Cows in Paradise

Waldron Conservation Area, Alberta, Canada

This shot commissioned by +Nature Conservancy of Canada was one of my favourite moments. A pretty violent thunderstorm was sweeping through as I sought shelter for me and my camera gear. I had previously frightened some cows (by accident) and was looking for a lake I had seen on google earth. Finally I found it and the cows were not happy to see me again. Although this time they realized I wasn't chasing them, and probably noticed I was behaving strangely. Because of this, many of them stuck around to see what I was going to do next. I was sticking around because I was expecting a spectacular sunset, I was not disappointed.

Photographic Details
As sunset was imminent, I knew that I had to be in a good spot for it. Having a tour of the land by local biologists and land owners I knew where a lot of good stuff was, but I could have ignored a lot of that advice. During sunset I wanted something else to add to the image, and reflections in water can give a photo an incredibly heavenly feel. Therefore I ended up on google earth looking for lakes. This seasonal pond was luckily quite full and in the perfect viewpoint for what I was trying to achieve: sunsets, prairies and mountains and hopefully some cows too. My camera is hovering about an inch above the surface of the water, causing the grass and moss growing on the pond surface to blur out and creating a surreal symmetry that most people aren't used to. It takes a bit of effort and trust, especially since I was basically mucking around in mud and cow feces, but it's all worth it!

If you like this, don't forget to check out the horseback expeditions that I'm teaming up with +Wayne Sawchuk on! http://www.kylefoto.com/horseback-expeditions/

For #thirstythursday  curated by +Mark Esguerra and +Giuseppe Basile 
#alberta   #canadaphotography   #canada   #cows   #moo   #conservation   #thenatureconservancy   #googleearth   #horsebackridingvacations  

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Thirsty baby elephant orphans

Hooray it’s #thirstythursdayDavid Sheldrick Animal Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa

Many animals including Rhinoceros and Elephants may become orphaned by poachers or loss of habitat. People have tried to raise elephant orphans and in doing so become a mother figure to the elephants. Some of the first attempts at raising these extremely social animals ended in tragedy as the need for love from a family had not been accounted for. This was unfortunately discovered when one of the pioneers of raising these animals Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick left for a week for wedding arrangements, only to return to baby “Aisha” in such a state of despair that she died in her arms.

Click for Larger image 

The Sheldrick animal orphanage now employs a large “family” of caretakers, each one loving and caring but the elephants are discouraged from becoming too attached to any single person. Instead the elephant is attached to the family as a whole to replace the orphans lost mother, which prevents any grief that the elephant may feel should a single caretaker be absent. This among other discoveries has led the orphanage to successfully raise over 80 elephants and return them to their community in Tsavo National park.

All these growing elephants are very hungry and require a lot of nourishment, the thirst for milk is palpable when caretakers bring out the jugs. The cows milk is not enough, and additional supplements of coconut is given to them to provide them with the correct fats that they need.

I took two photos of this, once with the bottle full and the other with it empty. My camera records the time each photo is taken, I want you to guess how many seconds it takes for this guy to chug the milk down and write your response in the comments. The answer the question is at the bottom of this post in white text, highlight the bottom of this post to see.

I will be returning here again on my next photo safaris in february and september next year! http://www.civilizedadv.com/trip_pages/trips/2012/KT120907.html

http://www.civilizedadv.com/trip_pages/trips/2012/KT120202.html

See also my african gallery here.

Please check out the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website to find out more about what they are doing, and share this to get the word out! It’s my hope that I have inspired you a little bit! http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

Highlight between here for the answer: [ This guy drank 5 litres in 9 seconds! What a machine!]