The Three Brothers, Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - Republic of Kenya

The small thermometer I had on my photo backpack said it was 45 degrees Celsius; I thought about repositioning the device, but then realized that it was already in the shade.

I was sitting in the rear of a Toyota Landcruiser crammed in amongst various pieces of photographic equipment, and a very large cooler which carried breakfast and lunch.  I’d been sitting here for 3 hours watching three young cheetahs, and the temperature didn’t seem to be decreasing.  The cheetahs had the right idea – sleep, and I’m sure I dozed off now and again, only to be woken by several dozen squadrons of annoying flies buzzing around my head.

LEFT: A male cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) watchful for prey or predators.

The Three Brothers

The three male cheetahs, nicknamed “The Three Brothers” by the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS), are a tad over a year old and belong to the same litter.

“Cheetahs are usually solitary or are seen in pairs.  A trio co-habitating is quite uncommon” stated one of the KWS rangers I had spoken with earlier that day. 

Our task this day, and for the following several days was relatively simple; follow the cheetahs to observe their behaviour and hopefully photograph the animals hunting and making a kill. 

Cheetahs are one of the most beautiful cats to be found in Africa, and in my opinion rate second to the leopard.  Evolution and natural selection has developed an animal that is exceptionally adapted to chasing and killing certain types of prey.  The cheetah is the fastest of the big cats and is superbly adapted for speed, able to retain speeds of 112 km/hr (69 mph).   This speed equates to roughly 32 meters per second (32 m/s) and can be maintained over an average prey chase of 2.7 kilometres (3.5 miles).

But, as with most predators when not hunting, they sleep to conserve energy - and this is exactly what the three brothers were doing, only occasionally stirring to check on the location of a number of Thompson gazelles that were browsing nearby.

Cheetahs Are Skittish Animals

Cheetahs, in comparison to other apex predators such as lions and leopards, are skittish animals forever watchful and alert.  They are the “scaredy cats” of the feline family.  A cheetah won’t take unnecessary risks, and often will retreat upon conflict with another animal – especially a lion which are known to kill cheetahs.  A mother with cubs is especially vulnerable and often cubs will be killed by hyenas and lions.  At these times the mother will move away from areas heavily populated with prey to minimise any interaction with other predators. 

The Three Brothers inhabited a lightly vegetated area adjacent to surrounding plains; this is the favoured habitat of cheetahs as it provides vegetation to hide behind, and open ground from which to exercise their one benefit over other predators – speed.   Unlike lions, which mainly hunt at night, cheetahs prefer to hunt during the daylight hours, thereby minimising the chance of injury such as falling into a hole while running at high speeds.

 Fussy Eaters

Searching for the cheetahs each day revealed that over the past week or so they had hunted and made several kills; the remains of their kill was evident as we searched the open ground and beneath shady bushes.  Cheetahs, like some house cats, are fussy eaters; they prefer smaller animals such as gazelles, and then only consume the choicest cuts – normally the rear flanks, leaving the remainder of the kill for hyenas, jackals or vultures. 

LEFT: On the brothers wakens briefly and yawns whilst his brethren sleeps adjacent.

Several times, we observed prey animals and positioned the four wheel drive in a suitable place to film any resultant hunt and kill; however, it became evident that as the brothers were three, a gazelle hind quarter was not going to be enough food to sustain them.  I’d read that cheetahs hunt three to four times a week; daily when bringing up cubs. 

We knew the brothers were hungry….We knew they had to hunt soon…We had an inkling that they wanted something more sustainable than a gazelle, but when would they make their move? 

In my next post, I’ll describe the hunting technique of the three brothers and we’ll learn whether they were successful or not.

Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) - Falkland Islands

One would be remiss when discussing the Falkland Islands not to include the albatross.  The islands are the breeding ground for 70% of the world’s population of Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys).  Several colonies dot the archipelago with the largest colony located on Steeple Jason Island, an isolated island in West Falklands.

