Images Dated 28th July 2014

Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis)

Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), dancing. Athletic displays are not always in courtship but are thought to lessen aggression, relieve tension, and strengthen bonds between pairs. Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, Hokkaido, Japan

© Jean-Paul Ferrero/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Animal, Aves, Bird, Brackish, Crane, East Asian, Endangered, Fauna, Freshwater, Gruidae, Gruiformes, Grus, Japanese, Japanese Crane, Manchurian Crane, Migratory, Monogamous, Red Crowned Crane, Sacred, Scarlet Head, Wetlands Habitat, Wildlife

Deer stones with inscriptions, 1000 BC, Mongolia

Deer stones (also known as reindeer stones) are ancient megaliths carved with symbols found largely in Siberia and Mongolia. The name comes from their carved depictions of flying deer. There are many theories to the reasons behind their existence and the people who made them. Deer stones are usually constructed from granite or greenstone, depending on which is the most abundant in the surrounding area. They have varying heights; most are over 3 feet tall, but some reach a height of 15 feet. The tops of the stones can be flat, round or smashed, suggesting that perhaps the original top had been deliberately destroyed. The stones are usually oriented with the decorated face to the east

© Tom Norring / DanitaDelimont.com

A small cascade is seen at the Manu Biosphere Reserve Cloud Forest in Perus southern

A small cascade is seen at the Manu Biosphere Reserve Cloud Forest in Peru's southern Amazon region of Madre de Dios July 15, 2014. This 1.8 million hectares reserve is the largest National Park in Peru and is the home of about 1000 birds species and 200 mammals species among other animals, as reptiles and amphibians, and has one of the highest levels of biodiversity of any park in the world, with more than 200 varieties of trees found in one hectare. Picture taken July 15, 2014. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TRAVEL SOCIETY) - GM1EA7T08X901