During the colonial era, what is now known as the Ol Pajeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, was used as an enormous cattle ranching area. As ranching became less and less profitable over the years, elephants took over, subsequently flattening any fences in their way. Since then, the land was purchased by conservation groups and is now a thriving haven for some of Africa’s most endangered species like black rhino. Nice when it’s the animals that do the reclaiming, rather than the other way around. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 400, f/7.1 at 1/800th of a second.
I’ve photographed the occasional wood duck here and there over the years, but when I visited the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Vancouver a few years back, they were all over the place. This handsome and cooperative drake even waddled toward camera while I was down on the ground, before heading off into a nearby pond. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
These formidable iguanas were everywhere around the beachfront hotel we were staying at in Belize. They can be very fast. In fact they are known as the world’s fastest lizards. This guy was challenging me to a bit of a stare down.Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/250th of a second.
This one goes out to my frog-loving sister Mo on her birthday today. An American bullfrog photographed years ago in Baxter State Park in Maine. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.
A family of southern sea lions head toward the water on Carcass Island in the Falkland Islands. These guys are also called the South American sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion. On the west coast of South America, they range from Peru in the north to the southern tip of Chile and the Falkland Islands and then on the east coast on up into southern Brazil. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1000th of a second.
The northern tamandua is a medium-sized anteater that ranges from southern Mexico down through northern South America. They exist almost entirely on ants and termites. I saw this one in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Always fun to see these guys as they are solitary animals and generally nocturnal, but also sometimes active during the day. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
The Betsileo is just one of the great tree frogs that I was able to photograph while in Madagascar. I usually like to get down a little lower, but I liked this image showing the detail on the frog’s back and all those interesting flecks. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter) ISO 200, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units.
Bettongs are often called rat kangaroos in their native Australia. There are four different species, this being the Eastern Bettong, found in Tasmania. They are small marsupials and all are threatened due to predation by introduced predators like cats and foxes, as well as the general management of land since the British settlement of Australia. Difficult to spot in the wild due to their scarcity and nocturnal habits, I was able to photograph this one at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, a rehabilitation center in southern Tasmania. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/800th of a second.
For the next few weeks, these posts may become a bit sporadic as Karen, our three pets and I are living out of hotels due to a bat infestation at the house we were renting. I’m posting images I can find on the hard drive of my laptop or iPad that I haven’t posted before. This is a gentoo penguin I thought looked like an umpire calling a runner safe. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/500th of a second.
Tanagers come in every color imaginable across an estimated 240 species. They exist mainly in the tropics of the western hemisphere. I photographed this moss-backed tanager high in the cloud forest of Ecuador. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.
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