Abstracts
April 26, 2008
This is a difficult time of year for wildlife photography in the Luangwa Valley. The vegetation is tall and thick and I have limited access into the park by vehicle – only a few bumpy tracks near the camp. As a result I have been doing more macro photography and getting creative with some patterns and abstracts. A couple shots;
The first shot is a close-up of some river foam and the second is a reflection of branches in water – flipped on its side.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
A different kind of lion…
April 19, 2008
On a walk early this morning I came across this beautiful insect hanging onto a Senna pod. It is an adult antlion from the order Neuroptera and is a fascinating insect. The larvae are predatory and live in sand, lunging out and grabbing their prey as they pass by. The better known antlions build a funnel shaped pit in the sand which their victims slide into and can’t climb out. The antlion then grabs them in its powerful jaws and sucks them dry!
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
The dry season is here
April 18, 2008
There is a definite chill in the air this morning and the sky is cloudless and gloriously blue. It is as if someone has pulled the plug on the valley and suddenly the whole area is drying out. Much of the soil here has a very high clay content and as it dries it cracks up into wonderful patterns and abstracts.
The river is now too low for us to use the boat and so we are stranded here again. It is incredible how the rainy season completely wipes out the roads so that each season they need to be rebuilt. We don’t have a grader here and have to rely on ZAWA (Zambia Wildlife Authority) to grade the road in from Mfuwe. Hopefully this will be done by the end of the month or early May…
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
The Hollywoods return!
April 11, 2008
Two nights ago the camp was full of lions but by daybreak yesterday morning they had moved into some combretum thickets near the workshop. They were very relaxed and I was able to approach quite close on foot. Unfortunately they were extremely well hidden and impossible to photograph. Last night they were out and about again and we had a few fleeting glimpses by torchlight as they moved around the camp. I counted 4 adults (1 male, 3 females) and 7 cubs. They were around at first light this morning for a short time before disappearing into even thicker vegetation.
I was very keen to find out which of the cubs has survived the rains (as I’m sure those of you who have been here and know these lions are too). I didn’t see them all at once though so difficult to tell. I think there are 4 left of the group of 5 that I last saw in December. Out of the 2 smaller cubs only 1. There was then another 2 cubs that looked about 3 months old – so new ones to me, born during the rains. Hopefully I’ll have a good sighting soon so that I can confirm this. It is really encouraging to see so many though as this pride does not have a good track record for raising cubs.
Those of you who are wondering why they are called the Hollywoods – this was a nickname given to the Lion Camp pride due to all the attention they received from a documentary film crew who were here a couple years ago. They’re also rather glamorous!
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Conservation page added
April 3, 2008
A few weeks ago, on a trip down the river to Mfuwe, we came across an elephant stuck up against a tree in the middle of the river. She was already dead and her skin was peeling in great strips from her head and back. The river is very low at the moment and as elephants are good swimmers it is unlikely that she simply drowned. It is more likely that she was shot by poachers and was trying to escape but was too weak to make it across the river.
Living in this remote part of the valley during the rains has made me much more aware of the problem of poaching here. The Park is extremely difficult to patrol at this time of year and poaching increases dramatically. It is not uncommon to hear reports of gunshots on the radio or of drying racks (for meat) discovered. Snaring in the Park and surrounding areas is also common. The little chap in the photo above has lost a large portion of his trunk, probably to a poachers snare. It is a serious problem and one that organisations such as the South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) are striving to control.
I have now added a page to my website through which I hope to raise awareness as well as funds for conservation in the area. You can check it out here. I intend to update this page on a regular basis with a variety of conservation issues so be sure to check back every now and then.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
