Mountain goats aren't true goats. Their closest relatives are the chamois and serows of Europe and Asia. They crave salt, so they follow hikers and lick up sweat and urine left on the trail. Give them at least 25 yards.
#MountainGoat #Hiking #ILoveAnimals

Forty feet into the walk and he already needs a full report on where the treats are.

#PuppyLove #DogsOfBluesky #ILoveAnimals

One very patient white dog, a stack of animal photos with the faces cut out, and fifteen seconds of commitment. He plays a mountain goat, a lemur, a lion, a giraffe, a sloth, a zebra, and a badger. The sloth is the strongest performance.
#DogsOfBluesky #ILoveAnimals #HappyHalloween

A Valais Blacknose lamb comes bouncing down a row of zinnias straight at the camera. The breed comes from the Swiss Alps, where it was built for steep, cold mountainsides. Here it gets a flower farm at golden hour instead, and it seems fine with the trade.

#ValaisBlacknose #Sheep #ILoveAnimals

A black jaguar gives a caracal a full grooming session, and the caracal takes it with eyes half shut like a regular at the barber. The size gap is roughly five to one. In the wild these two live on different continents and would never meet.
#BigCats #Caracal #ILoveAnimals

A tiger shark takes a fish from a diver's hand, then cruises past close enough to count the spots on its snout. Watch the eye as it bites: a protective membrane slides shut for a split second. Tiger sharks can top 14 feet, and this one is in no hurry at all.
#TigerShark #SharkDiving #ILoveAnimals

Four tenants, one missing shingle, zero rent paid. Fox squirrels raise litters of two to four, and the young stay in the nest about ten weeks before heading out. This crew looks about ready to leave, and the landlord has a repair bill coming.
#Squirrels #UrbanWildlife #ILoveAnimals

#ILoveAnimals

Size makes no difference: put a cardboard box in front of any cat and the cat climbs in. Sanctuaries hand them out as enrichment for exactly this reason. A 2014 Dutch study found shelter cats given boxes settled in faster and showed less stress.
#Bobcat #CatsOfBluesky #ILoveAnimals

#ILoveAnimals

#ILoveAnimals

#ILoveAnimals they understand.

A humpback can weigh 40 tons and still clear the water, which takes a burst to about 18 mph. Those long white pectoral fins run up to 16 feet, a third of its body length, and gave the genus its name: Megaptera, "big wing." Why they breach is still debated.
#Humpback #Whales #ILoveAnimals

Adult dogs sleep 12 to 14 hours a day, and puppies can hit 18 to 20. That's why they nod off sitting upright, mid-car ride, or halfway off the couch. Their sleep comes in short bursts all day instead of one long stretch at night, so the next nap is never far off.
#Dogs #DogNap #ILoveAnimals

The largest real centipede on Earth, Scolopendra gigantea, tops out around 12 inches. This cat is wearing one several times that size, and the grill guy, the pizza driver, and the delivery man all reacted before doing the math.
#Caturday #Halloween #ILoveAnimals

Wild elephants tracked in Botswana slept about two hours a night and lay down only every third or fourth day. An elephant flat on its side is a rare thing to catch.

#Elephants #AnimalBehavior #ILoveAnimals

A wiry grey sighthound tears across a tidal flat, throwing up spray with every stride, then charges up the dune to check in, soaking wet and grinning. Two seconds later it's gone again, back down to the water for another lap.

#ILoveAnimals #Dogs #Deerhound

A brown bear sits upright on a grassy slope, front paws clasped against its chest, staring off to the side for a full 20 seconds. It has the posture of someone waiting for a late bus and deciding whether to complain about it.

#ILoveAnimals #Bears #Wildlife

One blue eye, one amber eye, a black head, and a white body spotted like a Dalmatian, all on a mustard sofa. Cute, but no litter produced this kitten. It's AI. Watch the front paw change from black to white halfway through.

#Cats #ILoveAnimals #Caturday

#ILoveAnimals