Wild dogs vs Hyenas

[gail bisson]

Canon 7D
F 2.8 70-200mm
F 2.8
ISO 1250
SS 1/200
Cropped top and bottom for panorama.
Taken in dark woods at sunset so had to jack ISO up on the 7D:Whoa!:
The IQ on this image is crap but I wanted to share this incredible moment with my fellow BPN'ers. A wild dog pack returned to Little Mombo for the first time in 3 years the morning of our arrival. That evening, they killed an impala. We didn't see the kill but arrived shortly afterwards.
The dogs were yelping and yipping and eating the impala when one, then two, then three hyenas burst into the clearing. All I can say is that the noise of dog on hyena, hyenas crunching on impala bone,the dust in the air and the sheer power displayed by the hyenas was amazing, disturbing and violent. The dogs were quickly chased off and in less than 10 minutes the impala was eaten in its entirety. We were all quiet as we witnessed this unforgettable scene. The Nat Geo people were there and filmed the whole sequence which will be aired on PBS in late 2012 in a special on wild dogs.
Hope you like this image and any tips on improving it will be muchly appreciated,
Gail

[Ken Watkins]

Gail,

You must have been thrilled Wild Dog in action, it is for me at least the best there is.

Nice to hear they are back in Mombo, the high density of Lions drove them way, they seem to be doing well in both Botswana and Zimbabwe of late.:S3::S3:

It is nearly always impossible to get anything resembling clarity at a Wild Dog kill, but under the circumstances you have captured this well. The Hyena trying to sneak in adds greatly, I bet they saw it of.

Judging by the amount of Impalla left you can have only been around 1 minute late, if that.

[Marc Mol]

A great spectacle just to witness, let alone capture at least part of the action Gail, well done!
They are one of my favourite predators as well.



Gail,

they seem to be doing well in both Botswana and Zimbabwe of late.:S3::S3:



You can also add Zambia to that list Ken. :w3
Having seen a pack of 13 around the salt pan area of SLNP. Other packs further north as well.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gail, I guess we must have been passing each other like ships in the night, this pack dropped down to Chief's one morning, very early as we picked them up just before 6.00am. They then played hide & seek, until they took down another small impala, despatched as you say, within minutes, only leaving bones to play with by the time we located them again.

I might be tempted to just add a bit more saturation to the bottom half, just to lift the colour of the Dogs a bit and a bit more sharpening to the main pack too. As you say, light was not on your side, but well worth going for and upping the ISO. Would also remove the blade of grass on the rear leg of the Hyena and perhaps tone down the white 'branch' in the foliage in the BKG about a third in from the RHS.

Grants your man for Wild dogs, but hopefully he will have an update, as he is/has been working in that area.

TFS
Steve

[Ken Watkins]

Gail,

In regard to photography. there is no such thing as a Wild Dog expert it is all about knowing the area you are in and if possiblle having a good guide to assist you , or good luck:bg3::bg3:

In my vast experience of photographing Wild Dog, luck, and hard work are the key ingredients, plus of course co-operative animals, nobody can guarantee Wild Dog sightings

[Morkel Erasmus]

Certainly sounds like it was an awesome sighting, Gail...and the image will always provoke those memories for you...and in the end for many (if not most) of our images that is one of the primary goals with which we take them, besides the joy of 'capturing the moment' at that moment. :bg3:

I echo Steve's suggestions for improving this a bit...

[Harshad Barve]

Very nicely done indeed
TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Gail - great sighting and action. Good suggestions above for improving the image.

TFS,
Rachel