The worlds rarest canid.

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

ingweDave

ingweDave

Well-known member
Supporting Member
Marketplace
Member's gallery
A few years ago I travelled to Ethiopia for a wildlife photography holiday. Although we were looking for a range of subjects, our main target was the Ethiopian Wolf. (Canis simensis) Although looking more like a fox, this animal is more closely related to the wolf family. By contradiction, it is also known as a Simien Fox.
There are probably less than 500 of these animals left, although the population is stable. Their greatest threat is loss of habitat, as they are extremely specific as to where they survive. They are only found at altitudes between 3500-4500m. By far the largest population is in the Bale mountains, which is where we headed. At 4000m altitude, this plateau holds over 50% of the population. We soon found it pretty tough going humping camera gear around at this altitude, with no time to acclimatise. It was all worth it to photograph these relatively confiding creatures. We watched them hunt on several occasions. They are reported to feed mainly on Mole Rats but most of the prey we saw them take, was the very abundant Grass Rats. Although the population is stable, I cannot help but be pessimistic about the long term survival of this animal. With its very niche environmental requirements, global warming, human encroachment and disease, all point towards a very fragile existence. There are no captive populations.

Nikon D4, 500f4, f6.3 @ 1/2000, ISO1000
ETH ORIG-0334-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.


Nikon D4, 500f4, f6.3 @ 1/2000, ISO1000
ETH ORIG-0323-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.


Nikon D4, 500f4, f6.3 @ 1/2500, ISO1000
ETH ORIG-0337-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.


Nikon D4, 500f4, f7.1 @ 1/3200, ISO2000
ETH ORIG-0291-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.


Nikon D700, 16-35 F4 @ 27mm, f7.1 @ 1/500, ISO500
ETH ORIG-0360-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Member's gallery
Beautiful animal and excellent photographs. Hope they can hang on, but as the climate changes they, or their prey, may get pushed to ever higher altitudes until they run out of room. Thank you for posting the photos.
 
Member's gallery
Cristobal said:
Very nice and instructive serie (y) I am intrigued by your last photo, where the red rocks seem stacked by humans , is it?
Click to expand...
Hi Cristobal

Thanks to you and everyone else for the comments? Yes the stones are man laid. The plateau is prone to a good deal of fog (And Ice) I guess the stones are there to stop vehicles drifting off the road, where it can be very wet. We had to wait until fog cleared when we were there.
 
Member's gallery
Thanks again for all the positive responses. There are times when just experiencing beautiful wildlife oportunities puts photography into second place. When that stops, my camera gear goes with it👍
 
Member's gallery
Absolutely stunning Dave... love the back story to compliment the shots ... the second shot does it for me closely followed by the stalking shot ....

Thank you for sharing these



Harry.G
 
Member's gallery
ingweDave said:
A few years ago I travelled to Ethiopia for a wildlife photography holiday. Although we were looking for a range of subjects, our main target was the Ethiopian Wolf. (Canis simensis) Although looking more like a fox, this animal is more closely related to the wolf family. By contradiction, it is also known as a Simien Fox.
There are probably less than 500 of these animals left, although the population is stable. Their greatest threat is loss of habitat, as they are extremely specific as to where they survive. They are only found at altitudes between 3500-4500m. By far the largest population is in the Bale mountains, which is where we headed. At 4000m altitude, this plateau holds over 50% of the population. We soon found it pretty tough going humping camera gear around at this altitude, with no time to acclimatise. It was all worth it to photograph these relatively confiding creatures. We watched them hunt on several occasions. They are reported to feed mainly on Mole Rats but most of the prey we saw them take, was the very abundant Grass Rats. Although the population is stable, I cannot help but be pessimistic about the long term survival of this animal. With its very niche environmental requirements, global warming, human encroachment and disease, all point towards a very fragile existence. There are no captive populations.

Nikon D4, 500f4, f6.3 @ 1/2000, ISO1000
View attachment 7084

Nikon D4, 500f4, f6.3 @ 1/2000, ISO1000
View attachment 7086

Nikon D4, 500f4, f6.3 @ 1/2500, ISO1000
View attachment 7087

Nikon D4, 500f4, f7.1 @ 1/3200, ISO2000
View attachment 7088

Nikon D700, 16-35 F4 @ 27mm, f7.1 @ 1/500, ISO500
View attachment 7089
Click to expand...
Magnificent series!
Iain
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top