Shorah again everyone,

After working on my zoological journal so far, I've come to a point where I must divide it into at least two volumes. The first volume is now complete and weighs in at more than 200 pages. This is due to both the large number of photographs and the relatively small footprint of the book (at 5x7 inches). After all, I need to tote a manageable book when visiting all the ages so it can be tucked into my jacket pocket safely while climbing about.

I will continue working on the remaining field notes but in the meanwhile, you are free to download the PDF version of Volume 1. It is a mere 18MB in size (the original PDF was nearly 200MB--compression is a very good thing!). You may want to view it fullscreen so you can see the photos at their best.

Ainia's D'ni Zoological Studies Journal, Volume 1
[[click the link to view in your browser; right-click to save the file to your PC; I recommend the latter so you can view it like a real book]]

I will keep you posted about Volume 2. Enjoy!

[[Edit: updated Journal to include newest Firefly table (to add the recently discovered Cleft insect); minor edits and typo fixes]]

[[Re-edit: re-added lists at end of Volume 1 (had gotten moved into Volume 2)]]

[[Re-re-edit: Gahh! I keep finding typos I've missed (so have re-uploaded another version of the PDF). Please feel free to PM me with any other mistakes you find! I really would like this document to be in good shape for sharing with other explorers...]]

[[Re-re-re-edit: fixed cosmetic glitch]]

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Last edited by Ainia on Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:55 pm; edited 4 times in total

Dearest Ainia, thank you for gifting us with this excellent comprehensive
and most beautifully illustrated compendium of your extensive research
activities and operations ... I'm just blown away ...

I would immediately vote for implementing this into MOULa, maybe somewhere
in Ae'gura on a desk in the library as a research documentation of the DZS,
the D'ni Zoological Society, and as a valuable reading pleasure and source
of information ...

You're a multifaceted talent, Ainia, thanks a lot again for your efforts and for sharing ...

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janaba MOULa KI #154268, Minkata KI #4525 , Gehn KI # 16392, TOC KI # 86963
MO:ULa is

Shorah janaba1,

Once again, many thanks for your kind words and encouragement!

I just updated the PDF of the Journal (Volume 1) to replace the Firefly table with an updated version (which now includes the recently discovered insect from The Cleft caldera). Apologies to those who will have to redownload (but the file size remains a trim 18MB).

Enjoy!

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No problem, Ainia, it loads very fast and is absolutely worth the tiny little extra effort ...

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janaba MOULa KI #154268, Minkata KI #4525 , Gehn KI # 16392, TOC KI # 86963
MO:ULa is

The link's not working...

Shorah DLordofTime,

Try the link again; you may have caught it when the PDF was re-uploading (and thus the PDF was absent at the target location for a while). It takes about 10+ minutes for the document to upload from my location (pathetic internet connection speeds).

Let me know if you continue having troubles.

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Success! My timing with these things is dreadful.

Shorah DLordofTime,

So glad to hear it worked!

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Ya.

I went on another photo safari today, but this time I was working on another project - pictures of architecture in places the DRC would rather you didn't go.

While I was snapping photos of buildings - a much easier job than shooting animals, since the buildings don't try to get away - I had a chance to see a couple of Bahro and caught them on the fly. Literally. So don't expect close-ups. Those guys don't exactly hang around waiting for me to set up my equipment, and they didn't come close to the buildings I was on.

I was up on the roof of Tokotah 1, above the DRC tent, when this one flew by.


I had climbed up the Guild Hall and was on part of the high balcony when I caught this one in a steep dive.


I'll be posting my pictures of the buildings in another topic.

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Until next time,

Larry LeDeay

Shorah all,

Just a quick heads up that I've re-uploaded Volume 1 after fixing a cosmetic glitch. Nothing major (content remains the same), so re-download only if you feel so inclined.

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Shorah all,

In rounding out my documentation of the animals throughout the D'ni ages, I found myself with some unexpected free time on my hands earlier this week and so took advantage of the opportunity to fill in the gaps. I headed off to The Cleft caldera first to look for Dragonflies (just in case they have linked through from Direbo like the other insects appear to have done). I found none, but decided while I was there to climb up the caldera walls and get some shots of the Wahrk skeleton.

Although it's been here for at least two centuries, the bones remain fully articulated:

The Wahrk skull from the front; the entire skeleton is enormous and I can walk through the gap ahead quite easily:

I decided to head back into the caldera and walk all the way to the bottom-most Eder Tomahn, the location of the linking book leading directly to the Direbo linking bubble for Laki'ahn. In my earlier trips, I'd simply used the nearest Tomahn and walked across the islands to the Laki'ahn linking bubble. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try this other route to my destination.

