surely, Large’s photos and videos started to get noticed by more people and organizations, resulting in some of the biggest gigs in his career. Through a mutual connection, Large got his first big break by getting the opportunity to fly drones for a 2019 National Geographic project named “Hostile Planet.”
While perched high atop Summit County on Quandary Peak, Large did not take the assignment for granted, dedicating himself to his work and striving to get the best shots.
“When I was working for them, shooting that (project), we filmed up on Quandary for like five, six days,” Large said. “The whole time I was like work, work, work, work. I remember the last day when we wrapped the shoot, I pulled out of the parking lot and was like, ‘I just shot for Nat Geo.’ That was mind-blowing to me.”
The job with National Geographic ultimately set Large up for future jobs with the Discovery Channel and BBC Earth before signing on to work on “Our Living World” for Netflix. Contributing to the multifaceted project, Large captured drone footage from eight to nine locations scattered across the San Juan Mountains during different seasons.
[embedded content]On one film day in Silverton, Large’s drone was dive-bombed by a territorial golden eagle while near the Silverton Visitor Center on the Animas River.
“This bird with a 6, 7-foot wingspan was dive-bombing the drone,” Large said. “This is like a $20,000 drone, and if we lose it, we don’t have a backup. It was super freaking stressful, but it ended up working out. It was wild. It was terrifying, honestly.”
After years of waiting for the documentary to be released to the public, Large is excited for viewers around the globe to take in his handiwork, which will be featured alongside narration from Australian actress Cate Blanchett.
Although neither his mom nor dad got to see the full breadth of his artistic vision, Large takes comfort in knowing that he is working hard to make them proud with every click of the camera.
“Everything I do is to try to make them proud,” Large said. “After my mom passed, my dad was still around for three years, and whenever I got a big gig, I would call him. I can’t do that anymore, and it’s rough, so I call my sister. I still try to make them proud, and everything I do, I know they are watching.”
With so many creative and inspiring people with intense passions living in Summit County, Large encourages others to fully pursue what they love despite what society may say.
“Whether they are creating art or making jewelry, or whatever it is, don’t listen to the naysayers,” Large said. “Everyone is going to talk shit. If they are not, then you aren’t doing something well enough. Be passionate and do what you are doing. Those setbacks are the things that make you stronger, and they can be used as fuel for you to continue your passion. “
To learn more about Large and his work, visit JosephLarge.com. “Our Living World” is a four-part miniseries and will premiere Wednesday, April 17, on Netflix.
