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Friends and Foes
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Friends and Foes

by Morkel Erasmus

Gallery: WildlifePosted December 24, 2016164 views11 comments

A scene from the Okondeka spring on the Etosha pan. This lion pride hogged the waterhole for about a week, and the animals got thirsty enough to venture near.

A very blessed Christmas to all those celebrating!!

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 400mm f2.8G VR
1.4x teleconverter
f11 | 1/2500 SS | ISO-1100

Comments

11 comments
Comment posted by Hisham Atallah on December 24, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Love the setting, Morkel. It's hard to imagine that zebras and lions can exist in this landscape. Great documentary shot of an unexpected behavior also.

Merry Christmas!

Hisham.
Registered on November 5, 2014, 121 Posts, 352 Comments
Comment posted by Jerry Austin on December 24, 2016 at 11:02 AM
Morkel, I love your recent shots that tell a story. This is really nice. Well done.
Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 24, 2016 at 1:42 PM
Love this behavioral image.
The basic needs for water an food trumps everything else sometimes.
I have mixed feelings about the zebra on the upper left. It keeps drawing my eye from the beautiful male lion.
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on December 24, 2016 at 5:11 PM
I think this is one of those rare images that tell a story and give some insight into the animals lives.  Well done.
Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments
Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on December 25, 2016 at 2:56 AM
Great story telling pic!
May  prefer to crop out the lone Zebra,
With best wishes for the holiday season!

Jagdeep Rajputcrying​
Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on December 25, 2016 at 12:57 PM
Nice job composing this scene, Morkel.  I appreciate the "S" curve of the water hole, the location of the big male lion in the lower right on the frame...moving to middle and the bit of counter balance offered by the distant soft focused animal,(wildebeest I think...not zebra!) on the upper left.  If one wants to be super nit picky, I guess you could think about the green mounds bottom and left and wish they were absent or less cut off and more in the frame...but that is a really minor point and probably the scene dictated it being presented as shown.
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on December 26, 2016 at 1:03 AM
Thanks folks. Already cropped a bit so didn't want to crop to get rid of that "wayward" wildebeest. Also don't like cloning in my images.
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on December 26, 2016 at 2:01 AM
Morkel,
A first time for me I have never seen much at Okondeka on many visits!
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Max Waugh on December 26, 2016 at 1:55 PM
Morkel, thanks for explaining the crop choice.  That was bugging me too, but I understand.  It's interesting seeing the two species sharing this spot in such close proximity, but I suppose the arid environment and scarce water supply sometimes makes for strange bedfellows.

Max
Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Gettle on January 1, 2017 at 1:35 PM
Beautiful composition here. The river just pulls your eye right though the image.
Registered on November 29, 2016, 36 Posts, 111 Comments
Comment posted by David Bogener on January 4, 2017 at 3:00 PM
Interesting behavioral image captured in nice light.  The facing foreground male really adds to the image IMO. Well done. 
Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments