2021-03-27
Mountain hare running across snow-covered upland, Scotland (© SCOTLAND: The Big Picture/Minden Pictures)
在白雪覆盖的高地上奔跑的雪兔，苏格兰 (© SCOTLAND: The Big Picture/Minden Pictures)
The mountain hare is doubly hard to catch sight of because, along with its tremendous speed, it's terrifically well camouflaged. These two traits help this iconic species survive in the rugged mountains and uplands of northern Europe and Asia—this one is dashing across a heath in the Scottish Highlands. When they have to, these speedy leporids can dart away as fast as 50 mph, at least for short distances, allowing them to outrun predators and disappear safely into the heather. But a would-be predator may not even spy them to begin with—mountain hares change coats, or molt, several times a year, their fur going from brown and gray in summer, to white-gray in winter, helping them hide more easily in the snow.
Mountain hare running across snow-covered upland, Scotland (© SCOTLAND: The Big Picture/Minden Pictures)
在白雪覆盖的高地上奔跑的雪兔，苏格兰 (© SCOTLAND: The Big Picture/Minden Pictures)
The mountain hare is doubly hard to catch sight of because, along with its tremendous speed, it's terrifically well camouflaged. These two traits help this iconic species survive in the rugged mountains and uplands of northern Europe and Asia—this one is dashing across a heath in the Scottish Highlands. When they have to, these speedy leporids can dart away as fast as 50 mph, at least for short distances, allowing them to outrun predators and disappear safely into the heather. But a would-be predator may not even spy them to begin with—mountain hares change coats, or molt, several times a year, their fur going from brown and gray in summer, to white-gray in winter, helping them hide more easily in the snow.
2021-03-28
Mount Snowdon and the Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, United Kingdom (© Alan Novelli/Alamy)
斯诺登山与兰贝里斯山口，英国史诺多尼亚国家公园 (© Alan Novelli/Alamy)
This dramatic view brings together two Welsh icons. In the distance sits the country’s highest mountain, Snowdon, while the towering walls of slate in the foreground nod to an industry which has reshaped the landscape here over the centuries. This is the former Dinorwic quarry in the county of Gwynedd, once the second-largest slate quarry in the world after nearby Penrhyn. Slate was first extracted here by the Romans but the process really gathered steam during the industrial revolution, when it became known as the industry that ‘roofed the world’.
Mount Snowdon and the Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, United Kingdom (© Alan Novelli/Alamy)
斯诺登山与兰贝里斯山口，英国史诺多尼亚国家公园 (© Alan Novelli/Alamy)
This dramatic view brings together two Welsh icons. In the distance sits the country’s highest mountain, Snowdon, while the towering walls of slate in the foreground nod to an industry which has reshaped the landscape here over the centuries. This is the former Dinorwic quarry in the county of Gwynedd, once the second-largest slate quarry in the world after nearby Penrhyn. Slate was first extracted here by the Romans but the process really gathered steam during the industrial revolution, when it became known as the industry that ‘roofed the world’.