some cheetahs /Tanzania Jan 08
Mar 10th, 2008, 09:30 AM
#61
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No doubt Andy. After the stoppage of the hunt we repositioned further up and ended up observing the actual kill from far off, basically I saw two clouds of dust come together into one which cleared to a beautiful cheetah clamped onto a young wildebeest and that was more than enough to make me tingle inside with excitement at what I saw. One of my favorite sightings ever and much better than capturing one more portrait of an animal trying to sleep.
Mar 10th, 2008, 10:29 AM
#63
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Andy wrote - I was saddened when other vehicles would come near us and wouldn't show much respect regarding where they positioned their vehicles when the mother was hunting. ... similar comments by Pred Bill ...
We were outraged by three incidents near Ndutu ... first was with these six cubs on Feb 23 (maybe when PB was there?), our first afternoon at Ndutu, when there were 18 vehicles near this family. All was cool until she got up to hunt and eight vehicles kept moving between her and the gazelles, keeping her from hunting. I have photos of some of the jeeps (four were from one company, two from a large company, two I don't know the company) but was warned that an important man in politics is part-owner of one company and if I complained it could mean trouble for me and the company we used, so I won't name them.
Many complained to the NCA rangers and the next AM the Cheetah Project researcher girl (Laura or Laurie?) was there to 'request' that we all stay on one side and not move when mom hunted, and she did hunt (unsuccessfully). After this we let these cheetahs alone, figuring we didn't want to contribute to the pressure, until a week later when she had moved further south and was harder to locate and we found her very early with just one other jeep and photographed her killing a gazelle.
Most of our other cheetah encounters were less hectic and better mannered and I have the names of several companies that I'll publish later that were courteous and respectful of the cheetahs, so this churlish behavior is not the norm.
PredBill wrote ... I have been hesitant to go to East Africa due to the reputation of the number of vehicles
In 2007 we saw 17 cheetahs in this area and were often the ONLY vehicle at a sighting, and never had more than two other jeeps around, one of which was in our group and radioed over. So it was really different this year.
I think part of the crowding was due to the uniqueness of finding six cubs, which everyone wanted to see at almost any cost. Because of the size of the cubs they didn't move too far so were relatively easy to find each day.
Was also told that several new tented campsites were opened on the Ndutu side of the border because of demand from the tented mobile companies, causing extra crowding compared to previous years.
Bill
We were outraged by three incidents near Ndutu ... first was with these six cubs on Feb 23 (maybe when PB was there?), our first afternoon at Ndutu, when there were 18 vehicles near this family. All was cool until she got up to hunt and eight vehicles kept moving between her and the gazelles, keeping her from hunting. I have photos of some of the jeeps (four were from one company, two from a large company, two I don't know the company) but was warned that an important man in politics is part-owner of one company and if I complained it could mean trouble for me and the company we used, so I won't name them.
Many complained to the NCA rangers and the next AM the Cheetah Project researcher girl (Laura or Laurie?) was there to 'request' that we all stay on one side and not move when mom hunted, and she did hunt (unsuccessfully). After this we let these cheetahs alone, figuring we didn't want to contribute to the pressure, until a week later when she had moved further south and was harder to locate and we found her very early with just one other jeep and photographed her killing a gazelle.
Most of our other cheetah encounters were less hectic and better mannered and I have the names of several companies that I'll publish later that were courteous and respectful of the cheetahs, so this churlish behavior is not the norm.
PredBill wrote ... I have been hesitant to go to East Africa due to the reputation of the number of vehicles
In 2007 we saw 17 cheetahs in this area and were often the ONLY vehicle at a sighting, and never had more than two other jeeps around, one of which was in our group and radioed over. So it was really different this year.
I think part of the crowding was due to the uniqueness of finding six cubs, which everyone wanted to see at almost any cost. Because of the size of the cubs they didn't move too far so were relatively easy to find each day.
Was also told that several new tented campsites were opened on the Ndutu side of the border because of demand from the tented mobile companies, causing extra crowding compared to previous years.
Bill
Mar 10th, 2008, 02:52 PM
#64
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That is sad to hear about the concentration of vehicles around the mom/w 6 cubs. When we were there in late January it wasn't like that. I guess maybe we were among the 1st to see them, because we had her and the babies to ourselves. The mom was feeding them a fresh hare; she was carrying it to them when we found them early one morning.
davgai
davgai
Mar 10th, 2008, 04:23 PM
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WOW.. those Cheetah pictures were BEAUTIFUL! The series of 6.. I think they're just wonderful.. LOVED the Mother with her baby (close up), then the one of the 3 little babies running was just .. can't even come up with the proper word for it.. heartwarming?
What kind of lens/camera did you have? I have a nikon 8-400mm lens but it's not good for any action.. the subject should be still. I'm going to Africa in June.. and love photography, so I've been wondering about my camera and lens.. if it'll work out. And Davgai 1's pictures were awesome too. I loved the gorilla from Rwanda picture the most. My son saw the Rwanda movie recently and said it was the saddest movie he's ever seen, though. How's Rwanda? I'd love to see the gorillas...
Thanks for sharing!
What kind of lens/camera did you have? I have a nikon 8-400mm lens but it's not good for any action.. the subject should be still. I'm going to Africa in June.. and love photography, so I've been wondering about my camera and lens.. if it'll work out. And Davgai 1's pictures were awesome too. I loved the gorilla from Rwanda picture the most. My son saw the Rwanda movie recently and said it was the saddest movie he's ever seen, though. How's Rwanda? I'd love to see the gorillas...
Thanks for sharing!
Mar 10th, 2008, 04:52 PM
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Hi teadrinker,
I can't answer any of the photography questions inteligently; I can tell you we took some pictures with a Panosonic FZ18 like this one http://picasaweb.google.com/davgai/C...76190577410898 We were not too close, but this camera has a good zoom lens.
And some of the Gorilla pictures; like this one; with a Canon digital rebel with very little zoom. http://picasaweb.google.com/davgai/B...87573218358994
I'm sure Andy will have more informed answers about equipment.
davgai
I can't answer any of the photography questions inteligently; I can tell you we took some pictures with a Panosonic FZ18 like this one http://picasaweb.google.com/davgai/C...76190577410898 We were not too close, but this camera has a good zoom lens.
And some of the Gorilla pictures; like this one; with a Canon digital rebel with very little zoom. http://picasaweb.google.com/davgai/B...87573218358994
I'm sure Andy will have more informed answers about equipment.
davgai
Mar 11th, 2008, 08:40 AM
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Teadrinker, the adage that 'you can never have enough lens' rings true for certain subjects. I use Canon digital SLR equipment, as well as panorama film. I primarily use a Canon 500mm f/4 lens with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters as my long lens, and a 100-400mm as my medium lens. I also use a 24-105mm for landcapes and grab shots. Oh, and digital infrared for my black and white shots.
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