I don't think Steve or I have posted an image from this sighting yet. It was perhaps our most epic of the trip. We had spent a good portion of the afternoon game drive at the wild dog den photographing the puppies. We had opted to stay with the puppies and the one adult rather than follow the other 4 adults when they went off to hunt. We left the den as the sun was setting and went to the river to celebrate the end of a special day with sundowners on the bank of the river. JP and Richie, our guide and tracker, had just started to set up the table when JP and I simultaneously saw movement on the opposite bank and yelled as one of the adult wild dogs caught an impala at full speed and brought it down. Once the impala was disabled the dog immersed itself in the river to cool down and called the other adults. The four then proceeded to chow down on the impala. By this time those who had gotten out of the vehicle jumped back in and we crossed the river.
The sounds of the dogs and the kill attracted a hyena on the side of the river we were originally on. The dogs saw the intruder and took off after the hyena, nipping at his rear and chasing him off. The vultures took the opportunity to feast on the impala a little too but the dogs chased them off. In the space of about 10 minutes we watched the dogs make the kill, cross the river at least twice, chase off the hyena and devour the impala. Unfortunately, light was at a real premium throughout.
Once the dogs had finished the impala and headed back to the den to feed the young, we returned to where we had left the table and sundowner supplies. It was at that point that the hyena returned with 8 of his friends to see if they could perhaps take over the kill or feed on the scraps. We watched with a spot as the first few hyenas jumped in the water and made their way across the river. It was then that Richie spotted movement in the water and pointed the spot at a large croc joining the fray. At least while we were there the croc did nothing more than survey the area but the hyenas became very cautious and clearly knew the croc was there. As I said, light was at a premium but I thought I would show at least one of the frenzy as the dogs devoured the kill.
Canon 5D3
300 II
1/200
f4
ISO 3200
Monopod from safari vehicle, ff, levels, curves, selective color adjustments, sharpened in CCPS.
C&C welcome and appreciated though I know IQ is not up to my usual standards. Thanks,
Whilst not a top quality image here Rachel, it fits perfectly with your wonderful account of the events that played out before your eyes, and would have loved to have witnessed this myself,
being an avid WD fan.
If you could have got the OOF WD to the rear, you'd have all 3 positioned nicely and vying for the carcass, but that's in our "ideal world".
Given the fading lighting conditions I think you've done as well as anyone could expect in extracting the detail you did.
Sometimes its not always about the perfect photo but experiencing something special and unique being played out in front of you. So often, we are so engrossed with the eye stuck up against the view finder that we tend to miss all the important sequences leading up to the final experience. Its always amazing when there is much varied action going on.Thanks for sharing the experience with us
Thanks Marc and Carl - I think the sounds of this sighting were as memorable as the sights. Marc - I do have another image from the sequence that I thought about posting. It has the four dogs toward the back of the frame each with a hold on the kill but the disemboweled kill is front and center in the frame and I thought the gore was a bit too much. Again with that image the light was insufficient to get enough dof to have all in focus.
Great sighting and story Rachel, would have loved to witness myself all the that. Image looks good to me what you could get out of it. Looking forward to see the other one with all 4!
Very interesting story, and a graphic picture that goes to it. For me pictures that have something to tell, a drama of some sort, often works very well despite shortcomings tech wise. How many good old pictures from the analog era donīt we marvel over?
Another thing I really like is your story, I would love more story here on BPN. Both about the event and thoughts about tech choice and pp.
Amazing story!!! Catching that very expressive eye on the left dog makes the image. And those dramatic blood-stained faces continue with the story. This is why we all go to Africa, for such an adventure! For me, once an animal is headless, I can handle the gore.
Thanks Anette, Gregor and Nancy for the kind comments. I'm glad you enjoyed my description of the chaos but words don't really do it justice.
Nancy - the head is at the other end.
This is a terrific image, portrays life & death in the bush so well. I like the comp, the details and the action very much & thanks for the detailed write-up.
Hi Rachel, certainly a very 'cool' moment, albeit rather sad, however that is the way of the bush and you cannot get sentimental when you visit locations like this.
I wish we could have tag Alison's video to this, even just for the spine chilling sounds and the hyenas cackling away, however I don't think the Hyena's were quite expecting such a defensive mode by the WD's. If we had better light then this would have been a truly 'awesome' sighting (said in a JP voice ). The lefthand dog goes look a bit light to me (?) and I might come in on the RH to loose the hint of leg creeping in. Perhaps going to 6400 for a tad more DoF may, again, have helped the FG dog, but hey, it's the captured moment.
I think we have got things down to a fine art when it comes to packing gear back into the vehicle, with zero time and light falling, shows how robust the kit was when crossing the river, not the most smoothest of drives, but it was lightening fast!!!!
"Wildlife at it's best"... just my thoughts while viewing your image. This might sound odd coming from a "girl", albeit a 47 year old one... But I have learnt something a few years ago while watching a lioness hunt: things don't look so "gore" in real life as they do when one is watching Animal Planet or Discovery Channel. There the music, the narrative, the way scenes are put together, all culminate into this incredible emotional experience...
I bet you had no time to get emotional while taking these images, Rachel! And I so enjoyed your story, it helped me put things together and see everything from your perspective. My eyes were instantly drawn to the dog on the LHS, not just because you focused on this particular character, but because he or she is responsible for the action, dragging the kill, unwilling to share, he or she has the body language of a pack leader and you focused IMHO on the subject which is most entertaining - well done
Besides, the non-conventional is always interesting to me
I used to have this "rule" that I must focus on the subject which is closer to me, but I have changed my mind after carefully viewing one of Steve's images (two lions at a kill). Which I liked so much, by the way. My PP work is not always up to scratch but I try to make up for the lack of techs by paying more attention to composition and using every trick in the book (my book) to grab the viewer, to challenge him, to give him something to think about.
The real problem sometimes for me - as a viewer - is being able to see the scene as a photographer saw it, this being the final verdict of my interpretation of the particular image. If the image is engaging - and I believe yours is, for your unique style speaks for itself - than I am able to "decode" it ... this Wild Dog scene speaks to me and I encountered a great deal of pleasure reflecting upon it
Fantastic sighting, and you were lucky to have it happen in the riverbed. JP and his guests have been having exciting sightings now all winter...
Rachel, thanks for the vivid account of the sighting - for me the photography is first and foremost and extension of a holistic and sensory experience - being in the bush and taking it all in, walking away with a few keeper photographs certainly is a bonus and the cherry on top of a very large and yummy cake. I think you did well with the low light and slow SS here, albeit perhaps you could have pushed the ISO some more as it seems underexposed?
Please do post the other photo even if it's more gore?
Steve - where can we view Alison's video?
Wild Dog Kill - Gore Warning
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