Babies of the Wild

Veteran shooter Suzi Eszterhas tells us how to go beyond the cute and cuddly to capture the often gritty drama of raising a newborn beast to adulthood

| Published Apr 8, 2013 8:52 PM EDT

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This 9-month-old Sumatran orangutan is one of only about 7,000 left, their homes continually destroyed by deforestation. Eszterhas says her photography “is not just about the wildlife, not just about the animals, it’s about the politics—you can’t ignore it.” Shot made with a Nikon D700, 70–200mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens, 1/100 sec at f/4.5, ISO 1600. Suzi Eszterhas

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Monterey Bay, CA
The breeding male at right harasses a mother with a 3- to 6-month-old pup, which she drags away with her mouth. Eszterhas used a 1.4X Canon Extender EF for more reach with her 500mm f/4L Canon EF IS lens. Exposure in an EOS-1D Mark III: 1/500 sec at f/7.1, ISO 400.

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Masai Mara Reserve, Kenya
A new father guards over his 13-day-old pups in his den. The photographer used the same gear as in the otter photo, facing page, minus the teleconverter, to make the shot at 1/320 sec and f/7.1, ISO 640.

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Eszterhas shot these brown bears in an area of Alaska where they are generally comfortable with people (Katmai National Park), but she still advises extreme caution—she works with an expert bear guide, and says if a sow looks stressed, don’t mess with her! Shot on Fujichrome Provia 100 in a Nikon F5 with 500mm f/4 Nikkor lens.

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Masai Mara Reserve, Kenya
The five-week-old plays with Dad after meeting him for the first time. Eszterhas used a Canon EOS-1D Mark II and 70–200mm f/2.8L Canon EF IS lens; expo-sure, 1/800 sec at f/8, ISO 400.

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Eszterhas urges photographers to learn to take in every detail of their surroundings. “What the animals are doing, where the light is, where the vegetation is, is it in your way, can you go on this side, can you go on that side?” She captured this 2- to 3-day-old California sea lion pup nuzzling its mother on San Miguel Island, CA on Provia 100 with a Nikon F5 and 500mm f/4 lens.

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth And Newborn

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Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary, Costa Rica
Mom with a less-than-week-old baby. EOS-1D Mark III, 500mm lens; 1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800.

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Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Eight-month-old cubs pin down a Thomson’s gazelle fawn while learning from their mother how to hunt. Eszterhas captured the life-and-death moment with a Nikon F5 and 500mm f/4 Nikkor lens on Fujichrome Provia 100; exposure not recorded.