Shot of the Month – February 2011

This month we will learn a bit about the adorable, but often hard-to-find bat-eared fox (BeF).  I photographed the one shown here in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana.

BeFs are found in one of two distinct populations, either in South West Africa (Namibia, Botswana, certain parts of Zimbabwe, and South Africa) or in East Africa (Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan).

Fun February Fox Facts:

• Insectivore:  BeFs eat primarily insects!  They are the only member of the Canidae family (foxes, wolves, dogs, jackals, and coyotes) to give up eating mammals.  BeFs are especially fond of harvester termites (but who isn’t, really?).  They also dine on grasshoppers, scorpions, dung beetle larvae, millipedes, lizards, fruits, and eggs.  That being said, they really prefer to eat insects.
• Good for Sailing  BeFs only stand 12-15 inches tall at the shoulder while their ears can be over 5 inches tall!  (Some quick math tells us that their ears represent 25-30% of their total height).  Think Dumbo, but as a fox…
• Whispering Won’t Help:  Bat-eared foxes hunt by walking slowly, nose close to the ground, with ears cocked forward.  As they walk they listen for insects on or under the surface of the earth.  How good is that hearing?  Well, BeFs can locate termites from the sound they make while chewing on grass.  More amazingly they can hear and then find dung beetle larvae chewing their way out of a dung ball located 12 inches underground.
• Termite Control:  Reportedly, one BeF can eat over 1 million termites in a year.
• Specialized Jaws:  BeF have grown extra teeth to chew up insects.  Most foxes have 42 teeth, BeFs have 48.  BeFs also have specialized lower jaws that allow for ultra-rapid biting to quickly stun, kill, and eat small insects.
• Dangerous World:  Due to their small stature just about every predator picks on the BeF: Lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, rock pythons, and wild dogs.  Even large raptors will hunt BeFs.
• Night Life:  To avoid the dangers mentioned above BeFs are generally nocturnal.  This is not foolproof, however – lions and leopards are also nocturnal.
• On the Road:  In a given night a BeF can walk over 7 miles in search of food.
• All in the Family:  BeFs tend to mate for life and the males are devoted parents.

The bat-eared fox –the delightful underdog of the plains.  Given their good looks, exceptional talents, and commendable behavior you can’t help but root for them.

Until next month… 🙂

Shot of the Month – January 2011

Is it a new year already?  This weaver bird seems to share my surprise at completing another full rotation around the sun.

The amusing nature of this shot belies the unexpected danger in capturing it.  I shot this image while staying at a tented camp on the banks of the Lower Zambezi River in Zambia.

All the other guests, having eaten their lunch, had retired to their tents for some rest.  I took the opportunity to stalk around the campsite and see what I could photograph.  Our lunch table stood on a small nook of land that jutted slightly out into the river.  A simple railing separated the terrace from some reeds on the river bank.  During the meal I had noticed that this weaver bird liked coming to the reeds to collect building materials, presumably for a nest under construction.  I decided I would use this fellow to experiment with some flash photography techniques.  I think the flash may explain some of that startled look.

After taking the shot I turned around and was stunned to find a massive elephant standing only 25 feet away.  During my shoot, several elephants had walked into the campsite to feed on fallen fruit and there was a nice collection of fruit near where I happened to be standing.   One of the largest elephants stood there and rocked back and forth in my direction.  Not a good sign.

I looked around for help.  Not a soul.  All of the staff had gone off for some rest or to work in the office.  Not a single guest to be found.  I surveyed my other escape routes.  Going forward was not possible as my little “peninsula” was blocked by a large, annoyed, hungry elephant.  I glanced back toward the reeds.  Below me was the river.  I could either leap into the water or try a tricky jump into a small boat that was tied up not too far away.  Only Indian Jones could make that leap without breaking a few bones and/or flipping the boat into a watery heap.  All the same, I threw one leg over the railing to keep my options open.

I looked at the elephant.  He looked at me.  I glanced at the river, measuring.  This seemed to go on for most of the afternoon.

Luckily, after a very long several minutes the elephant wandered off and began to forage on a different piece of land.  Whew.  I could now could hear my racing heart.

Perhaps the startled look on the weaver bird had less to do with me and more to do with what was standing just behind me.

Just another pretty picture… 🙂

Shot of the Month – December 2010

Now this is a Christmas scene that I can get excited about.  I know, you snow-loving, holiday traditionalists and winter-sport zealots will cry foul at such blasphemy, but hey, it’s my site, so pipe down in the back.

