Dzanga bai (or Village of Elephants) in @dzanga.sangha National Park is a truly extraordinary place. There’s nowhere else on earth where forest elephant gather in such big numbers. Compared to their savanna elephant cousins, forest elephants live in much smaller family groups so this enormous gathering of so many families is all the more special. This species spends the majority of their lives in thick jungle, so this clearing is a really important place for them to socialise. Shots of me by @markmcc01 and @justdrewsound. Filmed for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Echolocation – one of nature’s amazing answers to underwater navigation. Listening to these killer whales communicate and search their underwater environment was a spine-tingling experience. Amazing sound recordings by @ZubinSarosh. Filmed by Will West for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
I’m very excited to be a winner at this year’s Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition @nhm_wpy! This image of three wave washing killer whales hunting a Weddell seal picked up the ‘Behaviour: Mammals’ category prize at last night’s awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. While I was the one lucky enough to push the shutter button, this image was a huge team effort and based on over a decade of work from several different groups. So a huge thank you to the BBC Frozen Planet 1 team who first filmed this incredible behaviour for television back in 2009. Thank you to the Frozen Planet 2 team who I returned with 10 years later to follow the behaviour for the first time with drones. Finally, thanks to the ‘Animals Up Close’ team at @wildstarfilms who I worked with most recently to document these killer whales. Check out the ‘Antarctic Killer Waves’ episode on Disney to see the pod pictured in action! @bbcearth @natgeo
I’m very excited to be a winner at this year’s Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition @nhm_wpy! This image of three wave washing killer whales hunting a Weddell seal picked up the ‘Behaviour: Mammals’ category prize at last night’s awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. While I was the one lucky enough to push the shutter button, this image was a huge team effort and based on over a decade of work from several different groups. So a huge thank you to the BBC Frozen Planet 1 team who first filmed this incredible behaviour for television back in 2009. Thank you to the Frozen Planet 2 team who I returned with 10 years later to follow the behaviour for the first time with drones. Finally, thanks to the ‘Animals Up Close’ team at @wildstarfilms who I worked with most recently to document these killer whales. Check out the ‘Antarctic Killer Waves’ episode on Disney to see the pod pictured in action! @bbcearth @natgeo
I’m very excited to be a winner at this year’s Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition @nhm_wpy! This image of three wave washing killer whales hunting a Weddell seal picked up the ‘Behaviour: Mammals’ category prize at last night’s awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. While I was the one lucky enough to push the shutter button, this image was a huge team effort and based on over a decade of work from several different groups. So a huge thank you to the BBC Frozen Planet 1 team who first filmed this incredible behaviour for television back in 2009. Thank you to the Frozen Planet 2 team who I returned with 10 years later to follow the behaviour for the first time with drones. Finally, thanks to the ‘Animals Up Close’ team at @wildstarfilms who I worked with most recently to document these killer whales. Check out the ‘Antarctic Killer Waves’ episode on Disney to see the pod pictured in action! @bbcearth @natgeo
I’m very excited to be a winner at this year’s Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition @nhm_wpy! This image of three wave washing killer whales hunting a Weddell seal picked up the ‘Behaviour: Mammals’ category prize at last night’s awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. While I was the one lucky enough to push the shutter button, this image was a huge team effort and based on over a decade of work from several different groups. So a huge thank you to the BBC Frozen Planet 1 team who first filmed this incredible behaviour for television back in 2009. Thank you to the Frozen Planet 2 team who I returned with 10 years later to follow the behaviour for the first time with drones. Finally, thanks to the ‘Animals Up Close’ team at @wildstarfilms who I worked with most recently to document these killer whales. Check out the ‘Antarctic Killer Waves’ episode on Disney to see the pod pictured in action! @bbcearth @natgeo
This killer whale family’s lunch was just out of reach. This pod of B1 Antarctic killer whales spent hours hunting this crabeater seal. Multiple times the killer whales grabbed the seal and I thought it was all over. But somehow, this little seal managed to evade the ocean’s top predator. Check out #AnimalsUpClose on Disney to see the most extraordinary hunt I’ve witnessed. @wildstarfilms @natgeo
During the search for the wave-washing killer whales, we had several close calls with ice. The wave-washers or ‘B1s’ love hunting in ice so to have any chance of filming them, we needed to follow them into the ice fields. The wind and currents constantly reshuffle the ice into a very intimidating jigsaw. During a rather stressful 30 minutes we got stuck, but Captain Ben Wallis of @oceanexpeditions skilfully manoeuvred his 75ft ice strengthened sailboat out into more open water. That meant I could then enjoy the noise of the ice scraping down the hull! Shot of me by Will West and sound by @zubinsarosh. To see us get really stuck, check out the killer whale episode of #AnimalsUpClose now streaming on Disney ! @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Shark Vs Sea lion, who will win? If you had asked me prior to filming in the Galapagos for Animals Up Close (now streaming on Disney ), I would have bet on the shark every time. It turns out, it doesn’t always go the shark’s way. Any shark that came near these rocks in search of a sea lion meal would get chased away by this big bull. Despite being slow and clumsy on land, his speed and agility in shallow water was mind-blowing. Male sea lions are traditionally thought to have zero role in parental care but this territorial pup guarding behaviour could mean they occasionally lend a hand…or flipper. Camera by @bertiegregory @jeffbhester and @sams_natural_habitat with @javier_mahauad and @annadimitriadis watching backs underwater! #AnimalsUpClose @natgeo @wildstarfilms
Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So if we were going to film them for any significant period of time, we needed to get off the forest floor. We also wanted an angle looking down the bai (the clearing where the elephants gather) so we could fit all the elephants in one frame. Our rope experts @meg_and_onaldson and @waldo_etherington rigged this amazing canopy camp allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Elephant trunks are one of the most extraordinary pieces of biomechanical engineering. But while they are born with this amazing appendage capable of so many uses, they must learn to use it. This little forest elephant calf was definitely at the start of its learning curve! Shots of me by @markmcc01 and @justdrewsound. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
A group of Galapagos sea lions cooperatively heard fish into a magical little cove. What you can’t see in this video is that these sea lions originally located the school of fish over a half a mile away. As a team, they pushed the school up to the surface and through open water towards this cove. Some corralled from the left, some from the right and some from underneath. It was epic to witness sea lions collaborating so perfectly to use the land as a tool. It was also fun to see the brown pelicans had the whole thing figured out and flew ahead of the sea lions to grab an easy meal on the beach. The mammal intelligence was clear but we’re also going to need to rethink the phrase ‘bird-brained’! Water level angle by @sams_natural_habitat, drone angle by @bertiegregory, high angle by @annadimitriadis and remote camera work by @javier_mahauad, sound by @justdrewsound and music by @simonnpittmusic and @__willhyde__ . Filmed for the ‘Galapagos Marvels’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose
Any time you see a big group of seals hanging out together on sea ice in Antarctica, chances are they’re crabeater seals. In fact, there are so many in Antarctica, crabeaters are the most numerous seal species on earth. Their name is misleading though as they mainly eat krill (look for the pink poo stains!). Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Teamwork makes the dream work – for sea lions and for film crews. We planned 15 days to film these sea lions hunting in this magical little cove. We thought it might only happen once so wanted as many angles as possible on the action. Here’s how we did it! Water level angle by @sams_natural_habitat, drone angle by @bertiegregory, high cliff angle by @annnadimitriadis, remote camera work by @javiermahauad and underwater by @jeffbhester! BTS by @jamesnbrickell, @rakeldawnh and @justdrewsound. Sea lion spotting by @jackiesteph! Filmed for the ‘Galapagos Marvels’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @natgeo @wildstarfilms
If you enjoyed that last cooperative hunting sea lion video, here’s a little more info on the magical island where they live. Filmed for the ‘Galapagos Marvels’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @natgeo @wildstarfilms
Exciting to see the Antarctic killer whales continuing to make waves. My first feature story for @natgeo Magazine is out in the November issue! Big thanks to my editors @alexa_keefe and @julie_hau and great writing for the story by @natashadaly. These images were a huge team effort so thanks to @wildstarfilms, the ‘Animals Up Close’ team, @leighhickmott and the BBC Frozen Planet 2 team (who I learned a huge amount with on my first trip to find these killer whales). I also owe so much to my mentors @kfmoran and @stevewinterphoto who first welcomed me into the @natgeo Magazine family. Stoked that the killer whales are alongside @renan_ozturk ‘s crazy sub-Antarctic lava lake story shot using the same boat team @oceanexpeditions! Finally, shoutout to my roommate @silaselliott for some magnificent page turning and yes, we filmed this in our pyjamas. #AnimalsUpClose
To have any chance of finding a huge tusker forest elephant, we knew our stakeout at the bai would need to go into the night. This incredible thermal imaging camera allowed us to see into the darkness. Large animals in hot places have a tough time keeping cool enough. But do you know how elephants manage it? Comment below! Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
A pod of B1 Antarctic killer whales cruising along during a snow shower on the Antarctic Peninsula. Filming from a drone in these conditions always reminds me of spaceships in Star Wars going into Hyperspace! It’s really important to keep an eye on the type of snow falling. If the snow is dry and crispy, the drone blows it away as it flies. If the snow ever becomes wet and melty, it’s time to land very quickly! Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
That time a Galapagos sea lion pup learned to play football and got very confused! There’s never a dull moment watching these pups exploring their world while the adults are out hunting. Filmed for #AnimalsUpClose now streaming on Disney . @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Meet the weddell seal. They’ve got sweet faces and identifiable mottled bellies. Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
When you have an itch, you’ve got to scratch it! The endlessly entertaining crabeater seal, filmed by @tomwalkercam for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Ever wondered what sea ice looks like underwater? Maybe not, but here you go anyway! As summer progresses in Antarctica, the sea ice begins to rot. I love that a piece that looks completely flat on the surface (making a great sleeping spot for a weddell seal!), can be the most extraordinary 3D shape underwater. Thanks to @cbstronach, @annadimitriadis and Dave Roberts for watching my back while I goofed around in the ice. Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Good old Antarctic brain freeze. If you find yourself preparing to film in very cold water, I’d recommend a month of cold showers while doing times tables in the lead up. It really helps your brain and body figure out how to function while very chilly. Dive boat team @cbstronach, @annadimitriadis and Dave Roberts. On expedition for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
This aircraft-carrier-style landing pad was critical to the success of our B1 Antarctic killer whale mission. When on the hunt through ice, B1s often travelled faster than the boat. Keeping up with them was a real challenge so slowing the boat down to launch and land the drone was not an option. And yes, I did buzz the tower. Cheers to @tomwalkercam for the video. #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
