Hyena with kill

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 13, 2014477 views6 comments

Hyenas are known to have the strongest jaws of any mammal on land, with a bite force estimated to be about 1000lbs per sq inch, compared to a lion's of about 650 lbs per sq inch! They can bite through the thigh bone of a buffalo, and they eat everything - bones and all. Because of their liking for bones, their droppings are white due to the calcium content in them.
Species: Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
Date: Sept, 2013
Equip: Canon 5D lll, Canon 300 f2.8
Specs: ISO 800, f6.3, 1/3200s, Apert priority, evaluative metering, 0 exp comp, beanbag on vehicle

Thank you for taking the time out to look, and for your comments/critiques.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on June 13, 2014 at 10:03 AM

Was that a Wildebeest? There is a sense of urgency to carry it fast.
Love the action n body language here, but not very pleased about small tree in the BG.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on June 13, 2014 at 5:13 PM

Hello Ajit

Great Capture with excellent detail really enjoy the legs position , gives a nice forward action sense!

small tree doesn't bother me.

We have an animal here in Canada called the Wolverine and he is also amazingly strong through the jaws!
Gotta lot to chew on there!

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on June 13, 2014 at 5:36 PM

Nature in the raw, this shot certainly shows well what this animal is all about, strength particularly in the jaws and neck and scavenging. Great image, the only thing I might wish for is a bit more light in the eyes.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on June 16, 2014 at 8:38 AM

Hi Ajit,

Nice capture of some very graphic natural drama. To me the cold efficiency of the hyena comes through loud and clear in this shot. I don't mind either bush - neither really distracted me. I do wonder if going with a little wider aperture and shallower DoF would have softened the background sufficiently to make the subject stand out even more? To me it looks like the subject - being pretty much parallel to your image sensor - is likely close to being on the same focal plane (and thus a shallow DoF would still keep the subject in focus).

Thanks for sharing this one...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on June 17, 2014 at 10:35 PM

l like the story and the composition. I do wish the forked bush was not right above his face.

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 22, 2014 at 11:35 AM

I really like this image Ajit. The tree and bush don't really bother me either. Looks like he is trying to make off with this meal without sharing.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments