Above: This puma
was minutes away
from catching a
chulengo (a baby
guanaco).Left: After a
successful hunt,
the puma drags her
kill away to a more
private location.
The chulengo will
provide her with
food for a week.Bottom:
A Patagonian grey
fox mother and
cubs play outside
their den, high
up in the Andes.PAUL GAINS
Tamron 150-600mm on the D500.
It’s light enough to hand-hold, which is a
consideration when hiking great distances
in the Andes mountains. I also like being
able to zoom out when wildlife gets closer
than expected. I mounted a Tamron
70-300mm on the D7000 for landscapes,
but also carried the Nikon 17-55mm.
Every session brought successful
puma encounters. We spent one day with
a mother puma and her four cubs, and were
blessed when two of the cubs came to us
for protection as a large and dominant
adult female threatened their mother.
The absolute highlight, though, was
witnessing a hunt on the last evening.
Through his binoculars, Roberto had
spotted a young adult puma on a ridge.
We hiked about 3km up and around her
position, so as not to spook her, and then
watched as she lay in wait. A herd of
guanacos slowly moved uphill towards her.
I was in perfect position when she struck.
Besides publishing photos and selling
the occasional print I enjoy presenting my
photos to audiences of university and high
school students, in hope that my
enthusiasm is an effective tool in
promoting wildlife conservation.For more of Paul’s work, see:
http://www.paulgainsphoto.comIm
ag
es
:^ ©
Pa
ul^
Ga
ins