discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 101 How did you first become interested in wildlife photography? I was studying biology in college and realised I needed a camera to document the incredible landscapes and species I was seeing. That triggered a passion. What would you be if you weren’t a wildlife photographer? I don’t see myself doing anything else! Photography is my tool for conservation. Whatever happens, I’d still be a naturalist or conservationist. Can you please share your biggest ‘oh drat it’ moment? When I was starting out as a photographer, I took a flight over the Amazon Basin in a tiny aircraft. It had a hole in the bottom that you could poke your camera through to take aerial shots. We took off and I was very excited and started snapping away. I was holding my camera so tightly to control it against the wind pressure that I accidentally pressed the button that releases the lens. I watched it fall hundreds of feet to the ground. It was a bit embarrassing. How many times have you been bitten by a snake? At least 100. But only one of them was venomous. It was an eyelash pit viper and I spent three days in hospital. What was your most extreme shoot? Shooting the Northern Lights in winter in Tromsø, Norway. It was very, very cold. Both my camera and my body almost stopped working. Have you lost any kit to an animal? Oh yes. I was photographing elephants in Sri Lanka when one came very close to our four-wheel drive. The driver was so terrified that he accelerated off at top speed, so fast that my camera fell out of the vehicle. The elephant picked it up with his trunk and smashed it on the ground. What shot is on your bucket list? A portrait of an adult ornate hawk-eagle – it’s one of the most amazing eagles in the world. SNAP-CHAT Lucas Bustamante talks snakebites, friendly elephants and ying lenses WITH BBC WILDLIFE PICTURE EDITOR TOM GILKS Lucas with one of his more sedate wild subjects Lucas is a wildlife photographer from Ecuador. See more at tropicalherping.com. Learn how to take striking animal portraits Animals in the wild won’t take direction like a human subject will and may not to stay still for very long. But in some ways, animal and human portraits are similar: eye contact, facial expression, body language, lighting and background all make the difference between an unexciting image and an outstanding photograph that captures the spirit and character of your subject. Start your journey online with us and learn more about: O Eye contact Wildlife photographer Graeme Green on where to focus to achieve the best result. O Getting creative Ideas for playful approaches to composition that will make your portraits stand out. O Plus, three top tips The importance of getting eyeto-eye with your subject and advice on lighting and framing. Go to discoverwildlife.com/ animal-portraits Eye contact is key for portraits LUCAS: DANIEL ROMERO ALVAREZ; GELADA: GRAEME GREEN
102 BBC WILDLIFE July 2022 Females leading the way I M G ’ feature (Where Are All The Women?) in the March 2022 issue, as I am a female wildlife storyteller and photographer. Why does wildlife programming seem to mainly feature men out in the wild facing the elements and capturing intense moments, which of course can be dangerous? There are sadly very few professional female wildlife photographers. But we are out there taking risks, battling the elements and facing danger. Nature shows us that it is females leading the way. Elephant herds are led by matriarchs. They lead the herd in times of drought to water holes – the information being passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Lionesses are the main hunters in the pride, they work hard to protect food for their family as well as take care of the cubs. African wild dogs are also led by an alpha female: she will mate with her chosen male and then create a lasting dynasty. In my travels, I have lived in many remote cultures, where women are the backbone of the culture – building their own houses, providing their own food and taking care of family life. The world needs to see and hear from strong independent women making a difference and being fearless and bold. Nashipae Wilde, Kenya PAUL MCGUINNESS REPLIES: I couldn’t agree more, Nashipae. Melissa’s article raised a number of interesting points. It’s been one of the most popular articles on our website, so any readers who missed it, I recommend checking it out online. It’s worth noting that we’re very keen to hear from more women wildlife photographers here at BBC Wildlife, so any female snappers out there, please do get in touch and share your photos. Tickled by tapirs I reordered my subscription after about one year because I missed you falling through my door. I used to look at the photographs, which I loved. I read the April 2022 issue of BBC Wildlife from cover to cover. I was totally stunned by the fun that Lucy Cooke took in writing the feature on tapirs (In Praise of Poop), an animal I know very little about. I found myself mesmerised by the jollity of this rather strange but lovable creature, and the way it had been portrayed, along with all of the beautiful photography and facts – and best of all the high-pitched scream which frightened the tapir away. I found myself laughing out loud rather loudly and would like to thank Lucy Cooke for her hard work and for cheering me up. Michelle Bradish, via email LUCY COOKE REPLIES: I’m delighted to have brought you some joy with my tapir article. Tapirs are such wondrous creatures – their goofy faces often make me smile too. Unless they’re suddenly appearing out of the forested gloom, in which case I scream. As you know. Solace in the garden Each month, we look forward to receiving our BBC Wildlife, and it gets passed along the family; from me to my wife, and then to our three children. It’s actually one of the few things our eight-year-old boy will read, along with Wingbeat from the RSPB and National Geographic Kids! The joy and mental wellbeing our garden and its wildlife has provided is immense, particularly over what has been a very difficult time of late. It has been our solace, and our garden plans for this year (on instruction from our 10-year-old daughter) include building hotels for snakes and hedgehogs – this past spring we found three hedgehogs on our vegetable beds in just one night! Andy Bayley, via email False claims of discovery Can I suggest that your column New Species Discovery be renamed. In your spring 2022 issue, the tapir frog was first “not easy to find” by the Peruvian researchers then later it said that the local people were “familiar with the