The maned wolf is graceful and yet a bit awkward at the same time. Often referred to as a fox on stilt, they are native to the central portion of South America — mainly in Brazil, where I photographed this one. They are mostly nocturnal and I used a dual flash setup and a ground level perspective to capture this image at night.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 200, f/8 at 1/60th of a second

Karen and I will be away for a few days, so this will be the last post until after the holiday weekend. Until then, here’s a brown capuchin monkey worrying about the future of Brazil’s palm nut industry.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second

As a wildlife photographer I can’t help but assign animals to my various friends and family members. Certain people just seem like certain animals. My friend Justin, for example, is a koala. Something about him screams marsupial. Another friend, Jon, is a puffin. He just is. My sister Kerry, well, she’s clearly a burrowing owl. She always has been and always will be. Tomorrow Kerry gets married. The lucky guy is Charlie, so by association, I guess he gets to be an owl too. This one goes out to them. Congratulations and see you tomorrow. (Incidentally, tomorrow also happens to be one year since I married Karen, a lovely combination of a white tailed fawn and a cow — you know, a cute cow. Like Elsie. Happy Anniversary Baby.)
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 550mm with 1.4 teleconverter) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second

While in the Pantanal region of Brazil one night, a couple of crab-eating foxes came poking around our lodge, looking for scraps. I got down on the ground with my camera and flash and fired off a couple of quick shots of this guy who clearly thought that I had something more than a camera in my hand.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 102mm) ISO 200, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash

Friday it was the elk at twilight, today the maned wolf. For this photo I had the benefit of a few flash units to help with the lighting. Some of you might remember the maned wolf from previous posts. They are sometimes referred to as a fox on stilts. They are, in fact, the largest wild canid, standing over four feet tall. It is thought that their long legs are an adaptation to the tall grasslands in which they live. They range across central south America, mostly in Brazil, where I saw this one.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/50th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units positioned off camera

This giant river otter is obviously up to something that he doesn’t want you to know about. What sort of illicit activity was going on over there by the bank of the river, I have no idea. What I do know is that this was in the Pantanal of Brazil, and that giant river otters are big. Very big. They can be six feet in length and weigh up to 70 pounds. And from the look of this guy, they really would prefer that you don’t know anything more about them.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second

Jacanas are odd birds to begin with. For one, they have enormous feet which enable them to walk on floating vegetation, like lily pads, without sinking. The females of the species are polyandrous — meaning they will take two or more (usually 4) mates at the same time. The males will incubate the eggs, while the females defend their various nests. But perhaps the most curious thing about certain jacanas, including this wattled jacana from Brazil, are the wing spurs. It remains uncertain as to what exactly the purpose of the spurs is.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/800th of a second

There are twenty two different species of marmosets that live in South America. This black-tailed marmoset was photographed in the Pantanal region of Brazil. An interesting fact about these somewhat primitive primates — they have claws, rather than nails.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/7.1 at 1/160th of a second

When I went to Brazil two years ago, one of the main species that I wanted to photograph — and expected to photograph — were hyacinth macaws. As it turned out, I only saw about four of them, and not until they were flying away. These are two of the four. Beautiful birds — brought to life in the Disney movie “Rio.”
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens and Nikon TC-E14 II teleconverter (for a total of 550mm/825mm with crop factor) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second