Pathi Harn (aka Mr Shuffles) - 4 days old - 02 (click on image to view larger)

Pathi Harn (Thai for Miracle) at 4 days old.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers, Mike.

Highly unusual composition. Very well done.

Wow! Excellent capture,it is full of tenderness and originality at the same time.

Keep this kind of shots,congratulations.

I like the way you use the mother elephant's legs to frame the shot. And he baby has a wonderfl expression. I am glad that we can see both the baby's eyes.

Cute and funny, it is really good picture!

Priceless!.....the timing, the framing, the exposure, it has all come together perfectly. Delightful photograph!

 

Regards

 

Alf

Thank you Arup, Esteban, Mark, Karoly and Alf for your kind words; they are much appreciated.

 

Regards, Mike

 

Cute moment, nice capture but I always get cranky when I see these beauties in pens.

Thanks Steve. And I know what you mean.

 

But in this case I think there is real value in what the zoo is doing here.

 

Porntip, this little fellow’s 18 yr old mum, was brought here from Thailand where the vast majority of elephants are fully domesticated and used either in logging or in the tourist industry; Prontip was used for tourist rides. In Taronga she is loved and cared for, lives with a small family group and is so content that she is able to breed. Every calf in the breeding program is precious and helps to ensure the diversity and health of the species.

 

And perhaps just as importantly, the plight of these animals in the wild or in logging camps through Asia is largely unknown to the public. The positive news story of little Pathi Harn’s miracle birth has been carried world wide in the media and helps to build good will for these magnificent creatures. The more people who feel well disposed to elephants the easier it is for those in power to do more stop the ivory trade and work to improve the lives of elephants not so lucky as this little herd in Sydney.

 

All the best,

Mike

 

Mike a great image with a very important message of what is been done to protect the them in Sydney!

Sweet lil baby with a mama frame. Love the pink mouth and expression. One in a million.

It sounds like this zoo did better than ours for elephant care. Our zoo made the hall of shame along with many many others. Heartbreaking.

Thank you Jorge and Tiffany for your thoughts and comments; they are much appreciated.

 

I’m sorry Tiffany that your local zoo has not got over the past and moved to focus on conservation, breeding and education as many of the better zoos have done. The old zoos that are just a set of small cages with animals kept and displayed in terrible conditions are appalling. Hopefully public pressure will see yours and the others lift their game.

 

These still photos don’t really do justice to how cute little Pathi Harn is. I understand that he has overcome his wobbles and now runs about the place playing with his older cousin; so the cuteness factor should have increased even more!

 

I hope to get back to Taronga soon to see if I can improve on the images I have taken so far. The Easter weekend is probably out though due to the huge crowds of screaming kids (urgh!) (apologies Tiffany and everyone else who has/likes/loves these noisy little monsters!). You know how it goes: when I was kid my mum wouldn’t let me … etc, etc… I suppose on the other hand it’s good to get them interested in animals when their young; I just wish that they had special ‘kid free’ days for grumpy old men in their 40's like me!

 

All the best,

Mike

 

Nice cute moment. Light looks great.

Wonderful composition and a touching scene!

So much already said...this image is simply amazing!

Perfect crop
Best regards

All I can say it's fantastic.Mum's shelter is the best.

 

Congrats, VS

Great capture. Love the way the baby is protected by his mother. Congrats.

:]

 

d.

Precious, precious capture.  Beautiful.

Excellent frame and capture, super image.