Karen and I head to Belize in the morning so this will be the last post for a week. It’s more of a beach holiday but I’ll try to sneak off now and again in search of wildlife, both on land and at sea. I’ll leave you with this lovely stump-tailed macaque at the beauty parlor. like most primates, grooming is a daily part of social interaction. These two were doing their thing down on the Malay Peninsula, south of Bangkok in Thailand. Note the large food pouches beneath the macaque’s face — a handy place to store the next meal.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/250th of a second

Sometimes you just need a funny-faced monkey to start the day. That’s it. Photographed down on the Malay Peninsula in Thailand
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second

A male orange-breasted trogon enjoys a meal of caterpillar in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second

I had a lot of fun with this troop of stump-tailed macaques while I was in Thailand. There must have been forty of them, if not more, surrounding me as they stopped to rest, play, eat and do all the other things that monkeys do. This guy was just taking it easy and hiding out behind the thick jungle foliage.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 290mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second

My favorite part of this photo is not the main subject — a dusky langur — but the second langur which I didn’t notice until I was reviewing these photos. You can see him/her up there to the left, hiding in the tree. Dusky langurs were one of the two langur species that I photographed in Thailand.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/80th of a second

Here’s another of the Malayan porcupines that I was able to photograph at night while camping in Kaeng Krachan National Park on the Malay Peninsula in Thailand.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/100th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units

Here’s a rare non-wildlife photo. Actually four photos. All from Khlong Saeng in Thailand. This is an incredibly beautiful location and these photos can only hint at what this place is actually like. Back in 1987, the construction of a dam flooded this area that had, for the most part, been previously unnavigable. You can still see many old tree trunks rising from the water. And all around ancient coral reefs rise sharply from the water and are now limestone crags, or karst, covered in thick jungle. It is the domain of a wide variety of animals, including clouded leopards, marbled cats, slow lorises and many other rare species of southeast Asia. I didn’t see any of those three creatures, but did see plenty of gibbons, langurs and hornbills while exploring by boat. And boat is really the only way to go in Khlong Saeng. All exploration is possible due to the water. Even the hotels are made possible by the vast lake and its many arms and tributaries and are actually floating lodges, a few of which you can see in the first and third images. The second image shows one of the boats that ferries tourists around, as well as the swallowed-up trees that rise from shallower depths. In the last photo, my guide, boat captain and I entered a watery alcove where a troop of langurs were putting on a bit of a show.
First Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 135mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second
Second Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
Third Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second
Fourth Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second

This young long-tailed macaque kept a close eye on his older troop mates up in a tree while enjoying a few figs down below. Also known as crab-eating macaques, these guys are fairly common throughout southeast Asia. This one was photographed on the Malay Peninsula in Thailand.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second

Back in November when I got back from my trip to Thailand, I posted a photo of this white-handed gibbon hanging from one of the tallest trees in the forest and calling to his mate. In this one, I was able to capture his quick look at the camera while he did his thing. We were in Kaeng Krachan National Park down on the Malay Peninsula south of Bangkok.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second

This dusky langur caught me off guard. I was walking around the campground that I was staying at in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand when he/she suddenly appeared on a branch just above me. I had to quickly zoom all the way to the short end of my 200-400mm lens but was able to get off a few shots just as the sun hit the langur’s face.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second