Incredible Women Wildlife Photographers

Edit: Please feel free to copy this post and add to wherever you like, its all about getting these women’s incredible work in front of as many people as possible!

Original Post:

The International League of Conservation Photographer‘s annual conference called WiLDSPEAK recently took place in Washington D.C. As always, leaving the event meant the mental batteries were re-charged and inspiration was running at full steam. Yet, there was one other glaring take away. Women are not only still largely under-represented in wildlife photography, but they are also incredibly under-appreciated.

Jodi Cobb was part of the programming, enlightening the audience with her work on Geishas and modern day slavery. Her photographs were absolutely stunning, her stories grippingly captivating. I sat there embarrassed. I had no idea who she was. She has completed over thirty stories for National Geographic, working for and with the magazine for over thirty years. I didn’t have the slightest clue. I was humiliated by my complete ignorance.

Now I realize that as a man, I have been afforded opportunities woman have not. And quite honestly, I feel very conflicted about writing this blog post in the first place. Is it appropriate for me as a male to write about the under-representation of females in the industry at all? The reason I ended up deciding to do so is that this is not about me, but rather about the many incredible women wildlife photographers who produce amazingly inspiring work and of whom everyone should be aware.

Please check out their work.

Suzi Eszterhas

Suzi Eszterhas

Cristina Mittermeier

Cristina Mittermeier

Esther Horvath

Esther Horvath

Krista Schlyer

Krista Schlyer

Melissa Groo

Melissa Groo

Morgan Heim

Morgan Heim

Jaymi Heimbuch

Jaymi Heimbuch

Jen Guyton

Jen Guyton

Susan McConnell

Susan McConnell - Incredible Women Wildlife Photographers

One thing that you may have noticed is that all of these women are not only wildlife photographers, but also conservation photographers. They are all using their images to raise awareness, save species, and fight for the planet. True heroes in my book!

Update December 7th, 2017 – I posted this list on Facebook yesterday and asked other’s to share their inspirational women photographers. The comments kept flooding in. It was tremendous. I want to include their suggestions here. I will update this list as more suggestions come in (leave them in the comments here!)

Update December 11th, 2017 – Since wildlife is or at the very least should be the top priority for all wildlife photographers, I am not adding links for photographers who bait or lure mammalian predators or raptors, including owls, or who promote game farm photography.

Listed in alphabetical order:

Jennifer Adler

Jennifer Adler

Karen Ann Sullivan

Karen Ann Sullivan

Ellen Anon

Ellen Anon

Cheryl Arena

Cheryl Arena

Bethany Augliere

Bethany Augliere

Sandra Bartocha

Sandra Bartocha

Bee-Elle

Bee-Elle

April Bencze

April Bencze

Sandrine Biziaux-Scherson

Sandrine Biziaux-Scherson

Sarah Blodgett

Sarah Blodgett

Janet Brown

Janet Brown

Alison Buttigieg

Alison Buttigieg

Trish Carney

Trish Carney

Jodi Cobb

Jodi Cobb

Brittany Crossman

Brittany Crossman

Ellen Cuylaerts

Ellen Cuylaerts

Barbara Dall’Angelo

Barbara Dall'Angelo

Jacqueline Deely

Jacqueline Deely

Anja Denker

Anja Denker

Carole Deschuymere

Carole Deschuymere

Isabel Diez

Isabel Diez

Carol Dilger

Carol Dilger

Laurie Dirkx

Laurie Dirkx

Alena Ebeling-Schuld

Alena Ebeling-Schuld

Eilo Elvinger

Eilo Elvinger

Melissa Farlow

Melissa Farlow

Katherine Feng

Katherine Feng

Stephanie Foote

Stephanie Foote

Teri Franzen

Teri Franzen

Carolina Fraser

Carolina Fraser

Jodi Frediani

Jodi Frediani

Colleen Gara

Colleen Gara

Daisy Gilardini

Daisy Gilardini

Cindy Goeddel

Cindy Goeddel

Annie Griffiths

Annie Griffiths

Renee Grinnell Capozzola

Amy Gulick

Amy Gulick

Jessica Hadley

Jessica Hadley

Orsolya Haarberg

Orsolya Haarberg

Hilary Hann

Hilary Hann

Cristina Harboe

Cristina Harboe

Jennifer Hayes

Jennifer Hayes

Hennie van Heerden

Hennie van Heerden

Tanya Houppermans

Tanya Houppermans

Denise Ippolito

Denise Ippolito

Marisa Ishimatsu

Marisa Ishimatsu

Rebecca R Jackrel

Rebecca R Jackrel

Britta Jaschinski

Britta Jaschinski

Cindy Jeannon

Cindy Jeannon

Beverly Joubert

Beverly Joubert

Amanda Joy 

Amanda Joy

Pamela Underhill Karaz

Pamela Underhill Karaz

Arati Kumar-Rao

Arati Kumar-Rao

Lauren Owens Lambert

Lauren Owens Lambert

Lisa Langell

Lisa Langell

Brianne Lehan

Brianne Lehan

Jennifer Leigh Warner

Jennifer Leigh Warner

Kathy Lichtendahl

Kathy Lichtendahl

Sally Mann

Sally Mann

Stephanie Manuel

Stephanie Manuel

Kerri Martin

Kerri Martin

Piper Mackay

Piper Mackay

Mia McPherson

Mia McPherson

Maggy Meyer

Maggy Meyer

Melyssa St. Michael

Melyssa St. Michael

Valerie Millet

Valerie Millet

Yva Momatiuk

Yva Momatiuk

Beata Moore

Beata Moore

Anette Mossbacher

Anette Mossbacher

Annie Marie Musselman

Annie Marie Musselman

Roberta Olenick

Roberta Olenick

Hob Osterlund

Hob Osterlund

Ann M. Pacheco

Ann M. Pacheco

Eilish Palmer

Eilish Palmer

Melissa Penta

Melissa Penta

Joanna B Pinneo

Joanna B Pinneo

Verena Popp-Hackner

Verena Popp-Hackner

Kari Post

Kari Post

Margot Raggett

Margot Raggett

Lynda Richardson

Lynda Richardson

Sam Rose Phillips

Sam Rose Phillips

Ellie Rothnie

Ellie Rothnie

Tui De Roy

Tui De Roy

Laurie Rubin

Laurie Rubin

Gabby Salazar

Gabby Salazar

Vicki Santello

Vicki Santello

Karin Saucedo

Karin Saucedo

Krisztina Scheeff

Krisztina Scheeff

Kristel Schneider

Kristel Schneider

Karen Schuenemann

Karen Schuenemann

Ashleigh Scully

Ashleigh Scully

Camille Seaman

Camille Seaman

Sandy Sisti

Sandy Sisti

Shayla Snowshoe

Shayla Snowshoe

Ann Toon

Ann Toon

Wendy Shattil

Wendy Shattil

Amy Shutt

Amy Shutt

Sarah Skinner

Sarah Skinner

Maggie Steber

Maggie Steber

Samantha Stephens

Samantha Stephens

Rachael Talibart

Rachael Talibart

Tara Tanaka

Tara Tanaka

Kika Tarsi Tuff

Kika Tarsi Tuff

Ingrid Taylar

Ingrid Taylar

Brenda Tharp

Brenda Tharp

Amy Toensing

Amy Toensing

Inger Vandyke

Inger Vandyke

Ami Vitale

Ami Vitale

Michele Westmorland

Michele Westmorland

Diana Whiting

Diana Whiting

Shannon Wild

Shannon Wild

Jessica Winter

Jessica Winter

Andy Wolcott

Andy Wolcott

Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition Finalist!

big picture natural world photography competition finalist photo - pampas cat

Pampas Cat (Leopardus colocolo) in altiplano at night, Ciudad de Piedra, western Bolivia

I am honored to announce that my Pampas Cat picture is a finalist in the terrestrial wildlife category in the Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition, organized by the California Academy of Sciences.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of this years competition! I would like to especially congratulate Nayan Khanolkar for the coolest camera trap shot of a leopard I have ever seen and Pete Oxford, who is the definition of a conservation photographer, and a personal hero of mine.

