During 2024, we changed one of our camera bodies to test this model. As with all new products, we had to carry out some tests in the field. The wolf, a very discreet animal who became even more so in this territory after the shooting of 7 pack members in 1 1/2 months during the winter of 2023/2024, is not easily photographed. Many people try, investing months or even years, as you can see waiting is long and often fruitless. We knew that it would be a gamble, that observation would be complicated, that long distances or fleeting passages would not allow us to really immortalize all our encounters in a country like Switzerland. Thermal vision equipment allows us to witness wildlife, film much more natural interactions and optimize our chances of observation. In the near future, we'll be offering you the chance to get up close and personal with the red deer, and to see other species and relationships that we don't see with our own eyes during the day.
But let's get back to business ! One evening, we decided to test the camera's capabilities in low-light conditions (dawn or dusk), to see how well it performs in situations conducive to the observation of wolves, a typical night owl ! To do this, we took photos of hills and ridges in rapid succession, allowing a few minutes to elapse, and the backlighting that is most favorable at times like these, when darkness gradually invades the mountains and forests. The aim was to get into the isos and listen to the camera's motor to find out when it was going to be noisy, which meant that the photo would be blurred and unusable. We would focus on a rock or a fir tree and flash from time to time, as the minutes went by, without focusing on the subject, because the animals weren't playing the game that evening. We took around thirty or forty photos, in a vacuum you might say, but we were pleased with the rise in isos and the fact that we could still flash very late on these backlit areas.
We then switched to thermal vision, with field work taking over from there. We don't develop our photos very often as SD cards allow us to take a thousand photographs, so there was no rush. We continued our photographic journey, encountering wildlife such as marmots, snakes, foxes, deer and roe deer.
Weeks went by and, one morning, in front of our computer, we uploaded all our photos, in order to sort them out and publish a few on the website and our Instagram page. The first to appear were, of course, the tests we'd previously carried out with the new camera. We were going to delete them, given that no animal subjects had been targeted, but then we changed our minds : every photographer knows that there can be a notable difference between sharpness on the camera screen and sharpness once the photo has been developed on the big screen. So here we are, checking the quality of each photo against the time it was taken.
Suddenly, on one of them, a black shape catches our attention... NOOO, it can't be ! The improbability of what we're seeing is such that it can't be otherwise. Down below, on the left of one of the photographs, a static canine stares back at us ! A wolf has slipped into the picture without us even realizing it, as we were too busy taking a series of photographs once we'd focused, without looking too closely !
Like the ghost that he is, certainly winking at us, this wolf posed, giving life to a magnificent, magical, rare photograph and, we realize, surely the last for which he will pose. We all couldn't contain our emotions in the face of such a crazy story, which, it seems, has happened even to the best photographers. For those who know the great Vincent Munier, his story of the snow leopard and the falcon will show you that nature always has the last word, sometimes surprising the photographer himself.
We still can't believe it, but it's a crazy story that will sadly conclude the study of the Arsene's pack, after more than 2-3 years of monitoring, animal and human encounters, observations, sharing, laughter and tears. Indeed, with only a few adult individuals left, including the breeding female (F97), her 2023 son (M436) and at least one unidentified young female, we don't think that this time the pack will be able to survive the long phase of regulation that lies ahead, with all the methods that have been put in place and the tenacious hatred that some people in this region have for it. Even though we're not giving up, because we still have some big cards to play, we're aware that this photo will surely represent the closing of an extraordinary project, which has changed us all and united us forever. We've learned so much about nature, wildlife, the wolf, but also about ourselves, we feel privileged.
The "Wolf Mission" team, which has grown enormously over the months and years, would like to thank the Arsene's (Hérens-Mandelon) pack for all these emotions and the enormous amount of knowledge it has passed on to us, which will enable environmental associations to better understand certain aspects of the wolf, of a pack, of relations between different packs, of territories and their use, of genetics and many other points besides. Such an experience is of enormous benefit to everyone involved, and will enable us to continue to work concretely and daily for the wolf in Valais.
The story of a photo, the story of an adventure...
Article : TT - Wolf Mission
Photo : Wolf Mission
