Photography Archives - Mihaela Limberea

Dance With The Fear

9th April 2026 Mihaela Limberea

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Black swan, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

I remember a morning on Kangaroo Island — overcast, the light flat and uncooperative, my camera next to me, and nothing moving in the scrub. I had driven out before dawn specifically for this, and now I stood there doing nothing. Not because there was nothing to photograph. Because I could not decide where to begin.

That paralysis is not about conditions or equipment. It is about the blank canvas problem. Every creative act starts in the same place: an empty frame, a cursor blinking on a white page, a silence that asks you to be the one to break it. And something in us resists. We inflate what we are about to make until it carries more weight than any single photograph or paragraph or brushstroke can bear, and then we cannot move under that weight.

The way out is smaller than you think.

Tell yourself you are not making anything yet. You are just sketching — warming up, loosening the joints, seeing what is there. In the field this means making the first technically imperfect frame anyway: wrong exposure, wrong angle, too much foreground. It does not matter. You have pressed the shutter. The paralysis is broken and you are working. In writing it means a sentence, even a bad one, placed on the page. In any creative practice it means permission to produce something provisional, something that does not count yet. Play is not the opposite of serious work; it is usually how serious work begins.

What happens next is worth paying attention to. Once you have something — even a rough thing — the terms of the conversation change. You are no longer trying to conjure from nothing; you are responding to what is already there. You adjust, you refine, you follow the thread. The fear that was blocking you does not disappear, but it shifts from the front of your attention to the edge of it. The work absorbs you and carries you forward. This is not a trick or a hack. It is simply how the creative process functions when you let it.

There is a temptation, particularly if you are serious about your craft, to want to bypass the uncomfortable part — the uncertainty, the not-knowing, the exposure of putting something unfinished into the world even provisionally. But that discomfort is load-bearing. The friction between what you can see in your mind and what you are able to execute right now is precisely the tension that produces growth. Good work — the kind that has texture and honesty to it — tends to come from staying inside that tension rather than from resolving it too quickly.

So dance with it. Not because the fear is pleasant, but because it is telling you that what you are attempting matters to you. That is useful information. Use it.

Show up. Make the imperfect first frame. The rest follows.

Love my work? Support my journey by buying me a coffee or sharing it on your preferred social network. And don’t forget to swing by my online shop to check out my latest prints and gifts. Thank you 🙏 !

Favorite Photos: March 2026

4th April 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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This is post 39 of 39 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

The image features a single Australian White Ibis standing in a grassy field. The bird is positioned slightly off-center to the right of the frame, facing left. Its plumage is predominantly white, with some black markings on its head, neck, and wingtips, which are visible as it stands.

Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) photographed at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. It was raining, and while most people took cover in the nearby cafe, I stayed put and took a lot of photos.

A little rain has never stopped me. I use a shower cap over the camera body, and the lens is weather-sealed, up to a point, obviously. I draw the line at downpours. But a soft, persistent drizzle? That’s when things get interesting. There’s something compelling about animals and birds enduring what we humans instinctively flee from.

The image depicts a winter scene in a forest covered in thick snow. The trees are laden with snow, and delicate snowflakes are falling, creating a soft, ethereal atmosphere. The ground is completely covered in a blanket of white snow. In the lower center of the image, a wolf is lying down, partially submerged in the snow. The wolf has a coat of varying shades of brown, tan, and gray, with darker markings on its face and ears.

A lone wolf (Canis lupus) enduring heavy snowfall in Northern Sweden. I think I found myself a theme, ha, ha! Here’s the photo of the musk ox in the same snowstorm.

A dramatic, close-up portrait of a rooster is presented against a stark black background.

Speaking of themes: the portrait of this rooster (Gallus gallus domesticus) is part of a new animal portraits project I’m working on. Well, animals and birds.

The image captures the striking close-up of a black swan (Cygnus atratus) against a stark, dark background.

The black swan (Cygnus atratus) was the first in the series.

A small bird stands alone on a mossy rock in a deeply atmospheric, fog-shrouded forest rendered in cool blue-grey tones, evoking a sense of quiet mystery and solitude.

This is a new edit of an old photo taken sometime around 2018, when we were still living in Switzerland. These are the woods just behind our house, where I used to go for a daily walk with my camera. I still have hundreds of photos of those trees. Probably thousands, if I’m honest. I should probably do a project to do them justice.

