After a morning of carrying tourists through the jungle, this Asia elephant was enjoying a refreshing bath in the river water at Tangkahan in Sumatra, Indonesia. These elephants are apparently very well cared for and form deep bonds with their handlers. At least that’s what I was told, and I didn’t see any evidence to suggest otherwise.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 125mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second
I had a request for a moose today, so here she is. This one was taken back in July of 2008 at Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park in Maine. The moose was feeding on the nutrient rich vegetation on the bottom of the pond.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
After the last two posts, I thought it was time to celebrate the good that is happening in the world of wildlife conservation. In the middle part of the last century, river otters were extinct in Indiana due to overhunting. In 1995, a dozen or so otters were reintroduced to the state at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge. Ten years later the river otter was removed from the state’s endangered species list and today otters are thriving in over 87 percent of Indiana’s counties, far surpassing the original goal. This guy was photographed several winters ago at Muscatatuck, sitting on the surface of a frozen lake after catching a fish.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens with Nikon TC-1.4 teleconverter (total of 550mm) ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/320th of a second
Thanks for all the comments yesterday. It’s quite evident that people like the Minnesota dentist are an exception rather than the rule. I don’t want to belabor the point, but one of the things that disturbed me most about the story was a photo of the hunter with a rhino kill. Rhinos are critically endangered. They are in much more dire straits than lions and on the brink of extinction. Especially black rhinos. Karen and I had the pleasure of meeting quite a few white and black rhinos at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya a few years ago. This is a mother black rhinoceros with her calf. Here’s to places like Lewa that are doing their best to prolong the survival of these amazing animals.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/13th of a second
To anyone who was following the news yesterday, or tuned in to any social media platform, it’s pretty obvious why I’m posting this shot today. This is the most majestic male lion that I have ever seen. His name was Notch and he ruled the Masai Mara. This one goes out to his counterpart down in Zimbabwe. Lion numbers, as well as all big cats, continue to decline in the wild. The fact that trophy hunting is still allowed in many African countries boggles the mind. But what’s even more unfathomable to me is the fact that certain humans actually derive pleasure out of killing these beautiful creatures — for sport, no less. I post everyday to bring the awesomeness of the wild world to the subscribers of this blog, not to make any sort of political statement. But after yesterday’s firestorm over Cecil the lion, I thought it appropriate to speak out today. It’s time to ban trophy hunting of all endangered species in all countries.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second
One of my favorite days in the Falkland Islands was when I spent an afternoon with a colony of imperial shags atop a steep cliff at the far end of Sea Lion Island. It was fun (and easy) to photograph them as they came and went, building their nests with kelp brought from the ocean below. This shag was landing empty handed but I liked the wing position as it touched down on its nest. I’m going to start uploading larger images. They’ll still be the same size on the page, but if you click, you will get a much larger file.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/1250th of a second
This is an old one from back in 2002 when I was living in my car (by choice) and drove up to Alaska. The great thing about Alaska in July is that nocturnal animals still come out even though the sun never sets. I went for a hike at midnight in Denali National Park and came across this North American porcupine doing his porcupiney thing. You can see those nice big, orange front teeth as the porcupine munches on the vegetation. I was shooting slide film back then and not recording film speed, shutter or aperture data. My camera was a Nikon F100 and the lens was most likely my 80-200mm in the 200mm range.
Trogons are among my favorite birds. There are many different species which live in tropical regions across the globe. The males are generally much more colorful but the females have that sturdy and exotic trogon-look that is characteristic of all species. The top photo is a female collared trogon from the cloud forest of Ecuador. The middle shot is a male black-throated trogon from Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. And the third is a green-backed trogon from my most recent trip to Trinidad.
Collared Trogon — Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/100th of a second
Black Throated Trogon — Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/60th of a second
Green Backed Trogon — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 640, f/4 at 1/100th of a second
This lion mother and cub were part of a pride that I photographed in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. They had just come from an oryx kill and were filling up at a water hole near our camp. I like that you can clearly see the black stripes on the mother’s ears in this photo.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second
The tsessebe is a large antelope found in certain African countries, including Botswana where I photographed this one. It was early morning and a group of tsessebe were mixed in amongst zebra, foraging (and perhaps hiding) in the very long grass of the Okavango Delta.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second