圖文閱讀:動物世界7

蝙蝠(光明洞) Bats in Cueva de Villa Luz, Mexico

位於墨西哥南部的露滋村的光明洞(Cueva de Villa Luz)中，蝙蝠出現在漆黑的洞穴深處。洞穴的石壁，水流和空氣中充滿了對人體有毒害的硫化氫，供養了多種奇特的生物。除了蝙蝠之外，這個硫磺飽和的環境下還孳生着大量的蜘蛛，蟎蟲，有鞭蠍以及一種富含血紅蛋白的小魚。
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez
Bats emerge from the inky depths of Cueva de Villa Luz in southern Mexico. Hydrogen sulfide, which is poisonous to humans, permeates the cave’s walls, streams, and air, sustaining a rich variety of bizarre organisms. In addition to bats, sPiders, mites, amblypygids, and small, hemoglobin-rich fish thrive in the sulfur-saturated environment.
打哈欠的老虎 Yawning Tiger, India

如圖中這隻印度班達迦國家公園的雌老虎，在炎熱的天氣里老虎總是沒精打采的打瞌睡，以爲夜裏的捕獵積蓄能量。在最近的一百多年裏，捕殺以及森林的破壞使得老虎的數量由幾十萬只驟減到不到2,500只。如今，班達迦據稱保持着國內最高的老虎密度。
Photograph by Michael NicholsTigers, like this female in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park, spend hot days in a languorous laze, storing energy for nights of hunting. Over the last hundred years, hunting and forest destruction have reduced tiger populations from hundreds of thousands of animals to perhaps fewer than 2,500. Today Bandhavgarh claims to maintain the highest density of tigers in the country.

皮卡車廂裏的美洲駝 Llama in Pickup Truck, Chile

在智利月球表面似的阿塔卡馬沙漠中，一輛皮卡的車廂裏有一頭緊張的美洲駝。艾馬拉人居住在阿塔卡馬的荒蕪的高原上，他們飼養美洲駝以獲取肉食和皮毛。
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A nervous llama lies in the back of a pickup truck amid the moonscape of Chile’s Atacama Desert. Atacama’s barren high plateaus are home to the Aymara people, who raise llamas for their meat and wool.
(肉食性波尺蛾)毛蟲 Caterpillar on Fern, Hawaii

在夏威夷的瓦胡島上,一條肉食性波尺蛾(Eupithecia)毛蟲正在一片蕨葉上巡遊,尋找獵物。這種食肉毛蟲非常罕見，而且擁有非凡的適應性特徵，如堅固的外殼，誘人的氣味，和巧妙的僞裝，以提高其殺傷力。
Photograph by Darlyne A. Murawski
A carnivorous Eupithecia caterpillar prowls a fern leaf in Oahu, Hawaii, in search of prey. Such predatory caterpillars are rare and possess extraordinary adaptations, such as armor shields, seductive smells, or artful camouflage, to enhance their lethality.