The 10 pictures you most regret not getting
Posted: September 11th, 2016, 10:55 pm
I could include stuff from my childhood before I got a camera (moose/bison/mink/red fox/black bear/grey whale/rocky mountain elk/beaver/grey fox), but decided to leave that out. Here's my list of the 10 mammal pictures I didn't get and most wish I had, from my adulthood:
10. Giant Flying Squirrel in Sattal, India
I've gotten photos of several giant flying squirrels of various species now, but the first one still kills me. I was shining trees at night in the Himalayan foothills when I saw this marvelously weird creature inching along a branch about 15' above the ground, directly above my head. I couldn't figure out what it was - the combination of its size, slow movements, and weird extra skin completely blocked "squirrel" out of my mind. Since it was moving slow and the branch was a dead end, I didn't whip my camera out and just kept watching it for a couple seconds. Unfortunately, my headlamp was too bright and it spooked...but jumping off the branch and gliding straight over my head, less than 10 feet above me! I still regret not having gotten my camera out immediately as a giant squirrel in flight would have been a fantastic shot.
9. Indian Crested Porcupine in Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh
The most fantastic monsoon storm of the year hit while we were in Bangladesh, and I hike the road immediately on my bicycle to survey what would come out. However, the rain was so intense that even with a very powerful headlamp, visibility was limited to 2-3 feet and my feet were actually pedaling through water at times! Even though my camera equipment was in ziplocks, I gave it up to the guys in the car almost immediately because I saw no chance of getting a shot, and simply hoped to collect any interesting herp finds in the storm.
After about 2 hours of pedaling through the storm, with not much to show for it besides hitting the occasional fish with my foot or having frogs actually jump onto me, the rain briefly subsided. Lo and behold, a beautiful Indian Crested Porcupine (lifer for me) wandered right out onto the road, just sort of sniffing along without a care in the world for me. Without any camera, I decided to just watch it and see how close I could get. He sort of stopped in the middle of the road, interested in something he smelled, and let me get three feet away before spooking off the road. I later saw a Leopard Cat that night that was rather unbothered too (let me get 30 feet away before running despite being on the ground), but the porcupine kills me more since it was so close and I'd never gotten that species on camera.
8. Bobcats in Kern River Canyon
I've only seen 4 bobcats in my life, and 3 of them were on the same trip, all crossing the road at various times while I drove to and from a backpacking trip on the Kern River. All of them were in broad daylight, but none stayed on the road long enough to even dream of getting a shot.
7. Kit Fox near Mexican border
One night I was herping on the far southern border of Anza-Borrego when I saw a juvenile kit fox just playing in the road. It was ridiculous looking - jumping around, just seeming to be aimlessly messing with itself. I was mesmerized enough watching it that I didn't take a picture.
Sadly, I found the same kit fox DOR the next morning.
6. Smooth-Coated Otter in Bangladesh Sunderbans
The only Asian otter I've ever seen, it fled into the mangroves far too quick for any of us to get a shot as we approached on boat. Not even a long enough glance to know for sure if it was Smooth-coated or Small-clawed.
5. Brush-tailed Porcupine in Lawachara
A jungle exploration in Lawachara National Park had brought me onto a trail that was barely ever used, and I reached a point where a logjam had blocked the trail. Suddenly a creature started running amidst the logs below me. I got to watch it for several seconds as it didn't really seem to know where to go - my light was bright and logs kept getting in its way. The mix of logs in my line of sight and its constant movement meant that I didn't get a completely clear look at it and never got a chance at a picture, but it was definitely a porcupine and I'm 70% sure it was a Brush-tailed Porcupine, a cool-looking species much rarer than the various crested porcupines I've otherwise seen in Asia.
4. Hog Badger in Lawachara
Yet another Lawachara National Park sighting from last year. I was rushing to get a picture of a strange landscape feature I had told the team about earlier, and took the unusual route of taking my bicycle off-road onto one of the trails to get there and back as fast as possible. As I made my way down the trial, I saw eyeshine running across the forest floor towards me. I braked the bike quickly and pointed my headlamp towards it. The low, stocky, gray creature spun around about 10 m from me and went back the way it had come, loping along. This is still the only member of that family that I've seen in Asia at all.
