We saw three different species of mongoose on our Botswana trip. This is the smallest — aptly named the dwarf mongoose. In fact, the dwarf mongoose is the smallest carnivore in Africa. It preys on everything from insects, to scorpions, lizards, frogs, birds and rodents.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/500th of a second
I know, a lot of leopards lately, but if I’m going to over post a species, why not the most attractive of all the African cats. This leopard was waiting for the sun to set before heading out on a nighttime hunt. I love when the horizon is hazy at sunset and the big orange sun is fairly weak, allowing me to capture detail in the foreground.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 190mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/640th of a second
Kudu are just one of many species of African antelope we saw in Botswana. What sets them apart is their spectacular horns — at least in the male of the species — that spiral into the air, making two and half twists. The horns are often used as musical instruments in African culture. They are also used as musical instruments, or “shofars” in Jewish ceremonies, and at soccer tournaments. This guy was keeping a watchful eye out for a pack of wild dogs that were running around in the area.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/160th of a second
I’m still waiting to hear about my eleven finalists in this year’s Nature’s Best/Smithsonian photo competition, but below are a few recent winners in other contests. Most you’ve probably seen before, but perhaps a few you haven’t.
The above image of bat eared fox pups that appear to share one furry body continues to do well for me. It will appear in the 2013 Africa Geographic Calendar and it also just placed in the National Wildlife Federation photo contest. Still not sure of where it placed — I’ll know come November.
The above two images placed in the top 100 in this year’s North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) Showcase Competition.
And the above three placed in the top 250 in the NANPA Competition.
Wildebeest don’t get much respect. Not from the predators that consider them their main food source, or from the locals who claim that they are made up of all the spare parts that the other animals didn’t want. As the saying goes, they have the tail of a horse, the quarters of a hyena, the stripes of a zebra, the mane of a lion, the horn of a buffalo, the brain of a bird, and the face of a grasshopper. All of which kind of makes me like them even more. This one was photographed at the tail end of twilight one night in the Linyanti swamp area of northern Botswana. The sexy beast was just still enough, watching a herd of elephants, to allow me to capture several exposures and combine them in post.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/13th, 1/25th, 1/50th, 1/100th and 1/200th of a second shutter speeds
This leopard had a busy morning stalking and taking down a male impala. We missed the kill, but we caught back up to her later in the day and caught her quenching her thirst.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second
I came across this little Africa barred owlet early one morning on safari. There were actually two of them in the tree and they were probably just heading out to hunt (unlike many owls they are active during the day). They live throughout sub-Sahara Africa and are only about 7 to 8 inches tall.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second
I’m usually not a big silhouette fan. If I can record at least a little detail in the shadow areas I’ll do that — but in this case, I liked the way that the eyelashes and fur were rim lit by the rising sun. Plus, this was Karen’s favorite wildlife shot from the Botswana portion of our honeymoon, so it’s about time I posted it.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/4000th of a second
A friend of mine recently asked if I ever look at giraffes or elephants while on safari and think about how amazing it is that such large beasts roam around in the wild. My answer, of course, was yes — but even more amazing to me is that this little cat that looks like it should be crawling out of a little box in my apartment, roams around in the wild amongst lions and leopards. It’s an African wildcat and it is, in fact, an ancestor of the domestic house cat. It’s believed that African wildcats were first domesticated some 9,000 years ago. They are mainly active during the night, which is when we came across this one, well after the sun had set.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash, balanced with a spotlight
This is one of my favorite images from Botswana. It was pre-sunrise and there was very little light, so even at ISO 3200 I was getting extremely slow shutter speeds. It all added up to the perfect opportunity for some panning, motion blurred shots. It was so dark, in fact, that the guide was shining a spotlight on the hyena to help me focus, and in the process, adding that extra touch of light that you see on the fur. For their part, the hyenas were quite cooperative as they raced back and forth through the shallow water. Our guide mentioned that this was very odd behavior for hyenas. They seemed downright giddy as they chased each other through the water, playing like a bunch of retriever pups at a dog run.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/20th of a second