One day in an African Eden

Issue 33

From the first pre-dawn stirrings of birds to the last screeches of nocturnal insects, every hour of every day in the bush has its own rhythm and tempo. South African photographer Adrian Bailey captures the changing mood of Botswana’s remote wilderness as, from dawn to dusk, the day unfolds. I’ve been photographing Africa’s wild places and wildlife for over a decade. In that time I’ve tried to portray African animals in a new and unique way, revealing interesting behaviour. I’ve also delved into the conservation issues surrounding these creatures and their environment, and in doing so have discovered some unpleasant truths. Some species are on the brink of extinction, some face habitat erosion, while for others, their interactions with man result in their persecution or death. These truths provide an important facet to my work, and my ultimate goal is to influence public opinion by revealing them. But seeing my images of magnificent, wild and free animals constantly juxtaposed with images of looming threats or cruel treatment grows disheartening. In my latest book project, Dwellers in Eden, I have removed Africa’s animals from that negative context and placed them in an idyllic, notional wilderness, untouched and unthreatened by modern man. I gathered together my best work from the past ten years and arranged it in an imaginary day in that Eden. It is an unashamed celebration. More of my work can be seen online at www.baileyphotos.com. Dawn: wild dogs African wild dogs rank among my favourite animals. They’re incredibly difficult to photograph though, as they have large territories and range widely within them. It’s only when the pack has denned that their movements become relatively restricted and more predictable. It took me eight years to find the perfect den to photograph: it was in a sprawling termite mound under a crooked raintree just a few kilometres from my camp on the Selinda concession. The puppies spend the first weeks of their life underground with only their mother for company. This image was made the first time the pups appeared above ground, and it shows the alpha male cautiously approaching his new offspring. The backlit dustcloud has been kicked up by the rest of the delirious pack, running around the den, trying to get close to the youngsters. Morning: Burchell’s zebras While most images are the result of months of persistent fieldwork, others are totally serendipitous. In a very wet rainy season spent in Moremi Game Reserve’s Xakanaxa region, I photographed herds of Burchell’s zebras drinking at the abundant rainwater pans. The herds would wade into the middle of the pools to drink, but they were nervous and spooked at the slightest twitch from their companions, bolting from the threat, real or imagined. As they did so, their splashing was backlit by the early morning light, which inspired this energy capsule of an image.  To subscribe or buy this edition, click here Afternoon: chacma baboons A recent story I shot on chacma baboons was one of my most challenging, but rewarding, to date. No one had paid much attention to the baboons of the concession where I was based – tourists and guides are generally tend to target the more alluring Big Five for their game-viewing. As a result, the area’s baboons were not well habituated to vehicles and people. For many painstaking months, I slowly got closer to them, first with my vehicle, then later on foot, until I was able to walk with the troop and they would approach to within four metres of me. This image of an infant, totally oblivious to my presence and playing with his mother’s tail, was made on foot from about six metres away. Sunset: young lion The Selinda concession in northern Botswana is one of the most remote and sparsely populated (in terms of tourist density) in Africa and I am privileged to have had access to it for several of my recent projects. At the first sign of summer rains, the herds that have been held captive by Selinda’s permanent dry season water sources leave for the fresh, underutilised grazing and rainwater pools in the surrounding forests. All except the hippos that is. With no other prey to sustain them for the few weeks before some of the herds return, Selinda’s lions have had to learn to hunt hippo. This image of a softly lit cub gazing intently at an approaching thunderstorm was exactly what I needed to offset the gruesome images I produced of the pride’s hippo-killing speciality. Dusk: chacma baboon Even though he knew it was in vain, this young male scrambled up the palms early every evening. He would boldly choose the best frond, its spikes smoothed after years as a roost. When the rest of the troop came up there’d be screaming and crashing as, once again, he was chased to his rightful place, further down and on a far more prickly seat. I shot this image from my vehicle before the troop had become used to my presence.

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