Golden Jackal being attacked by Lappetfaced Vulture

[philperry]

During a safari to Tanzania's Serengeti we had stopped to photograph some vultures feeding on a gnu carcass. A Lappetfaced was dominating the kill and keeping all the Ruppell's and Whitebackeds from getting near. Then along came a solitary Golden Jackal. He circled round then stopped, took a look and then trotted up towards the carcass. Big mistake ! The Lappetfaced immediately lunged at the jackal and manged to pin its hindquarters down to the ground with one foot. The Jackal snarled and screamed at the vulture but struggled for a few moments to pull itself free. When it did it hightailed it out of there at top speed. Lesson learned.

I always try to stop at kills in the Serengeti or Masai Mara as they are so often the site of great animal interactions. But this was one of the best I have seen.


Tech Details:
Canon EOS 30D + 100-400mm @ 300mm ; 1/800th ; f10 ; ISO 400

[Harshad Barve]

Wonderful , wonderful natural history document Phil , Very well done :cheers::cheers::cheers:
TFS

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Phil, I think you have done well capturing the clash between the two animals here, and the OOF vultures in the BG created added drama in the scene. If it were my image I would try to tone down the highlights on the top of the lappetfaced vultures head, as well as the front of its right leg. I would also perhaps try for a little lightening of the vultures face. As far as the crop goes, this one works for me, but it would be nice to know if this is the full-frame or if you have any more of the lappetfaced vultures wing on the RHS.
Well done with catching the action..I am sure it probably happened in a flash.
cheers
Grant

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Phil, what I forgot to add in my initial crit, was that I really liked the two creatures head to head posture, and the jackal's bared teeth in opposition to the vultures talon..well captured there..
cheers
Grant

[philperry]

Thanks Harshad and Grant for the nice comments.

The full frame photo includes a lot more of the dark wings of the lappetfaced - with lots more sunlit flies highlighted against the dark wings.

Getting the jackal's jaws wide open was such a stroke of luck. I managed a few photos in the few seconds available - but this was the only frame where both animals were in focus. Just as well this was the one with them in the peak of the action. Its good to get lucky now and again :)

Interesting to see just how powerful a lappetfaced vulture is. We all know that they are the vulture that can open the thickest of animal hides (the other vultures wait for them to open up a carcass if a lion or hyaena has not already done that). But it was amazing to see it send a jackal packing.

[Todd Frost]

Nice moment captured. As you mentioned luck in this capture, being in position and ready for the action created your luck:), well seen. There is motion blur on this one also, but for me this works well as important areas of the image are nice sharp enough. A little more room below and rhs would be nice. Well done.
TFS
Todd

[Morkel Erasmus]

awesome moment indeed Phil!! lucky you that this was the shot that was in focus! would like to see the full frame image just for comparison? I agree with Grant's initial suggestions about selective lighting and tweaks.

Lappet-faceds are my favourite vultures and are humongous!

[Steve Canuel]

Nice timing. I like the head angles and the spectators in the BG. Looks like a big bird.

[philperry]

Thanks for the comments Todd, Morkel & Steve.

I have attached the full frame original to show you how I cropped my original post.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Phil - if this were mine I would only crop from the bottom as I feel the cut-off OOF vulture heads there distract, but I actually dig the OOF vulture top RHS looking intently at the scuffle...

[philperry]

I have actually tried several different crops Morkel - and most work well. Ther picture has a lot of action and interest and different crops focus attention on different places. But I agree that a trim off the bottom gives the best overall.

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Phil, thanks for reposting the FF. I agree with Morkels crop suggestion totally. The extra wing in the FF adds to the image, as does the extra vulture add to the drama of the 'surrounded' jackal. Phil, what processing are you doing and what program are you using? Are you doing any selective work on your shots?
There is one confirmed record from Tanzania of a lappetfaced vulture attacking and killing a jackal during a clash over a carcass. Lappetfaced vultures have much more powerful feet and talons than most other vultures and still sometimes kill their own prey.
cheers
grant

[philperry]

Thanks Grant. I am using Photoshop CS4 on a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard. I mostly try to make only a few adjustments - levels and so on. For sharpening I am trying out dslr Fractals - especially for pictures that need more sharpening. Otherwise I just use a little unsharp mask. Selective work is not my forte - I still need to look at that more.

Interesting to learn of a jackal kill by a lappetfaced. Wow. Certainly the jackal I saw made a big mistake - you can see the vulture's claw in its back and the way the jackal's hindquarters had collapsed under the pressure from the vulture's foot. A real powerful bird.

Just for the heck of it I have posted the crop as per Morkel's suggestion.

[Morkel Erasmus]

works well for me this way Phil - obviously a little more space on top of the OOF vulture's head would have been a bonus.

I quite dig the flies!

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Phil, I like the repost, well done. I think that spending some time on some selective processing techniques (either the adjustment brush) in Camera Raw or using layers in Photoshop will help you get more out of your shots, specially ones shot in hard conditions like we are often faced with when shooting wildlife. You are already getting the hard part right by being in the right place at the right time. There is lots of help available here at BPN, my own PS skills have come on greatly (but still have a way to go) with help from folk here.
I am going to be away on holiday for a while, but keep the exciting shots coming for bpn
cheers
Grant

[Rachel Hollander]

Phil - great action captured. Some excellent advice above. I like the repost best.

TFS,
Rachel

[philperry]

Thanks Morkel, Grant & Rachel.

I do use levels in photoshop Grant. But I prefer not to have to make too many adjustments. I prefer taking photos rather than processing them - though of course both skills are essential.

[Robert Amoruso]

That is some action Phiil.

Good suggestions on the processing. I did not see it mentioned but a reverse S-Curve reduces contrast in such images quit well. Give it a try.

Happy New Year!

[philperry]

Thanks Robert I will try that.

[Hendri Venter]

Excellent action image Phil. I like the original post.

[philperry]

Thanks Hendri.