These wildlife photos show animal behaviors in a new light
USA TODAY
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History's “Unforgettable Behavior: Wildlife Photographer of the Year” exhibit opens Nov. 3, 2021 in Washington, DC. will include images of rarely seen animal behaviors. The exhibit was developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. Here's a sampling of some of the images:
Facebook update
Marsel van Oosten, The Netherlands 2014
A tourist at Jigokudani Monkey Park, Japan, was so desperate to get a close-up of this young Japanese macaque in a natural hot spring that they held their phone ever nearer to their subject. Suddenly, the monkey snatched it from them and retreated to examine its prize. Van Oosten saw the chance for a striking picture. His main challenge was the steam rising from the 107 degrees F (42 degrees C) water into the freezing air "I wanted a really low angle, but that meant getting close to the water," he said. "My lens kept fogging up, making focusing almost impossible." Japanese macaques are thought to display culture in the form of learned behavior, such as washing food, which they pass on to their offspring.
Technical specification: Nikon D800 + AF-S 70-200/2.8 VR lens; 1/250 sec at f/7.1; ISO 800; Nikon SB-900 flash
Marsel Van Oosten, Unforgettable BehaviorFacebook update
Marsel van Oosten, The Netherlands 2014
A tourist at Jigokudani Monkey Park, Japan, was so desperate to get a close-up of this young Japanese macaque in a natural hot spring that they held their phone ever nearer to their subject. Suddenly, the monkey snatched it from them and retreated to examine its prize. Van Oosten saw the chance for a striking picture. His main challenge was the steam rising from the 107 degrees F (42 degrees C) water into the freezing air "I wanted a really low angle, but that meant getting close to the water," he said. "My lens kept fogging up, making focusing almost impossible." Japanese macaques are thought to display culture in the form of learned behavior, such as washing food, which they pass on to their offspring.
Technical specification: Nikon D800 + AF-S 70-200/2.8 VR lens; 1/250 sec at f/7.1; ISO 800; Nikon SB-900 flash
Ant rider
Bence Máté, Hungary 2011
Máté chose to work at night in the Costa Rican rainforest, which is when the leaf-cutter ants are most busy. To get an ant’s-eye view, he lay belly-down, with two flashes lighting the branch used by the workers and two flashes behind to backlight the ants. Here, one of the smaller ants, referred to as a minim, is hitching a lift. But it has a job to do, too. Parasitic flies patrol the workers’ lines, trying to lay their eggs on the ants, and it is the minim’s job to protect her larger sister against the danger. She also removes any micro-organisms from the leaf so it is clean before it is taken into the nest.
Technical specification: Nikon D300 + 28-105mm lens; 1/250 sec at f16; ISO 200; four linked SB-800 flashes; Gitzo tripod
Bence Máté, Unforgettable BehaviorBence Máté, Hungary 2011
Máté chose to work at night in the Costa Rican rainforest, which is when the leaf-cutter ants are most busy. To get an ant’s-eye view, he lay belly-down, with two flashes lighting the branch used by the workers and two flashes behind to backlight the ants. Here, one of the smaller ants, referred to as a minim, is hitching a lift. But it has a job to do, too. Parasitic flies patrol the workers’ lines, trying to lay their eggs on the ants, and it is the minim’s job to protect her larger sister against the danger. She also removes any micro-organisms from the leaf so it is clean before it is taken into the nest.
Technical specification: Nikon D300 + 28-105mm lens; 1/250 sec at f16; ISO 200; four linked SB-800 flashes; Gitzo tripod
Mother's little headful
Udayan Rao Pawar, India 2013
One night, Rao Pawar camped near a nesting colony of gharials on the banks of the Chambal River. There were two groups, each with more than 100 hatchlings. Before daybreak, he hid behind rocks beside the babies. "I could hear little grunting sounds," Rao Pawar said. "A large female surfaced near the shore, checking on her charges. Some of the hatchlings swam to her and climbed onto her head." Gharials were once found in rivers all over the Indian subcontinent. Today, "the Chambal River is the gharial's last stronghold, but is threatened by illegal sand-mining and fishing," Rao Pawar said.
