The cheetah may be the fastest land mammal on earth, but when it comes to long range speed, it can’t touch the pronghorn (up to 55 miles per hour for five miles). The pronghorn ranges across a large area of western North America, along the front range of the Rockies. This one, photographed in Badlands National Park in South Dakota, wasn’t exactly showing off its stellar speed, but it cooperated by posing in front of the colorful early morning sky. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second, graduated neutral density filter
Apparently, the art of subtlety is lost on the proboscis monkey. I didn’t stick around long enough to see if this rather forward approach with the ladies of the species resulted in any success. Either way, this one goes out to my friend Garth, who yesterday requested said monkey, no doubt identifying with its equally impressive facial proboscis. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/60th of a second
This holiday time of year always deserves a chipmunk-in-a-spruce-tree post or two. I took this one back in 2009 in Olympic National Park in Washington. These two chippers were keeping a watchful eye on a nearby black tailed deer. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second
It’s been a while since I posted one of my favorite animals, the ring-tailed lemur. These guys are sun worshipers and often look as if they’re meditating as they sit back and soak up the heat. The latin name for the ring-tail is lemur catta, because they meow like cats. The best place to see them is at Berenty Reserve in southern Madagascar. Nikon D40x with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 55mm) ISO 100, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second
The lilac breasted roller has few rivals as the most colorful bird in Africa. It also happens to be a fairly common bird. I was able to get a few shots of this one perched on a branch before if flew off. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 400, f/7.1 at 1/1600th of a second
Late in the afternoon toward the end of our Botswana trip, we came across a large troop of baboons. Most of them scattered upon the approach of our vehicle, but several stood their ground, including this mother and her baby. There were lots of other babies as well, all curiously peeking around their mothers to get a better look at us. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second
Chestnut-mandibled toucans are fairly common throughout Costa Rica. I saw this one at a place called La Selva, about an hour and a half drive from San Jose. This species primarily eats fruits from trees, but will occasionally eat insects, lizards and frogs. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 400, 600mm, f/5.6 at 1/90th of a second
Here’s another look at a Sally Lightfoot crab — this one on Santiago Island. These bright orange and blue crabs create quite the contrast against the black volcanic rock of the Galapagos Islands. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/800th of a second
Hope everyone had a great holiday. Here’s a cheetah cub to get the week started right. There were actually two little cubs tucked behind their mom on the northern plains of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second
It could have been our national bird, but instead became our national feast. That’s right, Benjamin Franklin petitioned for the turkey to be the national bird instead of the bald eagle. I photographed this one a couple of weekends ago when I was in Zion National Park in Utah and thought it would be appropriate today as the last post before the long holiday weekend. This guy was doing his strut, feathers out, trying to impress the five or so females that were in the area. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. I’ll be back on Monday with the next post. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/125th of a second
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