Behind the Shot – Alison Buttigieg Wildlife Photography

“I have a little Hat” Jacare Caiman – Pantanal, Brazil.

Alison — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 14:16:59 +0000

By far the most numerous animal I have seen in the Pantanal is the Caiman. They are everywhere! It is believed that in the Pantanal one can find the highest concentration of crocodilians anywhere else in the world. The population is estimated at being around 10 million individuals. This is quite remarkable considering that crocodiles had been over-hunted in this region for many years and now, after new laws have been put in place to protect them, their numbers have bounced back with a vengeance.

This is a baby Yacare Caiman – I think the babies of this species look especially cute. Even the adults have quite endearing faces. I was drawn to this particular baby due to its unusual head adornment – a leaf as a hat. One doesn’t see the babies too often as they are usually in hiding. Despite the fact that when they grow up they will be one of the Pantanal’s top predators they are quite vulnerable to other predators when they are young, thus they are much shyer than their adult counterparts.

Tech Specs: Canon 7D Mark II | Canon EF 200-400 IS with 1.4 Extender @200mm | f5.6 | 1/640s | ISO 1000

Hyacinth Macaw Takeoff – Pantanal, Brazil.

Alison — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 12:38:18 +0000

The endangered Hyacinth Macaw is the largest flying parrot in the world, measuring about 1 metre long. It is said that its conspicuous large beak is the strongest amongst all birds – quite useful to crack the tough nuts it likes to feed on.

The Hyacinth Macaw’s striking looks are one of the reasons why they are endangered – the pet trade has decimated their numbers in the wild. Even though they are protected nowadays the illegal trade still goes on as a single specimen can fetch several thousand dollars making it a very lucrative temptation for some people. Habitat loss is another threat to these birds, mostly due to the ever expanding cattle ranching and also by hydroelectric plant projects. Hyacinth Macaws need very specific breeding sites – usually cavities in Manduvi Trees, which are increasingly hard to come by. In the state of Mato Grosso de Sul – which includes the area of the Pantanal where I took this photo – they are building artificial nesting boxes to encourage them to breed. Sadly one of the methods used for capturing the chicks is to cut down trees in which they are nesting so that they can then catch them easily – this means that not only are the chicks lost from the wild population, but a nest site has been destroyed forever.

One other threat for these birds is the trade in products, such as tribal headdresses, made with macaw feathers. Up to 10 birds are killed to make just 1 headdress – the feathers are not simply “found” in the forest in these quantities. Such products are nowadays sold as souvenirs to tourists visiting tribal areas in the region. If you are in the area please refrain from buying such products.

I took this photo just as the bird was preparing to fly away. I opted for a high key exposure to show off the Hyacinth Macaw’s stunning cobalt blue colour against a very light background. A gentle pulse of flash illuminated the plumage a little and gave the subtle catchlight in the macaw’s eye.

Techs: Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS with 1.4 extender @ 480mm | f5.6 | 1/320s | ISO 400 | Canon Speedlite 600 EX-RT

Snarling King. Ok you got me, that’s not a snarl!

Alison — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 11:33:12 +0000

Many people see a photo like this and assume the lion is snarling, roaring or somehow angry or annoyed. The truth is that most of the time, like in this case, this expression is actually the grimace associated with what is known as the Flehmen Response. Some animals have a special organ in their mouth, called the Jacobson’s Organ allowing them to process smells. They curl back their lips, inhale through the mouth and pause for several moments while transferring the scents and pheromones to the Jacobson’s Organ. Their brain then interprets the smells. In this case Romeo 2, as this Olare Motorogi/Masai Mara resident is known, was analysing female lion urine. Other animals that also exhibit this behaviour are buffalos, giraffes, zebras, tapirs, goats, rhinos and giant pandas – amongst others. Even our domestic cats do this.

Smell is a very important communication method for animals – they can glean a lot of information by just smelling their surroundings: through scents they can determine whether an area is someone’s territory, whether someone has recently passed through, whether females are in oestrus, whether there is food nearby etc. Flehming is just one of the ways some animals use to interpret particular scents. Let’s just say their Facebook is actually a “SmellBook” and their selfies and “likes” are replaced by … oh let’s not really go there

Techs: Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 200-400 f4 with 1.4 Extender @400mm | f4 | 1/500s | ISO 4000

Oh Hi, Come Here Often?

Alison — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 14:35:57 +0000

This is a Giant River Otter – an apex predator of the rivers and lagoons in the Brazilian Pantanal. The giant part of its name is no understatement – this creature is longer than myself. They can grow up to an astounding 1.8m in length. I have had the pleasure to observe Giant River Otters before in Manu National Park in Peru, but this time I managed to get much closer and more intimate shots. It’s no easy feat photographing these super energetic guys, they are constantly on the move, lightning fast and swim underwater a lot so you never know where they are going to pop out from. And yeah then there is the little detail of photographing them from a moving boat, trying to keep up with them.

Giant River Otters are endemic to South America and sadly are an endangered species. Their range has been significally reduced, and the remaining populations are quite fragmented. They are very rare to see in the wild, but fortunately the Pantanal is one of their last remaining strongholds and they are easily sighted there if you know where to look for them. This is indeed special considering that there are only a few thousand in the wild throughout the continent. Tourism to the Pantanal has no doubt played a significant role in rehabilitating their numbers there.

The otters mostly completely ignored our boat while we were observing them, but every now and then one would look at us curiously for a second – keeping tabs on our activities. Unfortunately the split second moment combined with a moving and rocking boat threw off my composition a bit for this photo – but I still like it as it captures their curious nature.

Thanks to Brazil Nature Tours for an incredible Pantanal Trip!

Techs: Canon 7D Mark II | Canon EF 200-400 f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X @ 560mm | f5.6 | 1/1000s | ISO 1000

My Jaguar curse is finally broken …

Alison — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 13:23:31 +0000

The Jaguar was my “nemesis” until a few weeks back. I had tried to glimpse them a few times in different South and Central American locations and dismally failed – I had never even seen a pug mark. Last year I decided I will give myself the best chance ever at finally realising my dream of seeing a wild jaguar and I booked a trip to the most renowned place to see this elusive big cat – The Pantanal in Brazil. The Pantanal lived up to its hype and we saw our first jaguar less than a mere hour after entering the famed “Jaguar Zone” for the first time – my jaguar curse was finally broken and a new love affair has flourished. I was instantly smitten with these cats. They are much larger and more powerfully built than leopards, especially the males – they are huge! Their coat is mesmerising and they carry themselves with imposing confidence and charisma – even in the water. They know they are at the very top of the food chain here and have little to fear from any other wild creature. The lush setting of their habitat is also particularly stunning, tropical riverine systems are one of my favourite habitats to spend time in. Seeing these large spotted cats in a “jungle” setting makes them that much more exotic and mysterious. I use the word “jungle” loosely here as an aestethic description; technically in the Pantanal the riverine forests which jaguars prefer are actually Gallery Forests.

The photo depicts “Mick Jaguar” – a large male who is very recognisable due to its injured right eye. He is also the jaguar featured in the recent viral video “Jaguar attacks Crocodile”. While he is definitely not the conventional beauty contest material I found him to be very photogenic – in my eyes his “rough edges” add character, and he was more than willing to be active quite close to the boats offering me photo opportunities other than lounging about in the thick riverbank vegetation like most of the other jaguars I saw.

Tech Specs: Canon 7D Mark II | Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS USM with 1.4 Extender | f4 | 1/2000s | ISO 200

Back from the Pantanal

Alison — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:34:12 +0000

I have just returned back from a wonderful trip to the Pantanal in Brazil. This is arguably the top wildlife watching and photography location of all of South America. The diversity and relative ease of photography of many birds, reptiles and mammals is amazing. I hope you will enjoy my photos from this very special place – a bit of a break from my normal Africa-oriented photos!

This photo is of the iconic Toco Toucan – one of my favourite birds. Such strange and endearing creatures! The Toco Toucan is the biggest of all toucans and its bill (beak) is the largest in proportion to its body size amongst all birds, making up a staggering 30-50% of its body surface area. There is a bit of speculation as to why the size of the bill is so large. Recent research suggests one of its purposes is to regulate the toucan’s temperature – in fact it is one of the most efficient heat radiators in the animal kingdom. The bill also helps during feeding and may also be used to intimidate other birds. Despite the fact that the bill looks enormous, it only accounts for about 1/20th of the bird’s weight – nature is a clever engineer.

I photographed this handsome specimen at a lodge along the Transpantaneira road – the only road that crosses the Pantanal. It was on a low branch, allowing for eye level photography. The challenge was to get a shot where the bill was perfectly perpendicular to the lens – these toucans do tend to move around quite a lot!

Tech Specs: Canon 7D Mark II | Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS USM Extender 1.4x @560mm | f5.6 | 1/400s | ISO 2500

Catching up with Fig the leopard

Alison — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:23:54 +0000

Fig is one of the stars of the Olare Motorogi Conservancy – and I had the pleasure to spend time with her for 3 years in a row now thanks to the Porini Lion Camp guides. This time (June 2015) she was very pregnant though! Since then she has had her cub/s but I haven’t yet heard any information about the little ones. I just hope they are healthy and well!

Here she has just spotted some potential prey. Moments after this photo was taken she got down from the tree and vanished – only to be seen a few minutes later up the same tree with an impala fawn in her mouth while all the vehicles were still clueless as to her movements. This is now the second time that she makes a kill right under our noses, mere metres away and we did not see a thing – she’s one sneaky leopard!

Watch a video clip of our sightings of Fig from last year (June 2014), courtesy of Black Grouse Photography.

Malaika

Alison — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 12:18:58 +0000

Malaika is a big celebrity in the Masai Mara at the moment – the sight of her and her 4 approximately year-old cubs is indeed something all visitors are clamouring to see. We spent some time with her and her family in June 2015 – we saw them hunting, playing and just lounging around doing nothing. Malaika, apart from being known as the supermom, is also very well known for jumping onto vehicles – a mischievous behaviour she has also taught to her cubs. However such behaviour should be discouraged as cheetahs may hurt themselves jumping from vehicle slippery surfaces, and there is no telling what could happen if in a moment of panic a cheetah accidentally injures a tourist while trying to claw out of a vehicle. So please if you are visiting the Mara and come across her and her family make sure your guide moves away if she tries to join you on your game drive – a hurt foot is a death sentence for a cheetah. We had to drive off in quite a hurry when she tried to surprise us at one point – she is getting quite sneaky!

Techs: Canon 7D Mark II | Canon 200-400 f4 IS USM Extender 1.4 @ 506mm | f5.6 | 1/1000 | ISO 500

Who’s the Boss?

Alison — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 12:55:09 +0000

I sometimes get asked how I don’t get bored spending hours on end watching the same animals – and why I keep on going on safari. Surely I have seen all the animals already? The thing is that I am not only enjoying their presence and admiring their beauty but I also observing their behaviour – trying to capture both aspects in my photos. One never runs out of interesting behaviours to observe and document!

Lion couples “on honeymoon” such as these ones offer great opportunities for photos of behaviour and interaction. Those of you who have been on safari or watched a documentary know that lion love is quite a violent affair – there are way more quarrels than cuddles. While it is awesome to watch scenes like this in person or on a video, a well-timed photo freezes the subtle nuances of the expressions and body language.

This photo was taken last month in the Olare Motorogi bordering the Masai Mara in Kenya while I was on safari at the Porini Lion Camp – the male lion is Romeo.

Techs: Canon 5D Mark III | Canon 200-400 f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X @ 560mm | f7.1 | 1/1000s | ISO 640

Big Vic in Mana Pools

Alison — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 13:54:46 +0000

Big Vic – Mana Pools, Zimbabwe (Monochrome Version)

One of my favourite things about Mana Pools are the Ana tree forests – these trees are so large they dwarf the giants roaming between them – and they provide some of the loveliest backdrops for wildlife photography. Especially when photographing one of Mana Pool’s best known figures – the gentle Big Vic.

I just love the beautiful textures these trees create when you photograph them, so it is always a bit difficult to decide whether to process the photos in colour or in monochrome. In this case I also couldn’t decide which of the elephant’s poses I liked best so I kept both photos and processed one in monochrome and one in colour. Which one is your favourite? Let me know by commenting below or on my Facebook page.

Techs: Canon 5D Mark III | Canon 200-400 f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X @ 300mm | f4 | 1/500s | ISO 200 (both photos)