BEASTS
Read MoreForest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca).
I intentionally approached this snake while it was probing a termite mound. While it was amazing getting so close, it probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done considering their extreme speed and the high degree of toxicity of their venom.
Location: Janjanburah, Gambia
Lens used: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 IS II w/Canon 1.4x ExtenderBrown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus).
The Brown-throated Sloth is the most widely-distributed of the four species of three-toed sloth.
I observed this one swimming across an Amazonian tributary; he had just reached this log on the far shore and was resting.
Location: Amazonas, Peru
Lens used: Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 ISMountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei).
If there is one wildlife experience in the world that I'd have to recommend to other, similarly-minded individuals, it would be to go see the very highly-endangered Mountain Gorillas in East Africa. There are groups in each of Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC that can be visited. Doing so isn't a cheap excursion (in addition to the expense of just getting to East Africa) and, as the number of visitors to the gorillas is heavily regulated plus how the gorillas make their home in a politically iffy part of the world, it takes some advance planning to do. But when you finally do come upon the gorillas in the bamboo forest, surrounded by adults and youngsters doing their thing sometimes only mere feet from you, it's magic unlike anything else.
There is but one dominate male in each group, the Silverback. This shot is of our group's Silverback (we visited 'Group 13').
Location: Parc National des Volcans (Volcano National Park), Rwanda
Lens used: n/a (Canon S1 IS point-and-shoot)Crab.
Discovering the names of crabs that live along the coast of the Horn of Africa is quite difficult, I've discovered. For now, I'll call this a 'ghost crab'. I'll change it later if I ever find out it's true name. It was the largest and most numerous of the four different varieties of crab I saw while walking along the beach east of town. I had several enjoyable hours of chasing, catching and releasing them.
Location: Berbera, Somalia (Somaliland)
Lens used: Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 ISA hermit crab coming out of the protection of its shell.
This is my first ever attempt at a triptych. Though I didn't have such a thing in mind while I knelt in the sand and salt water waiting for the little guy to be comfortable enough to come out of hiding, I think it came together okay.
Location: Berbera, Somalia (Somaliland)
Lens used: Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 ISThough still incredibly endangered, the african Mountain Gorillas have much more in the way of advocacy than most species teetering on the brink. The money they bring in to the government's coffers, for example tends to keep them in the spotlight, somewhat.
Not all such endangered species are so lucky - most vanish away without anyone even knowing.
Humans are pretty much always to blame for such extinctions.
Please try to be a good human - at least acknowledge that we share this planet with other beings and creatures that deserve to live just as much as we do.
Location: Parc National des Volcans (Volcano National Park), Rwanda
Lens used: n/a (Canon S1 IS point-and-shoot)