Merry Christmas everyone. I’ll be back in the new year with more wildlife photos from around the world. In the meantime, here’s a white squirrel, photographed in Olney, Illinois a few years back.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
On my Alaska trip I had hoped to photograph a few Dall rams by hiking high up into their mountainous range. No luck. I did, however, get to see a few ewes with lambs grazing at lower altitudes along the Seward Highway just south of Anchorage. These guys are Alaska’s version of the bighorn sheep that we have in the lower 48. The look almost identical, except that dall sheep are a bit smaller and have pure white coats.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
I had a good time with this band of coatis, deep inside Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. There were about 20 to 30 total individuals. After a while, they forgot I was even there and at one point, I was surrounded on all sides as they went about their business of foraging, grooming, playing and resting. I was able to use my wide angle lens to capture a series of environmental images, including this one when one of the coatis took a moment to look my way while eating fruits from the forest floor.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 30mm) ISO 1600, f/4.5 at 1/320th of a second
As the weather gets colder, it seemed appropriate to pull an image from my polar bear folder. I saw lots of activity like this while in northern Manitoba, Canada — the bears play fighting while waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze over so that they could get out there and hunt for seals.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second
There’s a reason they call them burrowing owls. Unlike most other owls that exist mostly in trees, these guys live down in the ground. This little guy was hiding amidst the grasses, flowers and weeds of a suburban side yard in Cape Coral, Florida. I’ve posted about these owls before. Cape Coral has a quite a population of burrowing owls and it is almost a matter of civic pride if one decides to burrow in your yard. Being a threatened species in Florida, locals are asked to do all they can to accommodate them.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second
I only saw one tiger in Kanha National Park in India and it was rather difficult getting a clear view through the thick vegetation. I was able to get pretty close, however, (with the help of an elephant) and grabbed a few close ups of the face when the tiger turned toward camera.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second
This guy was one of the juvenile brown bears that stayed close to our lodge, seeking security from the bigger boys out there. He also had a nice blondish coat, which picked up the backlighting of the afternoon sun. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/6400th of a second
The hour I spent photographing mountain gorillas in the jungles of Uganda still ranks as one of my favorite wildlife experiences. I’d love to get back some day and try again. Due to their status as critically endangered, tracking permits only allow you to stay with the gorillas for an hour once they’ve been tracked down. The tracking down part, however, can take up to eight hours as they are always on the move. We got lucky and found them in less than an hour. It was a big troop too, of about 23 individuals. There were three babies, including this young one resting on his mother’s chest as she took a carefree glance over at me.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second
The slender mongoose is a crafty little carnivore widespread throughout sub-Sahara Africa. The species also happens to be a dead ringer for my good friend Tony who got engaged last night. So this one goes out to you Tony and Shardae — for the engagement — and for looking like a slender mongoose.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
My favorite part of this photo is not the main subject — a dusky langur — but the second langur which I didn’t notice until I was reviewing these photos. You can see him/her up there to the left, hiding in the tree. Dusky langurs were one of the two langur species that I photographed in Thailand.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/80th of a second