The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will
Theodore Roosevelt
All of us have places where we feel at home and are comfortable. Places where we can find all the necessities of life. And animals are no different. A sloth must live in a tree, a whale in the sea, a lion on the plains of Africa, a bee where there are flowers.
And I think we all realise now that if we destroy those habitats, we lose that diversity of wildlife. We know it, but we still don’t make the changes necessary to protect them, or at least, too few changes and too slowly. But maybe just knowing it is a start?
For Tina’s Lens Artists challenge this week let us be hopeful. Let us hope that by celebrating and sharing these diverse and wonderful habitats, and the creatures that live in them, we can add our voices to those who call for their protection. That we can show through our photos just how important it is to keep these habitats for future generations of both animals and people.
I’ve chosen just five habitats to highlight with photos of animals who inhabit them in various parts of the world. Of course I could have chosen many more habitats and very more animals. But these alone show something of the diversity of creatures with whom we share our planet.
My photos were taken in Botswana (including my feature photo), Costa Rica, the Galápagos Islands, Gambia, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal and here in the UK. Hover over the images for a caption identifying the animal and location.
Grasslands
Elephants, Chobe NP, Botswana
Lioness, Chobe NP, Botswana
Zebra, Chobe NP, Botswana
Lion cubs, Chobe NP, Botswana
Wild buffalo, Periyar NP, Kerala, India
Ostrich, Etosha NP, Namibia
Giraffe, Chobe NP, Botswana
Giant tortoise, Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands
Forests and woodlands
Sloth near Arenal, Costa Rica
Rhesus monkey, Chitwan NP, Nepal
Common brown lemur and baby, Madagascar
Diademed sifakas, Madagascar
White Faced Capuchin Monkey, Caño Negra, Costa Rica
Broad-billed Motmot, Arenal, Costa Rica
Tiger in Ranthambore NP, Rajasthan, India
Red squirrel, British Wildlife Centre
Spotted deer in Bardia NP, Nepal
Scarlet Macaw, Corcovado NP, Costa Rica
Rivers and lakes
Otter, British Wildlife Centre
Hippo in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Young crocodile, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Meso-American slider turtle, Caño Negra, Costa Rica
Pied Kingfisher by the Gambia River
Slender skimmer, Bardia NP, Nepal
Grey heron, Osterley Park, west London
Green Backed Heron, Caño Negra, Costa Rica
Coast and sea
Marine iguana, Espanola, Galápagos Islands
Sea lion off Santa Fe, Galápagos Islands
Sally Lightfoot crab, Sombrero Chino, Galápagos Islands
On Baobab Beach, Madagascar
Whimbrel on a beach in Gambia
Bottlenose dolphins, Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Blue whale, Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Towns and cities
Grey squirrel, Walpole Park, Ealing, west London
Kittiwakes nesting on the Baltic art gallery, Gateshead
Grey heron, St James's Park, London
Deer in Bushey Park, west London
Bee in hollyhock, Ealing, west London
Swan and cygnets, St James's Park, London
Tufted duck pair, Boston Manor Park, west London
Mandarin duck, Boston Manor Park, west London
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74 Comments
SoyBend
Beautiful gallery, and very nicely arranged, Sarah! I really liked the lioness, grey squirrel, and mandarin duck pictures.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Siobhan 😊 I was particularly pleased with that squirrel shot – they’re frisky creatures and hard to capture!
wetanddustyroads
No favourites here (but it was nice to see elephants in your post too)! And I must admit, I did look twice at the cute squirrel in Walpole Park! Beautiful photos Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 I couldn’t do a post about animals and not include elephants!
Annie Berger
Positively spectacular shots, Sarah – also greatly admired your Roosevelt quote and commentary about our responsibility to each do what we can to protect the animals and their habitats. As always, I’m gobsmacked by your breadth of travels when you compile a retrospective like this. In the initial series, I loved how you captured the animals when they appeared to be looking directly at you! i don’t recall hearing about mandarin ducks before writing about them in a recent post on Japan and here you included them in your own backyard.
Sarah Wilkie
Aw, thanks so much Annie 😊 I’m really glad you liked these so much. I hadn’t spotted how many were looking at the camera in that first gallery until you pointed it out! Mandarin ducks are popular additions to some of our parks and gardens. That particular park isn’t much more than a mile from where we live!
leightontravels
What a fabulous array of creatures great and small Sarah. Hard to pick even a few favourites but I do like the gait of the leggy pose of the giraffe and the misty deer-inhabited wood.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Leighton 😊 I think those two shots are perhaps the general favourites among those who’ve singled one out.
Marilyn Armstrong
What a wonderful selection of creatures! The deer in the forest are very romantic.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Marilyn 😊 The misty early mornings in Nepal’s national parks were beautiful!
Marilyn Armstrong
I can see that. It doesn’t even look like a photograph. It looks like an illustration and it is truly beautiful.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you again 😊😊
Aletta - nowathome
An amazing selections of photos Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Aletta, I’m glad you like them 😊
Alli Templeton
Sarah, these are wonderful, all of them. As you know, I adore wildlife and nature, and this has put a huge smile on my face, especially seeing them all in their natural habitats. So very precious, particularly these days. More of these, please! 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alli, I’m really chuffed you enjoyed these so much 😊
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
I’m in awe, these are such beautiful photos. Loved them
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Ritva 😊 I really appreciate such a compliment from you as you’re such an excellent photographer yourself!
