In August I fulfilled a long-time goal by seeing my first wild pangolin, but it was even more of a challenge than I expected. That’s funny to say when discussing one of Africa’s most elusive (and threatened) species, but in this case we had been planning a visit to a destination in the Kalahari that was relatively reliable for sightings of pangolin and other elusive mammal species in recent years.
Unfortunately for me, environmental conditions had changed drastically in the area, and many of these animals appear to have died out or moved on due to a prolonged drought… while the drought’s recent end actually brought back a lot of the vegetation. This meant: fewer subjects to spot, and much harder viewing conditions.
We achieve our goal, however, and came away with better-than-expected images given all the long grass. This is an example of what we were dealing with during our short encounter. In hindsight any shot with a clear view of the animal’s face seemed like a miracle.
My wife was with me on this trip, taking her own pictures. She has a very similar shot to this, but it’s a wider view and I think it’s even better than this one. You can see that one and compare here.
I remembered to take time at the very end and just watch the animal walk by me at close range. It’s probably the coolest species I’ve ever seen.
Canon R6
Canon 100-500mm
ISO 3200
1/320th
f/7.1
Spotlight
Oh so very cool. I’ve never seen one, but have always found them fascinating - like echidnas, armadillos or platypuses. Odd creatures that have a niche so small there are none like them. Congratulations on getting to see them and coming away with such a great shot. Jennifer’s is excellent, too.
Absolutely fascinating, Max. I have not heard of them either, so thank you for the history & background. Since Jennifer’s photo is back a bit it does give a better view. It sort of looks like a pine cone. Great capture.
Thanks, everyone. Elusive smaller mammal sightings probably get me excited more than just about any other type of wildlife encounter in the field, so this was a big one on my life list.
It sort of looks like a pine cone.
Yes. Anytime I have to describe a pangolin to someone who hasn’t heard of it, I start with, “it’s like a walking pine cone.”
It is always very satisfying to capture elusive subjects, getting a clear eye is big achievement in this kind of environment.
I prefer the wider view, your wife took, but her flash appears to be more harsh, which of course can be corrected in post processing.
I am so impressed with the fact that you saw one and managed to get a respectable image of it. I have only seen one, and that was along the Zambezi at Mana Pools in the mid 1980’s, and I was not carrying a camera at the time. I’m going to the Kgalagadi in January but don’t expect to see one at this very hot time of year.
I’m going to the Kgalagadi in January but don’t expect to see one at this very hot time of year.
Best of luck! I spoke to some of my guides both in South Africa and Zambia, and some of them believe the wet season is a better time of year to see them since there’s more insect activity. Of course, there’s also a heckuva lot more vegetation. You never know!