LEFT:  Male and female black-browed albatross court to reunite the monogamous lifetime bond that unites the pair.

This species normally nests on steep slopes covered with tussock grass and sometimes on cliffs. They are an annual breeder laying one egg from between September and early November.  Incubation is done by both sexes and lasts roughly 70 days.  After hatching, the chicks take 120 to 130 days to fledge. Juveniles will return to the colony after 2 to 3 years but only to practice courtship rituals, as they will start breeding around the 10^th year.

This delayed time until sexual maturity is one of the reasons that these birds, also called Mollyhawks because of their distinguishing black brow along the eye, is listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered.  The population of albatross in the Falklands has declined 67% since population counts began in 1964.  This decline is attributed to the increase in long line fishing practiced along the Patagonian Shelf and in particular off the coast of South Africa which is one of the regions the birds migrate to when feeding.

During my three weeks in the islands I was fortunate to visit 2 breeding locations and spent several days at one of the colonies.  Sitting quietly along the cliff edge for many hours a day, the birds became very accustomed to your presence and for the most part lost their fear of humans and became increasingly curious.  I had one fellow leave his nest and adolescent chick and waddle toward me to peck at my boot laces, hand and camera lens.  It’s experiences such as this that make the often laborious task of wildlife photography worthwhile.  If more people could appreciate the connection that occurs between species during such occurrences, then perhaps more people would be concerned about protecting habitat and allowing space for wild animals to remain wild.

In the late afternoon when the breeze freshens is when the albatross truly show their grace.  Taxi and liftoff is somewhat ungainly and is final approach and landing, however, in flight their nothing that matches the flight dynamics of the albatross.  Their massive wingspan allows great lift and its possible for albatross to fly distances of thousands of kilometers with barely a wing beat.  Often albatross can be seen skimming over waves and swells flying an almost nape of the earth pattern.  They achieve this ability by harnessing the air pressure that the passing waves produce.

LEFT:  Black-browed albatross looks carefully at its own reflection in the camera lens.

I recall one afternoon when weather conditions were inclement for the best pilots to remain grounded; visibility was reduced to less than 100 meters and winds were buffeting to 40 knots.  The albatrosses were cleared for takeoff and several dozen individuals were flying patterns along the cliff edge.  Sitting on the cliff top was hazardous not for the risk of falling, but by being struck by one of birds diving overhead and making low passes to investigate me.  Often all that was heard was a whoosh as an albatross cleared by head by inches!  This said, the bird is a master in the air and if I kept still there was minimal chance that I would be hit unless a bird was in landing approach, which is very ungainly and would cause concern to the most experienced pilot.

ABOVE: Black-browed albatross sits quietly above sea cliffs waiting to reunite with its mate.

To view other posts concerning the shy albatross, click here.

To view my post on the wandering albatross, click here.

Currently in East Africa Photographing The Migration.....

I'm on a relatively extended trip to East Africa (Kenya) where I will be pairing up with a German-based photographer to photograph the annual milgration and other African wildlife.

At my location there is limited Internet & e-mail. 

If you wish to contact me for photographic work, etc please use the contact form.  I'll reply to all e-mails on return.

Thank you and apologies for any inconvenience.

Tasmanian Devil Babies - Tasmania

During June and July the female Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii ) aren't very active and finding them can be difficult.  The reason for their slumber is that most are heavily pregnant or have given birth to young.  Amazingly up to 50 young can be born and the joeys must race a distance of about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) from the birth canal to the mother’s rear-facing pouch, where they compete to attach themselves to one of only four available teats. Only those four will then have a chance to grow and survive.

LEFT:  A female Tasmania Devil ((Sarcophilus harrisii) rests on her back revealing three large joeys.