Technical specification: Canon EOS 550D + 100-400mm lens; 1/400 sec at f13; ISO 1600
Udayan Rao Pawar, Unforgettable BehaviorUdayan Rao Pawar, India 2013
One night, Rao Pawar camped near a nesting colony of gharials on the banks of the Chambal River. There were two groups, each with more than 100 hatchlings. Before daybreak, he hid behind rocks beside the babies. "I could hear little grunting sounds," Rao Pawar said. "A large female surfaced near the shore, checking on her charges. Some of the hatchlings swam to her and climbed onto her head." Gharials were once found in rivers all over the Indian subcontinent. Today, "the Chambal River is the gharial's last stronghold, but is threatened by illegal sand-mining and fishing," Rao Pawar said.
Technical specification: Canon EOS 550D + 100-400mm lens; 1/400 sec at f13; ISO 1600
The paper clip suitor
Tim Laman, USA 2011
Male great bowerbirds are famous for collecting random items to tempt a prospective mate. Living in northern Australia, they accumulate materials as diverse as pebbles, snail shells, vertebrae, rifle shells, CDs and, in this instance, a pink paper clip. The males will also boost their haul by stealing from each other. After enticing a female to enter his bower - a bivouac of twigs - a male will choose one of his prized decorations and strut back and forth in front of the entrance, showing off to her. "This is the female's view from inside the bower, with the eager male, mid-strut, peering back at her," Laman said.
Technical specification: Canon EOS-1D + 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x extender; 1/45 sec at f8; ISO 640; flash
Tim Laman, Unforgettable BehaviorTim Laman, USA 2011
Male great bowerbirds are famous for collecting random items to tempt a prospective mate. Living in northern Australia, they accumulate materials as diverse as pebbles, snail shells, vertebrae, rifle shells, CDs and, in this instance, a pink paper clip. The males will also boost their haul by stealing from each other. After enticing a female to enter his bower - a bivouac of twigs - a male will choose one of his prized decorations and strut back and forth in front of the entrance, showing off to her. "This is the female's view from inside the bower, with the eager male, mid-strut, peering back at her," Laman said.
Technical specification: Canon EOS-1D + 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x extender; 1/45 sec at f8; ISO 640; flash
Twin hope
Diana Rebman, USA 2013
The hike to the mountain gorillas was particularly arduous. "What made all the physical effort worth it was to see the mother with her two babies," Rebman said. The mother was a natural with her 6-month- old infants, nursing them while feeding herself. When the silverback leader of the group chased her from a nettle patch, she moved on. "In this picture, she is still tense from the encounter and continues to glance across at him," Rebman said. "Her twins, in the comfort of their mother's strong arms, appear blissfully ignorant." Their future remains uncertain. Mountain gorillas are endangered, threatened by habitat loss, poaching, disease and warring rebel factions active in their range.
Technical specification: Nikon D7000 + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f5 (-0.3 e/v); ISO 1600 SI-331-2021
Diana Rebman, Unforgettable BehaviorDiana Rebman, USA 2013
The hike to the mountain gorillas was particularly arduous. "What made all the physical effort worth it was to see the mother with her two babies," Rebman said. The mother was a natural with her 6-month- old infants, nursing them while feeding herself. When the silverback leader of the group chased her from a nettle patch, she moved on. "In this picture, she is still tense from the encounter and continues to glance across at him," Rebman said. "Her twins, in the comfort of their mother's strong arms, appear blissfully ignorant." Their future remains uncertain. Mountain gorillas are endangered, threatened by habitat loss, poaching, disease and warring rebel factions active in their range.
Technical specification: Nikon D7000 + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f5 (-0.3 e/v); ISO 1600 SI-331-2021
Sizing up Klaus Tamm, Germany 2012 A scattering of gecko droppings on the sunny veranda of Tamm’s vacation apartment near Etang Salé- les-Hauts on the island of Réunion had attracted some unusual-looking insects. They were neriid long- legged flies. Tamm settled down with his camera to watch as they interacted. “Every so often, a couple of males would engage in a kind of combat dance that involved spinning around each other,” he said. “They would finish by stretching up to their full length of half-an-inch (one-and-a-half centimeters), then pushing with their mouthparts, shoulders and forelegs until one gained height, before flying away or mating with nearby females. I was so impressed by the harmony in the dance that I ended up photographing them for several hours.” Technical specification: Canon EOS 5D Mark II + 100mm lens; 1/250 sec at f3.2 (+ 0.75 e/v); ISO 800
Klaus Tamm, Unforgettable BehaviorThe charge
Eric Pierre, France 2011
Pierre had been tracking wolves when his guide spotted a herd of muskoxen. Approaching, he could see that the herd was nervous, probably because wolves were also on their trail, so he stopped about half-a-mile away upwind. Suddenly, the herd, oblivious to their presence, was now running towards them. “I’ve seen muskoxen run away,” Pierre said. “I’ve seen them react to a threat by forming a circle, and I’ve even seen a male charge. But I’ve never seen a herd spread out into a charging line like this. I could hear the thundering of their hooves. It was one of those situations where it really mattered that I made the right choice between technical accuracy, aesthetics and security.”
Technical specification: Nikon D700 + 500mm f4 lens; 1/2000 sec at f8; ISO 400; Gitzo carbon fibre tripod + EKI head
Eric Pierre, Unforgettable BehaviorEric Pierre, France 2011
Pierre had been tracking wolves when his guide spotted a herd of muskoxen. Approaching, he could see that the herd was nervous, probably because wolves were also on their trail, so he stopped about half-a-mile away upwind. Suddenly, the herd, oblivious to their presence, was now running towards them. “I’ve seen muskoxen run away,” Pierre said. “I’ve seen them react to a threat by forming a circle, and I’ve even seen a male charge. But I’ve never seen a herd spread out into a charging line like this. I could hear the thundering of their hooves. It was one of those situations where it really mattered that I made the right choice between technical accuracy, aesthetics and security.”
Technical specification: Nikon D700 + 500mm f4 lens; 1/2000 sec at f8; ISO 400; Gitzo carbon fibre tripod + EKI head
Garbage picking
Jasper Doest, The Netherlands 2012
“Clambering about this ghastly landfill site in southern Spain made me aware of just how much trash we generate daily,” Doest said. The dumps are affecting the storks’ natural behavior. Instead of feeding on frogs, insects, young birds, rodents and worms, they are attracted to this ready source of rotting food, ingesting potentially lethal rubber bands and plastics, and feeding them to their chicks. Garbage dumps have become increasingly important to some populations of white storks, providing food during both the breeding season and winter. The replacement of dumps with incinerators, combined with rising loss of their natural habitat, may cause a future decline in numbers.
Technical specification: Nikon D3 + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/1000 sec at f11; ISO 400
Jasper Doest, Unforgettable BehaviorJasper Doest, The Netherlands 2012
“Clambering about this ghastly landfill site in southern Spain made me aware of just how much trash we generate daily,” Doest said. The dumps are affecting the storks’ natural behavior. Instead of feeding on frogs, insects, young birds, rodents and worms, they are attracted to this ready source of rotting food, ingesting potentially lethal rubber bands and plastics, and feeding them to their chicks. Garbage dumps have become increasingly important to some populations of white storks, providing food during both the breeding season and winter. The replacement of dumps with incinerators, combined with rising loss of their natural habitat, may cause a future decline in numbers.
Technical specification: Nikon D3 + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/1000 sec at f11; ISO 400
Featured Weekly Ad