Zwierzęta przy wodopoju w Kenii

ONLINE EMBARGO UNTIL 17TH OF APRIL, 00.01 UK TIME. For months, a single camera trap watched a remote river crossing deep within Kenya’s Maasai Mara, quietly capturing a side of the reserve rarely seen. Known for its sweeping plains and daytime safaris, this hidden pocket of dense forest tells a different story, where rhinos, elephants and leopards move under cover of darkness. Working alongside The Safari Collection’s Footprint Trust and Narok County Government, with vital support from the Maasai Mara Rhino Unit, photographer Will Burrard-Lucas set out to document this unseen world. Guided by rangers who patrol the area daily, camera traps were placed in key locations to help monitor endangered black rhinos while also capturing the wider ecosystem around them. The results offered more than just striking images. Multiple individual rhinos were recorded using the crossing, including animals not seen for months, helping confirm their continued presence. Alongside them came a steady procession of wildlife, from giraffe and bushbuck to hippos emerging from the river and even a rare greater kudu, not documented in the area for years. What makes the series particularly unique is the setting itself, a rarely seen forest corridor within the Mara where thick vegetation and steep riverbanks hide well worn animal routes. Positioned above the crossing, the camera captures animals within their surroundings rather than as simple portraits, creating scenes that feel closer to a different era than a modern safari landscape. Using his own Camtraptions camera traps, Burrard-Lucas created a window into a landscape that feels almost prehistoric, where palm-framed riverbanks and towering fig trees replace the open savannah most visitors expect.