Dr. B'sNature Photos

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda and Photo Safari in Tanzania

Dr. Steve and his wife traveled to Africa to view Mountain Gorillas up close and personal and to do a traditional African Safari in Serengeti National Park. This 400-pound silverback came right at me and sat down just 5 feet from me. I was photographing a baby and I think he wanted to make sure I behaved myself. I took this image with a wide-angle lens.

Wildlife in Lake County, Illinois

These are images of wildlife taken by Dr. Steve in Lake County, Illinois, over the years. Many were taken in his backyard.

The Wildlife of the Pantanal, Brazil

The Pantanal is a huge ecosystem of wetlands in south central Brazil, south of the Amazon rain forest, close to the border with Paraguay, and 800 miles south of the equator. The land is flat with grasslands, trees, and wetlands, reminiscent of central Florida, and there is extensive flooding during the rainy season that makes travel nearly impossible. Dr. Steve joined a group of 24 veterinarians to visit the Pantanal and study its wildlife in September, 2014, during the dry season.

Dr. Steve photographed this wild Jaguar on the shore of the Cuiaba River from a boat only 40 feet away.

Dr. B visits the Galapagos Islands

In June, 2010, Dr. B and his wife joined a group of veterinarians to visit the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador rain forest (see below for that report). They spent seven nights on a ship, visited ten of the Galapagos Islands, and crossed the equator eight times. Even though they were on the equator, the weather was pleasant and mild. The wildlife was abundant and tame, allowing close approach. They saw everything you see on National Geographic shows about the Galapagos: giant tortoises, marine iguanas, land iguanas, waved albatrosses, blue-footed boobies, flamingoes, Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, many of Darwin’s finches, sea lions, Galapagos fur seals, Bryde’s whales, lava lizards and even three kinds of Galapagos racer snakes.

Dr. Steve photographed this wild Jaguar on the shore of the Cuiaba River from a boat only 40 feet away.

Dr. B visits the Amazon Rain Forest

In June, 2010, Dr. B and his wife joined a group of veterinarians traveling with the North American Veterinary Conference to Ecuador. As a pre-conference side trip, they spent three nights in the rain forest of eastern Ecuador. It was amazingly humid; everything was constantly damp, including clothes and all papers. It was surprisingly bug free, and mosquitoes only found us when we were hiking trails after dark and stopped to take photographs. Mosquitoes are a far bigger problem in Illinois. The wildlife and scenery were spectacular, especially the birds, monkeys, and amphibians.

Dr. B. visits and studies the polar bears

In October 2009 Dr. B joined 22 other veterinarians on an expedition to Churchill, Manitoba, on the west coast of Hudson Bay to observe and study the resident Polar Bears. He saw over 50 Polar Bears, as well as a lot of other wildlife. There were white Arctic Hares, Arctic Foxes, and Willow Ptarmigan, all of which blended in with the snow. Around the town Red Foxes took the place of Raccoons as the local scavengers. On a helicopter ride he saw Moose and got a glimpse of a pack of Wolves. To view the bears, the group rode in Tundra Buggies, like a school bus on top of a fire engine chassis, making the windows 10 feet high and hard for a bear to reach (see the photos). Even though it was only October, it was COLD!

Dr. Barten visits Antarctica

In February 2008 Dr. Barten joined 30 other veterinarians to tour Antarctica and view and study its wildlife. The trip was aboard a 400-foot ship that crossed the Drake Passage between the southern tip of Argentina and the Antarctic Peninsula. It was an amazing experience, with incredible scenery, weather, and wildlife. He saw thousands of penguins, several species of seals, big pods of Humpback Whales, and countless Albatross and other seabirds.