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Suspicious Buddies


Suspicious Buddies
Photo Information
Copyright: Loot Eksteen (loot) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5726 W: 605 N: 3416] (9137)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-10-09
Categories: Mammals, Bushveld
Camera: Cannon EOS 350D, Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO Ultra DG, Digital ISO 200, UV 86mm Kenko
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/250 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Travelogue: Kruger National Park - 2006
Theme(s): Wildlife of Africa, Mammals of Southern Africa, A study in Mammalogy, Mammals of Africa [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-11-09 12:32
Viewed: 1573
Points: 62
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Dwarf mongoose - Helogale parvula

I found these busy bodies to be rather difficult to photograph as they are small, zippy, hipper alert, very suspicious, and they just don't sit still for a moment. This was the case with all 56 of these little rascals we saw during our 18 days visit to the Kruger Park.

Our holiday was over in a blink of an eye, or so it felt anyway, and sadly we had to return home and join the rat-race once again. Over the next number of weeks I will obviously endeavour to entertain you with the sights and captures of my trip and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did while taking the shots.

As a matter of interest I just want to mention a couple of general aspects about our trip. Since I like statistics, my wife and I log all species and the daily numbers seen. As a result I can tell that we saw 278 different species in total. This includes all mammals, reptiles, or birds, but it excludes all the small "LBJ's". We averaged between 130-165 species per day. As an example we have seen 917 elephants, 66 lions, 2 401 buffalo's, 377 giraffes, 55 fish eagles, 350 Egyptian geese, 357 yellow-billed hornbills, etc., just to mention a few. Add to this the spectacular landscape and expansive views and you will know why the Kruger Park is such a great and popular reserve to visit.

Description
One of Africa's smallest carnivores, with a fairly short but sleek and glossy coat, dark to grey-brown and some with a reddish-brown tinge. The appearance is somewhat grizzled. The tail is the same colour as the body, and well haired but not bushy.

Distribution
Southwards from Eritrea and Ethiopia to Mpumalanga and Mozambique in South-eastern Africa and across central Africa to Angola.

Habitat
Open woodland and sparse savanna, as well as rocky areas.

Behaviour
Strictly diurnal and terrestrial, with troops usually numbering 10 (40 have been recorded). They occupy a fixed home range of 2-30ha. Within a home range a troop could have up to 20 dens, often within termitaria. Each troop has a dominant female and male, with the rest of the colony falling into a 'pecking order' with the younger animals ranking highest – an unusual departure from the rest of the mammal world – and females always dominant over males. When foraging they retain contact with one another by uttering soft 'twittering' calls. During the early morning they usually sun-bask on rocks or logs, with much time being spent on grooming.

Food
Insects, other invertebrates and to a lesser extent small reptiles, birds and their eggs. Fruit has also been recorded.

Reproduction
Usually only the dominant female breeds, but all troop members care for the young. Births mainly coincide with the rainy season, with litter sizes ranging from 1-7, dropped after a gestation period of 50-54 days.

Source: "Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa" by Chris & Tilde Stuart, Struik publishers.

Post Processing was done with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0.
ellis49, TAZ, RAP, hester, dew77, wuta, lovenature, Matt-Bird, blakitan, Janice, thor68, SunToucher, scottevers7, ramthakur, pilonm, SkyF, jeanpaul, peter_stoeckl, jchemas, livios, manyee, Aaltjie, coasties, Dyker, Miss_Piggy has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To lovenature: Focal lengthloot 2 11-12 13:01
To carper: Thanks u 2loot 1 11-12 03:00
To ellis49: Curious animalsloot 1 11-12 02:52
To RAP: ISO200loot 1 11-12 02:36
To Janice: Lipstick dipstickloot 1 11-12 02:07
To thor68: Rudolph's small cousinsloot 1 11-12 01:29
To SunToucher: Stunning momentloot 1 11-12 01:21
To pvs: Kruger Parkloot 1 11-12 01:16
To scottevers7: Great vacationloot 1 11-12 00:49
To ramthakur: Impressive statisticsloot 1 11-12 00:46
To pilonm: Beautiful continentloot 1 11-12 00:38
To SkyF: Migrationloot 1 11-12 00:33
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi loot,
welcome back from your trip. I hope all is well with your knees.
This is a very nice picture of this cute and curious animals.
The red noses looks quite funny.
Maybe the picture is a bit soft but nevertheless it's very good with nice POV, good compo and nice colours.
Well done, my friend.

Nicce to hear something from you Loot.
very nice shot the fantastic point of view and the good capture of those twoo is fantastic, well done.
gr. jaap

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2385 W: 50 N: 3184] (10918)
  • [2006-11-09 13:51]

Hello my friend, how are you ?
These Mongoose are cute and also funny because of their red nose. Exposure and colors are good. But the sharpness seems a bit soft... Useful note too.
Congratulations Loot and TFS.

  • Great 
  • RAP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2524 W: 345 N: 2373] (7405)
  • [2006-11-09 13:59]
  • [+]

Bienvenido nuevamente estimado miembro.
Una captura interesante por lo inusual de estos animales en TN, con agradable punto de vista, buen foco y DOF y colorido natural.
Me agrada el encuadre descentrado que has elegido con un fondo ligeramente ruidoso, tal vez por el uso del ISO200.
Es una alegría volver a ver una de tus presentaciones.
Un cordial saludo... Ricardo

Welcome again esteemed member.
An interesting capture for the unusual of these animals in TN, with pleasant point of view, good focus and DOF and natural coloring.
I like the uncentered framing that you have chosen with a lightly noisy bottom, perhaps for the use of ISO200.
It is a happiness see one of your presentations again.
Cordial greeting... Ricardo

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  • hester Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1471 W: 18 N: 2981] (10944)
  • [2006-11-09 14:22]

They are just lovely. The picture is a little soft but that doesn't distract from the fabulous subject. I like the pose you captured and their obvious curiousity in you. The bright red noses are just fabulous. Excellent POV

TFS

Karan

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  • wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 871 W: 2 N: 606] (2034)
  • [2006-11-09 14:22]

Hello Loot ,Welcom back you have a good trip , this is a very good shot from this duo, nice pose colours bg , well done ,Greetings Teunie .

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  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2006-11-09 16:14]

Hello Loot,
Are they true:)?.I'd never seen before.I liked eyes,red noses,POVsharpness,details and eye contact a lot.Excellent work!
TFS...:-)

Hello Loot
What an interesting animal this Mongoose is, your notes are interesting. Kruger Park sounds like a great place to be to see so many different species of animals. I like the natural pose you captured of these two little Mongoose doing what Mongoose do. Nice colours, and lighting. Were these two little guys quite a distance away when you took your shot? Is that what it means by "Focal Length 500/1 .
TFS Janice

Hi Loot,
Nice photo and cute subjects. Nice colours and Dof.
regards
Matt.

Hi Loot, it is good to see you back again after your trip. I hope the knee, etc are all okay.
What cute litle creatures these are, and I love the the lipstick on their noses. Good eye contact too. I don't think I'v eseen these animals on TN before - so well done my friend,
Kia ora
Janice

haha, rudolph´s small cousins - the red-nose mongoose? *lol*
hi loot, nice to see you back - with lots of photos! :-)
sounds like your knee survived the trip, too.
what a cute shot of the two furry friends keeping their eyes on you.
terrific note - i love your statistics.."917 elephants, 66 lions, 2 401 buffalo's..."
well done & take care, thorsten.

Hi Loot,
Great to see you back again. Reading your note, I know you had a great time at Kruger park. I hope all is well with your knee and that the recovery is going fast. Quality wise this might not be your best, but the moment captured is stunning on its own. Just they way they look at you and how they stayed close to eachother. Good work on the DOF and as always you notes are the best.
TFS,
Niek

Hi Loot,
They seem very suspicious, by looking at their facial expression. Nicely capturing these two mongooses. Great DoF, sharp with neat BG. Excellent shot.

Ben Lakitan

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  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1148 W: 254 N: 2555] (11565)
  • [2006-11-10 6:33]
  • [+]

Hi loot,

Nice posting of this dwarfmongoose maybe a bit soft,but a unique posting on TN,thanks for the introduction,My wife and I have just booked a 14 days trip to the krugerpark in februari next year so we are curious what to expect,hope we will see as lot as you did,we will stay in Pretoriuskop,Lower Sabie,Satara,Olifantskamp,Skukuza and Berg en Dal,s if you have any suggestions or advices they are welcome especially on photo accesoires to bring,

Regards,
Paul

Smileys tomorrow

Hi Loot,
Good to see a post from you. I hope you knee is much better, and you had a great vacation. Excellent shot on this pair. The cutness factor is very high. Well composed and framed. The colors and detail look very good. They are in constant motion. We have them at the St. Louis Zoo.
Take care my friend,
Scott

Hello Loot,
First of all, it is a great joy to have you back on TN.
From all accounts of your trip to Kruger Park, you seem to be in good health and God be thanked for that.
With all those impressive statistics, it will be a pleasure to look at the forthcoming pictures of your trip to this greatest wild life reserve on the earth.
These mongooses look like cute little teddy bears to me. They are looking at you with curious eyes.
Great shot.
TFS and take care.
Ram

Hello Loot,

How lucky you are living within a such beautiful continent full of life and species... One day I hope to be able to do a safari-photo in Africa (I always dreamed to visit the Serengeti reserve in the Ngorongoro crater). Anyway, your picture shows us 2 mammals that I never saw before! I like their little red nose. You did a wondeful composition and got a great pov. The only nit is that the picture is soft... TFS,

Michel

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  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-11-11 16:41]
  • [+]

Hi Loot,
what a cute pair and the eye contact you getting is fabulous. mVery well captured, good sharpness and wonderful natural colors. Very well done.
Sky

Hi Loot,
thay are realy cute, I guess they are very shy and you had great luck to make this good shot with your "long" lense.
Very well done, it's amazing for me to see them in free Nature, thanks and greetings
Sabine - wishnugaruda

Salut Loot
Bon retour sur le site
Cette photo est tres intéressante avec ces deux mangoustes la composition est très belle avec de jolis détails.
Merci et au revoir....JP

Hello Loot,
High cute factor here :)
Nice color, light, detail, and composed well. I think @ the 500mm focal length reach, I would have used a slightly higher ISO & shutter-speed for + sharpness..
I understand the "bigma" is heavy as well. Tripod?
Just curious.
Well done mf.

Hello Loot,
well composed lively shot of these quick moving, alert little gremlins. Funny looking red noses. The eye contact of both animals with the photographer makes this picture a very appealing eye catcher itself.
Seeing these curious little fellows makes me just as curious to see more of your snapshots taken during that great holiday you could enjoy at Kruger Park.
Have a very good day my friend.
With thanks, and best regards,
Peter

Hello my friend
I'm back again and I hope I can stay for a long time.
Great shot of these two fellows.
Love the expression of their faces and the colors and details of the shot.
I think that they are suspicious because they have seen you coming and they were waiting for food or ready to escape.
Good to be back and regards
JC

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  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2306 W: 324 N: 4306] (16856)
  • [2006-11-12 18:17]

Loot, great title, great photo.

I enjoy lighting too, as well as composition and poses.

I had never seen one of them. Thanks a lot for sharing.

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  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3072 W: 232 N: 5866] (19726)
  • [2006-11-13 1:11]

Who are these cute little guys, Loot?
Did you bring them back from your trip?
Welcome home, my friend. I truly hope you had a wonderful experience.
These two are new to me. Can't say I have ever seen them before.
What cute poses and wonderful eye contact.
They really stand out with their adorable little red noses.
Great catch and TFS. : )

Mijn vriend Een welke absolute verrukking om deze mongoezen te bekijken. Ik heb de nota's van de andere fotografen, gelezen en dat enkelen iets (het beeld is een zacht beetje) ongeveer hebben vermeld gezien en (de scherpte schijnt een beetje zachte enz.) en ik ben zeker zij allen weten wat zij over spreken, MAAR wat ik door uw foto heb geleerd en de gedienstige nota's veel verrijkend is aan de zool dan u ooit het zult weten. Ik ben niet zeker hoe ik me als ik een paar deze rode lippenstiftlippen moet zien zal gedragen en ogen starend bij me in het echte leven rond maak. Ik denk ik zal vergeten ik een oude mens en een sprong op en neer op de autozetel ben. Mijn het levensles op dit. Het verblijf dicht bij u houdt van. Als zij lippenstift of niet draagt. Als zij valse tanden of niet heeft, als zij een reusachtige maag of niet heeft, als zij in haar slaap of niet spreekt. Geen kwestie wat, stok samen als deze twee vrienden. Ik wens dit ik al deze opmerkelijke en mooie foto's met mijn ontslape vrouw kon delen. Ik waardeer uw werk.
De achting, zal opnieuw achter zijn. Aaltjie

Hi Loot

Wow... these are soooo cute! I love the way they are both looking at you with big eye! Nice colours and the POV is spot on! Brilliant work Loot, thank you my friend!

LOL..i saw these in tanganyika and they caught my attention and heart..they were devastating a termite castle and i understand they actually live in the thing
they kept peeping up over the stones at the side of the jeep..must scan some..i had a slr then with print film in it..
well old chap what can i say..you are up and running again and producing clear un questionable wildlife shots.
glad of that
god bless
geof

Hi Loot,
This is a very cute image!
Great composition with good POV, excellent eye-contact, and OOF background.
Well done! Take care!
Chi

Hierdie rooi Berg-en-Dal paar!

Loot, these busy buddies löök a bit töö rööi vöör my...
Also the f/g - in my view - should be reduced
as it is out of focus, and less is likely more.
Ï have attempted a WS. And hope you like!
Groetnis, J.

  • Great 
  • Dyker Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 142 W: 0 N: 59] (170)
  • [2007-04-29 13:05]

Hello Loot
I have seen these cute little guys while visiting Cape Vidal over the easter period. As you said, they are busy bodies and for people living in tents they are actually a bit of a pest. If you turn your back they're inside the tent seeing what they can pirate and I can promise you they do not care much for neatness. You have photographed these two in a lovely pose although the focus are a little soft. It seems to me that it was maybe a result of camera shake due to the maximum focal distance, the early morning soft light, and the ISO setting. Whatever, I think you managed to take a lovely photo of them.
Greetings
AC

Hallo Loot
You managed to capture these two big red eyed mongooses in a lovely pose in their natural environment. I really like the huge almost peelout eyes, and the clear visibility and detail of the red noses is really amazing. Delightful full frontal point of view. Image presented in a delightful manner. Thanks for sharing these two special buddies with us.
Love
Anna

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