Founders Note

Hermis Haridas & Nisha Purushothaman

Welcome to this edition of PT Aware.

If we want to develop effective ways of conserving a species or you wish to take better photographs of wildlife, then the best thing you can do is to improve your understanding of the biology of the species. You can always test this understanding every time you go out into the field by predicting where the animals will be, what they will be doing, and where they are going next. This approach can really help you get better photographs. For example, you can say to yourself “I expect this leopard to go over to that tree, climb the tree and scan for prey and since she hasn’t eaten for a couple of days I expect her to hunt those prey”. Now you go and position yourself accordingly, or talk to your guide about what they think the animal will do and using the light and field skills to capture great shots. This insight is fun and rewarding and while you will become a better photographer you will also start to see the habitat through the eyes of the animal.

The behaviour of animals is shaped not only by the habitat, but also by the presence of predators, food, and the distribution of things you may not see, such as biting flies. For example, you may know that when you are in East Africa,  you do not go and sit under the Yellow barked Acacia trees since they are the “Fever Trees”, where you can be exposed to malaria. In the same way, Zebras avoid areas where there are tsetse flies that transmit sleeping sickness. In this issue, Peter Hudson with Mary Fick examine why Zebras are striped and it appears that the best explanation is to confuse tsetse flies, so they don’t land on the zebras and transmit sleeping sickness. This knowledge tells you immediately how important these flies and the diseases are to the biology of the animal and gives you further insights that can be helpful in taking photographs and thinking about protecting the species. Indeed the fact that zebras are really plains-dwelling animals could be simply to keep away from these flies.

Join us in celebrating the remarkable coat patterns of the zebra and marvel in the insights the article provides about the Zebras of Africa. Special heartfelt thanks to all who contributed photographs, many of which were taken in the Masai Mara, where people had stayed at the Mara Trails camp (maratrails.com) where the guides have developed a real understanding of how the animals behave and help you get good photographs.

Hermis Haridas & Nisha Purushothaman
Founders – Paws Trails Explorers