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Stumped by a Cheetah
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Stumped by a Cheetah

by Morkel Erasmus

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 29, 2014211 views12 comments
Another awesome experience from my Zimanga trip - following cheetahs on foot. This male cheetah is one of many wild but habituated cheetahs on Zimanga. They hunt and kill for themselves every day.
This was taken crouching close to him in the morning as he was picking up the scent of a rival male on this stump. The giraffe was a bonus.

More info about this new photographic reserve in South Africa:
www.zimanga.com

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR @ 112mm
f4.0 | 1/1000 SS | ISO-200

Comments

12 comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 29, 2014 at 11:26 AM
Yes, the giraffe is quite a bonus to an already excellent shot Morkel.
Very nice sense of place, great eye contact, and that dead wood perch is cool :cool:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Max Waugh on June 29, 2014 at 12:00 PM
The giraffe makes the shot, IMO. Nice light here, and the warm complementary colors in the subjects are great. Would've loved a different tail position from the cheetah, but sometimes we have to live with what they give us.

Max
Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments
Comment posted by Jerry Austin on June 29, 2014 at 12:07 PM
Doesn't get much better than this. Awesome!!
Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Teller on June 29, 2014 at 3:17 PM
Great all around image. Beautiful cat, nice perch and the giraffe just adds to the imae.
Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments
Comment posted by Krunal Janani on June 30, 2014 at 7:40 AM
Stunning to say the least
No nits from me
Super image Morkel :toast:
Registered on September 16, 2010, 60 Posts, 1370 Comments
Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 1, 2014 at 10:57 PM
Love this Morkel. The Giraffe is super cool and the look you're getting form the Cheetah is perfect in my opinion. Nice light as well.
Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments
Comment posted by Zack Clothier on July 2, 2014 at 12:15 PM
Really nice light Morkel. From a compositional standpoint I would have preferred a little more separation with the giraffe and the stump, but that's minor, nice catch!
Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on July 2, 2014 at 4:49 PM
Thanks for the feedback, everyone
:smile:
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on July 9, 2014 at 8:40 AM
Making Wildlife photography easy by setting up "artificial" reserves is not my cup of tea, but there you go.
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on July 9, 2014 at 10:46 AM
Ken, until you have visited there and spent time with the Senekal family to see what they and the reserve are about, then a comment like yours is just plainly uncalled for.

These cheetahs are fully wild, hunting for themselves everyday - there is no difference in how you are able to approach them and how they have come to accept humans on foot with them compared to the animals in Mana Pools - except that Mana is a bigger area with no border fences. It's not a rehab centre, if that's the assumption your comment was based on. The 8000ha (soon to be 12000ha) that Zimanga is situated on was old hunting grounds that has been converted to non-consumptive tourism with most iconic species roaming free and wild. Lions are due to be introduced later this year.
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on July 10, 2014 at 4:27 AM
Morkel,
My comments remain unchanged, Wildlife Photography means for me taking images of animals in the wild rather than a specially set up facility (as described on their website) , to make any comparison with Mana Pools is in my opinion ludicrous.
It is in my opinion nothing more than a large zoo, just like Sabi Sands although even there no "special" facilities have been provuied to make it easy for photography!
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on July 10, 2014 at 5:11 AM
well, Ken, luckily in this life we can agree to disagree...as the reasoning you espouse in these comments is also in my opinion ludicrous :wink:
Why is building a hide where photographers can sit at a waterhole (which has NO bearing on this cheetah image, more for the hides on the reserve) any different than sitting at same waterhole in your car, except that you have a better angle and perspective? It's just funny that you have not uttered this same "view" towards any other reserve with a hide (like Mashatu) or an outer perimeter fenceline (Madikwe, all other SANparks locations - many of which are smaller than this reserve, even Etosha has large sections of perimter fence on the south and east) on images here?

Anyway - this discussion is off-topic with regards to image critique. I offered you my rebuttals as to how "easy" you think this was to follow a cheetah on foot without making sudden movements and appearing threatening to the subject. If you have nothing to contribute towards the actual image and its presentation here, then let's agree to disagree on what makes a reserve worthwhile to visit, and move on. I am sure Zimanga will do just fine without your patronage in any regard as many specialist safari guides and photographers in SA have only got praise for what they have done and are doing there, both from a photographic perspective and also from a conservation perspective (metapopulation projects of cheetahs and wild dogs)
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments