A Cheetah for The day 26 #Inktober2026 prompt "Zip". Nothing short of the Impala can speedily zip across the African savannah as fast as them, capable of reaching speeds of 70-75 mph.

A Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) drawing for the #Inktober2026 day 25 prompt "Fracture". It holds the record for strongest directly measured bite force of any living animal at 3,700 PSI. That bite would break, tear, destroy, and "fracture" about any part of its prey.

A hippity, hoppity, happy birthday card for our great-nephew, whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday Henry John!

For the #Inktober2026 day 24 word prompt "Bake", I connected the classic Mother Goose nursery rhyme to the Yellow-headed Blackbird: Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye, Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie.

A whimsical and dapper hare for #Inktober2026 day 23 prompt of the word "Dapper".

#Inktober2026 day 22 prompt of the word "Beacon". A Bald Eagle. The eagle is often viewed as a spiritual guide and soaring messenger to higher realms, and reminds humans to follow their hearts like a "beacon", with clarity and purpose.

According to Inuit mythology, Tulugaak (Raven) was the creator of light in their world and a hero of their people. For the #Inktober2026 day 21 prompt "Hero".

A Male African Lion for the #Inktober2026 prompt for day 20 "Lounge". From what I've seen and read about male African Lions is that they spend most of their time lounging around.

A Duck-billed Platypus, a semi-aquatic, beaver-tailed, egg-laying, venomous mammal endemic to Eastern Australia. This animal even confused Charles Darwin. I chose this animal to represent the day 19 prompt "Confused" for #Inktober2026.

A Humboldt Penguin for Day 18 prompt of "Flightless" for #Inktober2026. Endemic to the west coast of South America, it's known in Peru as the pajaro-niño, or baby bird, due to their waddling gate & flightless wings held out suggesting the image of an infant toddling on the beach.

A Regent Bowerbird for #Inktober2026 Day 17 prompt of "contraption". Found in Australia, males construct ground-level "avenue" bowers ("contraptions") made of sticks that are decorated with objects (such as bottle caps, feathers, and colorful plastic) to attract females.

Day 16 of #Inktober2026 is a "gangly" giraffe.

To connect a bird to the #Inktober2026 Day 15 prompt "Hooray" I will use the Mnemonics that birders often use to translate the musical pattern of the Song Sparrow. It sounds like the phrase "Hip, hip, hooray, boys, spring is here".

Here's #Inktober2026 day 14 prompt of "Lady". A ladybug.

A Portuguese Man o' War, also nicknamed the "floating terror", is my selection for the #Inktober2026 day 13 prompt of "flimsy". They are a soft-bodied or delicate (flimsy) animal that lacks rigid bones and made up mostly of water.

A Banded Archerfish for the October 12th #Inktober2026 prompt "Toss". This one is just "tossing" a jet of water at its prey to knock it off the leaf so it can snack on it when it spashes down in the water .

For #Inktober2026 day 11 prompt of ""Rescue" I chose the St. Bernard dog, rescuer of the stranded among the alpine regions. It was really interesting to read about the development of this breed.

The Kraken is a mystical, mythical, legendary, and titanic sea monster from Scandinavian folklore, said to dwell in the cold waters off the coasts of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. It was probably based on the giant squid. For the #Inktober2026 prompt for Day 10 of "Mystical".

A Bighorn Sheep ram for the #Inktober2026 prompt of “Ram” for October 9th.

A skunk for the Day 8 prompt "Stinky" for #Inktober2026. In Indigenous North American oral traditions and folklore, the skunk symbolizes personal boundaries, non-aggressive power, self-respect, and spiritual balance. Thus, I included the yin yang symbolism.