Wildlifeonline - Photos Needed

The late comedian William Claude Fields once remarked that he would: "Never work with children or animals". This phrase has become something of a theatrical and photographic injunction – sound advice indeed! Although I have only recently developed a taste for photography, for many years I have been painfully aware of how difficult it is to get close enough to many wild animals even to observe their behaviour, let along get decent photographs of them. My first attempts at this photography lark involved spending several nights each week for about two months sat in a freezing cold car with my Mum; I was leaning out of the window with the camera on full zoom and my finger was poised hopefully on the shutter release. Why? Because my Mum had received a tip-off.

We were told by some locals that a guy on this street fed a small vixen; every night at about the same time, he gave her a plate of dog food. So regular was this occurrence that, should the gentleman forget his appointment, the vixen would leave the shelter of the copse, cross the road and sit in his front garden. I'm told that on one occasion she even walked up his drive and peered in through his living room window to see what had happened to her supper! On our first two visits she appeared as we hoped she might, although not where we had hoped she might! Eventually, we began to figure out her pattern of movement and we dug in for the wait. Unfortunately, despite seeing her numerous times, it seems we were just too far away (or the light was too poor) to get anything that I considered to be a decent shot. When I finally managed to track down a video camera (with a zoom powerful enough to allow some decent shots) she failed to turn up – so far as I know, she has not been seen since.

The aforementioned experience -- and similar ones trying to sneak up on rabbits, squirrels and deer -- has left me with a great appreciation of people who make a living doing this kind of work. Ergo, I refused (much to the bemusement of my friends and family) to use any photographs that I had not been granted permission to use by the authors; in other words, I would not simply 'lift' them from books or the Internet. Fortunately, several friends -- and many more strangers -- stepped in to provide me with some superb images that help enhance my site - to these people I am eternally grateful.

Despite the photos that have already been kindly donated, I am still looking for more! I am looking for good photos of any of the creatures featured on the site. Moreover, there are always articles in the pipeline (see: Coming Soon) and any photos of these subjects would be very welcome. So, do you have any photographs of wildlife fitting these criteria that you are proud of? Are you 'Leonardo de Vinci of the shutterbug'? Would you like to make your work available for all to see? If the answers to the aforementioned questions are a resounding "YES!" then I'd like to hear from you. I'd also like to hear from you if you're a cartoonist. I am the first to admit that my cartoons are pretty lousy and, if you'd be interested in donating some of your precious time to helping get the cartoons out of my head and onto paper, I'd love to hear from you.

Photos Currently Needed (May 2010):

-- Bats (any of the UK's 16 Species & Flying Foxes)
-- Rabbits & Hares (esp. Hares!)
-- Badgers (esp. cubs)
-- Hedgehogs (esp. hoglets and copulation images)
-- Deer (esp. Muntjac and Roe)
-- Moles
-- Owls (esp. any of the 5 resident spp., esp. Tawny Owls)
-- Foxes mating or in post-copulation tie

Information Currently Sought (May 2010):

-- Reports of hedgehogs being attacked/investigated by badgers or foxes

-- Reports of dogs being (or suspected to have been) attacked/injured by Muntjac deer

-- Reports of interactions between domestic cats and dogs with foxes

-- Reports of foxes attacking/killing/eating other foxes (esp. cubs - i.e. infanticide)

-- Reports of fox-badger interactions

-- Reports of Great White (or any other unusual) Sharks from the Northeast Atlantic, including the North Sea.

-- Your tried-and-tested methods for keeping unwanted wildlife (e.g. foxes, badgers, squirrels, deer etc.) out of your garden.

Terms & Conditions of Submission
WildlifeOnline is a hobby of mine - it's not a commercial enterprise and I don't make any money from it. Consequently, I generally don't have the resources to pay people for their photos or artwork (there have been exceptions, but these are rare). Thus, all I can offer in return -- outside of my undying gratitude! -- is that you will remain the copyright holder of the image and that a link to your website (or a site of -- within reason -- your choosing) will be maintained from my site. So, if you have a photo that you're willing to let me use on the site, I require that you agree to the subsequent conditions before submitting them to me:

1. You confirm that the image is yours to distribute.

2. You grant me permission to publish the image on Wildlife Online (main domain: www.wildlifeonline.me.uk) with due representation that you are the copyright holder.

3. You agree that the image may be duplicated on more than one page of the site, but it cannot be published in any affiliated media (e.g. screensavers, leaflets, advertising or related websites) without your express, written permission

4. You retain the right to have the image removed from the site at any time.

5. You retain the right to have the credit or associated web-link amended at any time.

If you agree to the above, please e-mail your image(s) to: photos@wildlifeonline.me.uk Please include your full name and the URL (i.e. website address) of the site you would like your credit linked to. See FAQ for information on image formats.