Continuing my work with endangered primates, I recently spent two weeks following endangered Hoolock Gibbons (see below) and Macaques in the evergreen forests of Eastern India.  An astonishing seven species of primates can be found in this "postage stamp" reserve, a tiny island of habitat surrounded by tea plantations.  Originally protected as a hunting reserve, then as a forestry project, it is one of very few examples of this Indo-Malayan ecosystem to survive in India.  The animals that live here have few other places to go.

I spent a morning following this large troop (70-100 individuals) as they foraged on the forest floor.  In fact, it was such a tangled mess that getting a decent picture seemed nearly impossible.  Until, that is, this handsome male decided to rest on some jungle vines, with an almost too-perfect "diorama" background.  I couldn't believe my luck, and got half a dozen shots before he moved on again. 

Most of my time, however, was spent following a troop of Hoolock Gibbons - one of the top 25 endangered primates on Earth. 

Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) Mother & Baby

 

Listen to the Gibbons' voices by clicking on the link above

(It takes a few seconds to load)

 

 

Nikon D3 camera, with Nikkor 70-200mm 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