Brown Hyena at Waterhole

[Gabriela Plesea]

• GABRIELA PLESEA
• GABRIELA PLESEA
• NIKON D5 Ver.1.10

Despite the amount of research that has been done, knowledge about brown hyena is still vague because it is such a shy animal. Its social structure is rather complicated and because they always forage on their own they are often mistaken for being solitary. They actually live in clans, just like spotted hyenas, but their home ranges are much larger and I read somewhere that they average of about (can you believe it?) 300 sq. km. Brown hyenas form kinship groups and some of the male and female offspring remain in the group until they reach maturity. All members bring food to the den, and what is interesting is, females don't mind suckling each other's pups. They do forage on their own and often travel up to 30 km in just one night, walking at a speed of 4 km per hour or so. I have seen brown hyenas carrying large pieces of carcass, and I am told that if the den is close enough they will go straight to it, otherwise they will hide it under a thicket until the next day. Brown Hyenas look delicate in comparison with the Spotted Hyenas but they also have strong necks and jaws that allow them to carry large prey for long distances. Females mate with nomadic males, not with clan members. They do so with more than one male. Mothers give birth away from the clan and bring the young to the communal den after three months, they are very caring towards the young but once the pups are introduced to the rest of the clan her duties are shared by all members.

Hope the intro wasn't too boring, just thought I'd sum up a few interesting things about the species for some of you who would like to know. About the image: my companion and I found this particular Brown Hyena one morning at a waterhole in the Kalahari. The sighting was brief. Despite our efforts to approach the waterhole as quiet as possible she departed as soon as we arrived. Perhaps she just finished drinking, because she did not seem in a hurry or stressed by our presence. She even stopped briefly to mark the territory, dragging her anal sac over a blade of grass nearby. I suggested we return the next morning but a bit earlier, which we did. Waited a while, and just as my companion was about to tell me this might have been a fruitless exercise our Brownie arrived, only ten minutes later than the previous day. I was so happy, had so much hope and belief that she would return. My previous encounters with the species taught me they are creatures of habit, so her return just before 6 am filled me with joy. She came fairly close and allowed us to photograph her while drinking, the sun was rising over a nearby dune and light was gentle and beautiful. You will tell me I should have picked up the 300mm lens when she got closer, but I was holding my breath and not moving so that she won't get a fright and walk away. We even waited for her to quench her thirst a bit, before we pressed the shutter.

So the frame is rather tight, unfortunately... Anyway, techs as follows:

Nikon D5
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 3200 (like I said, sun was coming up but light was still soft)
F8
1/1600s

Hope you enjoy this image, it is not perfect by all means but such precious a sighting, I could not wait to share it with you. Don't be shy to critique or do RP's. And I have more in my folders if you like this one. Many thanks for viewing and for taking the time to read my long intro, much appreciated:S3:

Have a super weekend!

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thoroughly enjoyed the narrative Gabriela... and then it was topped with a super image! I like the upwards glance and the drinking pose, a little tight maybe but I didn't really notice, i was too busy looking, it's not often we get to see them.
I also learnt a little about them too, your intro was very worthwhile, thanks very much.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, love the, warm, golden light and the VERY informative narrative.

Like Jon, I like the upward look, but wonder if the focus is more above as the head appears a fraction soft? Always hard to judge what kit to run with, long lens, or a zoom and the impact both have, so appreciate your dilemma, but yes, with hindsight a smaller lens as the frame is tight, but you got the shot. I know there is nothing you could do from shooting from the vehicle, but a tad more elevation so the FG line wasn't there may have been better. Well done in getting the shot.