I seldom edit old photos, but it happens the same way every time: I’m looking for something else entirely, I stumble over an old photo, and get an idea. And if I get an idea, there’s no ignoring it. I have to see it through.

A red squirrel is holding a red Easter egg in its paws, surrounded by other decorated Easter eggs on a grassy lawn.

Happy Easter!

📸 All photos were taken with Canon R5 Mark II & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM., except the dark woods, which was taken with Canon EOS 5D Mark III & Canon EF 50mm ƒ1.8 II.

When Quantity Becomes Quality

27th March 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Creativity Photography

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Daily Practice Squirrel Top

This photo features a red squirrel holding a chestnut in a lush forest setting. The squirrel, with its vibrant reddish-brown fur and bushy tail, is perched on a moss-covered branch, clutching the chestnut with its tiny front paws. Its bright black eyes and alert expression are highlighted by the soft morning light filtering through the dense green canopy, while the background blurs into a rich tapestry of leaves and earthy tones.

Squirrel Anno 2025 – Canon EOS R5M2 & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM

There is a truth about creative work that nobody really warns you about at the start: it takes an almost unreasonable amount of repetition before anything interesting happens.

Not talent. Not inspiration. Repetition.

I think about this a lot, especially on the days when I come home from a shoot with a card full of images and none of them feel quite right. Those days used to discourage me. Now I understand them differently. They are part of the process, not a sign that something has gone wrong.

The idea is simple, even if the practice is hard: put in the hours, and quantity eventually becomes quality.

A page a day becomes 365 pages after a year. A whole book, written in the margins of an ordinary life. Ten photographs a day, taken with intention, varying your settings, your compositions, your light, your distance, means thousands of images over a year. Thousands of small decisions. Thousands of tiny experiments. And somewhere in that pile, something shifts. You stop thinking about your camera and start seeing through it. You stop wondering whether to try a different angle and just move, instinctively, because your hands already know.

That is what practice actually does. It moves knowledge out of your head and into your body.

I have been photographing wildlife long enough now to remember what it felt like not to know my equipment. The hesitation before adjusting settings when an animal was moving. The missed shot because I was still thinking. Those moments have a way of teaching you, but only if you show up enough times to collect them.

A red squirrel is perched on a moss-covered rock, surrounded by fallen autumn leaves.

My first squirrel photo: I was so happy to get it in frame!

Squirrel Anno 2020 – Canon EOS 5D Mark III & Canon EF70-300mm ƒ4-5.6L IS USM

Process your photos every day. Pay attention to what worked and why. Look honestly at what did not. You will get better. And somewhere along the way, without quite noticing when it happened, you will find your style. Not the style you planned for or tried to imitate, but the one that emerges from all those hours of paying attention to what you actually see.

Nothing comes from nothing. This sounds obvious and it is, but we still manage to forget it. We look at someone whose work we admire and see the result, not the years behind it. We compare our beginnings to someone else’s middle. And then we feel stuck, or slow, or not talented enough.

The answer is never more talent. The answer is more hours.

Have faith in the process, even when you cannot yet see where it is taking you. Do the work today. Do it again tomorrow. Let the pile grow. Somewhere inside it is the photographer, or the writer, or the artist you are becoming.

You just have to keep going long enough to meet them.

Creation Is a Harsh Mistress

15th March 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Creativity Photography

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Wedge-tailed eagle

Wedge-tailed eagle, Kangaroo island, South Australia

I watched a falcon take a starling once.

It happened in seconds — a stoop from height, a collision, a brief tumble, and then stillness. The falcon landed, mantled its wings over the kill, and began to feed. No hesitation. No apology. The rest of the murmuration closed its wound and moved on, a liquid black ribbon reshaping itself against the grey sky as if nothing had happened.

Nature did not pause to consider the starling’s feelings. It did not schedule a meeting to discuss the timing. It did not send a polite message saying, perhaps another day would be more convenient. The falcon had one job. It did it with complete, unsentimental precision.

I thought about that for a long time afterwards.

The natural world is not cruel in the way we sometimes use the word — with malice, with intent to wound. It is simply indifferent. The blizzard that buries the weakened elk does not choose its victim. The drought does not spare the seedling that had potential. What cannot sustain itself does not survive. What is not fit for its environment is quietly, inexorably removed. There is no committee. There is no appeal.

This is not tragedy. This is the engine of everything alive.