August is the time when the devils are beginning to develop fur and their eyes are opening; for the most part the joeys are still attached to the teats.  At this stage of development, the youngsters are growing rapidly and depending upon the number of young in the pouch, it maybe difficult for the mother devil to accommodate them all.  The mother devil will scavenge and hunt prey during this time while carrying the babies in the rear-facing pouch attached to her nipples.

LEFT:  A large heathy male devil baby, guard hairs reflecting in the sun, suckles. 

During this time, mother devils attempt to keep beneath the radar as much as possible, as protecting their infants is their prime responsibility and concern.  Other devils (male and female) but particularly male devils may try and kill the youngsters The reasons for this are varied but include :protecting food resources (less food to share), reducing rival male devil's DNA by killing the rival's young, and causing the female to become receptive again.

When the young finally are too large, they emerge from the pouch and often ride on their mother’s back, like young koalas or possums, or are dragged along underneath her, still attached to her nipples. After about six months, the young are weaned, leaving the mother to live alone in the bush by late December until the following march when courtship and mating begins again.

To read more articles concerning Tasmanian devils.

• Hunting Wild Devils in the Night
• March is Breeding Time for Tasmanian Devils
• Shadowing the Devil Task Force

Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome), Falkland Islands

Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) are the smallest of the crested penguins with a circumpolar distribution. They are also one of the most common penguin species in the Falklands. The penguins which weigh between 2 and 2.7 kg get their name because they move around by hopping keeping both feet together. Despite, what may seem as hindrance, they are exceptionally agile on land; I was constantly amazed by their ability to tackle the most challenging terrain as they ledge-hopped on precipitous cliff faces!

If you inspect the cliffs closely you can see the narrow cuts and crevices created by the sharp toe claws on the penguin s feet. The carved sandstone provided evidence to the millions of penguins that have moved across the rock over thousands of years.

LEFT: After an arduous cllimb of 50 meters, a rockhopper penguin bellows its success in the late afternoon light.

Every evening the rockhoppers porpoise towards the steep sea cliffs riding the large South Atlantic swells. More than once the penguins, who gather into a raft for safety just out from the breakers, are pulverised onto the sharp rocks. I watched a small group land successfully onto a flat rock and begin to hop to safety only to be swept away again by another large wave. If this is not enough, predators cruise the coast near the breeding colonies seeking an easy kill. Southern elephant seals, leapoard seals and killer whales regularly lie in ambush waiting for the penguins to begin their waterborne assault.

Rockhoppers live in large colonies often mixed with albatross or imperial shags. They are noisy and quarrelsome little creatures but their comical antics and inquisitive personalities make them very endearing and they soon become the favourite penguin for many visitors.

Currently they listed as vulnerable by several conservation agencies with an overall decline in most populations. The speculated reason for this decline is the rise in sea surface temperature (due to global warming) which has affected the prey stocks of rockhopper penguins.

Breeding
Rockhopper penguins are very synchronised in their breeding cycle both within a colony and across years. Males return to the island in mid-October and females a few days later. Nests are re-established (with most returning to the same nest sites and mates) and two eggs laid, with the smaller first egg never producing a chick to fledging.

LEFT: The afternoon rush hour as food-ladden rockhopper penguins make their way to the colony to rejoin their mate and offspring

Females take the first incubation shift while males, who have not eaten for some 4 weeks, go to sea to forage. On the males return, the females depart for a foraging trip and return as the chicks hatch. Females provide all food for the chick when it is young and when absent from the nest (food foraging) the male will undertake guard duty. But once chicks enter a creche, both parents forage.
Chicks fledge at the end of February. At this time adults go to sea to fatten for the moult, which they undertake in early March. After finishing the moult they depart the breeding areas in late April.

Diet and Feeding

Rockhopper penguins eat predominantly euphausiids, myctophid fish and squid which they hunt for in the Polar Frontal, Zone.

LEFT: Rockhopper penguins on the move. It's amazing the speed they can travel at by hopping.

In my next Falklands post, we will discuss the largest seabird that breeds on the Falklands the Black-browed Albatross.