Mini Challenge #349: Wildlife "Safari"

sapphire73

Looks like it has been awhile since we have had a theme focused on wildlife. So for this mini, let's share our favorite photos of animals we've had the privilege of observing and photographing in the wild. The animals can be mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, or amphibians. (Please no pets or animals seen on a farm or ranch.) Feel free to say something about what it took to find and capture your image, whether you were in your backyard, a local park, hiking, or on a photo expedition.

(Editing to say that if someone prefers to go on "safari" to a local zoo and share those photos, that will be okay - especially if the zoo environs are not prominent or the animal is actively making use of climbing apparatus, etc. in the enclosure.)

This challenge starts now and ends Wednesday, March 1st, at 8 pm (EST). For those who may be new to Dgrin, here are the Unofficial Mini Challenge Rules.

Here are a few examples:

Pika (Colorado)

Bison (Wyoming)

Big Horn Sheep (Colorado)

Leopard (South Africa)

Dartmoor Wild Pony (United Kingdom)

JAG

Great theme Gretchen!

I have loads of wild Alaskan bears that I so enjoy photographing, however I will try and find a variety. My husband and I went on many adventures, covering of 38 different countries (some visited more than once, but not added to the count) in 10 years of traveling. Made for a perfect time for photography for me. Here are a few of my favorites.

1 Denali National Park, Multitasking bear (walking, shaking fur while peeing, ) This shot was taken while I sat (in my wheelchair) on a bus with my long 300-600mm Tamaron lens. It was an opposite window from where I was sitting, It was opened, and the bear was approximately 100 yards from the bus.

2 Tarcoles River, Costa Rica, This shot again, I was sitting in my wheelchair towards the front of a low-lying tour boat, in the middle of the boat with other people seated on either side. I managed to get them to move me slightly forward so I could keep one of the poles that held up a canopy over the boat, out of my way. I used my Nikon 70mm-300mm to take this shot. He was one happy croc as just above him was a guy on the bank holding chicken parts out to him. He was about 3ft from the boat.

3 Tarcoles River, Costa Rica, A Tiger Heron. Again, in the same boat, using my biggest lens, a 300-600mm Tamaron lens, this bird was approximately 100 yards away from the boat. I really love the 3d look that turned out on this image.

Here are a few that I would have loved to enter, but since I have posted them many times before, I tried to come up with ones I haven't used in a while, or at all. These are not for the challenge, just showing my other favorites.
Tortoles River, Costa Rica, approximately 5 ft from boat.

Tortoles River, Costa Rica, approximately 100 yards from the boat

Somewhere near Sutton, Alaska a Gray Wolf, I was standing for this shot, the wolf was approximately 20 yards from me. My then, 8 year old daughter was with me, that is what the wolf is hyper focused on. We did have a person with us with a gun for protection, but the wolf moved on as we did.

Ahpun the Polar Bear, Alaska Zoo, Anchorage. Ahpun was a cub when she came to the zoo. The story goes that a resident of Point Lay, had stumbled upon a den with a cub and the mother charged him, rightfully so, but he had to shoot in self-defense as it was a no-win situation. He was not looking for the den, nor was it his intent to shoot a polar bear, but the unfortunate circumstances came about and he brought Ahpun to the Alaska zoo when she was a small cub. She grew up and lived in the zoo for 20 years before passing away in 2018. The zoo had made a very large exhibit for her including a large pool to swim and mountain complete with a den like cave to go into. At one point shortly after she had arrived at the zoo, a brown grizzly cub about the same age was brought in. The two cubs played with each other and lived in the same pen, till they hit the aggressive teenage years. That is when they separated them. The grizzly was shipped to another zoo. This image was taken in 2009

sapphire73

@JAG, thank you for getting this mini off to a great start! Love seeing your photos and reading what you wrote about them.

Cavalier

Ooooh - I love animal shots! I have some in the wild and a lot at Wildlife Reserves. I'm not posting shots from the reserves (Tule Elk and fowl) since I've posted those numerous times in the past.

1) Mountain Goat and Kid along the Icefield Parkway, between Banff and Jaspe, Canada

2) Big Horn Sheep, resting on a mountain side, Alberta, Canada

3) Preyng Mantis that modeled and posed for me over a ten day period among the Day Lillies. She finally left me to lay her mound of eggs! Fond memoies of my pal the Prey.

A couple more shots of the Preying Mantis - not for judging, just because..

grandmaR

Three different trips
1. Monkey in Costa Rica - we were in Manuel Antonio NP in a mangrove swamp area on a boat and the guide was feeding this wild monkey. (Which I don't think is proper.)

2. BFF/Twins - On an actual safari in Tanzania with my youngest granddaughter

3. Look what I brought you Flightless cormorant in the Galapagos

This was one of a series. There was a couple - female on the nest and the male wants some. She says, no I'm not that into you. He goes and gets her some sargasso weed for the nest. But she's still not that into him.

pegelli

Great theme but too many choices in my collection

1: Wild foxes on the road, acting as cute as possible to score some food (Newfoundland)

2: A hedgehog wandering through our garden

3: Moth on a white wall

sapphire73

@Cavalier, @grandmaR, @pegelli - Great entries and fun to see such a variety of animals! Thank you all!

TonyCooper

TREETOPS - KENYA - A scan of a print from a photograph I took in 1988. The then-Princess Elizabeth was staying at Treetops in 1952 when she was notified that her father, King George VI, had died. A not-well-focused quick snap with a Konica rangefinder camera that's not worthy of the competition here, but a good memory.

sapphire73

@TonyCooper Thank you for the sharing this photo and the history associated with this location! I have been to Masai Mara but not to this area. Have you been back to Kenya since that visit?

TonyCooper

No, we've not been back. Our last globe-trotting excursion was canceled by COVID and we haven't scheduled anything new since.

An anecdote about being an American tourist: We were told that it was customary to never accept the asking price of vendor in Nairobi. When buying a necklace for my wife in the Nairobi street market, I suddenly realized I was in a heated negotiation over the equivalent of 60 US cents with the seller. (The Kenyan shilling was about 6 US cents at the time) and decided to lose face and pay his price because he needed 60 cents more than I did.

What I was not warned about is that it was illegal to photograph a policeman or a police station in Kenya. Our driver panicked when I was about to take a photograph with a police station and policemen in the background that I had not noticed.

sapphire73

Yes, we have traveled in several African countries and appreciate a heads up on what may be illegal or frowned upon. On a trip to visit friends in a west African country, one of our companions lifted up his camera to take a photo of tires burning in the street (in protest). Right after dissuading him, a military vehicle filled with soldiers rounded the corner. Felt like that was a close call.

That was kind of you to pay the price the vendor hoped to get.

sapphire73

Looking forward to seeing some more entries before this mini closes on March 1st! It just makes it more fun for everyone.

GSPeP

1. Highland cows along the road in Scotland.

2. Coyote along the road in Yosemite National Park

3. A deer crossing the road. (in Bazel, Belgium)

sapphire73

@GSPeP Peter, thank you for your great entries!

Hoping to see a few more people join in the fun before this mini closes tomorrow evening (Wednesday, March 1st, at 8 pm EST).

sapphire73

This mini is now closed. I will try to post the results late Thursday or early Friday. Thank you all for your entries!