The end of the day comes early on the Arctic tundra, and after a long day of play fighting, this bear lets out a big yawn before taking a nap. It was about 4 PM when I took this picture, but already the sun had dipped below the horizon. Of course, this location in northern Manitoba, Canada is at the southern end of the polar bear’s range. Further north, the days are even shorter.
To regulate their body temperature, elephant seals will toss sand onto their backs. I liked the way this mother was going with a behind the back technique, tossing with her right flipper and keeping a watch on things with her left eye. As with most of my elephant seal shots, this one was taken just north of San Simeon, California.
It’s pretty much impossible to go the Pantanal of Brazil and not see yacaré caiman. They’re everywhere. This one was just a little guy, but they can eventually grow to be about 10 feet in length (still quite small for a crocodilian species). Due to their smaller size, they are a favorite prey of jaguars and anaconda — as opposed to the 14 foot long black caiman.
I’ve sent a few photos of these Asian elephants before. Here they are play fighting in a river at Tangkahan National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia.
It was first thing in the morning on Sunday when I was out searching for ocelots, hoping I might catch one as it headed home after a night of hunting in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. At the end of this long path, I spotted something moving and immediately got on the ground not wanting to scare away whatever it was. As it drew a little closer (in the above shot) I could finally make out the tell tale ears of a coyote. It came a little closer still before turning left into the woods. I stayed put and about ten minutes later it eventually reappeared much closer.
Just back from a three day weekend down in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. I was hoping to find ocelots and jaguarundis (two of the most elusive cats in the United States — and the world for that matter). I didn’t really expect to see them, but there’s always hope. As with the Florida panther last weekend, I didn’t get any shots. But I did see the jaguarundi. Twice, in fact. Once running across the road in front of my car and the other time while hiking in the woods. I very nearly had a great shot while in the woods but as soon as I saw it, it saw me and was gone. I guess there’s a reason, the jaguarundi is very rarely seen and almost never photographed in the wild. What I did see were birds. Lots of them. Including this green jay. Extreme southern Texas is the only place in the country to see the green jay — although it is quite common throughout its range, which extends south along the Gulf of Mexico and into South America. With its blue head, green back and yellow chest, it’s certainly a beautiful bird. Not quite an ocelot or jaguarundi, but as far as birds go, it’s hard to beat.
Certainly, the crested cranes of eastern Africa are among the finest looking of all the cranes. This one was photographed on an island in the middle of Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda. They are also sometimes called crowned cranes, or crested crowned cranes.
This river otter allowed me to get incredibly close. I was laying on the edge of the pond, about 10 to 15 feet away as it dove several times and crawled back out onto the ice to eat its lunch. The place was Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in southern Indiana.
This is a black and white ruffed lemur, one of the 23 different species that I was lucky enough to photograph while in Madagascar. The ringtail is certainly the most well known lemur, but this guy is probably second. At about four feet from head to tail it is also one of the largest of the lemurs — and from my observation, one of the most personable and mischievous.
Here’s another look at the bobcat I recently photographed in Irvine, California. It was stalking a few ducks in this photo and I thought I might get an action shot but the ducks eventually flew away. That short, stumpy tail is what gives the bobcat its name. In the sound file below you can hear what one sounds like growling: