The Sarus Crane is the tallest flying bird, some reaching 7 feet tall and living as long as 70 years.  Most famously, they mate for life. Dependent on wetlands, the population of these cranes has plummeted 95% from its numbers a century ago, and are listed as "Threatened" by the IUCN. 

(For more information, go here)

I was lucky enough to learn of a small group of wild cranes that often fed in the harvested fields near where I was working in Madhya Pradesh , south of Delhi, India. I was astonished to be able to approach them without much difficulty and capture this portrait of a mated pair,  greeting one another. Given more time, I might have hoped to have gotten them dancing...but I will settle for this.

 

 

Nikon D3 camera, with Nikkor 300mm f2.8 lens

Life, Color, Drama, Reality .... No Digital Manipulation

RECENT NEWS:

Kevin's photo essay on endangered Silky Sifakas of Madagascar

is featured in the April 2010 Smithsonian Magazine :

To see a PDF of the entire story, click on the cover image above

Kevin will be serving as the National Geographic photo lecturer on two voyages this year  aboard the "National Geographic Explorer".

August 2010 : Polar Bears of Arctic Svalbard , For more information, click here.

November 2010 :  South Georgia and Antarctica.  For more information, click here.

My story on Amazon River Dolphins appeared in the June 09 issue of National Geographic Magazine. To see the story, click on the photo below.

 

 

 

As is so often the case, some of my favorite pictures didn't appear in the story : to see some of these, go to :  http://kevinschafer.com/dolphins.html