Chacma Grub Hub
November 5, 2021

Large format images need to engage the viewer's attention for multiple views. Nothing draws me back for a second look like the eyes. The direct gaze from this young baboon draws me into the image every time I walk by.

The elephants in the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia can be destructive, but the branches and trees they tear down are a resource for other animals. Several large branches they left on the trail were full of tasty grubs just under the bark. We watched while a troop of Chacma Baboons stripped the bark, and gnawed their way deep into the branches. They were after every single grub. This little guy was torn between watching me in the distance and keeping an eye out for the other members of his troupe.

I took the image with a Canon 7D Mark II with an EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender lens. The exposure settings were 1/2000 sec at f/4, ISO 1600, 200 mm, handheld.