3. Jaguarundi in Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve, Belize
I am one of those men lucky enough that he married a girl who agreed to center our honeymoon around a few days in the Belizian jungle, and even read "Jaguar" together with me as preparation! Unfortunately, a massive, destructive, once-in-a-generation storm (two tropical depressions colliding simultaneously from both sides), wrecked much of our honeymoon, especially the Cockscomb stretch. After three days of nothing but constant rain, the skies cleared for the first time and we went on a little hike in the morning. My wife had been a bit tired of my flipping earlier in the trip and had made an agreement that I could flip whatever I wanted, but she wouldn't stop and wait for me.
Sure enough, on this little jaunt, I was in the process of flipping a log (finding nothing, as always) while she went on ahead, when she suddenly made a quick shout to me. I looked up just in time to see a jaguarundi flee off the trail. She said that when she had come upon it it had been stopped in the middle of the trail with its head down, sniffing at something....quite likely preoccupied enough that I might have gotten a camera shot if I had only been up with her!
2. Cougar in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
A good friend and I were backpacking in the southern Sierras when we crested a small hill at 11,000+ feet. I was absorbed with watching marmots play when we suddenly saw a large shape fleeing from us about 100 yards away. We only got quick glances of it as it passed between boulders in the boulderfield - maybe 3-4 shots of less than a second each before it disappeared behind a ridge. But no doubt that it was the one and only cougar that either of us had ever seen.
1. Small Indian Civet chasing Golden Jackal in Lawachara
I was surveying frogs alone at night in a marsh when I heard a grunt and rustling come from the bushes. Thinking for sure that I was about to get a wild boar charge (something I'd narrowly avoided several times already), I pulled off my backpack and got my stick ready in the other hand (sword and shield).
Suddenly, instead of a boar, it was a Golden Jackal that burst out of the bushes next to me...with a Small Indian Civet right on its heels. They were almost oblivious to me, passing only about 5 meters away as the civet chased the jackal across the marsh and eventually back into the bushes on the other side. I still think every once in a while - if only I'd gotten the camera ready instead of the stick!
Anyone else have their own stories? I'm betting that there are some good predation/interaction stories especially that never made it onto film.
10. Giant Flying Squirrel in Sattal, India
I've gotten photos of several giant flying squirrels of various species now, but the first one still kills me. I was shining trees at night in the Himalayan foothills when I saw this marvelously weird creature inching along a branch about 15' above the ground, directly above my head. I couldn't figure out what it was - the combination of its size, slow movements, and weird extra skin completely blocked "squirrel" out of my mind. Since it was moving slow and the branch was a dead end, I didn't whip my camera out and just kept watching it for a couple seconds. Unfortunately, my headlamp was too bright and it spooked...but jumping off the branch and gliding straight over my head, less than 10 feet above me! I still regret not having gotten my camera out immediately as a giant squirrel in flight would have been a fantastic shot.
9. Indian Crested Porcupine in Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh
The most fantastic monsoon storm of the year hit while we were in Bangladesh, and I hike the road immediately on my bicycle to survey what would come out. However, the rain was so intense that even with a very powerful headlamp, visibility was limited to 2-3 feet and my feet were actually pedaling through water at times! Even though my camera equipment was in ziplocks, I gave it up to the guys in the car almost immediately because I saw no chance of getting a shot, and simply hoped to collect any interesting herp finds in the storm.
After about 2 hours of pedaling through the storm, with not much to show for it besides hitting the occasional fish with my foot or having frogs actually jump onto me, the rain briefly subsided. Lo and behold, a beautiful Indian Crested Porcupine (lifer for me) wandered right out onto the road, just sort of sniffing along without a care in the world for me. Without any camera, I decided to just watch it and see how close I could get. He sort of stopped in the middle of the road, interested in something he smelled, and let me get three feet away before spooking off the road. I later saw a Leopard Cat that night that was rather unbothered too (let me get 30 feet away before running despite being on the ground), but the porcupine kills me more since it was so close and I'd never gotten that species on camera.