As I approached the very bottom of the Great Shaft, I happened across a Bahro wandering the hallways:

Upon arriving in Laki'ahn, I was both surprised and gratified to find two Piranha Birds fairly quickly. I find it puzzling that my use of the Eder Tomahn in question seems to have made a difference and am chalking this up to coincidence for now (although I am suspicious of coincidences as a rule).

I observed both birds for a prolonged time and have concluded that my hope of finding a nest or colony is an impossible one. The are highly territorial and anti-social, not only with their own kind but with all other animals as well. It's a puzzlement that they can breed and raise their young, but presumably this does indeed happen...

Watching this fellow from a discreet distance, he ignored me and continued in his odd circling behavior:

The point of perpetually running in circles eludes me; this fellow would have continued his behavior ceaselessly:

However, I approached him more closely and interrupted him. He responded with the typical warning behavior of his species:

The Pirahna Bird reacts first by stopping and staring at the intruder:

He then begins vocalizing a warning call, which sounds like a wheezing croak:

As I stepped nearer, he responded by running to a safe distance and then resuming his warning call:

The Piranha Bird head is disproportionately large compared to the body, and is extremely tall and narrow:

Viewed from the rear, there is a yellow mass of muscle protruding from the back of the skull, which allows the Pirahna Bird to balance its enormous head with its spindly body:

I still find the disproportionate size of this animal's head to its body a mystery. I could find no skeleton to test my hypothesis, but suppose that as with Terran birds, the Piranha Bird bones are hollow, which wold allow for the successful evolution of their oversized heads. Although these birds are now flightless, they quite likely evolved from a flying ancestor.

Overall, to call this bird stupid is to put the matter kindly! Their defensive behavior would be quite useless against any sort of serious predator; and their fondness for running in circles makes them quite vulnerable to a stealthy attack. Though they are quite proficient at avoiding it once they spot an intruder, I imagine a cornered Pirahna Bird would deliver quite a nasty bite (and they do indeed bite, as attested by Rils).

Because there are so few of these birds in Laki'ahn, I am assuming they are endangered or at least a threatened species.

Coming up: the finalized Volume 2 of my zoological journals.

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Shorah again,

As with other explorers here, I am moving on to another research project and am finishing up my zoological research and records, at least for now. There likely will be the occasional new discovery or theory, which will be added here and to my journal as they occur.

I am following larryf58's architectural documentation project and find it quite interesting. And DLordofTiime's offshoot thread regarding the Payiferen rocks is fascinating.

My background and interest in anthropology is spurring me into my current project, documenting the Yeesha and Bahro structures and glyphs throughout the ages. I am seeing that the distinction between Yeesha and the Bahro continues getting blurrier the more I look into these matters. I have begun a new journal on this and once I have something notable to report, I will post to a new thread here.

Happily, the second zoological studies volume also is of modest size (17.5MB) in spite of the numerous photographs, so should download easily. As before, I suggest viewing it fullscreen in order to see the photos at their best.

Ainia's D'ni Zoological Studies Journal, Volume 2
[[click the link to view in your browser; right-click to save the file to your PC; I recommend the latter so you can view it like a real book]]

Happy exploring everyone!

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Well, you have alot of glyphs over many ages to look at. Many of which I saw for the first time whilst running about Keemo trying to complete it with my new avvie.

Ainia, the head of the Piranha Bird is actually pretty logical if you stop to think about it.

The face is near featherless for the same reason as scavenger birds on Earth; feathers trap rotting flesh and blood, which would be harmful to the animal. The head is long and narrow to fit into various awkward spaces in the decomposing bodies it eats, and the eyes and nostrils are set well back from the teeth to keep them clear of contamination. Since there are no ground predators on the small islands it inhabits, flight is an unnecessary expenditure of energy that it can well do without.

So, when you stop to think about it, the little creature is very well designed for its job of cleaning up dead animals. These days, I imagine that the bird subsists on deceased fish and laki that wash up on the beach, or on other birds that reach the islands and die.

I wish you much success with your study of Bahro petroglyphs. One of my favorites in Eder Kemo is the depiction of Kahlo Kamkenta and rider. It's a real shame that the DRC never released the linking books to Kahlo.

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Until next time,

Larry LeDeay