Image description: Wilbur, a U.S. Marine Corps military working dog with a Marine special operations team, takes a break with his handler after successfully searching a build site for an Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint. The ALP complemented counterinsurgency efforts by assisting and supporting rural areas with a limited Afghan National Security Forces presence.
Photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau, U.S. Department of Defense
Image description: Bozie is an artistically talented Asian elephant who will make her home at the Smithsonian National Zoo starting later this summer. The 37-year-old female elephant is shown here with one of her many paintings.
Bozie’s artwork has been auctioned off in the past to raise money for tsunami relief in Sri Lanka — her birthplace.
Bozie comes to the National Zoo on loan from the Baton Rouge Zoo. National Zoo officials say Bozie will arrive in time for summer.
Learn more about Bozie.
Photo from the Smithsonian National Zoo.
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From the Bureau of Land Management:
“Snakes on a Plane” has nothing on Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area’s intrepid Laverne Dickey and Jim Cribbs. On May 1, they rescued a scared, little Northern Mojave Rattlesnake from near the visitor center and safely released him to less visited area nearby.
Full-grown, the Northern Mojave rattlesnake is about three to four feet long and is also known as Mojave green because of its green hue. It has a potent neurotoxic and hemotoxic venom. Its preferred habitat at Red Rock Canyon is scrub brush, low areas of sparse vegetation among the Joshua trees and open, arid areas. Mojave greens are most active from April to September.
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From the Bureau of Land Management:
How cute is this young horned lizard?
This roundtail horned lizard is one of the smallest of the horned lizards, reaching an adult length of only about 7.5-10 cm (3-4 in).
This lizard lays egg clutches of up to 9 eggs in early summer. The color of roundtail horned lizards usually reflects the color of the soil in their native habitat. Watch out for them when hiking – they will flatten their bodies and remain motionless when threatened. Their favorite place to hang out is near ant colonies for food.
 checkpoint. The ALP complemented counterinsurgency efforts by assisting and supporting rural areas with a limited Afghan National Security Forces presence.
Photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau, U.S. Department of Defense)
. This lizard lays egg clutches of up to 9 eggs in early summer. The color of roundtail horned lizards usually reflects the color of the soil in their native habitat. Watch out for them when hiking – they will flatten their bodies and remain motionless when threatened. Their favorite place to hang out is near ant colonies for food.)
