Dove for Breakfast

[Gabriela Plesea]

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

Dear Friends,

Thought I'd entertain you a bit tonight so here's a Blackbacked Jackal earning his breakfast:bg3:

Image was captured in the Kalahari in March this year. It was very entertaining to watch but quite difficult to grab a decent shot because of the agility and speed of this little predator. As well as his unpredictable behaviour. The jackal was hiding behind the rocks on the other side of the waterhole so we could not see him, he was most probably lying flat. As soon as a number of birds gathered at the waterhole to drink he jumped up with his mouth open and tried to grab whatever flew closest to his mouth. There were various avian species around, like Namaqua Sandgrouse, Canaries and Weavers, but he seemed to prefer Doves. This is perhaps because they arrived in great numbers and got quite confused when he sprung into the air, often flying into each other or falling into the water. Or maybe they were just tasty:w3

A couple of interesting facts, the Blackbacked Jackal is one of few mammals that mate for life and both male and female help raise the young. Males are slightly larger than females. Their call is very noticeable and unique and they use it to stay in contact or advertise their territorial status. Family members ignore calls from neighbouring jackals and only respond to members of their clan, they usually forage alone but sometimes in pairs. Blackbacked Jackals seem to separate during the day and reassemble late in the afternoon. Pups are incredibly cute and agile and the adults are very caring towards them.

In ancient Egypt god Anubis had a jackal head, he was responsible for guiding the dead to the judges and to preside over embalmment. As carrion eaters their presence near death must have resulted in this association, the Jackal therefore features prominently in ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphics.

Nikon D5
Nikon 500mmF4
ISO 1000
F6.3
1/5000s

Hope you enjoy this scene as much as I did. Not a great image but in all honesty I do not think I could have done better. There were other vehicles at the waterhole so not a chance to look for a better spot. It was past 9 am so light not ideal. More DoF might have been good but I really needed the SS and did not want to push ISO too much even though I know the camera can take it. I had no idea where the little villain would pop up from so just glad I managed to grab a few shots:tinysmile_shy_t:

Thank you so much for viewing, and I would appreciate any comments and suggestions.

Hope you all have an awesome week ahead,

Kind regards,

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Just awesome Gabriela!:cheers:

You nailed the moment, love it with all the Doves flying in all directions, but to have the head clear and one in the mouth is superb, one of the best Wildlife images I have seen here, respect in achieving what you did! Forget about cutting into the bodies of the Doves as you can never resolve that.

I would lose say half off the OOF rock at the foot, as it is perhaps a little dominating, but lets see what others think. I would suggest you really think about submitting this into some on-line comps.

An outstanding piece of work.

TFS
Steve

 

[Marc Mol]

Not a great image

You're selling yourself way short here Gabriela. :w3 :bg3:

Totally agree with Steve's comments, the fact that you have the head with a captured dove in the mouth clear amongst the chaos of doves is so commendable, excellent work indeed Gabriela, certainly one of your very best submissions IMO. :5

Do agree on removing half the lower FG rocks.

TFS

 

[John Mack]

Amazing. Your knowledge of the animals you photograph really shows in your work. I wouldn't change a thing with this one. Perfect timing and well executed. Love how you have all the doves here and the jackal with the one in it's mouth. Makes a very pleasing image. I agree with Steve this is the one of best images i have seen on here. If not the best.

 

[haseeb badar]

HI Gabriela -- This is a stunner , What a cracking frame. This image deserves some recognition as already mentioned above. Everything to love in this frame especially the clear head shot amongst so much chaos , indeed commendable. Loved it.
Great techs as well .

TFS !

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Gabriela you are a mine of information! I enjoyed the narrative and I think your image is absolutely brilliant, I like the chaos and the very sharp jackal in the middle of it all. Well done, I think it might possibly benefit from a little toning down of the base.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you all so much for viewing and for your kind words, it means a lot to me:tinysmile_shy_t:

I feel it is important to give some information about the subjects one gets to photograph. Understanding animal behaviour helps us not just predict what they are about to do, but also to capture emotion and the way they interact with other species in their environment.

Regarding this sighting, I have been watching jackals hunt doves for the past ten years or so but never actually saw one make a kill. I got lucky this time. BTW he ate the entire bird... Within seconds all that was left was... a couple of feathers in the corner of his mouth:S3:

Many thanks once again, and Steve - I shall look at your suggestions re. FG and implement them:5

Kind regards,

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve - I shall look at your suggestions re. FG and implement them:5

Hi Gabriela, no worries you know where I am, but back week Wednesday. Just been on a very expensive shopping trip... oh dear.... :bg3:

I am also very chuffed to see all the nice comments from everyone for you, it is so well earned, but Marc summed it perfectly - 'You're selling yourself way short here Gabriela' how true Marc :cheers:

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

A very good evening to you Steve,

Hmmmm...I know where you are...and I have a slight suspicion about this shopping trip :bg3: But curiosity is eating me, looking forward to hear all about it soon...

And yes, I see clearly you are pleased for me. You've been so supportive and encouraging and guided me for years, I feel I must make you proud. By the way I just looked at the date I joined BPN and realised I've been around for over six years now

Always happy to produce an image folks enjoy, although as you know I am quite picky when deciding what to share, as well as highly critical of my work:tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Wow Gabriela, what a stunning piece of work. Great capture by the Jackal and you. It's a very unique sighting and piece of action not seen ever I think. Kudos to you. Loved it. Agree regarding the FG rocks. TFS.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Six years - amazing Gabriela, but don't be hesitant in sharing and that goes for everyone, lets just share our encounters and showcaseour experiences and how wonderful nature is. :S3:

 

[greg cowle]

Really good action you captured here, well done keeping the focus on the action. Particularly good to see the action with a less photographed/shared species.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Steve and Greg, much appreciated:S3:

 

[Chris van Rooyen]

Phenomenal image, its all been said above :cheers:. I have been hoping for this shot for years, but alas....

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much,Chris. Just like you, I have been watching jackals hunting doves for years... and every time they made a kill they had their backs towards the camera:e3 This was an exception. A fluke, really. We were staying at Polentswa and decided to drive to Nossob for some supplies, on our way back we stopped at Cubitjie Quap. The scene did not last that long, after eating the dove the jackal went to rest in the shade.
This is a very special water hole, I guess the water is not that salty and many species like to drink there. Some years back I captured on camera a jackal biting a badger's tail:S3: Also, there's an incredible number of avian species coming to drink, among them Bateleurs and Vultures. Four years ago I witnessed a great number of Pink Flamingos landing there too. I wish people would appreciate more the amazing wildlife and delicate environment of the KTP. I am getting more and more frustrated with their behaviour and beginning to look for other - more remote - places to travel to.

Kind regards,