Silent Extinction

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Story Behind the Photograph: Silent Extinction

Tall, graceful, powerful and puzzlingly “silent,” much about vocal communication among giraffes is still a mystery. Long thought to be silent creatures, they seemed to communicate either in frequencies that are extremely low or even out of the hearing range of humans. More recent research indicates that they do make sounds in the human auditory range: they hum … and only at night. At 92Hz, the sound is at the low end of human hearing.

But there is another, far more worrying silence about giraffes. Giraffe populations have crashed 40% in the last three decades. Prolonged droughts, international demand for bones, a desire for hunting trophies, disease, vehicular collision, disappearing habitat, and killing for meat put this creature in the eye of a maelstrom that has seen its number spiral downwards.

While elephants and big cats and rhinos grab the lion’s share of conservation noise, this tallest of all terrestrial creatures is in danger of a silent extinction.

One October afternoon, the vast plains of the Maasai Mara were devoid of all ungulates. They’d probably already moved out west. We’d driven long and hard, bumping along the grasslands paths, looking for a herd of elephants I was interested in. That is when I spotted him. A lone Maasai giraffe was walking towards the horizon. He was framed against the rise and there was not enough contrast between him and the background for a photo. A single Acacia tree stood sentinel on the horizon. I waited. Slowly, gracefully, the giraffe walked away from us and was silhouetted against the sky. I waited, forming an image in my mind of the photograph I wanted to make.

As if reading my thoughts, he sashayed over to the lone tree and paused briefly, looking out over the plains beyond, giving me just enough time to make the photo I wanted, and then he walked out of sight.

About Untamed Photographer

Untamed Photographer is an online art gallery that brings together wildlife photography and stories from a range of international environmental artists, both emerging and established.

Structured as an online marketplace, Untamed Photographer offers a selection of handpicked, limited-edition works of art, alongside the photographers’ compelling stories of what occurred in the wild to get the shot. The exclusive limited-edition pieces are printed in Miami and come with an artist-signed certificate of authenticity from their respective worldwide locations.

The Nature Trust of the Americas (NTOTA) was founded with the mission to give back. While building awareness for NTOTA’s causes, the founders met talented nature photographers who are passionate not only about photography, but also about saving the planet. Their life’s work and stories are inspiring, and their art, passion and stories deserve to be shared on a platform that benefits the environmental causes they are dedicated to.

Just as the photographers preserve the beauty of the planet in their art, Untamed Photographer is dedicated to preserving the planet for the future. All profits from photographs go to Untamed Photographer's two pillars: the artists and causes that protect the environment, ecosystems, and wildlife.

About the Photographer: Arati Kumar-Rao

Arati Kumar-Rao is a National Geographic Explorer, an independent environmental photographer, writer, and artist documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation. She communicates through photos, long-form narratives, and art.

Arati crisscrosses the South Asian subcontinent following a single story, across seasons, sometimes over years, in order to chronicle South Asia’s changing landscapes and climate, and its effect on livelihoods and biodiversity.

Arati is currently on a National Geographic Explorer grant to document forced human migration and is working on her first book.

Arati’s work has appeared in The National Geographic Magazine, The Hindu, #Dysturb, The Guardian, BBC Outside Source, Hindustan Times, Mint, and other outlets. She contributes to @EverydayClimateChange and @EverydayExtinction on Instagram and has been exhibited in India and internationally.

When not in the field, she calls Bangalore home where she raises three rescued cats.