I left a corporate career to become a wildlife photographer. I made that choice deliberately, with eyes open, because I understood — or thought I understood — that creative work requires space, silence, and concentrated time. What I did not fully anticipate was how many forces would immediately begin filling that space the moment I created it. Other people’s timelines. Requests that arrived as opportunities but functioned as obligations. Collaborations that fed someone else’s project at the cost of my own. The slow, pleasant drift of mornings spent responding to things instead of making things.

The predator that does not hunt loses its edge. Not suddenly — gradually. The reflexes soften. The eye grows less sharp. The kill becomes harder, then harder still. By the time the decline is visible, it has been happening for months.

I had to learn to be a predator about my time.

This means mornings are not negotiable. From the first hour of daylight until noon, I am either in the field or at the editing desk. That time belongs to the work. Not to inbox management, not to social media, not to the interesting idea someone else wants me to develop with them. The work comes first, with the same blunt priority that a hunting animal gives to hunting.

It also means I have learned to say no without elaborate justification. The wolf does not explain to the caribou why it has chosen this particular moment, this particular angle of approach. It simply acts in accordance with its own survival. When I decline a project that would consume three weeks of creative time for someone else’s gain, I do not owe a detailed account of my reasoning. I am working is sufficient. My time is committed is sufficient. The rest is courtesy, not obligation.

And it means editing the calendar with the same ruthlessness that natural selection applies to a gene pool. The commitments that do not serve the work — the meetings that could be emails, the appearances that offer visibility but cost focus, the social obligations that accumulate like sediment — these are the weak, and they will crowd out the strong if you let them. Review them. Remove what cannot justify itself. What remains will be stronger for the culling.

Nature has no interest in your intentions. It measures only what you actually do, what you actually make, what you leave behind that can survive without you.

Your creative time is not a luxury to be rationed out after everything else has been served. It is the thing. It is the hunt, the territory, the survival condition. Protect it accordingly.

Be the falcon. Be the blizzard.

Be, if you must, the cruel mistress — because the alternative is to be the starling.

Shortlisted for the 2025 Pangolin Photo Challenge

7th March 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Kangaroo Kangaroo Island Pangolin

Two boxing Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), silhouetted against a warm, golden-orange background during sunset.

Some news made my day last week, and I could not wait to share it with you.

My photo of two boxing Kangaroo Island kangaroos at sunset has been shortlisted for the grand prize in the 2025 Pangolin Photo Challenge, in the “Out of Africa” category.

Yes — Australian kangaroos in an “Out of Africa” category. I love that. Pangolin is a safari company based in Africa, and the “Out of Africa” category is precisely for wildlife from the rest of the world. It is their way of saying that wild and beautiful exists everywhere, not only on the savanna. I could not agree more.

I took this photo on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, during the golden hour just before sunset. The light that evening was extraordinary — thick and amber, turning everything it touched into fire. Two young males were sparring in the long dry grass, completely absorbed in each other, and I remember thinking: do not move, do not breathe, just let it happen.The backlight caught the fine fur along their silhouettes and the dust rising from the ground, and for a few seconds the whole scene became something closer to a painting than a photograph. This is one of my favourite images from that trip, and honestly, one of my favourites ever.

The kangaroos are Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), a subspecies of the Western Grey Kangaroo found only on Kangaroo Island. Centuries of isolation from the mainland have made them distinctly their own: shorter, darker, with a richness of fur that the mainland populations do not have. And considerably cuter, in my entirely unbiased opinion.

The Pangolin Photo Challenge draws entries from photographers around the world, and the standard is genuinely high. To be shortlisted for the grand prize is both humbling and quietly thrilling — the kind of news you read twice before you believe it.

Thank you to everyone who has followed this journey and supported my work. It means more than I can say. I hope this photo does what I always hope my wildlife images will do: make you stop for a moment, look at these animals, and feel something worth holding onto.

Favorite Photos: February 2026

3rd March 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Kangaroo Muskox Squirrel

This is post 38 of 39 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

The photograph captures a tender moment between two Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), a mother and her joey, in a close embrace amid a sunlit grassland on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The smaller joey stands on its hind legs, wrapping its forelimbs around the taller adult's neck while nuzzling its face against the mother's cheek, conveying a sense of affection and bonding. Both animals exhibit the subspecies' characteristic reddish-brown fur with subtle lighter patches, their large ears perked and dark eyes gazing upward. The setting features golden, dry grasses bathed in warm, diffused light from a low sun, creating a soft, ethereal glow, with blurred shrubbery in the background enhancing the intimate focus. The overall composition evokes themes of maternal care and serenity in a natural habitat.

