Turning the Tables

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 3, 2011633 views28 comments

I just spent a few days in Yellowstone, which for the most part were pretty quiet photo-wise. With one major exception.

On New Year's Eve I was out photographing some otters in the Lamar Valley. First, a bald eagle swooped down and made a failed attempt to snatch a fish out of an otter's grasp (didn't get photos of that). Moments later, a couple coyotes showed up on the scene.

I've seen images of coyotes chasing otters, and one is known to have killed an entire family of them up at Trout Lake (in Yellowstone's NE corner) a few years ago. So I really wasn't expecting to see what occurred next. Rather than fleeing the predators, this particular otter actually charged one of the coyotes! I'm sure the coyote was as surprised as I was, as it fled the scene fairly quickly.

After you photograph the same subjects over and over for a while, capturing basic portraits is no longer as satisfying, and you begin hoping to witness and capture interesting and/or rare behavior. This encounter certainly qualified, and made for one of my favorite photos of 2010. It was a great way to finish off the year.

Canon 7D
Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x TC
ISO 400
1/1600th
f/7.1
Exp. Comp: +1

Max

Comments

28 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 3, 2011 at 10:36 PM

What an awesome interaction! That otter is none too happy... just wish you could see the coyote's face!

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on January 3, 2011 at 10:47 PM

Wow, that's a great capture and moment Max, congrats

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 3, 2011 at 11:13 PM

LOL! Bravo for the otter!
Excellent catch!
Nice detail and good exposure.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on January 3, 2011 at 11:56 PM

Nice Shot. Fiesty little feller isn't it. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Mannino on January 4, 2011 at 12:42 AM

Great shot. Glad you were there to catch it.

Registered on November 16, 2009, 22 Posts, 65 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on January 4, 2011 at 6:32 AM

Really nice action shot, Max, and great image of an otter.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Darlene Almeda on January 4, 2011 at 7:47 AM

What a shot!

Registered on October 14, 2008, 5 Posts, 69 Comments

Comment posted by Oscar Benavides on January 4, 2011 at 7:49 AM

I've never seen something like this. Sometimes nature is unpredictable. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on January 2, 2011, 12 Posts, 141 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on January 4, 2011 at 8:48 AM

Cool interaction. That otter looks like he could have taken off the coyotes face should he have decided to pursue further action. Maybe he heard about the other otter family. That's the best thing, to be there to see how amazing nature can be. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on January 4, 2011 at 11:04 AM

HI Max,

Great action shot of what I assume is an very rarely seen behavioural interaction. Technically I think this is really solid as well - which is often hard to pull off in an action shot. Congratulations on capturing/producing this - nice one to have in your collection!!

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on January 4, 2011 at 1:14 PM

Excellent image! You're very fortunate to see the scene, but extremely fortunate to actually capture it. So nice and crisp too!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on January 4, 2011 at 2:25 PM

Great action Max. It's incredible to think that an otter would/could do this. Must have been great to witness this.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Harshad Barve on January 4, 2011 at 11:13 PM

this is super shot

Registered on July 25, 2010, 39 Posts, 210 Comments

Comment posted by Rebecka on January 4, 2011 at 11:41 PM

Wow - really fascinating shot!! Thanks for sharing - who knew an otter would stand up to a coyote? He sort of reminds me of the ferocious (esp. for their size) honey badgers in Africa (who will take on anything). This one pic made your whole trip worth it, IMHO!

Registered on February 5, 2009, 170 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 5, 2011 at 7:02 AM

Wow--what a way to end the year--awesome! Outstanding catch, Max--congrats.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on January 5, 2011 at 10:17 AM

Wonderful image- Great interaction, exposure and treatment of light- awesome job on this, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on January 5, 2011 at 10:25 AM

Thank you for the kind words, everyone. There's no question it was a highlight of this past year, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was a pretty wild encounter.

btw- it looks like the Billings Gazette will run a short series of photos from this sequence tomorrow, so locals can either pick up a copy or they should be available online as well.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 5, 2011 at 5:00 PM

Interesting action shot and story, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Brookhart on January 5, 2011 at 7:15 PM

Fabulous shot! I'm jealous, had to leave the Park that morning and knew it was going to be a good day for shots, just reaaaaalllllyy cold (-10?)! Congrats!

Registered on January 29, 2010, 10 Posts, 36 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 5, 2011 at 11:40 PM

Behavior trumps posing. Great capture!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on January 6, 2011 at 2:25 AM

What a neat capture! The open mouth on the otter is priceless; just wish I could see the coyote's reaction too!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 6, 2011 at 3:33 AM

Wow!!! Great photo Max

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on January 6, 2011 at 9:07 AM

A quick update: You can see some additional photos via the link below, though the Gazette put them in the wrong order online (no idea about print). I preferred this particular image because of the otter's aggressive pose (mouth open, front paw extended), though the others have the coyote running more and in a bit more profile.

http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/article_687c3143-b8ef-54df-9336-b13169eff1ce.html

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Edwin kats on January 6, 2011 at 3:34 PM

Not suprised by the otters behaviour. They are brave to the bone. I've been attacked myself by a captive otter so I know what I wild one can do. Cracking shot.

Edwin

Registered on April 24, 2006, 177 Posts, 399 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on January 8, 2011 at 7:22 PM

Wow, superb action and behavior capture. Great image.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Lindy Martin on January 12, 2011 at 7:41 PM

Fabulous action / behaviour shot - at first glimpse through the thumbnails I thought it was wolverine which really caught my attention. I have never seen this species run off a coyote before! Excellent capture of interesting self defence!

Registered on March 10, 2009, 60 Posts, 169 Comments

Comment posted by Andrea Marzorati on March 1, 2011 at 6:10 AM

Wow, an awesome interaction! Thats a great image!

Registered on December 1, 2005, 86 Posts, 589 Comments

Comment posted by Andrea Marzorati on March 1, 2011 at 6:49 AM

Wow, an awesome interaction! Thats a great image!

Registered on December 1, 2005, 86 Posts, 589 Comments