About Phil Perry

Phil Perry Wildlife Photos: About Phil Perry

Project Sabi Sands:

I have visited Sabi Sands regularly over the three years. This has enabled me to follow the lives of nine or so leopards consisting of the dominant male, three of his females and their cubs. All these leopards are habituated to the game lodges' vehicles and so provide unrivalled opportunities for observing wild leopards behaving naturally. Each leopard is given a name by the rangers and trackers in the park once it reaches adulthood and I have used these names in the photo captions. The galleries also feature the local lion prides as well as other wildlife in the reserve.

Photo Credits:

I was the 1991 winner of British Birds' Bird Photograph of the Year competition with a photo of a family of mute swans and runner up in 1992 with a flock of greater flamingos in flight. I have been placed in the top 50 of the Agfa Wildlife & Environment Awards and been highly commended in the BBC Wildlife Photographic Competition. I received two certificates of merit in the 2005 Getaway/Fujifilm Wildlife Photo Awards. My photographs have been published in numerous magazines and books through my collection lodged with the UK-based Frank Lane Picture Agency. 60 of my photos have been printed in "Southern African Wildlife - A Visitor's Guide" by Mike Unwin published by Bradt in 2003. My African photographs are also available through the Images of Africa photo library in Cape Town. I recently showed a few photographs in a local art exhibition in Swaziland.

Mute Swan Family: 3 cygnets on mother's back and male in defensive threat display. British Birds's Bird Photograph of the Year, Winner 1991.

Greater Flamingoes ---->

Runner up: British Bird's Bird Photograph of the Year Competition, 1992 --------------->

2005 Fuji/Getraway Photo Competition

Commended Photos:

<--- Namibia: Sossusvlei

sand dunes at sunrise,

from the air.

Namibia: Dry river bed from the air ---->

<--- Translocation: Bull Elephant being hoisted onto truck

Commended: Sappi People in Nature Category - Fujifilm Photographic Awards Getaway 2006 Wildlife & Environment Photo Competition

Publications:

I have written a number of general wildlife books:

Facts America: Birds (ISBN: 0 8317 2315 7); Birds of Prey (ISBN: 0 517 03167 1); The Concise Illustrated Book of Trees (ISBN: 1 85361 140 9); The Concise Illustrated Book of Reptiles (ISBN: 1 85361 141 7);

I have also co-authored and part-illustrated a series of children's wildlife books with my wife which were published in 2002: Animal Signals (ISBN: 0 636 04798 9); Animal Families (ISBN: 0 636 04799 7); Animals Find Water (ISBN: 0 636 04796 2); Animal Babies (ISBN: 0 636 04810 1); Animals Find Food (ISBN: 0 636 04802 0). Some of these titles have recently been translated into several Zambian languages and, more recently, into Portuguese for release in Mozambique.

My wife, Joanna, and I have published a business book in 2005 - check it out by double clicking the leopard icon below :

Conservation:

My philosophy regarding conservation is a very simplistic one: Animals and plants just need somewhere to live. If they have enough space to live and are free and undisturbed, then they need nothing else from mankind. In my mind the best approach is to buy land for wildlife, preferably with buffer areas around reserves. I also believe that ecotourism, properly done, can be of great benefit to wildlife. Many wildlife areas in Southern Africa, for example, are managed by photographic safari lodge operators. In some cases these lodges control very large areas (125,000 Ha). By supporting such tourism the wildlife living in these areas has a future. Such endeavours must involve the local people so that the benefits do not just disappear into a large anonymous corporation. Many of the lodges in Sabi Sands and Botswana's Okavango make excellent role models for wildlife conservation elsewhere. It is to be hoped that such ventures will spread worldwide.

Other wildlife areas visited:

I have also watched and photographed wildlife in: Seychelles, Kalahari, Botswana, Etosha (Namibia), Kenya, Tanzania, Nepal, India, Malaysia, Galapagos, Gambia and Britain & Europe. As I continue to travel I will post more photo galleries.

Phil & Joanna at the Amber Fort, Jaipur, India

If you have any comments or views on the photos or leopards in general, please do email me at the address below:

phil@pperrywildlifephotos.org.sz