Here’s another shot of the giant anteater we found walking beneath the rising sun. This species is solitary, and the only times you see two together is when a mother has a pup, when mating, or when males challenge each other over territory. They can grow to 7 and a half feet in length and weigh up to 110 pounds — quite a sight lumbering across the savanna. They also live in rainforests and are adaptable to multiple habitats. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 140, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second.
Yesterday a polar bear, today a coastal brown bear. This one was taken a few years back at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. The bears were heading to the shoreline at low tide in hopes of catching a few silver salmon spawning from a nearby river. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second.
When polar bears are waiting for the ice to freeze over so they can go out and hunt, they get bored. And when they get bored, they fight, play, dance, whatever it takes to pass the time until it’s time to eat. Photographed at Seal River in upper Manitoba, Canada. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second.
One of our neighborhood bobcats was back again last night. Unfortunately, rain droplets were collecting on the glass window of my camera trap housing, but at least the eyes were in the clear. Back in mid February this same bobcat showed up in the trap, but the trigger was a split second too late and his/her face was right on the edge of the frame. It’s always something with camera trapping and certainly a lot of luck is involved. 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 flash units).
Here’s another look at the Guianan cock-of-the-rock. I was there during breeding season in late January/early February and the males were all showing their finest plumage. Unfortunately, it started raining pretty hard before the female had the opportunity to choose her mate (of the four or so vying for her attention). As you can see, this guy had a particularly nice pair of bloomers on. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 5000, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second.
Dik diks are always a favorite on our safaris — one of the smallest antelope species in Africa. Hard to believe they’re not the smallest (that accolade goes to the royal antelope which lives in Western Africa) because they literally look like jackrabbits running across the savanna. Like usual, hard to get a sense of scale from this image, but dik diks only reach 12 to 16 inches in height. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
The tropical kingbird is another of the species I photographed recently in Guyana. These are very common birds, ranging from the southern United States on down through most of South America. But what I like in this shot is the choice of perch. Lotus pods are what remains after the flowers have bloomed and the petals have fallen off. Each of those holes contains a seed. From what I understand, the seeds can remain viable for hundreds of years — in fact, seeds have been known to germinate 1300 years after formation. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.
Hoary marmots can often be seen wrestling each other up on Mount Rainier in Washington. It’s more of a social interaction than anything else among younger marmots. I took this one quite a few years ago on a trip to several of National Parks in the Pacific Northwest. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
Unlike most other penguin species that live in colonies, Magellanic penguins live in burrows. In the foreground of this photo a Magellanic emerges from its burrow while in the background, king penguins go about their penguin-y business in their colony. I saw a lot of hillsides in the Falkland Islands that were the sole domain of the Magellanics, but also came across a few situations like this with the species coexisting. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 180mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second.
We always see spotted hyenas on our Kenya trips, sometimes more sightings than others. On our trip last June they were around at dawn and dusk, lurking about looking for something to scavenge. Hyenas will also make their own kills from time to time, but they definitely weren’t built for speed. The force of their bite, however, makes up for any lack of agility. The Lion King didn’t do much for their popularity, but I’m a fan. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 12800, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second.
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