Category Archives: Travel Photos

Travel photography from around the world.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Lava Heron

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Lava Heron
A Lava Heron photographed on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

 

With bright yellow eyes and colour patches around it’s bill, this little heron has a creepy silhouette to it!

Endemic to the Galapagos islands, the Lava Heron, or Galapagos Heron, is a relatively small heron that feeds mainly on crabs and fish. Their feathers and overall grey-black colour blend in perfectly with the lava rocks found along the shores of much of the Galapagos Islands. This camouflage and a stealthy ability to spear their prey with their bills makes them effective hunters.

You’ll often see them around the shoreline close to town as they have no fear of people. This one was photographed at a beach on San Cristobal Island.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Uinta Ground Squirrel

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Uinta Ground Squirrel
A photo of a Uinta Ground Squirrel in Yellowstone National Park

 

I’m a fan of squirrels. They, like raccoons, have been able to adapt to so many different landscapes and environments.  These Uinta Ground Squirrels find their homes pretty much anywhere with open fields and grass lands. While this guy was photographed in Yellowstone National Park, they go as far south as Utah, but prefer the Rocky Mountain states.

This one was one of many scurrying around part of the park, as they tend to live in groups, or colonies. While I’m used to seeing tree squirrels skipping their hibernating plans and being around almost all year in Canada, these ground squirrels tend to only be active for about 4 months of the year. They aestivate in summer and hibernate in winter…guess they’re not fans of extreme temperatures!

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Long-Tailed Macaque

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Long Tailed Macaque
A Long Tailed Macaque showing teeth in Borneo

 

Looking a little fearsome, this Long-Tailed Macaque, also called a Crab-Eating Macaque, took a moment to call out in between his eating and grooming sessions.

These macaques were the monkeys most plentifully seen along the riverbanks and in the trees during a visit to the Kinabatangan River in Borneo. These macaques have 10 different subspecies and are the third most widespread primate on earth, found throughout much of Asia.

Being so plentiful, it’s not a sad surprise that they are also commonly used for medical experiments. The alternative crab-eating name is a bit of a misnomer  as they don’t favour eating crabs at all. They can eat crabs and other small animals, but tend to prefer to eat flowers, fruits, seeds and plants.

The long-tailed name version is much more appropriate as their tail is often longer than the entire rest of their body!

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Asian Openbill Stork

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Asian Openbill Stork
Interestingly, the Asian Openbill isn’t born with a curved bill, it grows this way.

 

Not the prettiest looking bird by any mean,s but this Asian Openbill stood out to me when I visited Bundala National Park in Sri Lanka.

I’ve never seen a bird with a bill like this before, it’s curved so it actually doesn’t close shut all the way, except at the tip, strange huh? I asked about this Asian Openbill Stork, and was told that they like to eat snails so the curved bill works better! How is that for animal adaptation?

Just one of many bird species I saw in Bundala, if you’re into birding, or just enjoy nature like me, it is a must visit park in Sri Lanka!

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Blue Wildebeest

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Blue Wildebeest
A Blue Wildebeest photographed in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

 

One of two species of wildebeest, the Blue Wildebeest is the more common species and is larger than the Black Wildebeest more commonly seen in South Africa.

To most people who go on safari in Africa, the wildebeest is considered an ugly animal, often overlooked after you see thousands upon thousands of them in places like the Serengeti or Maasai Mara.

Indeed, they’re not known for their good looks, but what they are famous for is the Great Migration in Africa. More than two million animals make up the migration, which also includes hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles,making it the largest land mammal migration in the world.

Even if you’re not there during the peak of migration time, wildebeest seem to be everywhere when you travel through Kenya and Tanzania, playing an important role in the food chain for predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards and crocodiles.