Same-sex couples are common in the wild. Today, more than 1000 animal species are known to practice various forms of same-sex behavior. These relationships, of course cannot directly produce offsprings so this behavior is often […]
Author Archives: Gábor Ruff
Sea Turtle at sunset on the North Shore of Oahu – Hawaii
The Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) loves to bask on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The most widely known place, where turtles often crawl ashore is the Laniakea Beach, therefore this place is almost […]
2013: The Year in Review
As 2013 comes to a close, I thought this is the good time to look back to this year. I dug through my photo archive and selected 10 images that mostly reflect my work over […]
Young Hawaiian Monk Seal at Kaena Point – Hawaii
When I go to Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) for working with the Laysan Albatross, like I did last week, I cannot resist visiting the favorite resting place of the Hawaiian Monk Seal. I love this […]
Flying Laysan Albatross in Hawaii
Yesterday, I visited Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) to continue my Laysan Albatross project. I started studying and photographing the Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) last November and I was lucky to document their nesting season which […]
Eastern Chipmunk in North America
Small rodents are one of my favorite animals. I was lucky to research a very interesting species in Hungary during my university studies and I wrote my MSc thesis about the unique mound building behavior […]
Laniakea Beach with Honu at Twilight – Hawaii
I have visited this beautiful beach on the north shore of Oahu several times during this year. The Laniakea Beach is one of the favorite resting places of the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), or […]
New Article in Természetbúvár Magazine: Kaena Point, Hawaii
My article about the natural history of Kaena Point has been published in the latest issue of TermészetBÚVÁR magazine. TermészetBÚVÁR (means Naturalist) is one of the most popular ecological magazines in Hungary. This popular science […]
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel at Sequoia National Park – California
Last September, I took a short trip to California where I visited the Sequoia National Park. I mainly focused on Giant Sequoia trees, however I could spend some time with photographing wildlife too, such as […]
Yellow-bellied Marmot at Sequoia National Park – California
I spent some time at Sequoia National Park in late September to photograph the Giant Sequoia trees. I hiked many trails in the Giant Forest, which is one of the most remarkable groves in the […]
Giant Sequoia at Sequoia National Park – California
The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is an enormous living creature. It has the widest trunk among all the trees on Earth*. However, sequoias are not the tallest trees, but they are really tall, some specimens […]
Sequoia National Park – California
Last week I went to the Land of Giants to see the largest trees on Earth. The largest tree species is the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Sequoias are not the tallest trees, but they are […]
Ohia Lehua tree at Waahila Ridge – Hawaii
The dominant tree in the Hawaiian rainforests is the ohia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). The ohia lehua is a variable evergreen tree, that is endemic to the six largest Hawaiian islands. This species is found in […]
Japanese White-Eye at Waahila Ridge – Hawaii
A few weeks ago, the nesting season of the Laysan Albatross is finished at Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) and since then I’ve been focusing on photographing birds in the Hawaiian rainforests. In the past, Hawaii […]
Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve – Hawaii
Kaena Point is my favorite place on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It is the refuge of many rare animals, such as the Laysan Albatross, the Hawaiian Noddy and the Hawaiian Monk Seal. I’ve […]
Hawaiian Noddy at Kaena Point – Hawaii
I discovered a small Hawaiian Noddy (Anous minutus melanogenys) flock on a sea cliff while visiting Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) last week. This bird is a kind of Tern and its Hawaiian name is noio. […]
Laysan Albatross chick in backlight in Hawaii
I went to Kaena Point again this week to check the fledgling Laysan Albatross chicks (Phoebastria immutabilis). As I expected, most of them (including „my” bird) have already left the island. Once the albatrosses leave […]
Five months old Laysan Albatross in Hawaii
A few days ago, I visited again my favorite “baby” Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) at Kaena Point on Oahu, Hawaii. This juvenile bird is about five months old now, which means it’s almost a fully […]
Climate change leads to changes in the migration patterns of birds
Over the last decades, the global climate has been changing faster than ever before. Not surprisingly, the changes in climate may lead to changes in species. For instance, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) responses to […]
Hawaiian Monk Seal portrait
It’s always exciting to be in the wild and observe rare animals such as the Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi). I often check the monk seal’s favorite resting place when I go to Kaena Point […]
Four months old Laysan Albatross chick in Hawaii
My favorite bird species in Hawaii is the Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis). Last week I visited again their nesting colony at Kaena Point on Oahu (Hawaii). Interestingly, I didn’t see any adult birds on this […]