TFS
Steve

 

[greg cowle]

Very nice light on the eyes and tongue. The fluffed-up fur is great. Color of the background is very complementary. Bit tight on the RHS, but you noted why.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Jon, Steve, and Greg,

Thank you so much for comments and observations. Glad you've forgiven me for the tight frame:bg3:

Steve, I did notice a slight softness on the subject's face, it was in the later stage of processing so instead looking for another frame I decided to finish this one. Thinking the lack of sharpness could also be due to relatively low SS, the hyena was lapping up the water quite fast and there must have been quite some movement from the head. Cannot check FP, my Nikon software not working. I recently found a plug-in for LR called "Focus Points" - I will download it and see if it works.

Hope you all have a super week-end,

Kind regards,

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, if it’s the software I think it is, the current LR doesn’t support it sadly.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Steve. Just realised I have not formatted the cards yet so I can still check the FP :w3

 

[Steve Kaluski]

BTW, I meant to say, if you have some downtime, get the kit back to Nikon before the next trip, you now have the time.

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gabriela ...lovely encounter and i bet you are so happy , immediately one situation from 2014 came to my mind !!!! You know the one i am talking about .

I would be very happy with it , the gorgeous light and the priceless good look up of the Hyena !!!! Ok the partly cut off hair tips are not ideal and somehow slightly ruins the overall image ....but hey no big deal .
I am ok with head detail/sharpness .
Love your informative intro , additional thanks for your work.

I hope you enjoyed the Kalahari as every time .

TFS Andreas

BTW next saturday i go to Namibia

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hallo Andreas! Yes I remember the "situation" you are talking about. And still smiling :bg3:

I certainly am not happy with such a tight frame...But the good news is, I have others from this sighting:t3

Had a good trip overall and this time the highest temperature we experienced was 39"C, unlike 49"C on previous trips. The KTP was very dry and therefore no large springbok herds in sight - they all went over the dunes where (strange enough) it was greener... One leopard sighting on the Mata Mata road (and it was awesome, a beautiful youngster on a kill) but as you know I try avoid the crowds because I tend to lose my temper with people who misbehave. This time we did not see any big male lions...Only some youngsters and a few gorgeous females. But the "situation" was often not ideal so we went and looked for other species, like wild cats and foxes and meerkats etc. And Brownies, of course. Had eight Wild Cat sightings, BTW.

Glad to hear you are off to Namibia. It has been on my list for some time but as you know my time is limited and it takes too long to get there and back. I would like to go to Central Kalahari next year, but we'll see what happens. Hope you enjoy your holiday and bring wonderful images Boetie:S3:

Kind regards,

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

BTW, I meant to say, if you have some downtime, get the kit back to Nikon before the next trip, you now have the time.

It's a must, Steve, will do so:5

 

[Chris van Rooyen]

Aahh, nothing beats the excitement of an early Kgalagadi morning, when you get rewarded like this Well planned, and well executed. Agree on the slightly tight frame but you explained why. Looking forward to see more of your Kgalagadi images

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Chris, much appreciated:cheers:

 

[Marc Mol]

Superb moment in gorgeous Kalahari early light Gabriela, a tad tight sure, but this is more about observing such a special species, :5 agree the head is lacking some sharpness and look forward to further frames from this sighting.

TFS

 

[John Mack]

Interesting story about the hyenas. I enjoyed reading it. The frame is very nice. Looks great for ISO 3200. The pose on the hyena is very nice. Really like that tongue. Nice to see one of your photos.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Many thanks Marc and John:S3:

I do have more, just don't want to bore you by posting the same subject over and over again:t3

 

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Stunning image of this not very common Hyena. have never seen one I think. Excellent narrative which was informative. Love the light, the tongue lapping up water and the angle. Agree a bit tight but I would have been happy with this one.

 

[haseeb badar]

Superb Image Gabriela , i loved the subject here. Seldom I have seen it here and you have got very nice image with nice golden light, Details have come out quite well.

Such a pleasure viewing this image , loved it.

And many thanks for the intro , indeed very informative and a great read .

TFS !

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Haseeb, glad you enjoyed it and happy you found my intro to be informative. I found a few frames with more space around the hyena, will share soon:w3

Kind regards,