BBC Wildlife - Killer Country

Lucas with one of
his more sedate
wild subjects

Eye contact is
key for portraits

SNAP-CHAT Learn how to take
striking animal
WITH BBC WILDLIFE PICTURE EDITOR TOM GILKS portraits

Lucas Bustamante talks snakebites, Animals in the wild won’t take
friendly elephants and ying lenses direction like a human subject
will and may not to stay still for
How did you first become interested How many times have you been bitten very long. But in some ways, LUCAS: DANIEL ROMERO ALVAREZ; GELADA: GRAEME GREEN
in wildlife photography? by a snake? animal and human portraits
At least 100. But only one of them was are similar: eye contact, facial
I was studying biology in college and venomous. It was an eyelash pit viper and expression, body language,
realised I needed a camera to document I spent three days in hospital. lighting and background all
the incredible landscapes and species make the difference between
I was seeing. That triggered a passion. What was your most extreme shoot? an unexciting image and
Shooting the Northern Lights in winter in an outstanding photograph
What would you be if you weren’t Tromsø, Norway. It was very, very cold. that captures the spirit and
a wildlife photographer? Both my camera and my body almost character of your subject.
stopped working.
I don’t see myself doing anything else! Start your journey online with
Photography is my tool for conservation. Have you lost any kit to an animal? us and learn more about:
Whatever happens, I’d still be a naturalist Oh yes. I was photographing elephants in
or conservationist. Sri Lanka when one came very close to our O Eye contact
four-wheel drive. The driver was so terrified Wildlife photographer Graeme
Can you please share your biggest that he accelerated off at top speed, so fast Green on where to focus to
‘oh drat it’ moment? that my camera fell out of the vehicle. The achieve the best result.
elephant picked it up with his trunk and
When I was starting out as a photographer, smashed it on the ground. O Getting creative
I took a flight over the Amazon Basin in a Ideas for playful approaches to
tiny aircraft. It had a hole in the bottom What shot is on your bucket list? composition that will make your
that you could poke your camera through A portrait of an adult ornate hawk-eagle portraits stand out.
to take aerial shots. We took off and I was – it’s one of the most amazing eagles in
very excited and started snapping away. the world. O Plus, three top tips
I was holding my camera so tightly to The importance of getting eye-
control it against the wind pressure that Lucas is a wildlife photographer from Ecuador. to-eye with your subject and
I accidentally pressed the button that See more at tropicalherping.com. advice on lighting and framing.
releases the lens. I watched it fall
hundreds of feet to the ground. It Go to discoverwildlife.com/
was a bit embarrassing. animal-portraits

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 101

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.

Wildlife photographer Solace in the garden
Katie Schuler featured
Each month, we look forward to receiving
in our March issue our BBC Wildlife, and it gets passed along
the family; from me to my wife, and then to
Females leading the way our three children. It’s actually one of the
few things our eight-year-old boy will read,
I M G’ PAUL MCGUINNESS REPLIES: along with Wingbeat from the RSPB and KATIE SCHULER: MATTHEW H. SHIRLEY/PROJECT MECISTOPS; SEALION:TUI DE ROY
feature (Where Are All The Women?) in National Geographic Kids!
the March 2022 issue, as I am a female I couldn’t agree more, Nashipae. Melissa’s
wildlife storyteller and photographer. article raised a number of interesting points. The joy and mental wellbeing our
Why does wildlife programming seem It’s been one of the most popular articles on garden and its wildlife has provided is
to mainly feature men out in the our website, so any readers who missed it, immense, particularly over what has been
wild facing the elements and capturing I recommend checking it out online. It’s worth a very difficult time of late. It has been
intense moments, which of course can noting that we’re very keen to hear from more our solace, and our garden plans for this
be dangerous? There are sadly very few women wildlife photographers here at BBC year (on instruction from our 10-year-old
professional female wildlife photographers. Wildlife, so any female snappers out there, daughter) include building hotels for snakes
But we are out there taking risks, battling please do get in touch and share your photos. and hedgehogs – this past spring we found
the elements and facing danger. three hedgehogs on our vegetable beds in
Tickled by tapirs just one night!
Nature shows us that it is females Andy Bayley, via email
leading the way. Elephant herds are led by I reordered my subscription after about one
matriarchs. They lead the herd in times of year because I missed you falling through False claims of discovery
drought to water holes – the information my door. I used to look at the photographs,
being passed down from mother to which I loved. I read the April 2022 issue Can I suggest that your column New Species
daughter for generations. Lionesses are the of BBC Wildlife from cover to cover. I was Discovery be renamed. In your spring 2022
main hunters in the pride, they work hard totally stunned by the fun that Lucy Cooke issue, the tapir frog was first “not easy to
to protect food for their family as well as took in writing the feature on tapirs (In find” by the Peruvian researchers then later
take care of the cubs. African wild dogs are Praise of Poop), an animal I know very it said that the local people were “familiar
also led by an alpha female: she will mate little about. I found myself mesmerised by with the frog”. So it wasn’t a new discovery.
with her chosen male and then create a the jollity of this rather strange but lovable
lasting dynasty. creature, and the way it had been portrayed, There are unfortunately many more
along with all of the beautiful photography examples of what I would describe as
In my travels, I have lived in many and facts – and best of all the high-pitched ‘undeserved fame’. The American explorer
remote cultures, where women are the scream which frightened the tapir away. I Hiram Bingham didn’t discover Machu
backbone of the culture – building their found myself laughing out loud rather Picchu. A friend went there and suggested
own houses, providing their own food and loudly and would like to thank Lucy Cooke he should visit the site. People were already
taking care of family life. The world needs for her hard work and for cheering me up. living in the vicinity and there is some
to see and hear from strong independent Michelle Bradish, via email evidence that the Peruvian government was
women making a difference and being in the process of mapping the site. Even
fearless and bold. LUCY COOKE REPLIES: Charles Darwin would not have achieved
Nashipae Wilde, Kenya such fame had fellow naturalist Alfred
I’m delighted to have brought you some Russel Wallace gone ahead and published
joy with my tapir article. Tapirs are such 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