This is why I love wildlife photography. Witnessing scenes like this and immortalizing them in a photograph makes my heart sing. I’m so happy to have captured this tender moment between two Kangaroo Island kangaroos, a mother and her joey, in a close embrace.

Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) is a sub-species of the Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus). They look slightly different from their cousins on mainland Australia; they’re shorter with darker, chocolate-brown fur. And way cuter, if you ask me.

This is a photo from my recent trip to Australia, from Kangaroo Island (South Australia), where we spent a few weeks in November/December.

A close-up of a muskox enduring heavy snowfall on my recent trip to northern Sweden has quickly become one of my favorite photos. I had edited other photos from that trip, but I kept coming back to this one again and again. I liked the ox’s stoic attitude, standing still in the cold, heavy snow falling silently across the white landscape.

Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are some of the most interesting and rare wild mammals in Sweden. They disappeared from Sweden and the rest of Europe about 9,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. The muskoxen found in Sweden today are descended from five animals that wandered across the border from the reintroduced Norwegian herd in Dovrefjell and settled in the Härjedalen mountains.

Muskoxen are more closely related to sheep and goats than to oxen. Their incredibly thick coat (including the ultra-warm qiviut underwool) allows them to survive temperatures as low as –40 °C. In Sweden, they are perfectly adapted to the harsh alpine tundra and long winters.

Two red squirrels stand on a snow-covered log during a snowfall._The image shows two red squirrels facing each other on a snow-covered log in a quiet winter woodland. Snow blankets the ground and clings softly to the fallen tree trunk, while delicate flakes drift through the air, creating a gentle, dreamy atmosphere. The squirrels’ warm russet fur contrasts beautifully with the pale whites and soft blues of the snowy landscape. One squirrel appears alert and upright, as if listening or speaking, while the other mirrors its posture, suggesting a moment of interaction or curiosity between them. In the background, blurred grasses, branches, and tree trunks fade into a soft haze, giving the scene a painterly, almost storybook quality that emphasizes calm, intimacy, and the stillness of winter.

Two squirrels perch on snowy branches amidst a gentle snowfall. The image depicts a winter scene featuring two squirrels clinging to branches covered in snow. A branch is visible on the upper right with a thick covering of snow. The needles of the pine branch are covered in snow. Snowflakes fall gently around the squirrels and the branches. The overall mood is serene and peaceful, capturing the quiet beauty of a winter day in the woods.

The photograph depicts a whimsical winter scene featuring a Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) perched atop a small mound of snow, with gentle snowflakes falling around it. The squirrel, characterized by its reddish-brown fur, prominent ear tufts, and alert expression, sits upright while holding a miniature brown bag filled with nuts in its front paws, as if presenting or examining the contents. To its right, a small mouse wears a red knitted wool cap and matching scarf, positioned as if emerging from the snow with a playful demeanor. The background consists of a soft, overcast white expanse, evoking a serene and magical snowy landscape, enhanced by subtle pine needles on the mound for natural detail. The overall composition conveys a sense of festive interaction between the animals in a controlled, artistic setting.

I love red squirrels, you know that. I even have a separate Instagram account for them, Whimsical Squirrels. It’s a place to play, experiment, and have fun, different from my main account. In a way, it takes off a lot of the pressure I put on myself to create beautiful wildlife photos.

Lately, I’ve been drawn to painterly-style photos and have been experimenting a lot, trying to give my photos that feeling of looking at a painting. I’ve also started creating some composite images.

These photos are the first results that I’m pleased with. They were so much fun to work with! The wool cap and the scarf of the mouse gave me so much grief, you can’t imagine it! But I think I nailed it in the end.

📸 All photos were taken with Canon R5 Mark II & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM, except for the squirrels photo (taken with Canon R5).

Make Your Soul Grow

24th February 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Quotes

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Kurt Vonnegut

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.

Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives.

Kurt Vonnegut (1922 – 2007) was an American author known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels.

To read more quotes, click here.

