I’ve posted a few photos of this guy before — a rare dark morph of the southern tamandua. Also known as the lesser anteater. It was nice to have come upon him while he was actively moving from tree to tree looking for termites and ants. In this image, he stopped for a few quick scratches with those giant claws (check out the one oversized claw on that left hand). Photographed in the northern Amazon basin of Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second, Godox V860iii fill flash.

Sharp-nosed toads are tiny little amphibians. They live in the leaf litter scattered across the Amazon. I tried to get down into their world for this environmental portrait. Photographed last year in the northern Amazon basin of Peru. Nikon D850 with Laowa Venus 15mm wide-angle macro lens, ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second, Godox V860iii flash with Westcott soft box.

This southern tamandua was getting a good scratch in with the back leg, while continuing to lap up termites and ants. Photographed earlier this year in the northern Amazon basin of Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/320th of a second, Godox 860iii fill flash.

The monk saki is definitely one of the more unusual looking primates I’ve had the privilege of photographing. They’re actually relatively small to medium sized monkeys but all that hair makes them seem much larger. This guy was moving through the flooded Amazon of Peru in the high-water season while we quietly floated below in a canoe. But even when there is land to walk on, these monkeys spend all their time in trees, never descending to the ground. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.

I only saw two of these Uakari poison frogs while in Peru earlier in the year. I had hoped to capture some wide angle macro shots, but the conditions weren’t right and the two frogs were a bit more camera shy than most tree frogs and poison dart frogs that I’ve photographed in the past. I resorted to my 105mm macro and flash to capture this one. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second, Godox V860iii flash with Westcott soft box.

I mentioned this woolly monkey before. His mother and father both spent time in captivity. That said, he was born in the wild, was never in captivity and never fed by humans. But he has a natural trust of people and would often come around the lodge and perform for us. Here, I caught him taking a break from all the play. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second, Godox fill flash.

Time to start mixing the rest of the world back in among all the Africa photos. I photographed this sloth earlier in the year down in Peru. She had just finished eating fruits of the cecropia tree (their favorite) and was looking mighty satisfied. It’s a tight composition, but you can see that her head is almost completely turned around as she took a not-so-quick look at the camera before turning her attention back to the business at hand. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.

We saw quite a few of these proboscis bats while canoeing in Peru. More often than not, we didn’t see them until they flew to safety and landed on another tree. For this shot, however, I saw them coming, as we slowly and quietly drifted past. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second, Godox V860iii fill flash.

When I first got back from Peru, I shared an image of this southern tamandua — a rare find to see one with dark fur. In this image, you can see him going in for his favorite meal, a line of termites extending down the trunk of the tree. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/400th of a second, Godox v860iii fill flash.

We spotted this little bird deep in the jungle while we were canoeing through thick foliage. As the name might suggest, antshrikes feed on ants, sometimes following columns of army ants. They supplement their diet with lizards and berries. There are more than 230 species in the antbird family. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/30th of a second.