You can see the overall category winners here:
http://bigpicturecompetition.org/the-2016-winning-images/

and the other terrestrial wildlife finalist images here:
http://bigpicturecompetition.org/finalists-terrestrial-wil…/

Finally, you will be able to see all the pictures in person starting July 29th, 2106. I hope you are able to!

This Pampas Cat photograph was taken as part of the Cat in Thin Air project and would not be possible without the help of the Andean Cat Alliance, Juan Carlos Huaranca Ariste, Alejandra Rocio Torrez Tarqui, and Ma Lilian Villalba. Thank you to all of you!

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

List of the Wild Cat Species of the World

Updated on May 9th, 2017 to reflect new taxonomic decisions made by the IUCN Cat Specialist Group’s Cat Classification Task Force.

Wild Cat Species Silhouettes

So how many different species of wild cats are there in the world? That depends on who you ask. The answer ranges from 37 to 42 species. The reason for this is that cat taxonomy is incredibly difficult and genetic analysis is still shedding light on the matter. Just in early 2017, the Sunda Leopard Cat was determined to be its own species from the Leopard Cat — now called the Mainland Leopard Cat. So, to clear things up, I put together the most accepted list of the 40 wild cat species in the world. This list will undoubtedly change in the future, especially as genetic analysis reveals that current species are actually multiple different species, but I’ll be sure to update it when that happens. The list is organized by the eight different feline lineages. Finally, the underlined common names are links to pictures I have of that species.

Common Name Latin Name Lineage
1. Lion Panthera leo
2. Leopard Panthera pardus
3. Jaguar Panthera onca
4. Tiger Panthera tigris Panthera Lineage
5. Snow Leopard Panthera uncia
6. Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa
7. Sunda Clouded Leopard Neofelis diardi
8. Asiatic Golden Cat Catopuma temminckii
9. Borneo Bay Cat Catopuma badia Bay Cat Lineage
10. Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata
11. Caracal Caracal caracal
12. African Golden Cat Caracal aurata Caracal Lineage
13. Serval Leptailurus serval
14. Geoffroy’s Cat Leopardus geoffroyi
15. Guiña Leopardus guigna
16. Southern Oncilla Leopardus guttulus
17. Northern Oncilla Leopardus tigrinus Ocelot Lineage
18. Andean Cat Leopardus jacobita
19. Colocolo Leopardus colocolo
20. Margay Leopardus wiedii
21. Ocelot Leopardus pardalis
22. Iberian Lynx Lynx pardinus
23. Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx Lynx Lineage
24. Canada Lynx Lynx canadensis
25. Bobcat Lynx rufus
26. Mountain Lion Puma concolor
27. Jaguarundi Herpailurus yagouaroundi Puma Lineage
28. Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
29. Mainland Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis
30. Sunda Leopard Cat Prionailurus javanensis
31. Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus
32. Flat-headed Cat Prionailurus planiceps Leopard Cat Lineage
33. Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus
34. Pallas Cat Otocolobus manul
35. European Wild Cat Felis silvestris
36. African Wild Cat Felis lybica
37. Chinese Mountain Cat Felis bieti
38. Sand Cat Felis margarita Domestic Cat Lineage
39. Black-footed Cat Felis nigripes
40. Jungle Cat Felis chaus

The currently listed subspecies that are sometimes listed as their own species.

Common Name Latin Name Sometimes Classified As
Pampas Cat Leopardus colocolo pajeros Leopardus pajeros
Pantanal Cat Leopardus colocolo braccatus Leopardus braccatus
Iriomote Cat Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis Prionailurus iriomotensis

 

Wild Cat Book Review: Wild Cats of the World, by Luke Hunter 2015

Wild Cats of the World, written by Luke Hunter, published by Bloomsbury Natural History, copyright 2015

Wild Cats of the World, written by Luke Hunter, published by Bloomsbury Natural History, © 2015 – cover photograph by Kjetil Kolbjornsrud

Going along with everything wild cat related I wanted to offer up my personal reviews on books about wild cats, for two reasons. One, I own most books written on wild cats. Two, if you are interested in learning more about wild cats, it’s nice to know which books are worth buying. So without further ado, my first review: The Wild Cats of the World, by Luke Hunter, 2015.