Favorite Photos: January 2026

3rd February 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Bird Dolphin Hamerkop Kangaroo Koala Squirrel

This is post 37 of 39 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

This high-key photograph portrays a mother koala perched on a smooth, pale eucalyptus branch, with her joey clinging closely to her back. The bright, almost ethereal background dissolves into soft whites and gentle greys, giving the image a light, airy quality that emphasizes form and emotion over detail.

Not surprisingly, most of the photos I worked on this month were taken on Kangaroo Island (South Australia), where we spent a few weeks in November / December during our recent Australia trip.

I don’t often use high-key photography, but it felt right for this photo of a mother koala and her joey.

I was over the moon when I saw this adorable pair. Koalas sleep most of the time, so there usually isn’t much to photograph, even though they’re so cute. That’s why I was so happy to catch this mother and her joey moving around in the tree and even stopping to pose. The joey, probably about a year old, is already quite big.

To give you some background, koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) spend up to 18 months caring for their young. At first, the mother carries the joey in her pouch, then later on her back as the joey learns to move through the trees. Koala gestation lasts about 35 days, and the newborn is tiny, only about 2 centimeters long and weighing less than 1 gram. It crawls into the mother’s pouch for safety and food. The joey stays in the pouch for 6 to 7 months, drinking only milk, before coming out to ride on the mother’s back for another 6 months. During this time, the mother gives the joey “pap,” a special soft fecal matter made from eucalyptus leaves, to help introduce the gut bacteria needed to digest the toxic eucalyptus leaves.

This photo captures a young koala joey resting comfortably along a smooth eucalyptus branch, partially framed by soft, hanging green leaves. The joey’s fluffy grey-brown fur looks plush and textured, contrasting gently with the pale, peeling bark of the tree. One paw curls securely around the branch while the body reclines in a relaxed, almost human-like pose.

This young koala, who posed so nicely for me, was taking a break from exploring the tree he and his mother were perched in. At this age, the joey is curious about everything.

His mother is sleeping a few branches away. But even when she is still, her presence reassures the joey. With her close, the young koala feels safe to explore, rest, and learn.

Kangaroo Island is an important home for koalas in Australia. But bushfires and habitat loss now threaten their future. In the 2020 fires, about 210,000 hectares of land on Kangaroo Island were lost, showing how much their home was affected. Protecting quiet, safe places matters, not just so koalas survive, but so young ones can grow and explore.

To help keep these moments possible, there are many actions you can take. Support local conservation efforts and speak up for koala habitats before it is too late. You can also adopt a tree through a group like Friends of Parks, which helps restore koala homes. Volunteering for habitat restoration projects, spreading awareness about the plight of koalas through social media, and advocating for policy changes that prioritize habitat protection are other impactful ways to get involved. Every small action helps make a difference.

I really like this close-up photo of a young Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), which is a subspecies found only on Kangaroo Island.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: parking lots can be great spots for wildlife photos. I took this picture at Stokes Bay camping grounds, right in the parking lot. There was a little patch of green by a small pond. (I once waited there for an hour, hoping a male kangaroo would come to drink, but he never showed up.) This time, though, I spotted this cute young kangaroo. As I approached slowly, I kept my movements gentle and quiet to avoid startling her. I crouched low, using the shrubs as cover to inch closer for a better angle. It was a quick moment—I managed to get the shot just before she hopped away.

Here’s another tip: always have your camera ready when you arrive or leave a place. You never know what might happen, and being prepared means you won’t miss a great photo. Trust me, I’ve learned this the hard way! I remember one time, at a different place, I had just packed up my camera gear and was about to leave when I noticed a fabulous sunset illuminating a family of kangaroos. I hastily set up my camera again, but I missed the moment by seconds. Have your camera ready, people!

The photograph captures a tender and serene moment of two kangaroo joeys resting together on the ground in what appears to be a naturalistic outdoor enclosure or sheltered area.Both joeys lie on their backs in relaxed, supine positions, limbs loosely extended in complete repose. The nearer joey, in sharp focus, displays a soft grey fur coat with subtle brownish tinges around the face and shoulders. Its head is tilted slightly backward, eyes gently closed, small black nose pointing upward, and mouth slightly parted in peaceful sleep. One forepaw rests near its chest while the hind legs are bent and relaxed, revealing the characteristic elongated feet and dark claws typical of macropods.The second joey, positioned just behind and partially overlapping the first, mirrors the same tranquil posture. Its fur appears slightly warmer in tone—pale grey with faint orange-brown hues on the head and upper limbs—creating gentle tonal contrast between the two. Both animals exhibit the rounded facial features, large rounded ears, and delicate whiskers characteristic of young kangaroos.

