A black-backed jackal shakes off the rain before heading out to scavenge up a meal. Although they do hunt smaller mammals, they prefer to find (and often steal) leftovers from the apex predators of the African savanna. Photographed in the Laikipia region of Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
The black bear and her two cubs that were the most frequent visitors to our back yard last year have returned. I didn’t see them, but my camera trap did, and captured one good shot (despite the slight clipping of the right ear). The surveillance video shows that one of the cubs is now considerably larger than the other. This is the smaller of the two, perhaps a female. She’s also much more cinnamon in color than her mother and brother. And she still has some blue in the eyes, which will eventually turn brown as she ages. Last year they usually came by at night, but this shot was taken just before noon yesterday. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
Khlong Saeng in Thailand is a flooded mountain range paradise. Exploration is almost exclusively by boat and even all the lodges are floating on water. Steep, jungle-covered cliffs rise from the water’s surface and support all sorts of wildlife. One of the more conspicuous mammals is the white-handed gibbon. Gibbons are extremely acrobatic apes and it was a thrill to see them swinging from branch to branch. I was able to get quite a few frame-filling shots, but I always prefer when I can show a bit of the environment. Like their fellow apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and humans) gibbons lack a tail, they tend to be larger than monkeys and usually have bigger brains. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.
When no one else is around, the deer mice usually make an appearance. I adjusted my camera trap’s trip beam to cross about an inch above this fallen tree so that not even the mice can get under it. With the camera on the ground it’s a bit more difficult to be so precise. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
The chamois is a a goat-antelope native to the mountains of Europe. I photographed this one in Gran Paradiso National Park in the Alps of northwest Italy. I believe this to be a male. The more pronounced curve to the horns and especially those cinnamon colored patches to the inner side of the eyes are characteristics absent in female chamois. And yes, the chamois cloth gets its name from the chamois’ soft leather hide. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
The rare Connecticut levitating blue jay stopped by for a visit yesterday. Good thing my camera trap was there to record the action (or lack thereof). Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
The southern elephant seal ranges throughout the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic regions. They are the largest species of pinniped, which includes seals, sea lions, and walruses. This one is a juvenile and much smaller than the average adult. Of course, in this shot, it just looks like a head sitting in the grass. Photographed on Carcass Island in the Falkland Islands. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 28mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/1600th of a second.
I usually try to avoid anything man-made in my images, but in this case, the National Park sign added a nice element to go along with this seemingly-pregnant pronghorn. No location information needed. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/800th of a second.
It’s that rabbit time of year again. This is a swamp hare, or swamp rabbit, a subspecies of the eastern cottontail. As the name suggests, they prefer damp, swampy habitat. In this case, Saint Andrews State Park in Panama Beach City, Florida. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
Capybaras are the world’s largest rodent. I have a particular fondness for them and think they’re quite personable. Unfortunately for them, they serve as a main food source for larger (and sometimes smaller) predators like jaguar and caiman. I’ve seen them in several location in South America in both Brazil and Bolivia. This mother was nursing her pups along the Yacuma River in the Pampas region of Bolivia. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 1250, f/5 at 1/100th of a second.
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