This special feature includes the work of three incredible photographers:
MorkelErasmus,
serhatdemiroglu and
catman-suha.
Within
these galleries, African (and other) wildlife is represented in its natural state, as opposed to the confines of a zoo. There is something beautifully endearing to be found staring into the eyes of a lion cub or mountain gorilla as they lounge about in their startlingly real surroundings. All three photographers have a gift for finding unique scenes and shooting at just the right moment, instilling each photograph with so much more than a snippet of time. They create a story.
As is the case with many areas of the world, the African continent contains amazing diversity coupled with unimaginable hardship; just as so many humans have a heart-shatteringly difficult time trying to survive, we find similar connections in the animal kingdom, amid reports of poaching, slaughtering, habitat destruction and illegal animal trade. Even without considering the negative impact humans have had on the dwindling numbers of certain species, it is a hard life for many members of the savanna. There is an oft-quoted African proverb that illustrates this very well:
"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running."
You may realize I am especially fond of big cats, so if you would like to see even more animals, check out their full galleries, or hit up their websites.
