Day 30 Of Posting Cute Creatures We Found On Our Field Trip:

Day 30 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:

Turkish snail (Helix lucorum) is a quite common species in Balkans, but we aren’t certain whether it’s native or not. It probably came here from Turkey with the Ottomans and made itself very comfortable.

This is a very friendly snail. My professor likes to call it “chocolate snail” because of its brown coloration. As all Helix species, it’s very voracious, so it can be a pest in some areas, but it’s also edible. Some people have this snail as a pet that is very easy to keep and can live for over 20 years!

Don't forget how horror movies always look better when done with practical effects. Stuff like The Thing

Frank's resurrection in Hellraiser

And this cool shot in Nightmare on Elm Street

Were all done and made by using practical effects. All these movies recently got new CGI versions, and they suck hard compared to these

Marvel movies have completely eliminated the concept of practical effects from the movie-watching public’s consciousness

Day 26 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:

Ash slug (Limax cinereoniger) is the largest slug in Europe and, according to the Guinness book of records, the longest terrestrial slug in the world. Despite its formidable size of up to 30cm (!) this slug is not a pest. It lives only in ancient forests, far away from human settlements and feeds on lichen, moss and fungi. The colors of ash slug vary from this light grey to black, but it always has light colored keel on its back.

The internet has nicknamed this slug “glubby” because if you pick it up it curls up in its defensive pose and produces sticky mucus which makes it look very… well, glubby:

Day 31 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:

Alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) is a small species of newt that lives in cold mountainous lakes and streams. It’s recognizable by the bright orange belly and lots of spots on its lips and legs. This one is a female - males have a crest on the tail. It can’t survive for long outside of water, so we took a quick pic and put it back in its lovely little puddle.

I drew some cute plushies:

Day 23 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:

Hey, I’m back! And today’s creature is beyond special:

This is Balkan whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius). This is a fully grown adult. These colubrids are big, some grow over 2 meters in length. They have that wonderful copper colored head, shiny grey body and bright yellow belly. But they also have Black Air Force energy.

I’ve worked with these snakes a lot during my herpetology courses and oh my god, they are mean! They are called “whipsnakes” because they can actually hit you with their tail and because their scales are so tough, it hurts like a bitch. They love to bite. And they don’t have the “bite pose”. Most snakes coil up to prepare themselves to strike, but these do not. They are incredibly unpredictable and they can fucking jump. And on top of that, they have so much energy. Most snakes tire out in a very short period of time, but these do not. I don’t know how do they do it, but they can keep striking, swiggling and jumping for over an hour. And they do it while in the bag where we put snakes to calm down as well. They are unreal. A true menace to society.

But they eat rodents and venomous snakes so you want to have them around. And they are cute. Even though they bit me, I still love them. Here’s a cute juvenile as a bonus:

Juveniles have small black spots all over their body and are equally as crazy as the adults. That’s why we’re holding this one by her head. She bit three people.