Nap Mode: Activated 💤🦘 Two Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) joeys are sleeping side by side under a bush on a hot summer afternoon.

They will grow up much bigger than the cute Kangaroo Island joey above. Adult males often reach over 2 meters in height and weigh about 60 kg. Their light gray fur and long legs help them move easily through the open, grassy woods of eastern Australia.

Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), on the other hand, are smaller and more compact. (Also, much cuter if you ask me.) Males are usually about 1.4 meters tall and weigh around 35 kg. Their fur is darker, with reddish-brown on the head and shoulders, which helps them blend into the island’s shady coastal shrubs and woods.

These differences show each species has adapted in its own way to its habitat and environment.

This captivating image portrays a dolphin, likely a bottlenose, gracefully swimming just beneath the surface of crystal-clear, vibrant blue water. The perspective is from above or slightly above the water level, looking down into its translucent depths.

A graceful dolphin moves through the clear blue waters around Kangaroo Island in South Australia, dancing between worlds. The way the light hit the water turned it into a living painting. I only needed to press the shutter button to capture this brief moment of wonder. No words needed.

The photo depicts a hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), a medium-sized wading bird, standing in shallow water with its wings spread wide. The bird's distinctive hammer-shaped head and brown plumage are clearly visible. The water reflects the hamerkop's image, creating a symmetrical and striking visual effect.

A hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) I photographed during our June safari in South Africa. The hamerkop may look like a modest wetland bird at first glance, but it is one of Africa’s most fascinating and unusual species.

The hamerkop is the only species in its genus (Scopus) and family (Scopidae). For a long time, scientists couldn’t agree where it belonged — it shares traits with herons, storks, and pelicans.

One of the hamerkop’s most remarkable traits is its nest-building ability. These birds construct some of the largest nests in the avian world relative to their body size. Built from sticks, reeds, and mud, a single nest can reach nearly two meters across and weigh more than 50 kilograms. Inside, the structure is surprisingly complex, with multiple chambers and even false entrances that may help confuse predators. Once abandoned, these nests often become valuable real estate for other animals, including owls, eagles, snakes, and small mammals. Isn’t Nature amazing?

The photograph presents a whimsical winter scene featuring a Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) engaged in an anthropomorphic interaction with a small snowman amid a snowy landscape.

As the snow falls softly, the world turns quiet — and magic takes over.

This is a photo from two years ago that I still hadn’t gotten around to processing. It made a nice distraction from the stream of Australian images I’m processing right now. And I wanted to have some fun, too. It doesn’t do to be too serious, you know. The girl needs her fun.

📸 All photos were taken with Canon R5 Mark II & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM, except for the squirrel photo (taken with Canon R5).

Celebrating International Zebra Day!

31st January 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Lapalala Zebra

Happy International Zebra Day! 🦓 Every year on January 31, people worldwide join in to raise awareness about zebra conservation and support efforts to protect their populations and habitats. This day highlights the challenges zebras face, including habitat loss, poaching, human conflict, and climate change. Because of these threats, species like the Grévy’s zebra are now listed as endangered by the IUCN. In the last decade, their population has declined by over 50%, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Zebras play a key role in African ecosystems. By grazing, they help keep grasslands healthy and spread seeds through their droppings. This natural mowing promotes the growth of diverse plant species, which in turn supports soil health and increases the land’s ability to store carbon, contributing to climate change mitigation. The process can uplift local communities by enhancing eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture. When we protect zebras, we are not only safeguarding biodiversity but also fostering ecosystem restoration and resilience. This creates a hopeful recovery story that benefits both nature and people, aligning with the broader rewilding movement. When we protect zebras, we also help many other species that live in savannas and dry areas.

A close-up of a zabra in black and white

Here are a few fun facts about zebras:

Each zebra’s stripe pattern is as unique as a human fingerprint. Scientists believe these patterns help zebras recognize each other.
Their stripes also help them blend in, making it harder for predators to single out one zebra from the group.
The bold black-and-white stripes mostly keep away biting flies like horseflies and tsetse flies, which can spread disease. This is actually a bigger reason for their stripes than camouflage.
Zebras can run up to 65 km/h (40 mph) and use powerful kicks to defend themselves from predators.
There are three living zebra species: the plains zebra, the mountain zebra, and the Grévy’s zebra, the largest and also the most endangered.

