Let's Play!

-
Hyena cubs playing



Let’s Play!

Today I would like to share a photo of a couple of adorable hyena cubs that we saw in 2015 in Kenya. A young hyena cub is trying to rouse an older cub to play. He was unsuccessful, so he wandered off on his own and eventually came back to cuddle with the older cub. The cub was restless and it wasn’t long before he was up and looking for more adventures.

Hyenas live in social groups that are referred to as clans or cackles. These groups can be as large as 80 - which is why you see cubs of different ages in the photos. Mothers will share nursing responsibility and any clan member can bring back food for the young. The young are referred to as cubs since are closely related to cats.

On a personal note, I am restarting my blog and keeping the content shorter and focused on one image. This should help me post more frequently 😉   I hope you enjoy it!

If you would like to see more images from our trip to Kenya see our gallery below:

Kenya Gallery


References:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/s/spotted-hyena/
https://www.livescience.com/55037-hyenas.html






Location: Kenya

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Jolla Cove - California Brown Pelicans

-
Image
California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) are one of my favorite birds.  They combine a distinctive mix of graceful flight with awkward clumsiness on land that make them so much fun to watch. January is the best time to view them because they are particular beautiful in their mating colors: bright red pouches, yellow heads and dark brown necks. La Jolla Cove in San Diego, California is a stunning place to view the flocks that gather there. Brown Pelicans Facts One of the unique aspects of Brown Pelicans compared to other pelican species is that they can dive from as high as 60 feet in the air to catch fish. The pelicans are protected from impact by a special network of air sacs under their skin, however the fish aren't so lucky.  These dives can stun fish for 6 feet underwater. [1]   Pelican pouches can stretch to hold about 3 gallons which is 3 times the amount their stomach can hold.  After catching a fish they wil...
Read more

Polar Bear Adoption?

-
Image
Polar Bear Adoption? For Mother’s Day I wanted to share the story of a special polar bear mom. When we first came upon her in the sea ice we were excited to see a mom with 3 cubs. Seeing triplet cubs is extremely rare in the wild, partially because triplets don’t occur frequently, but also because the cub survival rate is low. In the early 2000's USGS estimated that only 43% of cubs survived their first year. These cubs are 1.5 years old so the odds of seeing triplets at that age are low but not impossible. After the sighting as we zoomed into our photos we realized that one cub had been tagged with a small white device in his ear. Our guides thought this was strange as a scientific team would tag the whole family. Based on a documented case of a polar bear adopting another cub they believed that what we were seeing was an adoption where the mom was taking care of another cub in addition to her own pair. Perhaps during an encounter on the ice a cub had mistakenly fol...
Read more

The Impact of Reversing Images

-
Image
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) in Churchill Canada - Photo has been reversed  Original Polar Bear Image Recently I read an article in Outdoor Photographer:   Create Visual Tension  that made me reflect about the visual impact reversing a photo can have. I'm familiar with the concept of reversing a photo, but prior to reading the article I never considered it for my photos. Landscapes with identifiable landmarks like Yosemite's Half Dome or Colorado's Maroon Bells would look wrong reversed. On a deeper level part of me is bothered by a feeling of misrepresenting what occurred.  I do edit my images and modify things like color and contrast.  I have no problem using HDR processed with natural settings.  The camera cannot accurately represent all the colors that the eye sees so it does not seem a stretch to modify these areas. However, reversing a photo has always felt like it crossed the line in representing the scene differently. The sample photo, whi...
Read more