Sofia Alves
I could see you were going to have a special post this week, Sarah and you did not disappoint. Wonderful variety and quality. I love them all.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Sofia 😊 Yes, this was a theme right up my street!
carabeinsplash
Oh that was a fun post Sarah! I loved all of the different animals in their natural state, enjoying their habitats.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed this 😊
Image Earth Travel
A lovely diverse collection and call to action!
I hope that we leave space for these beautiful creatures…
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you – I really do hope so too!
Leya
Great post. Great message and photography. You really have seen it all – and documented it. I loved the way you categorised and presented them too. Wonderful!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Ann Christine 😊 This was a good theme for me and fun to put it together!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
I do have a favourite, and it’s the splay-legged giraffe. Just appeals!
Sarah Wilkie
I do love how giraffes bend, they look so ungainly!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Brilliant, that first collection has whetted my appetite for obvious reasons!
Sarah Wilkie
You’re going to love Africa!
thehungrytravellers.blog
I know! See you in a couple of hours…just deciding on what clothing to wear given that July is the new winter!
Sarah Wilkie
I know! We keep thinking we’re on an out of season visit!
Leanne Cole
I really like how you have done this post Sarah, it is wonderful. Some animals that I absolutely love too.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Leanne, I had fun putting it together 😊
norasphotos4u
Gorgeous gallery!!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Nora 🙂
Brad M
Quite the menagerie; all on the list for someday . . .
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brad, I do hope you get to see them all!
JohnRH
Great photos, GREAT presentation. I love the informative popup titles. As usual, you cover the globe! 👏👏👏
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John. I often use Modula to create my galleries because of the pop-up captions 😀
equinoxio21
Fascinating. It’s good to see evidence that there is still some space for animals on our planet…
Sarah Wilkie
There can be space for all of us, people and animals, but only if we really want there to be amd make it happen. The onus is on us, not them!
equinoxio21
Absolutely.
Michele Lee
A gorgeous gallery!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Michelle 😀
Michele Lee
A pleasure, Sarah! 😊
Tina Schell
A beautiful post Sarah – I love the way you broke the animals into habitat types, terrific idea. I also like the way one is able to see the identity by sliding over the image. Really well done. And of course all of the images are terrific and your message is spot on.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tina 😊 Organising this by habitats was the easiest way for me to make sense of all the very many potential images I had for this theme!
Egídio
Sarah, you had my attention with the opening quote. Wow! Then, you choice in displaying animals in various habitats was superb. Great photos and post!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Egidio, I’m really happy you liked this 😊
restlessjo
You know it, as well as anyone and better than many. It’s a beautiful place, this world of ours 🤗🩷
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jo, it is indeed ❤️
Rose
You wrote such a lovely introduction to habitats and call to protect them. What a diverse collection of animals, highlighting the need for us to add our voice to their preservation.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Rose, much appreciated 😊
grandmisadventures
Such an incredible collection of creatures big and small, far and near 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Meg – I love seeing and photographing wildlife 😀
Sue
What a fantastic set of images, Sarah, but I knew this prompt would be right up your street! And diversity well showcased
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, definitely my sort of topic, my only problem was choosing which to include! Glad you enjoyed them, thanks Sue 😊
Anne Sandler
What a wonderful share of animals, their habitats and your travels!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne, I’m glad you enjoyed it 😀
Ingrid
Wow, what a wonderful collection of photos showcasing such diversity. You definitely have an eye for photography.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Ingrid 😊 I could say the same about you, having just been enjoying your wonderful landscape images!
margaret21
Oh my goodness Sarah, I knew you’d have a treat for us. But this post is almost encyclopaedic in its breadth. You’re not wanting us to pick a favourite I hope? No? Good.
Sarah Wilkie
Hardly comprehensive enough for an encyclopedia! But I do have quite a sizeable archive to choose from 😃 I couldn’t choose a favourite myself, so I have no right to ask you to do so!
Monkey's Tale
So many amazing pictures. I love the misty deer picture in Nepal. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Maggie, and apologies for the delay in replying to this – we’re away at the moment and I’m not monitoring comments awaiting approval as closely as I usually would. We had lovely light on those early morning drives in Nepal 😀
photobyjohnbo
A wonderful collection of wildlife images, Sarah! You’ve got so many diverse examples from distant places.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John 😀 I did try to mix up the locations as much as I could.
Alison
Amazing gallery Sarah, all so different too. I haven’t been to any of those places except UK. You’re such a fantastic photographer. Do you ever enter competitions?
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Alison 😊 No, I don’t really bother with competitions although I’ve joined a photography group recently and might have a go at one of their occasional ones.
bushboy
Great post highlighting the value of biodiversity
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brian 😊
Teresa
Oh Sarah. I knew you’d have a fantastic gallery on this topic.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Teresa, it was an obvious topic for me to respond to 😃