I'm sure by now you've all figured out that cheetahs are one of my favorite animals. I had a fabulous time at the Cheetah Conservation Fund last November and had many wonderful opportunities to interact with them. However, as special as those encounters were, there's just an added thrill when you get a chance to see them in the wild. Our first full day at Lake Ndutu, we had a chance to spend about four hours watching a mother with four cubs. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and one of the more enjoyable mornings I have ever had - anywhere. So what better way to celebrate mother's day than to share a mom and four cubs!
Interestingly, only three of the cubs were hers. I mentioned previously that we had a chance to spend some time with a cheetah researcher while we were at Ndutu. She told us that this mother was experienced and had successfully raised litters in the past. In the same area, there was a second mother who also had three cubs, but it was her first litter. The researcher wasn't exactly sure whether it was by chance or design, but one of the cubs ended up getting "transferred" from the new mother to the more experienced mother. Whether intentional or not, this significantly improves the cubs' chances of reaching adulthood because the new mother will find it much easier to care for only two cubs and the experienced mother is better equipped to handle a larger family. The adopted cub was about three months younger than his siblings and so is a little smaller and still has more of the cub fur than the other three.
#1 When we first arrived, there were about ten vehicles making a semi-circle around this sleepy pile of spotted cuteness. It was a little crowded with that many vehicles, but it appeared that mom and her cubs were used to being the center of attention and so didn't seem too fazed by our presence.
Excellent series Jay, great interaction amongst the younguns'. Favorites are 3, 6 and 8, but all are wonderful shots. So this is what you meant by "looking out your window at breakfast and seeing nothing but traffic" Now I know what you mean about your "cat" yawning!
Nice series. My favorite is #8. The color is a bit weak on these shots though. It almost looks like adobeRGB files that are being improperly viewed as sRGB.
Maybe it's a mother & daughter situation & that the mother has ended up helping her first time mother/daughter.....
Wonderful to hear how they worked it out.
Lil
That's possible, Lil. I don't remember the researcher saying the two females were related, but that would make some sense. I don't know how long they had been following the animals so they may have been related and the research just didn't go back far enough to show it.
Doug Bentlage wrote:
Excellent series Jay, great interaction amongst the younguns'. Favorites are 3, 6 and 8, but all are wonderful shots. So this is what you meant by "looking out your window at breakfast and seeing nothing but traffic" Now I know what you mean about your "cat" yawning!
Doug
Thanks, Doug. If only I could see something like this every morning!!!! That's why I have to go on safaris and the like - to get away from the asphalt for a while!
Ben Horne wrote:
Nice series. My favorite is #8. The color is a bit weak on these shots though. It almost looks like adobeRGB files that are being improperly viewed as sRGB.
You're right that the color is a little weak. Part of it is that it was a fairly dark overcast that morning. The other part is that unfortunately most of the shots I took this morning were taken with a new lens that needed to be sent back for recalibration upon my return. Shots taken with it came out too soft and had an odd haziness about them - almost like I was shooting through fog. Because I had decided not to use a TC, they weren't as bad as some of my other shots from the trip and so were easier to salvage with processing. They're still slightly off though.
mabidally wrote:
Hi Jay, I really like these and your notes and commentary make it so much more enthralling. "Peek a boo" is too cute for words!
On a technical note do you shoot RAW format and process and did you use use "shadow/highlight" in Photoshop?
I do shoot RAW - it has saved me from improper original settings any number of times. In general, I keep my processing to a minimum. Maybe a little contrast and saturation boosting and some tinkering with the levels, but not too much. I the first to admit I don't come close to using photoshop's full capabilities.
mdbassman wrote:
Magnificient captures Jay!!! Love the interaction. #1 is a true pleasure...."He ain't heavy, he's my brother(sister)!!" Well done!
Dan
Jay, the behavior in these images is just terrific! I'm not quite certain why the colors look so flat - was it just crummy light? Wondering whether your PP isn't bringing out the colors that were there, or whether you just had bad luck with light when the behavior and interactions were so awesome. If the light was bad, some fill flash might have made all the difference.... I hope most sincerely that you are not offended by these questions - it's just that with this kind of stuff going on, the light could have totally put these over the top as images!! The comps and other tech details are excellent.
Susan
