I thought I had posted this image here previously, but realized the previous post was another shot from the sequence.
I encountered this tayra during last year’s Costa Rica tour. Tayras are mustelids (members of the weasel family) that are very adept at climbing trees. They’re omnivorous, but in my rare encounters with them they’re usually going for fruit. This one was going after those spiky fruits at the top of this Panama rubber tree. I have seen tayras in both Central and South America, but they’re typically fleeting encounters, and I’ve actually seen more jungle cats over the years… so I was pretty stoked to have this one hang around for us over an extended period.
I knew pretty quickly that this scene had some appealing elements, if I could just get the tough exposure right. The branches, leaves and fruit emanating from behind the subject made for a nice pattern. It wasn’t until later (after I had posted the previous image here, in fact), that I determined that the tayra’s pose in this image was much better than the other photo I was initially enamored with. The outstretched paw gives it much better balance overall, IMO.
Anyway, someone else apparently liked it, as the photo was honored in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition recently. I’m glad to be able to introduce a new, wider audience to this awesome critter.
Canon 1DXII
Canon 600mm
ISO 640
1/320th
f/6.3
Max