102 BBC WILDLIFE July 2022

small place called Priddy. Before it became Look forward to
popular, it had a lot more reptiles – so much stunning sealion
so that when walking around the edge of
a pool, one would have to take care not to images in the
step on the many common lizards. next issue...

During one of these trips, we witnessed NEXT MONTH
two adders rising up on one another,
writhing and intertwining. My father told Sealions
me that this was a pair getting ready to
mate, but having read Ben Hoare’s piece Sealions are usually solitary hunters, but in
in the spring 2022 issue, I’ve learnt that
actually it was two males wrestling for the Galapagos Islands these agile marine
mating rights.
mammals have learned to hunt as a team,
Of course, I don’t hold anything against
my father for the years of misinformation, hurtling through the sea and wave-washing
as he thought he was correct at the time,
however, I have to say it is good to finally their prey ashore with deadly precision.
have the facts.
Scott Jones, Weston-super-Mare Photographer and conservationist

Diving with dolphins Tui De Roy recounts how, from her

There has been a lot of publicity recently cli top observation point, she ON SALE
about how ethical swimming with dolphins
really is. I have been on many small boats 30thfirst observed this incredible
around the world, and when dolphins have
been sighted, some enlightened individuals behaviour, which she studied
want to jump in with them. In all cases, for the following five years.
the dolphins swam away. It seems JUNE
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

Answers to Spot The Difference on page 97

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The hummingbird is ABOUT THE AUTHOR
the only bird species
Pip Stewart is author of Life
that is able to Lessons from the Amazon.
fly backwards She has cycled halfway
around the world and
paddled Guyana’s Essequibo
River, a world first. Follow her
on Instagram @PipStewart.

Loo with a view insects, caimans and jaguars that call the
Guiana Shield home posed a real risk to
A magical moment when answering life. As did the terrain. To find the source
nature’s call in the Guyanese jungle we had to hack our way up through
the mountainous jungle of the Acarai
ESSEQUIBO RIVER, SOUTH AMERICA Mountains, the range that forms a border
with Brazil. It’s so remote that more people
R Our team, consisting of members from have been into space than set foot where JON WILLIAMS
take place on the loo. That is the UK and Guyana’s Waî Waî indigenous our team did. Then there was the small
unless you’re deep in Guyana’s community, were on a three-month, matter of kayaking back down, navigating
rainforest. It was while assuming world-first expedition to kayak Guyana’s the rapids and waterfalls leading to the
the squat position, pants around my ankles, Essequibo River from source to sea. All Atlantic Ocean. Getting out in one piece
that I first heard it: a buzzing noise close to 1,014km of it. The jungle was certainly was certainly not guaranteed. As the noise
me. It sounded like a massive bee. I gripped keeping us on our toes. First up there was got increasingly louder, the thought crossed
my machete a little tighter. the wildlife: the snakes, spiders, scorpions, 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…

Have a wild tale to tell? Email a brief synopsis
to [email protected]

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