frog”. So it wasn’t a new discovery. There are unfortunately many more examples of what I would describe as ‘undeserved fame’. The American explorer Hiram Bingham didn’t discover Machu Picchu. A friend went there and suggested he should visit the site. People were already living in the vicinity and there is some evidence that the Peruvian government was in the process of mapping the site. Even Charles Darwin would not have achieved such fame had fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace gone ahead and published his work on the evolution of species rather than sending details to Darwin. In each case the person wrongly ascribed with the discovery was simply the first to widely publicise the findings. Can I suggest a more accurate title would be ‘New Scientific Discovery’. Richard Stewart, via email PAUL MCGUINNESS REPLIES: You’re right, these aren’t new species in the literal sense and local people may already be aware of them, however, we hope that ‘New Species Discovery’ implies they are newly described by the scientific community. Truth behind the dance Growing up with the Mendips on my family’s doorstop, we took regular trips to a KATIE SCHULER: MATTHEW H. SHIRLEY/PROJECT MECISTOPS; SEALION:TUI DE ROY Wildlife photographer Katie Schuler featured in our March issue
small place called Priddy. Before it became popular, it had a lot more reptiles – so much so that when walking around the edge of a pool, one would have to take care not to step on the many common lizards. During one of these trips, we witnessed two adders rising up on one another, writhing and intertwining. My father told me that this was a pair getting ready to mate, but having read Ben Hoare’s piece in the spring 2022 issue, I’ve learnt that actually it was two males wrestling for mating rights. Of course, I don’t hold anything against my father for the years of misinformation, as he thought he was correct at the time, however, I have to say it is good to finally have the facts. Scott Jones, Weston-super-Mare Diving with dolphins There has been a lot of publicity recently about how ethical swimming with dolphins really is. I have been on many small boats around the world, and when dolphins have been sighted, some enlightened individuals want to jump in with them. In all cases, the dolphins swam away. It seems inconceivable, but they possibly don’t always want human company. I and two other individuals, however, had the ultimate dolphin experience when diving in the Maldives in 2012. Whilst doing a safety stop at 5m, we were joined by about 20 dolphins, which romped and jostled with us until, out of air, we were forced to leave them and surface. In this instance the dolphins had decided to swim with us and that’s how it should always be! Peter Thomas, Tourrettes sur Loup, France GET IN TOUCH Email [email protected] Post BBC Wildlife, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST By contacting us you consent to let us print your letter in BBC Wildlife. Letters may be edited. Sealions Sealions are usually solitary hunters, but in the Galapagos Islands these agile marine mammals have learned to hunt as a team, hurtling through the sea and wave-washing their prey ashore with deadly precision. Photographer and conservationist Tui De Roy recounts how, from her cli top observation point, she first observed this incredible behaviour, which she studied for the following five years. NEXT MONTH 30th ON SALE JUNE discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 103 Answers to Spot The Difference on page 97 Look forward to stunning sealion images in the next issue... Look forward to
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106 BBC WILDLIFE July 2022 R take place on the loo. That is unless you’re deep in Guyana’s rainforest. It was while assuming the squat position, pants around my ankles, that I first heard it: a buzzing noise close to me. It sounded like a massive bee. I gripped my machete a little tighter. Our team, consisting of members from the UK and Guyana’s Waî Waî indigenous community, were on a three-month, world-first expedition to kayak Guyana’s Essequibo River from source to sea. All 1,014km of it. The jungle was certainly keeping us on our toes. First up there was the wildlife: the snakes, spiders, scorpions, insects, caimans and jaguars that call the Guiana Shield home posed a real risk to life. As did the terrain. To find the source we had to hack our way up through the mountainous jungle of the Acarai Mountains, the range that forms a border with Brazil. It’s so remote that more people have been into space than set foot where our team did. Then there was the small matter of kayaking back down, navigating the rapids and waterfalls leading to the Atlantic Ocean. Getting out in one piece was certainly not guaranteed. As the noise got increasingly louder, the thought crossed my mind that my life might end in the most undignified position. Within seconds I was face to face with it. My heart leapt – but not out of fear. It was heart-pumping joy. Bottom out, exposed to the world, I was eyeball to eyeball with one of the smallest birds in the world - a majestic, iridescent hummingbird. It seemed suspended around my face, hovering to the left and then to the right of me, wings beating so fast they blurred. Earlier in the expedition, Jackson, one of our guides, had told us that in Waî Waî culture seeing a hummingbird meant news was on its way – either good or bad. I pulled up my trousers (after first checking that nothing had crawled in) and concluded that our face-to-face meeting had certainly been good news for me. Whether the encounter was as enchanting for the hummingbird remained to be seen. Having found no nectar anywhere on me, it disappeared off back into the jungle as quickly as it had arrived. As for me, it is a trip to the loo I will never forget. Some might even call it magic… ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pip Stewart is author of Life Lessons from the Amazon. She has cycled halfway around the world and paddled Guyana’s Essequibo River, a world first. Follow her on Instagram @PipStewart. Have a wild tale to tell? Email a brief synopsis to [email protected] Loo with a view DISCOVER WILDLIFE IN 2022 JUSTFORYOU A magical moment when answering nature’s call in the Guyanese jungle ESSEQUIBO RIVER, SOUTH AMERICA JON WILLIAMS The hummingbird is the only bird species that is able to fly backwards FLIP TO PAGE Don’t miss our tempting 38 subscription o er on page 38 OU Receive a pair of Regatta binoculars when you subscribe to BBC Wildlife magazine
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