Zebra Huddle

[Morkel Erasmus]

This is a Cape Mountain Zebra and her foal, photographed at dusk in the Mountain Zebra National Park in the Karoo, South Africa. Photo taken shortly after sunset as we were about to return to the camp.

This subspecies of zebra was hunted to near extinction in the early 1900s, but thanks to the concerted efforts by the South African National Parks their numbers have increased from less than 100 in the 1950s to nearly 2000 individuals. They are listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List after previously being listed as "endangered". Only by setting apart large tracts of land, rehabilitating previously removed species and preserving that land for our children will we be able to preserve some ecological sanity in this ever-expanding world.


If you ever get a chance to visit the Mountain Zebra National Park - please do! Not only will you have the lovely zebras and beautiful vistas in all directions, you could also see lion, cheetah, aardwolf, buffalo, brown hyena and caracal - plus an array of bird species and lots of antelopes (not to mention a famed "African Unicorn" species that is currently under heavy poaching attack).


Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 | 1/400 SS | ISO-2000

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel , lovel fading soft light and the Zebras gave you a good pose . In a real nice world the back one would have rested the head in a classy manner on the rump of the foremost one .
Lovely colors and nice rich blacks in the subjects . I like the backdrop with the blueish mountains and the very delicate purple flowers breaking the greenery .
I have been there many moons ago , but unfortunately not much sightings besides the Mountain Zebras , some Antelopes .......
But i loved the landscape and settings ..... well might be worth a visit . Coming to SA in sept 16.

TFS Andreas

[haseeb badar]

Hi Morkel -- Lovely image , I like the colors , the greens , blues and purple also the blacks look so good , i also like the descending line of the mountain in the backdrop.

TFS !

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Nice pose and I too really like the soft colors of dusk evident in the bg. I'm seeing some blue in the whites of the neck of the youngster. I also see a slight halo around the rumps/backs of the zebras. Easy fixes if you are so inclined.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Loving the comp, eye contact and contrasting colours here Morkel.

[Mike Poole]

Love the light and the composition of the zebras in front os the beautiful mountain range behind.

I'm playing the lottery desperately so I can come on one of your tours!

Mike

[Gabriela Plesea]

Another fine image from your travels, Morkel!

I love the colours overall, the two zebra stand out beautifully, lovely detail and textures on their hides.

I like the 3D feel of this frame, this is so well processed and presented. The framing works!

And yep, the little flowers are so, so pretty:tinysmile_shy_t:

Warmest regards,

Enjoyed this, very very much:cheers: