Stella Clarkson

Look closer. Ethology, animals, plants and the science connecting them 🌿🐾
Naturalist, dog trainer, amateur photographer

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Hi everyone! On this profile, we'll explore ethology, botany, wildlife and ecology combining scientific rigour with a naturalistic and dog trainer's curiosity.
Welcome to the journey 🌿🐾

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Early mornings, misty fields and quiet moments 🌾✨

#MorningVibes #SunriseLovers #MistyMorning #GoldenHour #NaturePhotography #CountryLife #DogWalks #EarlyBird #PeacefulMoments #LandscapeLovers #Scenery

📷 Stella Clarkson

[Cris @CrisDBS01]

The unique details of the Wat Ek Phnom pagoda, one of the hidden gems near Battambang, Cambodia ⛩️✈️

#WatEkPhnom #Battambang #Cambogia #Cambodia #ExploreCambodia #TravelX #BucketList #VisitCambodia

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

@CrisDBS01 Addirittura sette??

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Have you ever wondered what a cat’s eyes can tell you? 👁️🐈

A cat’s eyes are built for a world of subtle movements and changing light. Their vertical pupils can narrow into fine slits in bright conditions and expand in dim light, helping regulate how much light enters the eye.

But there’s more to those fascinating eyes. Cats have a reflective layer behind the retina, called the tapetum lucidum, which helps them make better use of available light. It’s also what makes their eyes appear to glow when light hits them in the dark.

And those beautiful, often mysterious gazes? To understand a cat’s mood, look beyond the eyes alone. Pupil size, ear position, body posture and context all help tell the story.

A cat’s eyes don’t just see the world. They help reveal how it experiences it 🐾

#Cats #FelineBehavior #CatEyes #AnimalScience #Ethology

📸 Stella Clarkson 🐈 Zephir

[🌷Lu🌷 @LucyChiappo]

Lui si chiama Gin come il gin tonic 🐶

[Cris @CrisDBS01]

Paradise found.
Follow the path and lose yourself in the crystal-clear waters of Koh Phi Phi. 🇹🇭
#AmazingThailand #KohPhiPhi #Krabi #Travel #NatureEscape

[Cris @CrisDBS01]

A step back in time at the Royal Gardens with @ReggiadiMonza ✨
This Neogothic arch perfectly frames the greenery of the park promoted by @turismolombardia and @inLombardia. 🏛️🌿
#MonzaPark #Lombardy #GothicRevival #ItalyTravel #BeautifulDestinations #TravelGram #ExploreItaly #HiddenGems

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

That face! 😻

With big eyes, a fluffy coat and an expression full of personality, this cat knows how to steal the spotlight. Sometimes, all you need is a little feline charm to brighten your day 🐾

#Cats #PersianCat #CatLovers #FelineBeauty #CatPhotography

📸 Stella Clarkson 🐈 Zen

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Autumn mornings have a different kind of beauty 🍂

The park is quieter, the air is crisp, and fallen leaves turn familiar paths into something new. Early morning light filters through the trees, revealing the subtle changes of the season.

For a little while, there is space to slow down and notice what we often miss: the colours, the scents, the birdsong, and the small signs of nature preparing for winter.

Sometimes, the best way to appreciate a place is to see it at the very beginning of the day.

#AutumnMorning #NatureLovers #AutumnColours #NaturePhotography #SeasonalChanges

📸 Stella Clarkson

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

@CrisDBS01 Thank you!

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

When the sky puts on a show, the sea becomes the stage 🌅

Dark storm clouds, fiery sunlight, and golden reflections turn this seascape into a spectacular display of nature’s contrasts.

#Nature #Ocean #Sunset #Seascape #NaturePhotography

📷 Stella Clarkson

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

@CrisDBS01 Thank you so much, Cris!

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

An entire microcosm hidden in a meadow. 🌸

This close-up of Trifolium pratense (red clover) reveals its extraordinary structure: it’s not a single flower, but a perfect inflorescence made of dozens of tiny tubular florets.

The beautiful details we miss when we rush.

#MacroPhotography #Botany #NatureLovers #Flowers #CloseUp

📸 Stella Clarkson

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

🐾 Good training doesn’t just change behaviour. It changes the way a dog and a human understand each other.

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is an intelligent, energetic, and highly motivated sporting dog. Bred in Canada to lure and retrieve waterfowl, this remarkable breed combines athleticism with curiosity and a natural enthusiasm for working alongside people.

But intelligence and energy alone don't create a great partnership. Communication, consistency, and mutual trust make the difference.

Watching a dog and their human interact after working together is one of the most rewarding parts of canine education. Every small achievement is a step towards a stronger relationship: one built not on control, but on understanding.

Because the real goal isn't simply to teach a dog what to do. It's to help both ends of the leash learn how to work together. ❤️🐕

#NovaScotiaDuckTollingRetriever #DogTraining #CanineEducation #DogBehaviour #ForceFreeTraining #HumanDogBond #PositiveReinforcement

🎥 Stella Clarkson 🐕 Anita

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Two athletes of the open land, meeting without a word 🐕🐎
A Borzoi watching a horse is more than a beautiful encounter.

Both animals are exquisitely sensitive to movement, posture and distance reading the world through subtle changes in body language.

The Borzoi was bred to notice movement at extraordinary distances and react with astonishing speed. The horse, a highly social prey animal, is equally attentive to the movements and intentions of others.

Perhaps, in this quiet moment, the Borzoi is simply observing.

Not every gaze is a challenge.

Sometimes, curiosity is enough.

#Borzoi #BorzoiLove #RussianWolfhound #Sighthound #DogBehavior #CanineEthology #Ethology #AnimalBehavior #Horse #EquineBehavior #AnimalCommunication #Nature #WildAtHeart #DogsAndHorses #CanineBodyLanguage

📸 Stella Clarkson 🐕 Novak

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

“If I fits, I sits.” 🐾

Cats have an extraordinary talent for turning the most ordinary objects into the perfect resting place especially when that object is clearly far too small for them.

This tiny kitten seems to have discovered that a food bowl can double as a bed, a hiding place, and a perfectly legitimate personal space. Curling up tightly isn’t just adorable: cats naturally seek enclosed spaces that provide a sense of security while allowing them to rest undisturbed.

And that little paw hanging over the edge?
That’s simply the final touch. 😻

Sometimes, comfort has nothing to do with size. It’s all about feeling safe.

#CatsOfX #CatBehavior #FelineBehavior #Kitten #CatLife #CatsOfTheWorld #CatLovers #FelineEthology #AnimalBehavior #Ethology #CatFacts #CatsBeingCats #CuteCats #KittenLife #NatureAndAnimals

📸 Stella Clarkson 🐈 Zeno

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Some landscapes look ancient. This one actually is.

At the southwestern edge of Portugal, the Atlantic meets the Algarve in a spectacular collision of rock, wind and time.

The cliffs of the Costa Vicentina rise dramatically above the ocean, shaped over immense geological timescales by erosion, fractures, waves and salt-laden winds. What we see as massive walls of rock and isolated sea stacks are, in reality, fragments of a much longer story, one that began millions of years before humans ever stood on these cliffs.

And the process is still happening.

Every wave that strikes the rock, every storm that attacks a fracture, every grain carried away by the wind contributes to the slow reshaping of this coastline. Eventually, caves become arches, arches collapse, and solid headlands become offshore pillars.

Nature rarely destroys in an instant.
More often, it transforms… one wave at a time.

That is perhaps what makes places like Cabo de São Vicente so fascinating: you are not simply looking at a landscape.
You are looking at geology in motion. 🌊🪨

#Portugal #Algarve #CostaVicentina #CaboDeSãoVicente #Geology #Nature #NaturalHistory #Earth #AtlanticOcean #WildCoast

📷 Stella Clarkson

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Imagine surviving almost entirely on leaves that would be poisonous to many other animals 🐨🌿
That is the extraordinary life of the koala.

Eucalyptus leaves are tough, fibrous, low in energy and contain compounds that make them difficult and potentially toxic for many animals. Yet the koala has evolved to make this challenging food source the centre of its entire existence.

Its digestive system contains specialised microorganisms that help break down the leaves and extract what little energy they provide. But there is a price: processing such a poor diet takes time and energy.

So the koala has evolved another remarkable adaptation: energy conservation.

It can spend around 18–20 hours a day resting or sleeping, reducing unnecessary energy expenditure while its body slowly processes its food.

Even its body is designed for life in the trees. Powerful limbs, sharp claws and rough pads on its paws help it climb and grip branches, while its dense fur provides insulation and protection from the elements.

And then there is the pouch.
Like other marsupials, the koala gives birth to an extremely underdeveloped young. The tiny joey completes much of its development inside its mother's pouch before eventually emerging into the outside world.

Almost every aspect of the koala's biology reflects the same evolutionary story: a specialised animal living on a difficult food source in a demanding environment and turning those limitations into adaptations.

The koala may look slow, sleepy and almost effortless.
But beneath that peaceful appearance is a remarkable evolutionary solution to one simple problem: how do you survive when your food is abundant, but barely worth eating? 🌿

#Koala #Wildlife #AnimalBehavior #Ethology #Zoology #Australia #Nature #Evolution #WildAnimals #AnimalFacts

📷 Stella Clarkson

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

It looks like a sunflower. But underground, it hides a completely different story 🌻

Meet Helianthus tuberosus, commonly known as the Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke.

A close relative of the sunflower, this tall perennial can reach several metres in height and produces cheerful yellow flower heads that attract pollinators.

But its most remarkable feature is not above ground.
Beneath the soil, its roots produce edible tubers—irregular, knobbly structures rich in inulin, a type of carbohydrate that humans cannot digest completely. Instead, it is fermented by the microorganisms living in our gut, making Jerusalem artichoke an interesting example of the connection between plants and the invisible microbial ecosystem inside us.

Ecologically, H. tuberosus is equally fascinating. Its flowers provide resources for insects late in the season, while its dense growth can offer shelter and structure for small animals and invertebrates.

And there is an important lesson hidden in its success: this plant doesn't rely only on its flowers or seeds. Its underground tubers allow it to survive, multiply and return year after year, even when the visible part of the plant disappears.

In nature, what we see is often only half the story.
Sometimes, the most important part of a plant is the part we never see. 🌱

#HelianthusTuberosus #JerusalemArtichoke #Sunchoke #Botany #PlantEcology #Ethology #Wildlife #Nature #Pollinators #Plants

📷 Stella Clarkson

[Stella Clarkson @stellacl77]

Sometimes friendship begins with a tug-of-war 🐾

To us, this looks like two puppies fighting over a toy. From an ethological perspective, however, play is much more than simple entertainment.

Puppy play is a form of social learning. Through chasing, grabbing, wrestling and competing for objects, young dogs practise reading body language, controlling the intensity of their actions and responding to another dog’s signals.

Notice how the interaction is focused on the toy, but also on each other. The real lesson is not who gets the orange fish: it is learning when to persist, when to give in, and how to keep an interaction going without turning play into conflict.

Healthy play is usually flexible: roles can change, pauses occur, and both individuals remain willing to re-engage. These tiny negotiations help puppies develop the social skills they will use throughout their lives.

Two puppies. One toy. A whole lesson in canine communication 🐶🐶

📷 Stella Clarkson 🐕 Zolpy & Bibi