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The Kill
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The Kill

by Richard Sandor

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 13, 2014192 views2 comments
Earlier, I had posted a photo of nine wild dog pups at their burrow. The five adults had left them to go out on a hunt. At the time, we were quite far from the adults which were now being followed by two vehicles. We were also on the wrong side of the hill.
We left the pups and motored along looking for opportunities while listening to the chatter on the radio. As it was now getting dark (post 1800 hours), we were getting ready to return to camp. The radio chatter said they could no longer follow the pack which was chasing a young kudu, as the kudu had gone up the steep and heavily brushed hill separating us.
No more than a minute after hearing this, the guide looked up and saw a kudu crest the hill and head in our direction. The kudu was being followed by a lone wild dog. The guide turned off road and headed for the kudu. From a short distance, we could see the dog biting at the hind legs of the kudu. We approached just as the kudu was unable to go any farther.
The lone dog then proceeded to bring down the kudu by disemboweling.
Taken with a D4 and 80-400 at 90mm, 1/320, f/5.6 and ISO 12,800. I chose 1/320 to ensure the action was frozen. Even though it pushed the ISO to the max and left the photo somewhat underexposed, I felt I could mostly deal with that in post. Your thoughts on improvement? Richard

Comments

2 comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on October 13, 2014 at 12:35 PM
Richard,
You very rarely see a Wild Dog kill, the nearest I have come was when following a pack turning a corner and finding an almost completely eaten Steenbok, plus a couple of young ostrich which was quite nasty and too dark and buried in bush to get any worthwhile images.
Whilst this is not perfect just getting it is great, thanks for sharing :toast: :toast:
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on October 16, 2014 at 1:21 PM
I think you handled the low light quite well, given the excitement and quick timing required to get the shot. Although the central scene is a little obscured by the brush and grasses, you have just enough graphic detail to tell the story and this has a feeling of high drama with a good point of view to both the dog and the kudu.
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments