Baird's Tapir, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Just back from seven days in Costa Rica. All in all, a solid week of shooting. As always, there were some disappointments — I went back to the place where I photographed a puma six years ago, hoping for another look. No luck there — or with a few other mammals that I had hoped to see. The main reason I went back to Corcovado National Park, however, was for the tapirs. The Sirena Ranger Station has a reputation for being one of the best places in Costa Rica to see this rare and endangered animal. There are five different species of tapir that live in jungle and forested regions of either Central America, South America or Southeast Asia. The Baird’s tapir is the species that lives in Costa Rica. They look a bit like a small elephant, but their closest relatives are actually the horse and the rhinoceros. They are the biggest mammals in Latin America, and I was lucky to photograph this one from just a few feet away with a wide angle lens. Much more on these guys in future posts.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 30mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second