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014 Folded up into a fur-ball, this youngster is warming its extremities in between bouts of play and feeding. He is part of a band of about 70 or so Qinling golden snub-nosed monkeys living high up in China’s Qinling Mountains, surviving on lichen, leaves, bark and buds. ‘If mother is not around to cuddle up to, then sitting like this is the best way to keep warm in the extreme winter cold,’ says Cyril. Sitting apart from its mother also makes such a little monkey vulnerable to attack by goshawks or golden eagles. The species is endangered, and this subspecies probably numbers no more than about 4,000. The total population of all races of golden snub-nosed monkeys is only 8,000–20,000. |
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058 Usually only fish get to see the inside of a Dalmatian pelican’s beak at such an angle. But on Lake Kerkini in Greece, local fishermen feed the pelicans, which means part of the population is particularly bold and anticipates the meals of fish offal that are thrown to them. Bence planned his trip for February, when most of the pelicans are in their breeding plumage, which includes vibrant orange throat pouches. He constructed a special floating system that would enable him to take unusual perspectives using an underwater camera with a fish-eye lens, operated from a boat some 10 metres away. ‘As the pelicans lined up for fish scraps from the fishermen,’ says Bence, ‘I couldn’t believe my luck when they lunged forwards in unison, mouths wide open.’ |
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074 Early winter in 2010 was one of the coldest The Netherlands had experienced in years, and the lake in Andrew’s local park in Eindhoven was almost completely frozen. As he watched the coots foraging on the ice, he began to visualize the image he wanted. So when the next snowfall came, he went straight out and waited. The coots were already on the ice, polishing off scraps of bread people had thrown them. As soon as all the food was gone, the coots headed back towards the only remaining hole in the ice. ‘It reminded me of a scene from the movie March of the Penguins,’ Andrew says, ‘even though I was in my local park, in the middle of a city.’ |
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088 The Aloba Arch, on the Ennedi Plateau in northeastern Chad, is one of the most magnificent rock arches in the world. And with an elevation of 122 metres (400 feet), it is one of the highest, too. But its remote location means it’s also one of the more seldom seen. Travel to this area can be particularly difficult because of the lack of facilities, political unrest and highway banditry, but Marsel decided to go there anyway. The plateau is, he says, ‘a sandstone bulwark in the middle of the Sahara, assailed by the sands on all sides, with a geology similar to the Colorado Plateau and a number of similar landforms.’ He wanted to photograph the arch in a way that would create ‘a feeling of awe and wonder,’ choosing a night shoot, with enough moonlight for a light source but not so much that the stars wouldn’t be visible. ‘The clear night sky,’ says Marsel, ‘made this wild place look almost otherworldly.’ |