Some cool the cape images:
Cape Ground Squirrel (Xeris inauris)
Image by Deneys
Appearance:
The Cape Ground Squirrel is a rodent endemic to South Africa. It measures 450 mm in length and weighs up to 1 kg. Upper parts are cinnamon coloured with a lateral white stripe on either side of the body. White underparts and the distinctive bushy fan-like tail have black based, white tipped hairs. The coat is coarse with little underfur. Winter coat is usually longer than the summer coat.
Diet:
Predominantly herbivorous, and feeds mainly on roots and bulbs excavated with claws and front teeth. These hard food items are gnawed in typical rodent fashion with the sharp incisors. Always feed on the juiciest plants available. They occasionally take termites during summer.
Breeding
Although females are reproductively mature at six months, only the ones older than one year are allowed to breed. Females have two pairs of mammary glands and normally give birth to two to six young per litter, each baby weighing 20 grams. Young are altricial and naked at birth. Caring for the young seems to be a community duty, since this task is shared by various females in a colony. Only one adult male as main breeding partner is tolerated by the dominant females, who are normally accompanied by their young of the previous two years. Dispersal of offspring to colonies in adjacent territories only takes place after two years. This dispersal pattern allows for the formation of new groups and enhances gene flow.
Cape North Lighthouse
Image by Intiaz Rahim
This lighthouse, erected in 1908 at Cape North, Nova Scotia, is constructed of 32 cast-iron plates joined together with bolts. It stood vigil over the Cabot Strait until 1980 when it was acquired by the Museum and moved to this site. The castiron plates of this lighthouse actually date back to 1856, when they were first assembled to serve as the tower of the famous landfall light at Cape Race, Newfoundland. When a larger lighthouse was built at Cape Race in 1908, the old tower was disassembled, taken by ship to Nova Scotia, and reused for the light at Cape North.
The sectional design of the tower was chosen in response to the challenge of constructing a lighthouse in a remote, inaccessible location using only local, unskilled labour. The checkerboard pattern served to distinguish this lighthouse from others, and ensured that the tower stood out against the often snow-covered landscape. The light was originally powered by coal oil while the large lens was turned by a clockwork mechanism. Both the light and the lens rotation system were eventually converted to electric power.
CSTM 800768
Orignal From: Nice The Cape photos
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