I'm The Man!

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 21, 201196 views4 comments

I watched this big fella protecting his territory from another male. You should have seen the chase! I wish I could have gotten more photos. But, this was the best "victor" photo, as he returned to his territory.....intruder free.

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 21, 2011 at 4:55 PM

You've captured a nice pose. Maybe he's been hearing about the Loch Ness Monster. I would suggest cropping from the top down to below the upper leaf. Then the picture will really be focused on the gator and the ripples. What fun to have watched the chase.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on February 21, 2011 at 11:40 PM

It's funny, this was my original crop below. I just liked the lilies at the top, so I posted the first one. . But, at first, I did center all the action on him. Thanks for validating my first instinct

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 22, 2011 at 9:59 AM

Hi Lucy,

Having both the head and tail (with nothing in between) visible is interesting. The greens and blues are nice here as well. I was just about to suggest a crop from the top and scrolled down and saw the version I was just about to describe! Although it's not critical in the cropped version, the more full frame version above appears off-level and in need of a CCW rotation (in the cropped version the indicators of the tilt - the ripples near the top - are not nearly as noticeable.

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on February 23, 2011 at 6:55 PM

Thanks Brad for pointing out the slanted horiz. I guess I was so proud of this shot, that I couldn't wait to post it.

I took it hand held about 50 feet from this guy. I just saw one allig. cruising along, then all hell broke loose. With nowhere to run, I hid behind a tree and took this shot. I've been going to this State Park for 25 years and this is the first time I've seen territorial behavior this intense . Usually, the male just chases the intruder until it is out of his "realm".

I wish I had caught the shot just before this one! He arched his back way out of the water, then swung down very hard into this pose.

I was never really worried for myself, as he already had a "poacher" to punish! He never even noticed me..... thank goodness, because the trails out here are only about 20feet wide.

thanks again for looking.

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments