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Portrait of a Meerkat - study


Portrait of a Meerkat - study
Photo Information
Copyright: Radu Xplorator (Xplorator) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 657 W: 57 N: 1500] (7671)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-05
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Nikon CP 8800
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2005-05-31 3:40
Viewed: 720
Points: 12
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Welcome to the strange social life of one of Africa’s
most beloved carnivores.
Meerkats make ideal study subjects because they are
only active during the day. Also, perhaps because they
are prey to a large variety of birds and mammals—over
half the adult meerkats in our population were killed
each year—they quickly learn to recognize danger and
to ignore animals that do not pose a threat. Humans,
with time and patience, generally fall in the latter
category, and meerkats come to accept them completely.


As we sat beside their burrows in the cold Kalahari
mornings, the meerkats sheltered behind us from the
keen dawn wind. When no stumps were close by, tamer
individuals would sometimes climb up our backs and
take their turns as sentinels from our shoulders or
heads. The more they trusted us, the closer we were
able to get. We collected skin and hair samples for
genetic analysis, spooned up their droppings to
measure their levels of sex hormones, and, using
crumbs of hard-boiled egg as an incentive, trained
them to climb onto electronic scales.

National Geographic article by Tim Clutton-Brock

Photo tech specs:

Camera : Nikon CP 8800
Lens : f61.00 mm(digital) incorporated
Resolution : 5 mpg.
File : TIF (original, then jpeg)
Speed : 1/223
Aperture : F7.8
Focus: AF
EV : -0.0
ISO : 50
Mode : P
Saturation: +1
WB: sunny
Metering : spot
Lightning: natural outdoors, uncontrolled
Xtras : Nikon VR stabilizer on
Flash: none
Support : Handheld
TAZ, marhowie, thistle, PDP has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

What say you? Don't hear from ya much..This has an excellent POV with very good sharpness and details..Great note - tricky! For a moment I acually thought you were the true scientific investigator! ;-) Good that you included the credit...Well done.

Great shot!
I've always liked these fellows.
Recently I've seen movie about them in our TV.
There was researcher that actually had the trust of Meerkat family (just like in your note) though he had to wait for it about 2 months. Later Meerkats used to him so much that they even allowed their littles to play just under his feet.
I really can't imagine how some wild animals can trust us so much. Probably Meerkats were lucky not to learn how cruel people can be...

As for the photo.
Great warm light and superb pose of this lovely model.
Of course, I like it very much.

Wonderful portrait. Good composition with wonderful lighting and details. I like it a lot.

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2005-05-31 16:02]

Hi Radu, very nice pose, these guys are so cute. I liek the lighting especially on the fur. Very nice work.

Great Capture,
Very nice colours

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2005-06-01 3:43]

Belle et intéressante composition réussie pour cet animal pensif. Jolies couleurs et bonne netteté.
Very well done shot Radu !

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