This was one of three puma cubs we observed from a small cliff. The mother led the siblings out of the thick brush before strolling along a lake and disappearing into the distance. Photographed in Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
The chestnut-colored woodpecker ranges from Mexico down into Panama. I’ve seen and photographed them a few times in Costa Rica. This one was right outside my lodge in La Selva, not far from the capital of San Jose. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/125th of a second.
An encounter with a red fox is always a good thing. This guy looks like he knows something that I don’t. Photographed while on a coastal brown bear trip in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
This barred owl had just devoured an eastern lubber grasshopper and was looking back toward the branch he/she had just descended from and would eventually fly back to. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/800th of a second.
A few winters back I captured this bighorn ram working his way down to a patch of exposed grass on an otherwise snow-covered mountain. Photographed in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 210mm) ISO 400, f/11 at 1/500th of a second.
Here’s another of the white squirrels I met out in Olney, Illinois. The town has a healthy population of this white variant of the eastern gray squirrel. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
Two coastal brown bears look back in unison as they patrol the shoreline of Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. In late summer through fall, the bears come to the beach in search of salmon. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 640, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second.
A Galápagos sea lion floats through the clear waters of Rabida Island in the Galápagos. I like that you can see the tail on this one. Each afternoon of our Galápagos trip we had the opportunity to snorkel with sea lions. They rarely disappointed. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) in Ikelite underwater housing, ISO 800, f/9 at1/320th of a second.
The Baird’s tapir is the largest land mammal in Central and South America. This impressive male was foraging in the leaf litter as I sat quietly on the ground waiting for his head to rise up for a portrait. There are three species of tapirs native to the Americas. The Baird’s occupies the northern range from Mexico down through the northwestern tip of South America. I photographed this one in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 78mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/50th of a second.
Motmots are always a good find when birding in Central and South America. In Panama, there are four different species. The tody motmot is the smallest of the four and the only one without the distinctive long tail. This tody motmot was enjoying a breakfast of frog up in the mountains of central Panama. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/80th of a second.