Chris Banotai, PhD

Saguaros at sunset. Oh, Arizona desert, I miss your charm. #photography #sunset #Arizona #nature #naturephotography

May I offer you a #bird in these trying times? #birding #photography #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #nature

I've been keeping shrimp for a few years now and these Jade Green #shrimp are my favorite variety. Hardy, long-lived, and beautiful--love these little guys. #aquariums #plantedtank #fishkeeping

The 55 gallon I share with my mom is thriving. Will need to give a trim in the near future. #aquariums #fishkeeping #plantedtank

Pulled out a bunch of dead leaves and algae yesterday. The 29 gallon is brightening up. #aquariums #fishkeeping

Went #camping last weekend and we found quite the leaf. #neat #neature #nature #leaf #green

Reminiscing on this time of the year in #Laramie, #Wyoming. First snows of the year. #Photography #landscapes #LandscapePhotography #mountains

St. Charles Oktoberfest tonight.

Finally made a website. Still fleshing things out and organizing, but prints and Thinking (Wild) Caps are available! Thinkingwildphoto.com

Emailed by one of my top picks today:

Now, it's time to start asking if the leaves are changing/falling because it's that time of year--or if it's because we're all being baked alive.

Turns out, the "starving artist" and "mad scientist" have quite similar lives.

#photography #wildlife #conservation #wildlifephotography #WildlifeConservation

Finally made a website. Still fleshing things out and organizing, but prints and Thinking (Wild) Caps are available! Thinkingwildphoto.com

For #WorldElephantDay, I keep coming back to the quiet awe of being near elephants: branches breaking, low rumbles between family members, and impossibly soft footsteps. They make me more present, the landscape feel truly wild, and the human world seem a little smaller—and better for it.

Big fan of "gnomes in the midnight forest" content over here.

Updating/revising some photos edits. #wildlife #photography #wildlifephotography #elephants

BUMBLEBEE BALL! BUMBLEBEE BALL! BUMBLEBEE BALL! Passing Hiker: wutya lookin’ it? Me: Bumblebee Ball PH (looks): what are they on? Me (semi-seductively): each other PH (to her friends): OMG A BUMBLEBEE ORGY!! Hey come look at this! A bumblebee orgy! Oh fantastic! Sounds like a great time!

The silence is deafening.

Getting ready for the next few weeks, which will be consequential for me. Could use any positivity you've got.

Big day day tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Quail egg incubator with an automatic egg-turning feature but with some 3D-printed adapters for zebra finch eggs. Let the developmental study begin!

I'm pleased with this

Climate.us is officially live! After NOAA ended Climate.gov’s day-to-day operations in 2025, former team members built Climate.us to carry that work forward. Their explanations and graphics have always stood out to me as clear, accessible, and transparent. I’m really looking forward to this reboot.

We were sitting around playing drawing games last night and I saw some gigantic creature slowly plow through the moth sheet and I was like what the fuck was that?! Oh, just a beaver dragging a branch straight through the moth sheet. Sheets are of no importance to beaver.

Coffee table - ready for breakfast 📷Staffan Green #streetphotography #streetphoto #street #monochrome #blackandwhite #bnw #photography #flickr flic.kr/p/2shqzsZ

I believe this is a Grumman Hellcat (?). #MonochromeMonday #BlackAndWhitePhotography #photography #MonochromePhotography #airshowphotography

A couple of Atlantic tarpon glinting in the sunlight show us why they are known as Silver Kings. Prehistoric bony fish still swim amongst us 🫡🪩👑🐟 #tarpon #silverking #livingfossil #prehistoricfish #coralcitycamera

The final chapter of my PhD is out!! What happens when graviportal taxa get dwarfed? We explore this in dwarf elephantids from the Mediterranean Sea, looking at the inner and outer anatomy of limb long bones. 🐘📄 With @houssayecnrs.bsky.social and U. B. Göhlich #GRAVIBONE doi.org/10.1111/pala...

The list of Ecology/Evolution/Marine Bio Labs recruiting grad students for Fall 2027 is live! PIs enter your position info here: forms.gle/MAGd4ohyPeoY... students (and PIs not recruiting) share the composite list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... Please share widely! 🧪

Japanese Zero from the #chesterfieldmo #airshow for #MonochromeMonday. #photography #airshowphotography #blackandwhitephotography

Torres del Paine impressions.

Horned Grebe in non-breeding plumage cresting a small ocean swell. Dipper Harbour, #NewBrunswick, Canada March 2026 📷 #birds #marinelife #HOGR #nature #wildlife #photography #Nikon #Z9 #Nikkor800pf

Anyone play #AgeofEmpires2DE? #gaming #ageofempires2

I petitioned for a second evaluation and it was rejected again.

I love this shot of mine--prior to this I'd never been able to get a "good" shot of a baboon despite seeing them nearly every day. #photography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #KrugerNationalPark #nature ##naturephotography

For #MonochromeMonday, here's one of my favorite shots from #KrugerNationalPark. #blackandwhitephotography #photography #wildlife #wildlifephotography

So, the job market....

Some #FlashbackFriday Vincent. #wildlife #wildlifephotography #photography #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography

Saint Louis, the man-- patron saint of fried rice.

These sunsets call to me like the Green Goblin mask. #sunset #landscapephotography #photography #nature #naturephotography #SouthAfrica