By supporting protected areas, anti-poaching work, and sustainable practices, we can help zebras survive for future generations.

🦓 Zebra (Equus quagga)

📸 Canon R5 & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM

📍Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, South Africa

How The Zebra Got Its Stripes

Celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day!

21st January 2026 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Squirrel

One misplaced acorn can grow an entire forest. Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! 🌰🐿️

Today, January 21, we celebrate squirrels and recognize how important they are for healthy ecosystems all around us.

Squirrels are some of nature’s best gardeners. When they bury nuts and seeds for winter and forget about some of them, they help spread seeds across the land. This helps forests regenerate, increases plant diversity, and supports trees like oaks, which are important to woodland habitats.

Squirrels do more than just plant seeds. They are an important part of the food web. Imagine a red-tailed hawk perched on a tall tree, scanning the woodland floor. Its keen eyes lock onto a gray squirrel scurrying through the fallen leaves. In that moment, the hawk swoops silently through the crisp air, a vivid example of the interconnected relationships within the ecosystem.

Squirrels themselves eat insects and sometimes bird eggs, while serving as food for hawks, foxes, owls, and other animals. Their habits help maintain balance in nature and improve soil by promoting decomposition and nutrient cycling.

These quick and clever animals remind us that all life is connected. I remember one morning watching a particularly resourceful squirrel dart across my backyard, pausing only to hide an acorn in my flower bed. Weeks later, I was amazed to see a little sprout emerge from that very spot. When a squirrel forgets where it buried a nut, that small act can lead to a whole grove of trees. It shows how even small actions help keep nature diverse.

Interesting Facts About Squirrels

Red squirrels change their body fur twice every year, but their tail hair only changes once.
They can jump over 2 meters (6.5 feet), ten times their body length (without the tail). The long tail, measuring another 20 centimeters (8in), helps squirrels to balance and steer when jumping.
Squirrels live in a nest known as a drey. Dreys are located high up in trees, made from twigs, and lined with moss, leaves, and other soft materials.
They engage in deceptive caching. The squirrel digs a hole and fiercely plugs it up without using the nut to fend off any food thieves.
Squirrels like to gnaw on reindeer horns. The horns provide a good supplement of calcium, phosphorus, glucosamine, and chondroitin, with trace amounts of magnesium, potassium, zinc, and iron.
Squirrels’ front teeth don’t stop growing. Like those of other rodents, squirrels’ front teeth continue to develop throughout their lives. Gnawing on animal horns (see above) helps squirrels grind down their teeth.
They zigzag to avoid predators. Squirrels flee in a zigzag fashion when they are threatened.
Squirrels possess exceptional spatial memory, enabling them to relocate buried food even after months and under significant snow cover. Their hippocampus enlarges seasonally during peak caching periods to support this capability.
Squirrel species vary dramatically in size, from the tiny African pygmy squirrel (approximately 12 cm long) to the Indian giant squirrel (up to 90 cm in length).
Certain ground squirrels, such as the California ground squirrel, can neutralize rattlesnake venom, allowing them to confront and survive encounters that would be fatal to many other animals.

How to Celebrate Squirrel Awareness Month

Feed the little critters nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Squirrels love walnuts and hazelnuts (all kinds of nuts, really), so you can start with that. You can go to a park or set up a simple feeding station in your backyard. Fill feeders with a mix of nuts, seeds, and fresh fruits. You could also transform your garden into a squirrel-friendly sanctuary by setting up squirrel houses, planting nut-bearing trees, and creating safe spaces for them to hide.
Plant some trees to support squirrel habitats. They provide food and shelter for the squirrels and other small animals and birds. You can also create a safe space for squirrels to hide by leaving some areas of your garden undisturbed and providing water sources.
Share the Joy: capture the squirrels in action and share their shenanigans on social media, using #squirrelappreciationday to connect with others who appreciate these fascinating creatures.
Consider logging your squirrel observations on a citizen-science platform such as iN aturalist or Project Squirrel (US). It’s an impactful way to contribute to important ecological research and to become a part of the ongoing conservation effort, extending your engagement beyond just one day.

Bonus: A NASA engineer designed a squirrel-proof birdfeeder. Or so he thought.

Mihaela Limberea

Category: Photography

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