This jumping serval is part of the opening spread in Luke Hunter's Wild Cats of the World Book

This jumping serval is part of the opening spread in Luke Hunter’s Wild Cats of the World Book – photograph © FLPA

Organization

This book serves as a guide to the entire wild cat family (Felidae), looking at each individual species known to science. At the time of publication that is 38, including the recently discovered Southern Tigrina. It first looks at the evolutionary history of this mammalian family and gives you insights into what species are most closely related and how eight different lineages (groups of closely related species) have evolved. The book then goes directly into the species descriptions which cover 87% of the book. It concludes with a chapter on the conservation of wild cats.
Book Review Star System five out of five

What Information is given about the Wild Cat Species

Chinese Mountain Cat species pages in Luke Hunter's Wild Cats of the World Book - drawings by Priscilla Barrett, photograph by Tashi Sangbo

Chinese Mountain Cat species pages in Luke Hunter’s Wild Cats of the World Book – drawings by Priscilla Barrett, photograph by Tashi Sangbo

Each of the 38 wild cat species has the following topics covered: taxonomy and phylogeny, description, distribution and habitat, feeding ecology, social and spacial behavior, reproduction and demography, and status and threats. Each of those topics goes into great detail without being overbearing. For example, it states that leopards are known to feed upon over 200 species of prey without listing you all 200 species. Yes, there are books that list all the species — to be reviewed later. I would describe the text as data driven, but readable to non-scientists.
Book Review Star System five out of five

Visual Impact

Each species is introduced by a beautiful full body drawing, along with a range map, and skull drawing. After the introductory drawing are some of the most unique photographs I have seen published of wild cats (full disclosure: I took some of the pictures in this book — but I am definitely talking about the pictures in general!). A few things that really stood out to me. Most of the images are of wild cats in the wild, which is generally not the case for many books on wild cats. Additionally, there are many images which I have never seen published before. Finally, there are an incredible amount of behavioral pictures, also a rare feat!

Additionally, the drawings by Priscilla Barrett of behaviors that have not yet been captured on film are incredibly beautiful and insightful into the lives of these secretive animals. With a total of over 400 photographs and drawings, this book is simply beautiful to look at.
Book Review Star System five out of five

Who is this book for?

The amazing quality of this book is that it is equally appropriate for children learning about the different wild cat species for the first time as well as seasoned biologists who want to know the latest information on the cat species.

Would I recommend buying this book?

This book is a must have if you are at all interested in wild cats. You can get your copy here.

Can you say gorgeous? This lion picture is part of the opening spread in Luke Hunter's Wild Cats of the World Book

Can you say gorgeous? This lion picture is part of the opening spread in Luke Hunter’s Wild Cats of the World Book © FLPA

California Wildlife Photography Workshop Dates Released

california wildlife photography workshop

There are workshops covering everything from salamanders to sea otters!

In anticipation of next year, I finalized the dates for a bunch of California wildlife photography workshop classes, mainly around Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Bay Area. You can check out all the info here: http://www.pumapix.com/wildlife-photography-workshops-and-lessons/

Workshop dates are as follows:
February 27th, 2016 – Santa Cruz and Moss Landing, California – Sea Otter Photography Workshop
February 28th, 2016 – Santa Cruz, California – Salamanders of the central coast of California Photography Workshop
May 14th-15th, 2016 – Pinnacles National Park, California – California Condor Photography Workshop
May 21st, 2016 – Santa Cruz, California – Brown Pelican Photography Workshop
August 20th, 2016 – Point Reyes National Seashore, California – Tule Elk Photography Workshop
October, 22nd through November 5th, 2016 – New Zealand – Birds of New Zealand Photography Workshop