
- NIKON CORPORATION NIKON Z 9
- NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
- ƒ/3.5
- 400mm
- 1/800s
- ISO 4000
- GABRIELA PLESEA
- Tue, 28 November 2023 6:05 PM
- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.0.1 (Macintosh)
'Ingulule' is the name for Cheetah in isiZulu (language spoken in Kwazulu Natal/ South Africa where I live).
This lovely young male is part of a coalition of three and I recently had the privilege to spend some time with them as well as captured a few images while they interacted and occasionally groomed each other. Grooming or head rubbing is said to help reinforce social ties. Strong coalitions are more successful when hunting so I hope those three manage to hold their territory for a number of years. On a few occasions I saw them scent-marking a particular tree by spraying urine and also defecating after climbing up the tree.
It is summer here now and temperatures soared over the past few weeks. While most predators have been seeking shelter under trees and shrubs my three cheetah boys remained quite active during the day, albeit they do prefer the cool of early mornings and evenings.
This image was taken on the 28th of November around 6 pm and because the light was fading I had to up the ISO a bit. At some stage went as far as 10.000 which is something I usually avoid for reasons you surely understand. Nevertheless a very special sighting and I plan to share more with you as soon as I get to process.
Techs:
Nikon Z9
Nikkor 400mm F2.8 TC @ 400mm
ISO 4000
F3.5
+0.67 EV
SS 1/800s
Thank you for viewing and comments on my previous images, I do appreciate critique as well as RP's. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
Kind regards,
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