8. Bobcats in Kern River Canyon
I've only seen 4 bobcats in my life, and 3 of them were on the same trip, all crossing the road at various times while I drove to and from a backpacking trip on the Kern River. All of them were in broad daylight, but none stayed on the road long enough to even dream of getting a shot.
7. Kit Fox near Mexican border
One night I was herping on the far southern border of Anza-Borrego when I saw a juvenile kit fox just playing in the road. It was ridiculous looking - jumping around, just seeming to be aimlessly messing with itself. I was mesmerized enough watching it that I didn't take a picture.
Sadly, I found the same kit fox DOR the next morning.
6. Smooth-Coated Otter in Bangladesh Sunderbans
The only Asian otter I've ever seen, it fled into the mangroves far too quick for any of us to get a shot as we approached on boat. Not even a long enough glance to know for sure if it was Smooth-coated or Small-clawed.
5. Brush-tailed Porcupine in Lawachara
A jungle exploration in Lawachara National Park had brought me onto a trail that was barely ever used, and I reached a point where a logjam had blocked the trail. Suddenly a creature started running amidst the logs below me. I got to watch it for several seconds as it didn't really seem to know where to go - my light was bright and logs kept getting in its way. The mix of logs in my line of sight and its constant movement meant that I didn't get a completely clear look at it and never got a chance at a picture, but it was definitely a porcupine and I'm 70% sure it was a Brush-tailed Porcupine, a cool-looking species much rarer than the various crested porcupines I've otherwise seen in Asia.
4. Hog Badger in Lawachara
Yet another Lawachara National Park sighting from last year. I was rushing to get a picture of a strange landscape feature I had told the team about earlier, and took the unusual route of taking my bicycle off-road onto one of the trails to get there and back as fast as possible. As I made my way down the trial, I saw eyeshine running across the forest floor towards me. I braked the bike quickly and pointed my headlamp towards it. The low, stocky, gray creature spun around about 10 m from me and went back the way it had come, loping along. This is still the only member of that family that I've seen in Asia at all.
3. Jaguarundi in Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve, Belize
I am one of those men lucky enough that he married a girl who agreed to center our honeymoon around a few days in the Belizian jungle, and even read "Jaguar" together with me as preparation! Unfortunately, a massive, destructive, once-in-a-generation storm (two tropical depressions colliding simultaneously from both sides), wrecked much of our honeymoon, especially the Cockscomb stretch. After three days of nothing but constant rain, the skies cleared for the first time and we went on a little hike in the morning. My wife had been a bit tired of my flipping earlier in the trip and had made an agreement that I could flip whatever I wanted, but she wouldn't stop and wait for me.
Sure enough, on this little jaunt, I was in the process of flipping a log (finding nothing, as always) while she went on ahead, when she suddenly made a quick shout to me. I looked up just in time to see a jaguarundi flee off the trail. She said that when she had come upon it it had been stopped in the middle of the trail with its head down, sniffing at something....quite likely preoccupied enough that I might have gotten a camera shot if I had only been up with her!
2. Cougar in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
A good friend and I were backpacking in the southern Sierras when we crested a small hill at 11,000+ feet. I was absorbed with watching marmots play when we suddenly saw a large shape fleeing from us about 100 yards away. We only got quick glances of it as it passed between boulders in the boulderfield - maybe 3-4 shots of less than a second each before it disappeared behind a ridge. But no doubt that it was the one and only cougar that either of us had ever seen.
1. Small Indian Civet chasing Golden Jackal in Lawachara
I was surveying frogs alone at night in a marsh when I heard a grunt and rustling come from the bushes. Thinking for sure that I was about to get a wild boar charge (something I'd narrowly avoided several times already), I pulled off my backpack and got my stick ready in the other hand (sword and shield).
Suddenly, instead of a boar, it was a Golden Jackal that burst out of the bushes next to me...with a Small Indian Civet right on its heels. They were almost oblivious to me, passing only about 5 meters away as the civet chased the jackal across the marsh and eventually back into the bushes on the other side. I still think every once in a while - if only I'd gotten the camera ready instead of the stick!
Anyone else have their own stories? I'm betting that there are some good predation/interaction stories especially that never made it onto film.