Image captures biodiversity threat
MIDRAND - They say a picture captures a thousand words, and Tyrone Mckendry's photo of an African grass owl fleeing flames of a veld fire, did just that.
His photographs appeared on the front page and page 3 of Midrand Reporter, with the story Red data species habitat threatened (week-ending 22 November 2013).
The story sparked much interest in the Midrand community but the conversation centred on how well Mckendry’s photographs captured the story.
Mckendry said, “I loved the sense of drama that is conveyed in the photograph and that you get a real sense of what the owl must be going through, as a massive fire destroys the nesting area where they have been for the last eight years.”
He decided to enter it into the 50/50 VeldFokus competition and he was “thrilled” to discover he had won.
“The judges’ comments were similar to my own, they liked the uniqueness of the photograph and felt it ticked all the boxes for the competition,” he said.
The competition also gave Mckendry, who is currently studying towards a BSc Honours in Ecology at Wits University and works extensively to track the biodiversity in the Greater Kyalami Conservancy, an opportunity to raise further awareness for African grass owls and how they are threatened.
“I hope that the more residents in the area find out about the biodiversity, the more they will want to protect it. As urbanisation expands further and further out, we will see the destruction of these natural eco-systems unless the correct measures are taken to protect the habitats and their inhabitants,” said Mckendry.
Mckendry has been practising photography since 2004, especially wildlife photography, and he will continue to take photographs of the interesting species he finds, but his main focus is on promoting wildlife conservation.
The Greater Kyalami Conservancy is also using photographs of biodiversity to create awareness in its 2014 calendars.
Mckendry believes biodiversity makes nature “so fascinating”. He said, “Just imagine a world where every bird was a sparrow, every mammal was an impala, every tree was a pine and every plant was an aloe, how boring life would be. Thank goodness for biodiversity!”
Details: info@gekco.co.za or biodiversity@gekco.co.za
