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.
I love wildlife images that emphasize the eyes, and especially images that let you see yourself the way the animals see you. This young Chacma Baboon was staring at our vehicle very intently. When you magnify the image you can see the reflection of the vehicle in his eyes. He wasn't feeling threatened, and in fact he deliberately sat down very close to where we were quietly watching. He was a lot more interested in the grubs, and the other members of his troop than he was in us.
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 1000, 400 mm, handheld.
