{"id":268866,"date":"2025-11-07T13:27:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/268866\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T13:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:27:09","slug":"we-heard-movement-in-the-bushes-and-saw-two-large-eyes-the-smell-of-jaguar-got-stronger-wildlife-photographer-shares-incredible-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/268866\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe heard movement in the bushes and saw two large eyes. The smell of jaguar got stronger.\u201d Wildlife photographer shares incredible encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fernando Faciole is a\u00a0conservation photographer and biologist from S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil. His work has been published in BBC Wildlife magazine<\/a> and National Geographic, and he has won awards including the Environmental Photography Award and Wildscreen<\/a> Festival.<\/p>\n

How did your career start?<\/p>\n

I spent much of my childhood with my family in a trailer in Brazil\u2019s Atlantic Forest, where my love for nature began. Later, I went fishing with my dad, which made me even more curious about wildlife. I started photographing wildlife at 15. In 2021, I shifted to conservation photography.<\/p>\n

Which of your images is most important to you, and why?<\/p>\n

Last year I took a photo of a lowland tapir with all four paws burned due to the Pantanal wildfires. It went through a long rehabilitation process before being reintroduced into the wild. The image brought great attention to this ecosystem.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been your most memorable experience with wildlife?<\/p>\n

In 2023, I was in the Pantanal, working with the Giant Armadillo Project. We found a burrow with the entrance sealed with sand, which meant there was an armadillo inside. The team set up a trap to capture the animal and fit a GPS tag.<\/p>\n

When the trap bell rang, we ran to check it. Inside was a female but then we saw something else. A small pup was still in the burrow, looking at us. It is one of the most special moments I have ever experienced in the wild.<\/p>\n

Have you had any particularly hairy experiences or close calls?<\/p>\n

My friend and guide Cimar and I went on a night-hike recently in the Atlantic Forest. We heard movement in the bushes and saw two large eyes. The smell of jaguar got stronger. Cimar was sure a jaguar was following us. The animal was just curious but it was a wild experience.<\/p>\n

Any epic fails?<\/p>\n

I had an encounter with a giant anteater in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, in 2016. It walked right in front of me. Years later, I learned these animals had been considered locally extinct for decades. I did not have a camera with me, so nobody there believed me. I still think about that animal.<\/p>\n

Which species would you like to shoot?<\/p>\n

In Brazil, the jaguarundi, probably the most elusive wild cat in the country. I have only seen it once and did not have the chance to take a photo. Outside Brazil, a dream of mine has always been to visit Antarctica and photograph the leopard seal.<\/p>\n

What has been the most challenging shoot you\u2019ve ever done?<\/p>\n

While working on a story about flamingos in the Dominican Republic, I visited resorts illegally keeping them with clipped feathers. I tried to go undercover, and it was tough.<\/p>\n

I even had a few pi\u00f1a coladas between shots to blend in and pretend I was just another tourist. But later I had to ask for image releases to use the photos so, in the end, the whole James Bond act wasn\u2019t really worth it.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the worst discomfort you\u2019ve had to endure in the name of photography?<\/p>\n

During the dry season in the Pantanal, I saw a tayra digging in the mud. I crawled across rough ground for more than half an hour, sinking a bit into the mud and scratching my belly as I went. In the end, I was able to photograph one of my favourite animals.<\/p>\n

What has been your favourite species to turn your focus on?<\/p>\n

Over the past few years I have been into Xenarthrans, a superorder of mammals that includes anteaters, armadillos and sloths. I feel I have long been connected to them.<\/p>\n

Which one piece of kit would you not be without, photographic or otherwise?<\/p>\n

Since most of my work leans toward photojournalism, a versatile lens such as a 24\u201370mm is essential. Most of the time I shoot 35mm but I like that extra range.<\/p>\n

Any tips for budding photographers?<\/p>\n

If you intend to create meaningful stories and truly understand a species, the key is to collaborate with scientists and local communities. Also, focusing on stories close to you allows both the images and the narrative to improve over time.<\/p>\n

About the photographer<\/p>\n

Fernando is a nature and conservation photographer. See f<\/a>ernandofaciole.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Discover more incredible wildlife stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fernando Faciole is a\u00a0conservation photographer and biologist from S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil. His work has been published in BBC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-268866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}