This cobalt scene is from a beach in northern Zanzibar.  Zanzibar is an island off the coast of East Africa and is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania.

A few fun facts about Zanzibar

• Zanzibar is a collection of islands – two large ones (Unguja, and Pemba) and numerous smaller ones.  Unguja is the one most people refer to when speaking about “Zanzibar.”
• The great weather and amazing views have attracted humans for a long time – human remains on the island date back over 20,000 years.
• The island is famous for the spices it produces: cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper.
• Zanzibar has been a gateway to Africa for centuries and its past is replete with exotic trade, adventure, and conquests and overlords from Oman, Portugal, and England.
• The shortest war on record took place here.  The mighty Brits won the Anglo-Zanzibar War here in 1896 in 38 minutes flat.  Jolly good, that.

This shot is for those of you who share my pining for warmer climates during these blustery months.  Perhaps this scene can act as a minor remedy for those times when your back aches from clearing yet another snowfall.  Or when cabin fever weighs on you like a suffocating blanket.  Or when your eyes ache for color, any color other than shades of steel grey.  Stare deep into this sea of blues and drift off for a mini reprieve.

I’ll be there, waiting.

All the best to you and those close to you for this holiday season. 🙂

Shot of the Month – November 2010

Kingfishers are famous for their dramatic hovering and diving skills in catching, as their name implies – fish.  Turns out, however, that not all kingfishers can be so easily “pigeonholed” (is that a pun?).

There are over 90 types of kingfishers and many of them live near the water and dine primarily on a diet of fish.

There are many others though that can live quite far from water and eat just about everything except fish.

The Woodland Kingfisher, shown here, is found in a variety of, typically drier, wooded habitats.  It feeds primarily on insects (grasshoppers preferred, thank you) though its diet is vast and can include snakes, amphibians, arthropods, and sometimes fish if locally available.  Most kingfishers hunt from a preferred perch or branch.  They typically dive down, grab their prey, and return to the perch to feed.  The dining routine normally includes beating the prey senseless against a branch to render it docile and soften the morsel for easier swallowing.

Regardless of the diet, all kingfishers share a common look.  They have large heads, long dagger-like bills, short legs, and stubby tails.  Kingfishers tend to be brilliantly colored with most having blue or green dominating their color palette.

The majority of kingfishers live in the tropics of Africa and Asia though a few can be found in temperate zones.  The US has only 3 types of kingfishers (Common, Belted, and Green).  South America, although tropical also only has 5 types of kingfishers.  The tiny African country of Gambia, for comparison, has 8 species within its national borders.

The Woodland Kingfisher is found in Africa and lives within 8 degrees, north, and south, of the equator.  Those birds living on the outer fringe migrate into the equatorial zone in the dry season.  I photographed this fine-looking fellow in northern Botswana.

As you can see kingfishers are a diverse lot that can span a broad range of terrains and survive on a surprising variety of prey.  So, the next time you spot a kingfisher, don’t be surprised if fish are nowhere to be found.

🙂

Shot of the Month – October 2010

This month a lovely scene that pretty much speaks for itself.

Photographically I didn’t have to do much to capture this one.  It was a late afternoon as we drove along the edge of Lake Nakuru.  We stopped to look at some critter and when I glanced back and saw this scene, in this light, I knew we had something special.  I quickly threw a bean bag on the roof of the vehicle, steadied the camera on the bean bag, and fired off a few shots.  As if on cue some obliging flamingos took flight and added a nice element to the photo.

Lake Nakuru, located in Kenya, East Africa is a natural wonder in that it can attract thousands, and at times millions of flamingos to feed on algae found in the alkaline waters.  During these times the lake becomes a noisy, turbulent sea of shifting waves of pink.

The lake is also home to over 400 types of bird life and the areas around the park contain an amazing diversity of wildlife including lion, leopard, giraffe, waterbuck, impala, and other assorted grass eaters.  The park is also a rhino sanctuary and is home to over 100 of the prehistoric-looking beasts.

I have been to many wildlife parks in Africa and few can rival the quantity and diversity of life, and the amazing range of smells, sights, and sounds of this small jewel of a park.  It is one of my favorites.

It is unclear however if this ecosystem can continue to thrive.  The population of flamingos has waned in recent years and many fear that the pollution from the growing, nearby town of Nakuru and the run-off of pesticides from agricultural lands is destroying the habitat.

With the human population now at seven billion, and rising, the dilemma facing Lake Nakuru is being repeated with natural habitats across the globe as the expanding human footprint pushes other life forms onto shrinking, increasingly isolated, and fragile sanctuaries.

Until next month…